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In the December 2003 issue of National Geographic (Vol. 204, No. 6) in an
article Wings of Change by Michael Klesius, Arlen Rens, a Lockheed Martin test
pilot says: “Airplanes are now built to carry a pilot and a dog in the cockpit.
The pilot’s job is to feed the dog and the dog’s job is to bite the pilot if
he touches anything.”
Many of the stories relate to “peace keeping” deployments while some take place during the Vietnam War era. Together they become a sort of history of carrier antisubmarine operations and related activities of that time period. There are stories of heroic performances, shipboard humor, operational screw-ups, unusual events, liberty, problems encountered, and the aircraft. The stories primarily take place from the mid-1950s into the early 1970s, that period when the antisubmarine aircraft carriers and antisubmarine squadrons were in existence. The stories are from pilots, crewmen and maintenance personnel involved in the early training cycles and deployments of the S2F-1 (S2A), S2F-2 (S2C), S2F-3 (S2D) and S2E Trackers; the HSS-1 (SH-34) Seabat and HSS-2 (SH-3A) Sea King helicopters; the AD-5W (EA-1E) Skyraider and the A-4C Skyhawk. All versions of these aircraft had autopilots that would maintain set altitudes, but only in later versions of these aircraft did the pilots have basic luxuries of computer-controlled systems. When they launched from sea or land, the pilots were at the controls and monitoring their flights at all times. It was not an era of dogs in the cockpits! These stories were mainly collected from an email system set up for Carrier Antisubmarine Air Group Fifty Seven (CVSG-57) personnel. The units in the Air Group were fixed-wing squadrons VS-35 and VS-37; helicopter squadron HS-2; detachments from VAW-11 and VAW-13 (early warning squadrons) and a H&MS-15 (Marine detachment intercept/attack squadron). These are persons interested in maintaining contacts and sharing their memories and experiences from their days in the units that made up CVSG-57. Others stories have been exchanged between themselves or told at group reunions. There is some overlap into the pre-CVSG-57 period by personnel that were in units that would later become part of CVSG-57 as well as some stories that were experienced after their days in CVSG-57. The main chapters are stories that relate specifically to carrier antisubmarine operations and the men who served. Some of the stories are truly amazing. In some instances the pilots used all of their training and experience but only made it to safety because of their unwillingness to give in to what appeared to be the inevitable, times when even the slightest miscalculation or a poor judgment call would mean disaster. One might perceive that the shipboard landings presented the most hazardous conditions for Naval Aviators to master, yet among the most amazing of the fixed-wing stories tell of take-off situations. But, don’t quit with these stories, as there are a number of landing situations, both for the fixed-wings and the helicopters. The helicopter pilots were called upon to perform hazardous duty that went beyond the range of normal operations. A rescue in high winds and heavy seas from a British vessel in the Sea of Japan is told by Bob Chamberlain and Ted Sholl. Then in Zero Zero weather, that’s fog at its worst, in the South China Sea, Wayne E. Wollard tells of finding a ship that needed an ill sailor to be evacuated by flying up the wake until he found the ship. There are also some surprising stories that one would not expect. How about the one where Jim Wiley, in an AD (Spad) shot down a Russian built MIG? Or, Stan Palmer intercepted, yes intercepted and joined up on a Russian Badger with his S2 (Stoof). It is surprising what a couple of prop planes, manned by Naval Aviators, are capable of. And then there is Tim Metzel’s story of why flight operations on the USS Ticonderoga had to be aborted – due to butterflies. There is the story told by Thomas R. Vaden about night operations involving ships and planes where the pilot of a Stoof saw the light on a destroyer, mistook it for another Stoof, and reported “You go high, I’ll go low.” One of the best stories by a maintenance man, Terry L. McGinnis, was the toss of a prop dome oil ring overboard that came back like a Frisbee, and . . . . One landing incident occurred when a Stoof piloted by Geary Martin made an adjustment after he was committed to a trap when, after the “cut,” he observed that a sailor had ventured into the landing area. His split-second response saved the man’s life. In some of the cases cited, the pilots received commendations. In most, they received nothing but the satisfaction of succeeding under adverse circumstances and the memories they could pass on to their children and grandchildren. This is what being a Naval Aviator is all about. These events, as well as many of the others related herein, couldn’t have been performed by a computer in the cockpit. As for the dog, well his puppies will have to be saved for a future time when Naval Aviation becomes more predictable. These stories are all good, don’t miss them. The stories may not reflect the “normal” operations of an antisubmarine carrier air group, but just the same, they provide a history of these sea-going operations. Donald R. Elliot To purchase copies of this book, contact Don via e-mail at drdselliot@earthlink.net or write him at 6682 N. Hillpark Avenue Parker, CO 80134-6386 |
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