With the maze of pipes overhead providing the look of a real ship, the ready room in the World War II Aircraft Carrier Exhibit captures the environment of the space that for pilots and aircrewmen was a haven on board ship.  Here, in the stuffed chairs, they sat anxiously receiving preflight briefings prior to launching on combat missions. When not in the air, personnel built squadron camaraderi in the ready room, enjoying games of "acey-deucy" or engaging in conversation on a variety of topics to pass the time away from home.

A view of a ready room on board the aircraft carrier Intrepid (CV 11) during World War II shows pilots crammed into every available space for a briefing prior to a combat mission. Note the helmets hung from the overhead for wearing during battle stations, flight equipment hanging on the bulkheads, and the chalkboard at the front of the ready room on which was written information on weather conditions and target details. Relayed on the screen visible in the front left corner of the ready room were messages from the Air Officer.

The success of operations on the flight deck above depended largely upon the long hours of work that occurred on the carrier's hangar deck. Here, sailors performed around-the-clock maintenance on airplanes that kept them airworthy, sending them up to the flight deck via large elevators. The limited space that is such a fact of life on board aircraft carriers is evident in the fuel tanks stored in a net hung from the overhead.

An F4U Corsair, its wheels chocked to prevent movement in rolling seas, pictured on the hangar deck of a World War II aircraft carrier. A standard feature on many a carrier-based aircraft, folding wings allowed carrier crews to maximize limited space aboard ship, another measure visible in the wing sections stored in netting over the aircraft. During World War II movement of aircraft was still largely dependent on the muscles of sailors, the increasing weight of aircraft requiring the introduction tractors to facilitate spotting.