Bill McCutcheon: “On A Cruise Ship–Navy-Style”

By Tom Ranken

Bill McCutcheon made a return performance speaking to the club on August 13, 2020. He presented a overview primer on US Navy flight operations on an aircraft carrier. He highlighted a 1956 tour of duty that he took aboard the USS Lexington in the Pacific. He gave a fascinating talk on what it was like to be working on a carrier and covered many different aspects.

Here is link to a three minute video of 2019 carrier flight operations aboard the USS John C. Stennis that Bill recommended.

Ironically, my father was a Supply Corp officer on the same ship at the same time. My recollection is that he bought a camera on the trip in Japan and was an avid photographer. Below you will find some of the pictures of the trip.

USS Lexington
Launching Operations
Landing Operations
My dad, LTJG John Ranken, my mother, Corinne, and me. I am the small one.
My father told my grandmother that, as space was so limited on a carrier, the planes had folding wings. They flapped them in order to take off.

Bill is a retired CPA and business consultant.  He received a BA in Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Washington. In the Navy. he served aboard aircraft carriers and on anti-sub patrol aircraft.  He also holds a private pilot certificate.  

Bill is a Docent and a member of the Board of Trustees at The Museum of Flight. 

As a Docent, he is a tour guide, instructor in docent training and youth education, member of the museum’s Speakers’ Bureau and has been involved in all aspects of docent leadership.   

His public speaking engagements on aviation history include: The Museum of Flight, Seattle; Historic Flight Foundation, Paine Field; Washington Aviation Conference; Washington Seaplane Pilots Assn.; Quiet Birdmen, Seattle Hangar; 446th Airlift Wing-Jt. Base Lewis-McChord; 93rd Bomb Group reunion and other civic, community and retirement organizations.”