Cities at Sea: Thomas C. Houtz and the Art of Aircraft Carriers
November 1, 2011 to January 29, 2012

Courageous Calendars©, Carrier Air Calendar 2012, is the exclusive publication of D.L.Sears Books. Each one commemorates U.S. Navy ships, sailors and airmen in breathtaking full-color art and meticulous historical detail. These original works were created by master illustrator Thomas Calvin Houtz and depict timeless images of storied scenes and exploits.

USS Valley Forge, CV-45
Thomas Calvin Houtz
Ink and pencil

Crewmen aboard Essex-class USS Valley Forge use flight deck tractors with power brooms to sweep snow from the carrier's flight deck during operations off Korea, circa early 1951.

Inspired by a U.S. Navy black and white photo now in the National Archives

USS Princeton, CV-37
Thomas Calvin Houtz
Ink and pencil

Two Grumman F9F-2 "Panther" fighters dump fuel as they fly past Essex-class carrier USS Princeton during Korean War operations, circa May 1951.

Inspired by a Naval Historical Center photo

USS Intrepid, CVS-11
Thomas Calvin Houtz
Ink and pencil

Essex-class USS Intrepid steaming in the South China Sea, with her attack air group parked on the flight deck, September 13, 1966.

Inspired by a U.S. Navy black and white photo taken by V.O. McColley

USS Wasp, CV-18
Thomas Calvin Houtz
Ink and pencil

Essex-class USS Wasp ready for launching at the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, August 17, 1943.

Inspired by a U.S. Navy color photo now in the National Archives

USS Yorktown, CV-10
Thomas Calvin Houtz
Ink and pencil
USS Yorktown during the Marcus Island raid on August 31, 1943. Commander of Air Group Five (CAG-5) Lt. Comdr. James H. "Jimmy" Flatley sits in his F6F-3 Hellcat before takeoff.

Inspired by a U.S. Navy color photo by Lt. Charles W. Kerlee

USS Ranger, CVA-61
Thomas Calvin Houtz
Ink and pencil

Destroyer USS Hull (DD-945) steaming alongside USS Ranger in the Pacific Ocean, June 25, 1975.

Inspired by an official U.S. Navy black and white photo

USS Wasp, CV-7
Thomas Calvin Houtz
Ink and pencil
Lt. David McCampbell, Landing Signal Officer, bringing in planes, aboard USS Wasp, circa late 1941 or early 1942. McCampbell later became the Navy's top scoring ace in World War II.

Inspired by a U.S. Navy color photo now in the National Archives

USS Forrestal, CVA-59
Thomas Calvin Houtz
Ink and pencil

USS Forrestal catapults a FJ-3 Fury jet fighter from a midships catapult, March 12, 1956. Another FJ-3 and a F2H-3 Banshee are being readied for launching from the bow catapults.

Inspired by a U.S. Navy color photo by N.W. Bitzer now in the National Archives

USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63
Thomas Calvin Houtz
Ink and pencil

Amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD-4), guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG-62), guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62), and USS Kitty Hawk shown underway during a formation exercise with Destroyer Squadron Fifteen in the Pacific Ocean, August 2005.

USS Yorktown, CVS-10
Thomas Calvin Houtz
Ink and pencil

USS Yorktown at sea off Hawaii, circa the early 1960s, with HSS-1 helicopters on her flight deck.

Inspired by a U.S. Navy color photo from the collections of the Naval Historical Center

USS Ticonderoga, CVA-14
Thomas Calvin Houtz
Ink and pencil

USS Ticonderoga refueling from USS Ashtabula (AO-51) while operating off the coast of Vietnam, circa early 1966.

Inspired by a U.S. Navy black and white photo from "All Hands" magazine