Reconnaissance seaplane Vought OS2U-3 Kingfisher, piloted by Lt. Fred Hunter, takes off from a catapult on USS Detroit CL-8, Omaha-class light cruiser,  in the Aleutian Islands.

Launching seaplane

Sailors manning the 40-mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns on the heavy cruiser USS Astoria (CL-90), helplessly watch the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) engulfed in fire, near the Japanese island of Kyushu. - March 18, 1945.

Enterprise burning

Another, and somewhat closer-up, image of the SWOD Mark 9. It has been described as one of the world’s earliest fully-automatic, target-seeking “smart” weapon systems, and saw limited use against Japanese targets in 1945. The radar used is now considered primitive, and it was relatively easily confused by radar returns from objects other than the intended target. At minimum, however, it is credited with successfully sinking some Japanese ships.