Carrier onboard delivery

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2013)
Globe icon.
 The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (April 2013)
USS George Washington (CVN-73) crew unload mail from two C-2A Greyhounds in 2011

Carrier onboard delivery (COD) is the use of aircraft to ferry personnel, mail, supplies, and high-priority cargo, such as replacement parts, from shore bases to an aircraft carrier at sea.[1] Several types of aircraft, including helicopters, have been used by navies in the COD role. The Grumman C-2 Greyhound has been the United States Navy's primary COD aircraft since the mid-1960s.

Contents

History [edit]

Early United States Navy (USN) recognition of need for a cargo plane capable of carrier landings resulted in airframe conversion of Grumman TBM-3 Avenger torpedo bombers to unarmed seven-passenger COD aircraft designated TBM-3R. Replacement of TBM-3Rs began in the late 1950s. Grumman built a cargo variant of its twin-piston-engined Grumman S-2 Tracker anti-submarine warfare bomber as the C-1A Trader. The Navy in 1963 briefly experimented with the C-130 Hercules for COD. In the late 1960s Grumman began production of a cargo variant of its twin-turboprop E-2 Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning aircraft known as the C-2A Greyhound. Five Lockheed US-3A Viking aircraft were also used from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. The C-2 has remained the U.S. Navy's primary COD vehicle since that time.

Several U.S. Navy "Fleet Logistics Support Squadrons" provided COD services aboard carriers since the World War II, including VR-5, VR-21, VR-22, VR-23, VR-24, VRC-30, VRC-40, and VRC-50.[citation needed]

An MV-22 Osprey of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 165 prepares to land on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during testing. The V-22 is a possible candidate for COD missions.

On 6 October 2012, a MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft from squadron VMM-165 landed and refueled on board the USS Nimitz (CVN-68). This operation was part of an evaluation of the feasibility of the MV-22 as a potential replacement for the current C-2 cargo transport aircraft.[2][3]

List of COD aircraft [edit]

Several aircraft types have been specifically designed or modified for COD missions:

Gallery [edit]

  • A TBM-3R of VR-23 over Korea, 1953.

  • A VRC-40 C-1A on the Lexington, 1985.

  • A VRC-50 US-3A on the Carl Vinson, 1987.

  • A VRC-30 C-2A landing on the Kitty Hawk, 2004.

  • A VRC-40 C-2A after SLEP on the Carl Vinson, 2009.

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "United States Navy Fact File". United States Navy. United States Navy. April 4, 2013. 
  2. ^ "MV-22 Osprey Flight Operations Tested Aboard USS Nimitz". Avionics Intelligence. PennWell Corporation. October 9, 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-09. 
  3. ^ Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Renee Candelario, USN (October 8, 2012). "MV-22 Osprey Flight Operations Tested Aboard USS Nimitz". NNS121008-13. USS Nimitz Public Affairs. Retrieved 2011-10-09. 
Stub icon This naval article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Stub icon This article about aviation is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carrier_onboard_delivery&oldid=552017102"