European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 15, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 8 the stars and stripes thursday. October 15. 1987 an a-7 Corsair above axles into position for launch aboard the aircraft Carrier Saratoga. Another Corsair below right awaits the order to launch from Petty officer . Ron Rancour. Puffy officer on Saratoga brings order in confusion on Sara s Busy flight deck by Dave Joehl staff writer aboard the Saratoga a Jet whines to life and Petty officer 2.c. Ron Rancour is orchestrating what looks like chaos the launching of jets off the Carrier deck. Yellow vested Rancour stands amid the rumble of jets. His fellow stolid goggle faced men Dot the hot. Black deck. Along the giant steel platform stand it appeared that Loo Many people were crowded among too Many air planes. The Jet fuel the raw and the burning mines with the tropical Hifai. Clouding the Clear sea air creating a fiery Aura on deck. Steam seeps up prom the giant Jet launching catapults. Rancourt paces the deck making sure the flow is smooth staying aware of every movement every Hap pening in his realm. Ii is motions an fluid certain like thai of an orchestra Maestro. But the stage of Wear on the earner deck ii who Vou Are. There s no civis struggle on deck. Yellows Are i he Bosses. Men in Brown in red purple or Blue a few in Jel Low. Walk the deck in studied caution wailing for the show to begin. We re like inc police officers of the flight deck said the West Stewartstown. N.h., native. Rancourt s repertoire of Arm movements and hand signals and a radio head set keep him and the rest of the deck directors below and on inc Bridge in touch with each other. Rancourt. Who passed up an Olter 3vt years ago to play Drums in the Navy band to become an aviation Boatswain s mate is in charge of the Fantail of the ship. Is photos by Dave Diehl it contains about one third of the warship s on Dick air planes the a-7es, a fies and a Jas. The traffic be gins to flow and in the space of a few in in minutes. Rancour and company will Start and see Oll on Ellurd of the aircraft on the Saratoga s deck. Men mine and jell Roll. An a-7 Inthy film us i arming spot on Kanoun s signal. Colors Static a like be. Thury Lhing Antl Oer Jurii Ramos in the right direction dodging Wing lip and Juckum Utiler n l i finl i Lii Jonii the Nalii time. A Luning Corsair j a cup my gust of hut air Don tie Carrier Anil men put their Buck to it and Brace Auta magically. Similar motions Are going on everywhere on inc deck it takes 130 men Only a few minutes to get a deck full of fire breathing Birds leashed to 73.000 pounds of thrust chucked off pc 16-Story Carrier. Catapults beat out a rhythm sending the planes off the deck at 195 Mph in the space of 250 feet. Studied precision sometimes looks like wonder. The Erckma Nevers the i Ian filters bombers and sub Hunters to the launching blocks. The Metal Birds unfold their wings at Juit the right time and turn within inches of other planes launching within seconds of each other. Only silence signals the end of inc routine. Bui soon the multicoloured men will be on deck again receiving another quota of jets hitting the deck. They la do it almost every Day at sea for 12, 16, same times is hours. Besides moving jets to and from their parking spaces Rancour has a responsibility to some 20 men under him. One deck officer put it this Way if somebody makes a mistake somebody so far on their sin month patrol of the Mediterranean one of Rancourt s men has been less Ihan cautious on two counts. In one incident the Sailor was blown off i he deck and into a safely net. The nem time i m taking him off ranch met said. There is no room for safety breaches on the Carrier deck. The key he said is keeping a handle on whal s going on. It Hap pit if Ait. I be been in a 1 keep myself aware a Ziroll Bdil Zulj he
