List of non-carrier aircraft flown from aircraft carriers

The list of non-carrier aircraft flown from aircraft carriers includes aircraft not designed for carrier operations that have landed or taken off from carrier decks but excludes helicopters and aircraft that were only transported by aircraft carriers.

Aircraft

Aircraft type	Occasion	Origin	Year	# used	Notes
Aeromarine 39	Carrier trials	US	1922	1+	[1][note 1]
Bell Airacobra I	Trials for nosewheel aircraft, landed on HMS Pretoria Castle	US	1945	1	[2]
Bristol Scout	First flight from moving ship, HMS Vindex	UK	1916	1	[3]
Britten-Norman Islander	Sales demonstration flights aboard HMS Hermes	UK	1968	1	[4]
Cessna O-1E Bird Dog	VNAF landing on USS Midway during the Fall of Saigon	US	1975	1
Cessna OE-1B Bird Dog	USMC aircraft flown from USS Princeton (LPH-5)	US	1962	3	[5]
Curtiss Model D	First takeoff from ship, from USS Birmingham	US	1910	1
Curtiss Model D	First landing on ship, on USS Pennsylvania	US	1911	1
Curtiss P-36 Hawk	Flown from USS Enterprise during delivery to Pearl Harbour	US	1941	31
Curtiss P-40F Warhawk	Flown from USS Chenango & HMS Archer during Operation Torch landings in North Africa	US	1942	109
de Havilland Canada L-20 Beaver	flown from USS Corregidor during 1958 Lebanon crisis	Canada	1958	2	[6]
de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter	UNEF flown off HMCS Magnificent for Suez Crisis	Canada	1957	4	[7]
de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo	QSRA trials from USS Kitty Hawk	Canada	1980	1
Douglas R4D-5	Flown from USS Philippine Sea for Operation Highjump	US	1947	6
Fairey Fox Mk.IA	Deck trial on HMS Furious	UK	1926	1	[8]
Gloster Gladiator II	Flown from HMS Glorious during Norwegian Campaign	UK	1940	18
Gloster Meteor F.3 (Derwent 5)	Carrier trials from HMS Implacable and HMS Illustrious	UK	1948–1949	2	[note 2]
Hanriot HD.1	Carrier trials	France	1920	1+
Hanriot HD.2	Carrier trials	France	1920	2
Hanriot HD.3	Carrier trials	France	1920	1
Hawker Hurricane I	Flown from HMS Glorious during Norwegian Campaign	UK	1940	18
Lockheed XJO-3 Electra Junior	Trials for nosewheel aircraft, flown from USS Lexington	US	1939	1
Lockheed KC-130F Hercules	USMC carrier trials from USS Forrestal	US	1963	1
Lockheed P-80A Shooting Star	Trial with USAAF jet flown from USS Franklin D. Roosevelt	US	1946	1
Lockheed P2V-3C Neptune	Interim nuclear bomber trials from USS Franklin D. Roosevelt	US	1948–1951	13
Lockheed U-2C	Monitoring French Nuclear tests from USS Ranger	US	1963	1	[9]
Lockheed U-2R	Carrier trials from USS America	US	1969	1	[9]
Morane-Saulnier MS.500 Criquet	Operated from Arromanches during the First Indochina War	France	1945–1949	unk.
North American Rockwell OV-10A Bronco	Carrier trials aboard USS John F. Kennedy	US	1968	unk.
North American Rockwell OV-10D Bronco	LPH & Carrier trials including on USS Saratoga	US	1985	unk.
North American B-25B Mitchell	Doolittle Raid launched from USS Hornet	US	1942	16
North American L-17 (Navion)	Korean War Courier/VIP transport	US	1950	unk.
Nieuport 21	Carrier trials	France	1919–1920	1
Percival Vega Gull	Flown from HMS Courageous, led to Percival Proctor	UK	1937–1938	1	[10]
Piper L-4B Grasshopper	Flown from LSTs during Pacific & Mediterranean invasions	US	1944	26+
Piper L-4 Grasshopper	Used Brodie device on various LSTs	US		1
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt	Flown off USS Manila Bay to defend her when she was attacked off Saipan while ferrying P-47s	US	1944	4
Slingsby T.20	Flight trials from HMS Pretoria Castle and HMS Illustrious, examining air turbulence generated by the round-down at the aft end of the flight deck	UK	1945	1
Sopwith Camel	Zeppelin interceptors flown from towed barges.	UK	1918	unk.
Stinson L-5 Sentinel	Used Brodie device from USS City of Dalhart and various LSTs	US	1943	unk.
Stinson OY Sentinel	Korean War	US	1950	1+
Taylorcraft Auster	Carrier trials on HMS Argus, Ravager and Illustrious	UK	1945–1946	3+

Notes

1. All examples converted from aircraft not originally intended for shipboard use.
2. The first Meteor F.1 prototype was used for deck handling trials aboard HMS Pretoria Castle in 1946 however no flights were attempted at that time.

Citations

1. Swanborough and Bowers, 1990, pp.40-41
2. Brown 2006, p. 93
3. Thetford, 1991, p.66-67
4. "1968 - 0886 - Flight Archive". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
5. Polmar, 2008, p.231
6. "Escort Carrier Photo Index: USS CORREGIDOR (CVE-58)". navsource.org. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
7. "The Otters and the aircraft carrier". Pacific Navy News. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
8. Taylor, 1974, p.144
9. http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq77-1.htm
10. "1968 - 1144 - Flight Archive". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.

Bibliography

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• Chant, Chris (1999). Aircraft of World War II. New York: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-7607-1261-1.
• Collier, Basil (1979). Japanese Aircraft of World War II. New York: Mayflower. ISBN 0-8317-5137-1.
• Francillon, René J. (1979). Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London, UK: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-30251-6.
• Gunston, Bill (1978). Combat Aircraft of World War II. London, UK: Salamander Books. ISBN 0-89673-000-X.
• Hannah, Donald (1982). Hawker FlyPast Reference Library. Lincolnshire, UK: Key Publishing. ISBN 0-946219-01-X.
• Ireland, Bernard (1979). The Aircraft Carrier: An Illustrated History. New Jersey: Chartwell Books. ISBN 0-89009-172-2.
• James, Derek N. (1971). Gloster Aircraft since 1917. London, UK: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-00084-6.
• Mikesh, Robert C.; Abe, Shorzoe (1990). Japanese Aircraft, 1910–1941. London, UK: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-840-2.
• Polmar, Norman (2008). Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events, Volume II: 1946-2006. Washington, DC: Potomac Books. ISBN 9781574886658.
• Swanborough, Gordon; Bowers, Peter (1990). US Navy Aircraft Since 1911. Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-838-0.
• Taylor, H.A. (1974). Fairey Aircraft since 1915. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-208-6.
• Thetford, Owen (1991). British Naval Aircraft Since 1912 (Sixth ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-076-2.