Winged Turtles
Put yourself some 90 years ago in the mid-1930s.
Back when U.S. Navy flight school was six months (logging 258.75 hours in the air and 386.5 hours in ground school) and enlisted “Silver Eagle” Naval Aviation Pilots (NAP) were a thing (in 1927, 108 of 580 naval aviators were enlisted).
Then imagine you are a Vought O3U-1 Corsair floatplane pilot on the heavy cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31) stationed in the romantic backwaters of the Philippines as part of the Asiatic Squadron.
This looks like terrible duty.
Vought O3U-1 Corsair from USS Augusta (CA-31) aviation unit, tethered to a palm tree at an island somewhere in the Sulu Archipelago, circa 1933-1934. NH 51874
Vought O3U-1 Corsair from USS Augusta (CA-31) attracting a crowd of young Moros for the camera. View taken at Tawi-Tawi, Sulu Archipelago, Philippine Islands, circa 1933-1934. Note the “winged turtle” motif on the tail, indicating a “cross the equator” flight. NH 51873
Vought O3U-1 Corsair from USS Augusta (CA-31) at an island somewhere in the Sulu Archipelago, circa 1933-1934. NH 51875
“Old Bird” class minesweeper/tender USS Finch (AM-9) with a Vought O3U-1 Corsair of the USS Augusta air group aboard, in Jolo, Sulu, Philippines, 1933-1934. Note the local outrigger canoes. NH 53904
Cavite, Philippine Islands, Vought O3U-1 Corsair from USS Augusta (CA-31 on the dock, with another O3U coming in for a landing in the bay and a Grumman J2F Duck from USS Heron (AVP-21) being hoisted out on the crane. Circa 1936. Courtesy of Capt. Pat Henry, USN (RET), 1973. NH 78380
Vought O3U-1 Corsair from USS Augusta (CA-31) in formation over Philippine waters, circa 1936. Courtesy of Rear Admiral J.P. Walker, USN (Ret), 1973. NH 78016
Vought O3U-1 Corsair from USS Augusta (CA-31) in formation over Philippine waters, circa 1936. Courtesy of Rear Admiral J.P. Walker, USN (Ret), 1973. NH 78017
Introduced in 1926, 289 assorted O3Us were built for the U.S. Navy, and in December 1941, at least 141 were still on hand as training and liaison aircraft. Outfitted with a 600hp Pratt & Whitney R-1690-42 Hornet, they could make 145 knots when clean and had a range of almost 600nm. Armament was three .30-06 Browning LMGs (two fixed, one flex), and they could carry four 116-pound bombs.