I worked on the engines of ten (10) these magnificent aircraft (F6F Hellcats) while stationed at Barber’s Point, Hawaii, several wooden deck aircraft carriers and at Moffett Naval Air Station.
Oops! No fly-over
One day, after my wife dropped me off at the Moffett Naval Station in
California, she stopped at a red light and was rear-ended by another driver. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
Then, the next day, after she dropped me off, a Lieutenant JG (junior grade)
walked up to me and said, “I hear your wife was in an accident.”
I said, “Yes, Sir. Some idiot
rear-ended her.”
He kind of smiled and said, “Yeah.
That idiot was me.”
I didn’t know what to say. Enlisted
men don’t insult officers.
But he said, “Let me explain. We had
just come off night maneuvers (Flying at night in close formation), and I was
bone-tired. As I was coming up on the
car ahead of me, I knew I was going too fast to stop in time. So, I pulled back on the steering wheel and
tried to fly over her.”
Hazards of the deck
Although there were many hazards working on the decks of aircraft
carriers, there were also dangers on the ground. An example happened one day while a small group
us were watching men servicing some jet aircraft. They were using a small trailer called a “bowser,”
which was a round, fiberglass tank (about 40 inches in diameter) filled with hi-pressure
air.
As we were watching, there was a tremendous explosion. When I looked over, I saw a man flying over
the top of the plane. The bowser had
exploded and propelled the man to his death.
We took that kind of accident in stride and continued our day.
Night-time: Flapping in the breeze.
If you ever want a little excitement in your life, work on the deck of
an aircraft carrier at night during takeoff/landing operations.
It was pitch-black, cold and loud (we wore attenuators, earmuff-like headgear
that blocked out much of the noise.) The
jets (Phantoms) were on the front of the deck, and our F6F Hellcats (prop-driven) planes were parked on the
fantail (rear of the deck.) The jets were
up front because they needed a short warm-up time. Our prop-driven planes needed more time to
warm up.
Having the jets and the F6Fs warming up at the same time created a windstorm
that could (and did) blow men overboard (That’s why they have a steel net on
the stern of the ship. I had one man go over and break a leg.) All we could do was wrap our arms around a wheel
strut and hang on tight.
Only after the jets finally took off could we remove the chocks and tie-downs
from our planes so they could taxi forward and take off. Our concern, then, was to stay away from the revolving
propellers that were almost invisible in the dark.
Then, by the time we got our planes off, it was time for the jets to
return. They would either “touch and go”
or go forward to tie-down. Then our Hellcats
would do the same thing. This would go
on for hours without breaks.
By the time night operations were over, we didn’t go to our bunks and lie
down: we flopped down and passed out.
Then, the operations would begin all over again the next day and into
the night.
Turn this ship around.
Not all ship operations went smoothly.
On one shakedown cruise, our aircraft carrier had its share of mishaps.
On the second day out to sea, a twin-engine mail plane crashed at sea
during taking-off. All hands and cargo were
lost.
On the fifth day, the ship was venting its gas tanks overboard (To keep
the fumes from accumulating, thereby creating an explosion hazard.) However, someone threw a lit cigar over the
side, which cause a fire, which burned the whole side of the ship.
On the ninth day, the catapult broke down and would need several days to
repair.
On the tenth day, the Admiral ordered the ship back to port.
Now, you would think it would be a time of rest and relaxation for
us. Nope, back to cleaning and servicing
our Hellcats. Or cleaning the flight
deck or painting bulkheads or…you get the idea.
Where are those critters?
Although life was generally grueling aboard ship, there were lighthearted
moments.
One such occasion was looking for Wombats, the elusive critters that
follow ships and expose themselves only during moonlit nights.
Every new crewmember would be told the story. Some believed, some didn’t. Those that did might spend several nights on the fantail in the freezing cold, looking for the critters. It was all taking in good humor and helped to bond the men together as a team.
