A Grumman F4F-4 <i>Wildcat</i> (BuNo 5246) of Fighting Squadron 72 (VF-72) from the aircraft carrier USS <i>Hornet</i> (CV-8) slides across the flight deck after landing aboard USS <i>Enterprise</i> (CV-6) as the carrier maneuvers violently under aerial attack during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942. The aircraft had been flown by Ensign Philip E. Souza. It was heavily damaged by Mitsubishi A6M2 <i>Zero</i>s from the aircraft carrier <i>Zuihō</i> while escorting a strike from <i>Hornet</i> at circe 0900 hrs (note the frozen right aileron and the 20mm cannon shell holes in the right wing). Souza reached the <i>Enterprise</i> circa at 1120 hrs, shortly before the carrier was attacked by dive bombers from the Japanese aircraft carrier <i>Junyō</i>. The <i>Wildcat</i> 5246 broke loose during the evasive maneouvering and slid across the deck with a collapsed landing gear. It was quickly pushed over the side.<br>
Note the smoke from a shot down plane aft of <i>Enterprise</i>.
U.S. Navy photo <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/wwii/wwii-pacific/wwii-pacific-guadalancanal/naval-battles/santa-cruz-islands/80-g-42560.html">80-G-42560</a>