A lot of ships in ww2 had small catapults on them for scout/recon planes, where did they land? Did they just lad in the nearest place to dry land and abandon the aircraft, or could they have landed them near the ship and recover them with cranes?
They were floatplanes, so they would land in the water next to the ship and be craned aboard. There are pictures here of Iowa launching and recovering her OS2U Kingfisher planes. The ship would trail a canvas recovery sled, onto which the plane would taxi and be towed at the speed of the ship. The backseater would then climb out and grab the crane hook and secure it to the aircraft. The plane was then winched onto the deck. They could also have wheels attached, mainly for flying in and out of ports.
For the US, these were Curtiss SOC Seagulls or Vought OS2U Kingfishers, sometimes the horrible Curtiss SO3C Seamew, and late in the war, the Curtiss SC Seahawk.
The Japanese scout plane at Midway, "Tone 4", operating off the heavy cruiser Tone, was a Aichi E13A "Jake".
The British favored the Supermarine Walrus, the Germans the Arado Ar 196.