The “Dupont Show of the Week” was an anthology program that ran from 1961 to 1964, often featuring significant Hollywood stars and comedians. The programs also featured the occasional documentary, including this non-fiction film entitled “Flight Deck”. Produced and directed by A Wasserman, the hour-long program from 1964 offered an inside look at the operations of the USS Franklin D Roosevelt (CVA-42) aircraft carrier. The fourth Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the United States Navy is depicted recovering McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, Vought F-8 Crusaders, and McDonnell FH Phantoms. PLEASE NOTE: This is part two of a two part show; we do not have part one available at this time. (TRT: 28:40)

Film begins in progress. Men of a catapult crew remove helmets and climb into a cabin to smoke cigarettes on a break (0:08). Aerial photography of a McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Refueling to clarinet music. A load is jettisoned to the ocean below (0:42). Skyhawks fly in formation. Approaching the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Narration: “The 9a.m. launch of 22 planes was almost over…” (2:38). Flight controllers on headsets and radios. Deck crews stand by to recover the aircraft (3:15). Preparing for a tailhook, four steel cables are spread across the carrier’s flight deck. A plane approaches and makes a successful high-speed landing. Taxiing and marshalling jets. A Landing Signal Officer (LSO) speaks on a telephone, guiding the pilot of a Vought F-8 Crusader. An approaching aircraft shows its extended tailhook (4:12). With the pull of a lever, cables are stretched taut across the deck. Men shield their faces from a heat blast as an aircraft lands closeby (6:09). A #3 target cable retracts after a landing. A #2 cable follows, retracting swiftly (7:15). Closeup on a tailhook during a #1 tailhook during a rough landing. A McDonnell FH Phantom makes a hard landing and blows out a tire (8:30). A damaged cable is inspected and replaced following the incident (9:25). A low pass during an aborted landing while the cables are sorted out. Recovery resumes with a landing seen from within the flight control tower (10:02). A young man in glasses listens intently on a headset, while models representing the planes are positioned around a table (11:03). After the recovery, the Landing Signal Officer reviews the pilot’s performances. A pan across the men of flight deck control (11:35). An elevator lifts fighter jets to and from the deck (12:16). Planes enter a hangar. A zoom in on a jet engine (12:41). Catapult crews prepare for a new series of launches. A fighter jet, deck crew, and the carrier’s conning tower in silhouette (13:37). Flight controllers speak on radios, watching a Carrier Controlled Approach (CCA) radar display (15:02). A bird’s eye view of the carrier. A plot for positioning of the planes is rearranged (16:02). At night, a plane misses the wires, a “bolter” (17:35). Walking through a corridor inside the carrier. Red lighting for low visibility. A sleepless crew of young men and their personalized helmets (18:16). Flight marshaller’s light cones direct deck traffic during a launch and recovery(19:13). A “ready room” and gathered pilots. One young pilot who made a poor approach has not returned (19:43). The LSO preps for another attempt. Sparks fly in the darkness. The wires are missed (20:14). After another miss, tensions mount (21:18). CCA efforts continue. They direct the final pilot to increase power and lower altitude. A successful night landing in low light (22:31). The pilot deplanes (23:45). Another midnight recovery of 16 planes begins. “One of the planes would not be coming back” (24:35). Daylight brings a medical helicopter with the body of a pilot, which is carried on a stretcher (24:46). A chaplain delivers a memorial service following the tragedy. A prayer for Robert Abraham Kamarov (24:44). Somber music and men standing on the deck in the wind (27:05). Closing credits: “Flight Deck, Produced and Directed by Al Wasserman; Written by Al Wasserman; Photographed by Robin Still, Michael B. Clark; Film Edited by John Teeple, Martin Sheppard; Music Composed by George Kleinsinger” (27:28).

The USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) was laid down in 1981, launched in 1984, and commissioned in 1986. Its cost is estimated at 4.5 billion dollars. Its maiden deployment was in the Mediterranean sea, likely the shooting location for this film.