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I was on that aircraft carrier in 1971 when this happened. That was the USS Ticonderoga, CVS 14. That was an S-2E from my squadron VS-38. If you look at the background seas, they are relatively calm. When the launch officer launches a plane he watches for the bow to hit bottom, and that way the plane will be launched as the bow comes up. In this case, a ROUGE wave caught the plane and it only happens once in a great while, but once is too many if you are the pilot. They came out of it damp and shaken, but that is a testament to a great engine, the Wright R1820.
From Navy records: How not to launch an aircraft in heavy seas: an S-2E Tracker is launched from USS Ticonderoga CVS-14 April-May 1971 from Philippine Islands to Japan. "Ltnt V-2 Div Officer was the pilot. The ship took a nose dive between waves just as the airplane reached the end of the flight deck. He said "after the plane went through the wave it stammered and sputtered for a few seconds then smoothed out and they had about 4" of water in the cockpit, it's a wonder that it didn't go down."
