A cool project. But, the "catapult" on USS HUNTINGTON wasn't like the catapults that followed this one.
From these two images, you can see that the "catapult" was two "I-Beam" rails that were fixed in place by vertical supports. There was a gap in the supports to allow the aft turret to rotate. Shouldn't be too hard to duplicate.


This overhead view gives you a idea of the rail arrangement for stowage of aircraft and path to the "catapult".

A cool project. But, the "catapult" on USS HUNTINGTON wasn't like the catapults that followed this one.
From these two images, you can see that the "catapult" was two "I-Beam" rails that were fixed in place by vertical supports. There was a gap in the supports to allow the aft turret to rotate. Shouldn't be too hard to duplicate.
[url=http://s131.photobucket.com/user/TincanREDavis/media/TincanREDavis001/zCA5x16-25Jun17.lr_zps31cnceyh.jpg.html][img]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p303/TincanREDavis/TincanREDavis001/zCA5x16-25Jun17.lr_zps31cnceyh.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://s131.photobucket.com/user/TincanREDavis/media/TincanREDavis001/zCA5x14-7Jun17.lr_zps3fxpdyu6.jpg.html][img]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p303/TincanREDavis/TincanREDavis001/zCA5x14-7Jun17.lr_zps3fxpdyu6.jpg[/img][/url]
This overhead view gives you a idea of the rail arrangement for stowage of aircraft and path to the "catapult".
[url=http://s131.photobucket.com/user/TincanREDavis/media/TincanREDavis001/zCA5x17-25Jun17.lr_zps4kv7w4ul.jpg.html][img]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p303/TincanREDavis/TincanREDavis001/zCA5x17-25Jun17.lr_zps4kv7w4ul.jpg[/img][/url]