USS WASP CVA-18.
July1956 off coast of Red China Task Force 77       See 1957 Photos

Kawishiwi refueling USS Gregory DD-802 and USS Wasp CVA-18                  Click photo for larger View
Task Force 77 consisted of 5 CVA's, 4 CL's, 30 DD's, 2 AF's, 2 AE's and 4 AO's in a 5 day and night training excercise for the carriers and air groups. Wasp carried Air Group 15 which used F2H Banshee Twinjet Fighters, immortalized in the movie "Bridges of Toko-Ti".

The Banshee was a multimission aircraft: used as a day fighter, as a night fighter and for photoreconnaissance; a variant was specially strengthened to carry nuclear weapons. It went into combat in 1951 and served as one of the principal fighters with the Navy's Seventh Fleet for the duration of the Korean conflict. The F2H-2 Banshee included 200-gallon fuel tanks for the wingtips. By installing the engines in the expanded wing roots next to the fuselage, engineers reduced aerodynamic drag. In 1949, an F2H-2 set a jet altitude record of 52,000 feet.


In July of 1956, Kawishiwi set a record for refueling the CVA the fastest in the history of the Navy. Steaming for 5 hours with out changing their 085 R.P.M.s (11 knots) ......................................3 Wasp Photos Submitted by Bill Willis ETSN 55-57


Up close view of Wasp. See the F2H Banshee Twinjet Fighters, dark colored planes in top photo on fantail above.