The glinting flash of the checkered flag, in the hand of the Flight Deck Officer...the thundering roar of smoothly harnessed horsepower...and a Grumman fighter races down the aircraft carrier's flight deck to take off into the wind. Even as it rolls forward, plane directors wave another into the take-off spot to follow in a matter of seconds. The torpedo and dive bombers will swing away in turn as the fighters rendezvous aloft to form a protective air umbrella.