Beneath gunmetal-gray clouds, a driving rain pelted USS Reagan as the aircraft carrier surged through dark green seas at ahead flank speed. As daylight faded, Captain CJ Berger surveyed the wet Flight Deck through the port Bridge windows, noting the slow, but steady progress of the shipyard’s Tiger Teams, reassembling the aircraft carrier’s arresting cables. It was a race against time.
The Atlantic Fleet air wing had been circling above for hours, taking turns refueling from a dozen tankers accompanying the aircraft. Whoever decided to augment the air wing with Air Force KC-10 refueling tankers was a wise man or woman. The speed at which the Tiger Teams reassembled Reagan’s flight systems was impressive considering the complexity of their task, but they still lagged behind predictions.
As difficult as it was to prepare Reagan to get underway, reassembling enough of her systems to conduct flight operations had been even more challenging. All four catapults were still inoperable, and the Tiger Teams had focused first on restoring the systems required for landing. Two of the ship’s four elevators were back in operation, so ferrying aircraft to the Hangar Deck below wouldn’t be a problem. Slowing the aircraft as they landed, their tailhooks catching an arresting wire, was the last remaining issue.
They had only ten minutes left to complete the repairs. The modified LANT air wing, consisting of four Super Hornet and two F-35C Lightning II squadrons, twelve Growlers, and four Hawkeyes, had sucked the refueling tankers dry and were approaching Bingo Fuel. Sending out another round of refueling tankers was not an option; the pilots could remain aloft for only so long. They would either have to begin landing now or head back to Hawaii for rest, followed by another attempt the following day. Landing the aircraft today wasn’t essential, but Berger was more concerned with the pace at which his flight systems were being returned to service. The longer the arresting wires took, the longer it would be before the Tiger Teams turned their attention to the catapults.
Berger’s thoughts were interrupted by the Air Boss’s voice, coming across the 23-MC speaker from the O-9 Deck, directly above the Bridge. “Captain, Air Boss. Two Wire has been repaired. Request Green Deck.”
Captain Berger reached over to the console beside his chair, pressing the small green button as he slipped the microphone from its clip with his other hand. “Air Boss, you’ve got Green Deck.”
A moment later, the first aircraft materialized through the steady downpour, barely distinguishable against the backdrop of dark gray skies. Berger glanced at the Number Two arresting cable, stretched across the Flight Deck, hoping the arresting engines worked properly.
Berger’s attention shifted between the wobbling jet, buffeted by strong winds as it approached, to the Landing Signals Officer, standing on the Flight Deck in the rain. The LSO held a radio handset close to his mouth with one hand, advising the approaching pilot on engine power and glide path. In his other hand, he held the pickle switch controlling the Optical Landing System, containing red wave-off and green cut lights, which directed the pilot to either abort the landing or make additional adjustments during his approach. Berger watched as the green cut lights flashed periodically during the jet’s descent, sending last-second guidance to the pilot.
The Super Hornet angled down toward the deck, its tailhook extended. With only one operable arresting wire, the odds of a successful landing were reduced. Land a split second too late and the jet’s tailhook would miss the cable. The pilot would have to bolter, pushing his engines to full throttle to regain sufficient speed for flight before he ran out of carrier deck.
Berger followed the Super Hornet in, its wings wobbling one last time before the jet touched down. The aircraft’s tailhook snagged the arresting wire and the jet screeched to a halt. Forty-five seconds later, the fighter was headed to the forward starboard elevator as a second Super Hornet touched down. One by one, as darkness settled over the Pacific Ocean, the modified Atlantic Fleet air wing landed safely aboard the Pacific Fleet’s last carrier.