Victorious on 27 July 1943, four days before departing Noumea, New Caledonia?and U.S. Navy service. The Royal Navy personnel mustered on the flight deck retain the U.S. Navy shipboard working uniforms originally issued at Norfolk: khakis for officers, dungarees for enlisted sailors, worn with Royal Navy covers. Saratoga, Victorious?s consort during the New Georgia campaign, may be seen in the background (Imperial War Museum A 19653).