Interesting to read the book “Halsey’s Typhoon” where they talked about the planes breaking loose on the USS Monterey...one broke loose, crashed into another one, breaking that one loose. Then the two of them smashed into more, shredding and breaking them loose, all to huge showers of sparks which eventually ignited the avgas vapors (fuel had all been drained from the planes) and turned the entire ship into a floating conflagration from stem to stern.
A passing ship was heard to say something like “Well, there goes the Monterey...” and the approval from the fleet commander was given to abandon ship.
The Captain thought the ship might be saved, and asked for volunteers. Leading one of those damage control parties into that flaming hangar bay was none other than Lt. Gerald Ford.
He told a story about trying to go up to the bridge, and when he got on the flight deck, a wave washed him down towards the port side of the ship which was heeling at something like a 45 degree angle. As he shot down the flight deck like a toboggan washed along by tons of green water, he thought for sure he was going into the drink, he couldn’t grab anything he was going so fast.
Fortunately, there is a metal lip, nearly three inches high all around the perimeter of the flight deck. when he hit that with his feet, he managed to pivot and grab it, somehow saving himself from going overboard to near certain death.
Pretty amazing.
My grandfather was on the Cabot during Typhoon Cobra. He had some great stories.
Some 40-years later, I loaded my own family aboard the Lincoln in when Subic Bay was evacuated because of the looming Volcano. They were partially clipped by a typhoon on the way out, and in those very same waters. But, it was NOTHING like Cobra - just a bad squall, really.