Interesting background about US ships and pilots here: http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/airfields/los2.html

The battleships were there to bombard targets on land. Aircraft were used as artillery spotters but I don’t think they used their own Kingfishers, instead the USN borrowed some Spitfires for the invasion period.

Edit

Model Aircraft Monthly Feb 2007

‘Spotting for Uncle Sam ‘The US Navy’s Spitfires at D-Day’ Andrew Thomas describes the little-known use of Spitfires in the US Navy!

“During the planning of ‘Operation Overlord’ it was intended that a major element of the initial fire support to the landing forces on the days immediately following D-Day would be provided by naval bombardment from Allied battleships and cruisers sitting off the Normandy coast. The gunfire support spotting was clearly seen as a Naval task, so several Fleet Air Arm squadrons, as well as a number of RAF units, were specially trained and formed the Air Spotting Pool’ This Pool also had another, somewhat unusual, squadron – a spotting unit of the US Navy. Most major US Navy warships embarked catapult seaplanes for spotting duties, but it was recognised that over Normandy the possibility of enemy fighter opposition meant the current embarked types, the Curtiss SOC Seagull and Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes, would be highly vulnerable. lt was therefore agreed that Britain would loan the US Navy sufficient Spitfires for a spotting squadron and so Cruiser Scouting Squadron 7, (abbreviated as VCS-7), came to fly the only Spitfires ever operated by the USN, albeit in British markings.”

Thanks Consul & Antoni – very interesting!