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During the Korean war Essex served as flagship for Carrier Division 1 and TF 77. She was the first carrier to launch F2H Banshee twinjet fighters on combat missions; on 16 September 1951 one of these planes, damaged in combat, crashed into aircraft parked on the forward flight deck causing an explosion and fire which killed seven. After repairs at Yokosuka she returned to frontline action on 3 October to launch strikes up to the Yalu River and provide close air support for U.N. troops.
 

 

F2H Banshees fly past Essex 1951.

Click on the images below for a larger view.

CV-9 Essex
McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee jet fighter (Bureau No. 124968), piloted by LtJG Keller, heads toward planes parked on the starboard side of the flight deck, forward, after clearing three barriers at 1823(I). The accident took place while Essex was operating off Korea on 16 September 1951.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives (photo # 80-G-433492).

CV-9 Essex
McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee jet fighter (Bureau No. 124968) crashes into aircraft parked on the starboard side of the flight deck (see above).

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives (photo # 80-G-433493).

CV-9 Essex
Explosion on the flight deck near the starboard bow, after a McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee jet fighter (Bureau No. 124968) crashed into parked aircraft in a deck landing accident (see above). The accident resulted in the loss of seven lives and four aircraft: two F2H-2s (Bureau Nos.124966 & 124968) and two F9Fs (Bureau Nos. 125128 & 125131).

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives (photo # 80-G-433494).

CV-9 Essex
Flames and smoke billow up from fires on the flight deck near the starboard bow, after a McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee jet fighter (Bureau No. 124968) crashed into parked aircraft in a deck landing accident (see above).

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives (photo # 80-G-433497).

CV-9 Essex
Fire on the flight deck near the starboard bow, after a McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee jet fighter crashed into parked aircraft (see above). Photographed from USS Boxer (CV-21), which was steaming ahead of Essex. Note other planes in the area, including a F9F at right, and plane guard destroyers steaming nearby.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives (photo # 80-G-433507).

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