Royal Navy night operations depend on finding the carrier again after the strike. A navigator synchronizes a watch with a rotating beacon and uses the time at which its signal is heard to estimate the carrier's direction. Illuminated floats dropped astern provide an approach line, with lights lasting roughly thirty minutes. Radar and these navigation aids support a wider system for operating aircraft after dark. The approximate one-minute beacon cycle is qualified by an uncertain recollection that individual carriers used slightly different timings to hinder enemy use of the signal.
Notable Point · 37:19-38:38
How carrier beacons and illuminated floats supported night recovery
Timed radio signals help aircraft return to the carrier, and illuminated floats mark the final approach in darkness.