(Corky Scott) wrote

He returned to the states after his first deployement, and worked up
in the PB4Y-2 as a plane captain.

Corky, if your father was a Naval Aviator, he probably was not a
"plane captain". In the Navy, a "plane captain" is an enlisted
man who is responsible for the preparation of the aircraft prior
to flight. He "owns" the aircraft while it is on the ground.
The terminology for the PIC of a patrol plane has changed a little
through the years. When I first qualified in P-2V Neptunes, the
PIC was called the "Patrol Plane Commander" (PPC), this being the
final step of the PP3P, PP2P, PPC qualificaion procedure. The Navy
allowed a nugget pilot 18 months to qualify as a PPC, however
there was no garantee that there would be enough aircraft in the
squadron for every PPC to have a plane and crew. It was common to
have a copilot who was a rated PPC in the aircraft but was not
senior enough to command a crew. Later, just as I left the Navy
after a tour in P-3 Orions, non-pilot tactical co-ordinators were
replacing the PP3Ps back in the "tube" running the tactical aspects
of the mission. As time went on, these "TACCO"s became senior to
the PPCs and the conduct of the mission was turned over to the
senior qualified man on board as the "Combat Aircrew Commander".
The Brits had used this system for many years.

Bob Moore
PPC P-2V VP-21
CAC P-3B VP-46