USS ''Wright'' (CVL-49/AVT-7) was a

light aircraft carrier A light aircraft carrier, or light fleet carrier, is an aircraft carrier smaller than the Fleet carrier, standard carriers of a navy. The precise definition of the type varies by country; light carriers typically have a complement of aircraft onl ...

of the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

, later converted to the

command ship Command ships serve as the flagships of the commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and their staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities. An auxiliary command ship feature ...

CC-2. It is the second ship named "Wright". The first was named for Orville Wright; the second honored both Wright brothers: Orville and Wilbur.

Construction

''Wright'' was laid down on 21 August 1944, at

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

, by the

New York Shipbuilding Corporation The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...

, launched on 1 September 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Harold S. Miller, a niece of the Wright brothers, and commissioned at the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

on 9 February 1947.

Service history

''Wright'' departed Philadelphia on 18 March 1947 and stopped briefly at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, en route to the Naval Air Training Base at

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. After her arrival there on 31 March, ''Wright'' soon commenced a rigorous schedule of air defense drills and gunnery practice while acting as a qualification carrier for hundreds of student pilots at the Naval Air Training Base, relieving ''Saipan''. ''Wright'' would embark on 40 operational cruises—each of between one and four days' duration off the Florida coast. In addition, the carrier embarked a total of 1,081 naval reservists and trained them in a series of three two-week duty tours. On 3 September 1947, ''Wright'' embarked 48

Midshipmen A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afric ...

for temporary training duty and later welcomed 62 Army officers when she stood out to sea on 15 October, in company with to let her guests observe flight operations in the Pensacola area. The exercises included the catapulting of

Grumman F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...

s for rocket-firing operations. That exercise was her last prior to her departure from Pensacola on 24 October, to return north. She arrived at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard soon thereafter and from 1 November to 17 December, underwent post-shakedown repairs and alterations before she returned to Pensacola two days before Christmas, where she resumed her regular schedule of pilot qualification training under the operational control of the Chief of Naval Air Training, Commander Air Atlantic. ''Wright'' spent the year 1948 engaged in those pilot carrier qualification operations, before she put into the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility ...

on 26 January 1949, to commence a four-month overhaul. She was relieved as training carrier by . Following refresher training in Cuban waters, ''Wright'' returned to Norfolk on 1 August 1949, and four days later shifted to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, for two weeks of

antisubmarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations a ...

(ASW) training in the

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. S ...

area with

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s and

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s. She also visited New York City before taking up a steady schedule of carrier qualifications, air defense tactics, and exercises out of Quonset Point, Rhode Island,

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

, and Pensacola. But for 10 days of maneuvers with the 2d Task Fleet from 21 to 31 October 1949, she continued that duty until 7 January 1951, when she embarked the last increment of personnel from Fighter Squadron 14 (

VF-14 Strike Fighter Squadron 14 (VFA-14) "Tophatters" is a United States Navy fighter attack squadron based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. They fly the F/A-18E Super Hornet, and are the Navy's oldest active squadron, having formed in 1919. Their c ...

) for temporary duty.

Service with 6th Fleet

''Wright'' sailed from Norfolk, on 11 January 1951, with a fast carrier task group and reached

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

on 21 January, for her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. ''Wright's'' first Mediterranean deployment took her from Gibraltar to

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

, Algeria. She proceeded thence to Augusta Bay, Sicily;

Suda Bay Souda Bay () is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akrot ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

;

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Lebanon; and Golfe Juan, France—her replenishment and liberty ports during the never-ending cycle of fleet training and readiness exercises with the 6th Fleet. Departing Golfe Juan on 19 March, ''Wright'' made port at Newport on 31 March 1951. The carrier later entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and underwent an overhaul there before she took part in Atlantic Fleet maneuvers out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; engaged in ASW tactics and carrier operations in Narragansett Bay, received further repairs at the

Boston Naval Shipyard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

, and participated in a convoy exercise that ran from 25 February to 21 March 1952; and ranged from Newport to waters of the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

and

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

in the

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British Empire, British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barb ...

. As

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

for Carrier Division 14, ''Wright'' sailed on 9 June 1952, in company with four destroyers forming Task Group (TG) 81.4 for ASW operations along the Atlantic seaboard until 27 June, when the ships arrived at New York City. Returning to Quonset Point on 1 July, ''Wright'' trained units of the organized Naval Reserve concurrently with hunter–killer tactics and pilot training in operations out of Narragansett Bay until 26 August. On that day, she set course from Quonset Point and later rendezvoused with Vice Admiral Felix Stump's 2d Task Fleet en route to northern Europe for combined defense exercises and maneuvers with naval units of other

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

(NATO) navies. En route, ''Wright'', escorted by ''Forrest Royal'', was detached to ferry men and gear of Marine Night Fighter Squadron (VMF(N)) 114 to

Port Lyautey Kenitra (, , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is a port on the Sebou River with a population of 507,736 as of 2024. It is one of the three main cities of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region and the capital of the similarly named Kénitra ...

, Morocco, an operation she completed on 4 September. Two days later, ''Wright'' and her escort rejoined the task force; and they reached the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

, Scotland, on 10 September. Three days later, ''Wright'' put to sea with two British destroyers acting as her plane guard for NATO

Operation Mainbrace Exercise Mainbrace was the first large-scale naval exercise undertaken by the newly established Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT), one of the two principal military commands of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It was part of a serie ...

. She conducted air defense maneuvers and tactics evolutions with the British carriers and en route to

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, Netherlands, where the force arrived on 25 September. On 29 September, ''Wright'' departed Rotterdam, bound for the United States, and arrived at Newport on 9 October. That day, she embarked Rear Admiral W. L. Erdman, Commander, Carrier Division 4, and spent the next few months engaged in carrier qualification duties in waters ranging from Newport to the

Virginia Capes The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America. The importance of the Chesapeake Bay in American history has lo ...

, before she began her second deployment to the Mediterranean. She reached Golfe Juan on 21 February 1953, and operated with the 6th Fleet until 31 March, when she sailed for home, via the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

. ''Wright'' returned to Newport, and after a rigorous schedule of training in Narragansett Bay, sailed on 5 May, for the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. During that training cruise, she visited

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas, where she hosted some 14,000 visitors on 16 and 17 May. Returning to Quonset Point on 28 May, ''Wright'' operated locally for another month before shifting south for a stint of operations out of

Mayport, Florida Mayport is a small community located between Naval Station Mayport and the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the Jacksonville Beaches communities on San Pablo Island. The only public road to Mayport is State Road A1A, wh ...

Service with 7th Fleet

''Wright'' was overhauled at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard from 31 July to 21 November 1953, and then conducted refresher training in Cuban waters from 4 January to 16 February 1954. Next, after departing Quonset Point, Rhode Island, on 5 April, ''Wright'' sailed for Norfolk, Virginia where she took on necessary stores and supplies in preparation for her transfer to the Pacific Fleet. On 20 April, ''Wright'' set sail for the Western Pacific via the Panama Canal; San Diego, California; and Pearl Harbor—and reached

United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka or is a United States Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, Seventh Fleet and other operating ...

, Japan, on 28 May. The carrier, with Marine Attack Squadron 211 embarked, operated with the

7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...

off both coasts of

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and also off

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

before she visited Hong Kong from 24 to 30 September. Departing Yokosuka on 15 October, ''Wright'' arrived at San Diego on the last day of October and entered the

Long Beach Naval Shipyard The Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Long Beach NSY or LBNSY), which closed in 1997, was located on Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles Internationa ...

, where she remained until 23 February 1955. At that point, ''Wright'' was attached to CarDiv 17, Pacific Fleet, and operated locally out of San Diego until 3 May, when she put to sea as part of TG 7.3—formed around the flagship —for the atomic test,

Operation Wigwam Operation Wigwam involved a single test of the Mark 90 "Betty" nuclear bomb. It was conducted between ''Operation Teapot'' and '' Project 56'' on May 14, 1955, about 500 miles (800 km) southwest of San Diego, California. 6,800 personnel ...

, carried out in Pacific waters. Returning to the West Coast on 20 May, ''Wright'' subsequently cruised to Pearl Harbor briefly before she entered the

Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY or MINS) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean and was in service 142 years from 1854 to 1996. It is located on Mare Island, northeast of San Francisco, in Vallejo, Califor ...

on 14 July to commence preparation for inactivation. After shifting to the

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, Kitsap County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city ...

, on 17 October, for the final phase of preservation for inactivation, ''Wright'' was decommissioned at Puget Sound on 15 March 1956, and assigned to the Bremerton group of the

Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

Reclassification

During her time in reserve, ''Wright'' was reclassified on 15 May 1959, an auxiliary aircraft transport, AVT-7. However, she never served in that role but remained inactive until 15 March 1962, when she was taken to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for conversion to a command ship and reclassified as CC-2. The conversion—which lasted a year—included extensive alterations to enable the ship to function as a fully equipped mobile command post afloat for top-echelon commands and staff for strategic direction of area or worldwide military operations. Facilities were built into the ship for worldwide communications and rapid automatic exchange, processing, storage, and display of command data. A portion of the former hangar deck space was utilized for special command spaces and the extensive electronics equipment required, while a major portion of the flight deck was utilized for specially designed communications antenna arrays. In addition, facilities were provided to enable the ship to operate three helicopters. Recommissioned at Puget Sound on 11 May 1963, Capt. John L. Arrington II, in command, ''Wright'' (CC-2) operated locally on trials and training evolutions in the waters off the Pacific Northwest until 3 September, when she departed Seattle and proceeded to San Diego, which she reached three days later. For the next three weeks, the ship trained in nearby waters before she returned to Puget Sound on 30 September to commence her post-shakedown availability. Following those repairs and alterations—which took up all of the month of October and most of November—''Wright'' prepared to shift to her new home port, Norfolk. She departed Seattle on 26 November, stopped briefly at San Diego three days later to embark civilian engineers and personnel who were to conduct surveys of communications and-air conditioning equipment, and was steaming south off the coast of northern Mexico when she picked up a distress message from the

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

merchantman A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...

, on 1 December. ''Wright'' altered course and rendezvoused with ''Velos'' later that same day. The command ship's medical officer was flown across to the Israeli ship and treated a seaman suffering from kidney stones. The medical officer was then flown back to ''Wright''. Upon completion of that mission of mercy, ''Wright'' resumed her voyage to Balboa. Transiting the Panama Canal on 7 and 8 December, ''Wright'' steamed via St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and moored at the Hampton Roads Army Terminal on 18 December. After a subsequent brief operational period off the Virginia Capes, ''Wright'' entered port on 21 December, and remained there through Christmas and New Year's.

NECPA duties

For the next six years, ''Wright'' operated out of Norfolk, training to perform her assigned mission as the

National Emergency Command Post Afloat The National Emergency Command Post Afloat (NECPA) was part of the United States government's Continuity of Operations plans during the 1960s. It was one-third of a triad composed of airborne, ground, and sea-based assets. History In October ...

. Regular overhauls performed at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard saw the ship receiving the repairs and alterations that continually improved her capabilities to carry out her task. She operated primarily off the Virginia Capes, but ranged as far north as Bar Harbor, Maine, and as far south as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Punta del Este, Uruguay. Her other ports of call included Newport, Quonset Point, Jacksonville, Mayport, Fort Lauderdale and Port Everglades, Florida; Boston; Portsmouth; New York City; Atlantic City; Annapolis; Philadelphia; Little Creek; Norfolk; and Guantánamo Bay. As part of NECPA duties, she alternated on alert status with .USAF Historical Division: "The Air Force and the Worldwide Military Command and Control System 1961–1965
/ref> There were highlights and breaks from the cycle of periods in port and at sea. From 11 to 14 April 1967, ''Wright'' lay at anchor off the coast of Uruguay, providing a worldwide communications capability in support of President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

as he attended the Latin American summit conference at

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este grew to become a resort for the Latin and North American jet set and tourists. T ...

. On 8 May 1968, ''Wright'' went to the aid of after that

amphibious assault ship An amphibious assault ship is a type of warship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory during an armed conflict. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (which, as a result, ar ...

had suffered a machinery failure and had gone dead in the water, south of Norfolk. ''Wright'' towed the helpless assault ship before other ships arrived on the scene to help out. Later that same year, ''Wright'' received the coveted

Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Award The Captain Edward F. Ney Award for food-service excellence is given to the best US Navy galleys among those that earn a five-star rating from a Navy evaluation team. The Secretary of the Navy and the International Food Service Executives Assoc ...

in the large mess afloat category. That award is given annually to the ship that maintains the highest food standards. During the ''Pueblo'' crisis in February 1969, ''Wright'', while en route to

Port Everglades, Florida Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2022, Port Ev ...

, was hurriedly recalled to Norfolk and, upon her arrival there, stood by, on alert.

Decommissioning

Ultimately decommissioned on 27 May 1970, ''Wright'' was placed in reserve at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The ship was stricken from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 1 December 1977, and sold by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping on 1 August 1980.

Awards

USS Wright (CVL-49)

Navy Occupation Service Medal The Navy Occupation Service Medal was a military award of the United States Navy which was "Awarded to commemorate the services of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel in the occupation of certain territories of the enemies of the United St ...

with "Europe" clasp *

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

Korean Service Medal The Korean Service Medal (KSM) was a military award for service in the United States Armed Forces and was established November 8, 1950, by executive order of President Harry Truman. The Korean Service Medal is the primary US military award for ...

* United Nations Korean Medal * Republic of Korea War Medal (retroactive)

USS Wright (CC-2)

with star (2 awards)

Gallery

File:F4U-5 Corsair of VF-23 on USS Wright (CVL-49), in November 1948.jpg, F4U-5 Corsair of VF-23 on USS ''Wright'' in November 1948 File:USS Wright (CVL-49) underway at sea with trainig aircraft (NH 97618).jpg, USS ''Wright'' underway at sea with

North American T-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft, which was used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Ro ...

s on board somewhere between the late 1940s and the early 1950s File:Vought F4U-4 Corsair of VF-14 aboard USS Wright (CVL-49), in early 1951.jpg, F4U-4 Corsairs of

aboard USS ''Wright'' in early 1951 File:Vought F4U-4 Corsairs of VF-14 aboard USS Wright (CVL-49), in early 1951.jpg, F4U-4 Corsairs of

on USS ''Wright'' in early 1951 File:USS Wright (CVL-49), HMS Illustrious (R87) and HMS Eagle (R05) underway in the North Sea in September 1952 (IWM A32288).jpg, USS ''Wright'', HMS ''Illustrious'' (R87) and underway in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

in September 1952 File:USS Wright (CC-2) underway on 17 June 1963 (NH 97620).jpg, USS ''Wright'' as (CC-2) underway on 17 June 1963 File:USS Wright (CC-2) underway at sea in September 1963 (NH 97623).jpg, USS ''Wright'' underway at sea in September 1963 File:UH-2B of HC-4 on USS Wright (CC-2) c1966.jpg, UH-2B of HC-4 on board USS ''Wright'' in c. 1966 File:USS Wright (CC-2) at sea c1967.jpg, USS ''Wright'' at sea in c. 1967