Navy nostalgia (hurricane hunters)

Received this in an e-mail this morning and thought I'd pass it
along....


--------------------------------start------------------------




Thanks to Shadow -

With the two new storms out there threatening to do havoc once
again... I can't help but think of my Dad and the guys he flew with in
the "Hurricane Hunters".

My first memories go back to Opa Locka... when they were flying
PB4Y-2's... I think they were VJ-2 in those days, later VP-23 and then
VW-4. The squadron was very popular in Miami... in fact I think some
politician offered to have the city pay for their gas if the Navy
would leave them there, instead of moving them to NAS Jacksonville.

Once in Jax... they eventually transitioned to the P2V-3's then 5's
then 7's. Their first Connie was a small one. Most folks don't know
the Connie came in two sizes... then they went to Super Connies...
many years later, the P-3.

The difference between the Navy's Hurricane Hunters and the Air
Force... is our Hunters made the dangerous, low level penetrations.
Usually a thousand feet or less (my Dad preferred 500 feet). Now for
those of us who have flown into a couple of T-storms... imagine what
it was like flying a non-pressurized aircraft into one of those
beasts... and have to spend hours in them. Frankly... I think it took
Grande Huevo's to do it even once... much more do it over a number of
years.

My Dad flew with Miller Bell for a number of years... they were like
brothers. The crews were like extended families... having crew picnics
and get togethers. I remember more than once as a kid... being woken
up in the night by someone rapping on my window saying... "Hey wake up
Staff... They just called us to go fly a storm". I remember watching
Gone With The Wind at the base theater with Mom and Dad... when they
flashed my Dad's name along side the big screen to report to the
squadron, with crew, to fly a storm... That's the way it was in those
days... when on alert you had to be reached no matter what... more
often than not during the season... it would occur at least a dozen
times.

The squadron was also good to the families... keeping us informed as
to when they would return. A tradition in our family was no matter
what the time... Mom and I would go down to the squadron to meet the
plane when it came in. My Dad would let me help unload a lot of their
stuff... and it didn't mean that much to me then... but awed me later
in life... when my Dad would show me popped rivets... and actual "salt
balls" caked between the cylinders of the big Wrights from the salt
spray off the ocean. To an 8 year old... it went over my head... but
later with the knowledge of being a Naval Aviator myself... it gave me
the Willies!

Talk about stress! Most of us Fighter/Attack types generally had to
deal with it compressed into a few minutes... these guys did it for as
much as ten hours! To me, one of the miracles of Naval Aviation... was
that in all the years they flew the storms... they only lost one plane
and crew in one. They came close a few times... my Dad and Miller
actually hit the water once (going in)... lost the radome and a few
other parts... but they made it out. One of the Connies lost a wing
tip tank and about 3 feet of wing, supposedly making it un-flyable,
according to the book... and then they lost the other tip tank and
about 6 feet of wing on the other side... They limped into San Juan on
a wing and a prayer with only two engines turning. By this time I was
16 and became astute enough to always check and see how many engines
were feathered when one of the squadron planes came home... it was
almost common to see one feathered... not that uncommon to see two
sitting still.

Other fond memories... My Dad would store the cases of booze for the
un-married enlisted guys in my closet (no booze in the barracks in
those days)... every Friday or Saturday, someone would come by and
draw a bottle out of a case... that went on until the Chaplain was
making a visit one day... he came back to my room as I was building a
plastic model and saw I was using as case of Seagrams for a desk... my
Mom was humiliated... especially since I had my closet door open and 5
other cases sat inside. She was beside herself... trying to explain
they weren't ours but we were storing them for other crew members. He
was cool with it, smiled and said, "I understand".

I also remember being on top of the world, when Buzz Sawyer spent
about two weeks of cartoon life with the squadron and it showed my
Dad's likeness and Buzz getting into their flight gear to go fly a
storm... For those of you who don't know... Buzz Sawyer was the Navy's
answer to Steve Canyon , albeit in a more limited distribution. First
comic strip I read everyday.

The Hunters have been disbanded for decades now... but the legend
should live on forever... one of the toughest, most dangerous jobs in
the history of Naval Aviation... not all mulit-engine guys were
weenies! By the way... the most decorated Naval Aviator of WW II...
was not a fighter pilot. He was a PB4Y pilot... betch'ya didn't know
that.

Fond Navy memories... Shadow


--------------------------end-------------------------

SNIP All

A nice piece. I recall the bad ole (pre-satellite) days when tracking was
done solely by the hurricane hunters. There'd be periods in the hurricane's
track when the the movement was positively bizarre. The Navy guys would
always attribute those periods to their USAF breathren. ;-). Interservice
rivalry happens EVERYWHERE.

Given the jinks of the two hurricanes now threatening us, it appears the
claim was unfounded ... but oh, such fun.

R / John

There is a book about the history of Navy Hurricane Hunters called The Wind
Chasers written by H.J. "Walt" Walter published in 1992 by Taylor Publishing
Co, Dallas, TX. Walters graduated Pensacola in 1954 and flew with VW-4 out
of JAX NAS. I was particularly interested in this book because my father,
Robert C. Knowles, Capt. USN (d. 1992), is listed in the book as C.O. of
VP-23 in 1949 (Pg 31) when the squadron flew the scenes for the movie
Slattery's Hurricane (Richard Widmark) and then flew around the country
promoting the film.

I was 5 years old then and my younger brother and I would be enlisted to sit
on a blanket on the cases of liquor in the back of the station wagon that
these guys would smuggle in from the islands during their patrols. We had
to look very innocent for my mother to drive out through the gate without
inspection. There were some great stories told of the flying then -- and
they got better as the night went on.

I know of one of the squadron pilots still with us living near Pensacola:
W. C. "Tommy" Thomas. He is in his eighties and still flies his own plane
parked behind his house in the country. He and I owned a small plane
together in the seventies.

Chandler Knowles, former Marine Airdale
Pensacola, FL


"Marine Airdale" wrote in message
...
Received this in an e-mail this morning and thought I'd pass it
along....


--------------------------------start------------------------




Thanks to Shadow -

With the two new storms out there threatening to do havoc once
again... I can't help but think of my Dad and the guys he flew with in
the "Hurricane Hunters".

My first memories go back to Opa Locka... when they were flying
PB4Y-2's... I think they were VJ-2 in those days, later VP-23 and then
VW-4. The squadron was very popular in Miami... in fact I think some
politician offered to have the city pay for their gas if the Navy
would leave them there, instead of moving them to NAS Jacksonville.

Once in Jax... they eventually transitioned to the P2V-3's then 5's
then 7's. Their first Connie was a small one. Most folks don't know
the Connie came in two sizes... then they went to Super Connies...
many years later, the P-3.

The difference between the Navy's Hurricane Hunters and the Air
Force... is our Hunters made the dangerous, low level penetrations.
Usually a thousand feet or less (my Dad preferred 500 feet). Now for
those of us who have flown into a couple of T-storms... imagine what
it was like flying a non-pressurized aircraft into one of those
beasts... and have to spend hours in them. Frankly... I think it took
Grande Huevo's to do it even once... much more do it over a number of
years.

My Dad flew with Miller Bell for a number of years... they were like
brothers. The crews were like extended families... having crew picnics
and get togethers. I remember more than once as a kid... being woken
up in the night by someone rapping on my window saying... "Hey wake up
Staff... They just called us to go fly a storm". I remember watching
Gone With The Wind at the base theater with Mom and Dad... when they
flashed my Dad's name along side the big screen to report to the
squadron, with crew, to fly a storm... That's the way it was in those
days... when on alert you had to be reached no matter what... more
often than not during the season... it would occur at least a dozen
times.

The squadron was also good to the families... keeping us informed as
to when they would return. A tradition in our family was no matter
what the time... Mom and I would go down to the squadron to meet the
plane when it came in. My Dad would let me help unload a lot of their
stuff... and it didn't mean that much to me then... but awed me later
in life... when my Dad would show me popped rivets... and actual "salt
balls" caked between the cylinders of the big Wrights from the salt
spray off the ocean. To an 8 year old... it went over my head... but
later with the knowledge of being a Naval Aviator myself... it gave me
the Willies!

Talk about stress! Most of us Fighter/Attack types generally had to
deal with it compressed into a few minutes... these guys did it for as
much as ten hours! To me, one of the miracles of Naval Aviation... was
that in all the years they flew the storms... they only lost one plane
and crew in one. They came close a few times... my Dad and Miller
actually hit the water once (going in)... lost the radome and a few
other parts... but they made it out. One of the Connies lost a wing
tip tank and about 3 feet of wing, supposedly making it un-flyable,
according to the book... and then they lost the other tip tank and
about 6 feet of wing on the other side... They limped into San Juan on
a wing and a prayer with only two engines turning. By this time I was
16 and became astute enough to always check and see how many engines
were feathered when one of the squadron planes came home... it was
almost common to see one feathered... not that uncommon to see two
sitting still.

Other fond memories... My Dad would store the cases of booze for the
un-married enlisted guys in my closet (no booze in the barracks in
those days)... every Friday or Saturday, someone would come by and
draw a bottle out of a case... that went on until the Chaplain was
making a visit one day... he came back to my room as I was building a
plastic model and saw I was using as case of Seagrams for a desk... my
Mom was humiliated... especially since I had my closet door open and 5
other cases sat inside. She was beside herself... trying to explain
they weren't ours but we were storing them for other crew members. He
was cool with it, smiled and said, "I understand".

I also remember being on top of the world, when Buzz Sawyer spent
about two weeks of cartoon life with the squadron and it showed my
Dad's likeness and Buzz getting into their flight gear to go fly a
storm... For those of you who don't know... Buzz Sawyer was the Navy's
answer to Steve Canyon , albeit in a more limited distribution. First
comic strip I read everyday.

The Hunters have been disbanded for decades now... but the legend
should live on forever... one of the toughest, most dangerous jobs in
the history of Naval Aviation... not all mulit-engine guys were
weenies! By the way... the most decorated Naval Aviator of WW II...
was not a fighter pilot. He was a PB4Y pilot... betch'ya didn't know
that.

Fond Navy memories... Shadow


--------------------------end-------------------------

Chandler Knowles wrote:
There is a book about the history of Navy Hurricane Hunters called The Wind
Chasers written by H.J. "Walt" Walter published in 1992 by Taylor Publishing
Co, Dallas, TX. Walters graduated Pensacola in 1954 and flew with VW-4 out
of JAX NAS. I was particularly interested in this book because my father,
Robert C. Knowles, Capt. USN (d. 1992), is listed in the book as C.O. of
VP-23 in 1949 (Pg 31) when the squadron flew the scenes for the movie
Slattery's Hurricane (Richard Widmark) and then flew around the country
promoting the film.

I was 5 years old then and my younger brother and I would be enlisted to sit
on a blanket on the cases of liquor in the back of the station wagon that
these guys would smuggle in from the islands during their patrols. We had
to look very innocent for my mother to drive out through the gate without
inspection. There were some great stories told of the flying then -- and
they got better as the night went on.

I know of one of the squadron pilots still with us living near Pensacola:
W. C. "Tommy" Thomas. He is in his eighties and still flies his own plane
parked behind his house in the country. He and I owned a small plane
together in the seventies.

Chandler Knowles, former Marine Airdale
Pensacola, FL


"Marine Airdale" wrote in message
...
Received this in an e-mail this morning and thought I'd pass it
along....


--------------------------------start------------------------




Thanks to Shadow -

With the two new storms out there threatening to do havoc once
again... I can't help but think of my Dad and the guys he flew with in
the "Hurricane Hunters".

My first memories go back to Opa Locka... when they were flying
PB4Y-2's... I think they were VJ-2 in those days, later VP-23 and then
VW-4. The squadron was very popular in Miami... in fact I think some
politician offered to have the city pay for their gas if the Navy
would leave them there, instead of moving them to NAS Jacksonville.

Once in Jax... they eventually transitioned to the P2V-3's then 5's
then 7's. Their first Connie was a small one. Most folks don't know
the Connie came in two sizes... then they went to Super Connies...
many years later, the P-3.

The difference between the Navy's Hurricane Hunters and the Air
Force... is our Hunters made the dangerous, low level penetrations.
Usually a thousand feet or less (my Dad preferred 500 feet). Now for
those of us who have flown into a couple of T-storms... imagine what
it was like flying a non-pressurized aircraft into one of those
beasts... and have to spend hours in them. Frankly... I think it took
Grande Huevo's to do it even once... much more do it over a number of
years.

My Dad flew with Miller Bell for a number of years... they were like
brothers. The crews were like extended families... having crew picnics
and get togethers. I remember more than once as a kid... being woken
up in the night by someone rapping on my window saying... "Hey wake up
Staff... They just called us to go fly a storm". I remember watching
Gone With The Wind at the base theater with Mom and Dad... when they
flashed my Dad's name along side the big screen to report to the
squadron, with crew, to fly a storm... That's the way it was in those
days... when on alert you had to be reached no matter what... more
often than not during the season... it would occur at least a dozen
times.

The squadron was also good to the families... keeping us informed as
to when they would return. A tradition in our family was no matter
what the time... Mom and I would go down to the squadron to meet the
plane when it came in. My Dad would let me help unload a lot of their
stuff... and it didn't mean that much to me then... but awed me later
in life... when my Dad would show me popped rivets... and actual "salt
balls" caked between the cylinders of the big Wrights from the salt
spray off the ocean. To an 8 year old... it went over my head... but
later with the knowledge of being a Naval Aviator myself... it gave me
the Willies!

Talk about stress! Most of us Fighter/Attack types generally had to
deal with it compressed into a few minutes... these guys did it for as
much as ten hours! To me, one of the miracles of Naval Aviation... was
that in all the years they flew the storms... they only lost one plane
and crew in one. They came close a few times... my Dad and Miller
actually hit the water once (going in)... lost the radome and a few
other parts... but they made it out. One of the Connies lost a wing
tip tank and about 3 feet of wing, supposedly making it un-flyable,
according to the book... and then they lost the other tip tank and
about 6 feet of wing on the other side... They limped into San Juan on
a wing and a prayer with only two engines turning. By this time I was
16 and became astute enough to always check and see how many engines
were feathered when one of the squadron planes came home... it was
almost common to see one feathered... not that uncommon to see two
sitting still.

Other fond memories... My Dad would store the cases of booze for the
un-married enlisted guys in my closet (no booze in the barracks in
those days)... every Friday or Saturday, someone would come by and
draw a bottle out of a case... that went on until the Chaplain was
making a visit one day... he came back to my room as I was building a
plastic model and saw I was using as case of Seagrams for a desk... my
Mom was humiliated... especially since I had my closet door open and 5
other cases sat inside. She was beside herself... trying to explain
they weren't ours but we were storing them for other crew members. He
was cool with it, smiled and said, "I understand".

I also remember being on top of the world, when Buzz Sawyer spent
about two weeks of cartoon life with the squadron and it showed my
Dad's likeness and Buzz getting into their flight gear to go fly a
storm... For those of you who don't know... Buzz Sawyer was the Navy's
answer to Steve Canyon , albeit in a more limited distribution. First
comic strip I read everyday.

The Hunters have been disbanded for decades now... but the legend
should live on forever... one of the toughest, most dangerous jobs in
the history of Naval Aviation... not all mulit-engine guys were
weenies! By the way... the most decorated Naval Aviator of WW II...
was not a fighter pilot. He was a PB4Y pilot... betch'ya didn't know
that.

Fond Navy memories... Shadow


--------------------------end-------------------------






Great stories! Thanks guys.