escalator on the USS Bonne Homme Richard CVA-31 1967 Gulf of Tonkin
Two U.S. Navy CVG-21 airwing pilots on the flight deck escalator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31). Escalators were added to Essex class carriers during their 1950s modernizations as ready rooms were moved below the hanger deck level for more protection– a lesson from the kamakaze era when hits caused high mortality rates in pilots waiting in ready rooms. Also pilots had more gear in the SPAD and jet age than back in the F6F era. U.S. Navy photo from the Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31) 1956-57 cruise book