# What's this feature on aircraft carriers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2001, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-feature-on-aircraft-carriers/92538 "2001-11-09T23:25:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-feature-on-aircraft-carriers/92538/1 "2001-11-09T23:25:31Z")
A long pole lying horizontally at the side of the flight deck over the side of the ship. A radio antannae of some sort, there seem to be an awful lot of them last time I saw one of these ships on tv. ---
**Author:** ![Firx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Firx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Firx)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-feature-on-aircraft-carriers/92538/2 "2001-11-09T23:45:35Z")
Perhaps those poles support a safety net? I wouldn’t imagine that falling to the water from the flight deck of a supercarrier would be pleasant. ---
**Author:** ![geepee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ebca7d/32.png) [@geepee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geepee)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-feature-on-aircraft-carriers/92538/3 "2001-11-10T00:41:44Z")
American carriers have aircraft nets (or at least the did in Vietnam) when a pilot came home with damage or component failure he could land not catch anywires and be caught and stopped in the net. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-feature-on-aircraft-carriers/92538/4 "2001-11-10T02:05:31Z")
I don’t know, but I suspect your initial suspicion that they’re radio antennas is correct. Assuming we’re talking about the same thing, that is. In the [photo](http://www.cvn74.navy.mil/) of the _John C. Stennis_ in the center of this page, they are clearly visible in the vertical position. I see several, but the two most promininent ones are on each side of the bow. [Here](http://community.webshots.com/photo/979697/990768) is a photo of (I believe) the _Dwight D. Eisenhower_, with similar poles laying down flat. To me, they look awfully long to be supporting safety nets for people, and way too flimsy to be part of an airplane-catching mechanism. There _are_ nets visible in [this photo](http://community.webshots.com/photo/979697/1025385) of the _Harry S. Truman_[sup]\*[/sup]. I only see the nets at the very bow end of the flight deck, where (no coincidence, methinks) there seems to be no walkway below and outboard of the flightdeck. I believe I see a similar netting at the end of the marked landing “runway”, but the resolution isn’t high enough to state that with certainty. Why are antennas placed _there_, if that’s in fact what they are? I have no idea, beyond the obvious guess that they ran out of real estate on top of the island, and this was the next best place…? [sup]\*[/sup]Lest anyone hop on me about putting a period after the “S” in Truman’s name, I defer to [this opinion](http://www.ncts.navy.mil/homepages/cvn75/library.htm) on the subject from the Harry S. Truman Library. ---
**Author:** ![Planet\_Ape](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/85e7bf/32.png) [@Planet\_Ape](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Planet_Ape)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-feature-on-aircraft-carriers/92538/5 "2001-11-10T02:15:54Z")
I thought everybody knew this! Them’s _fishin’ poles_, boy! ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-feature-on-aircraft-carriers/92538/6 "2001-11-10T04:16:53Z")
Goal posts? ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-feature-on-aircraft-carriers/92538/7 "2001-11-10T04:36:39Z")
They’re 35’ whip radio antennae. When flight ops are in progress, the antennae are hinged over horizontally. When the aircraft aren’t flying, they’re pivoted back upright. [Here’s](http://radhealth.usuhs.mil/DirectedEnergy.htm#assessmentofrf) a land-based test of one in progress, minus hing and counterwieght. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-feature-on-aircraft-carriers/92538/8 "2001-11-10T05:00:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tranquilis \* > \*\*[Here’s](http://radhealth.usuhs.mil/DirectedEnergy.htm#assessmentofrf) a land-based test of one in progress, minus hing and counterwieght. \*\* \*Way off topic- **Tranquilis** , how were you able to link to that specific part of the site? ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-feature-on-aircraft-carriers/92538/9 "2001-11-10T05:25:11Z")
That page has anchors embedded. If you’ll look at the code that makes up the link you’ll see this: > [@](#): > > #assessmentofrf at the end of the URL. Not all pages have them, but I use them when possible.