A Veteran's Journey

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)

1. Who said, “A horse is dangerous at both ends and uncomfortable in the middle.”?
2. In what movie (and who said it) did we hear, “I love this place at night, the stars. There’s no right or wrong in them. They’re just there.”?
3. In what song (and who sang it) did we hear the following?
   Headin’ into twilight
   Spreadin’ out her wings tonight
   She got you jumpin’ off the deck
   Shovin’ into overdrive

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“Lost in Space:” Go Figure!

Back in the 60s, Lost in Space was a TV series (1965-68) that portrayed a family “lost” in space. No, I didn’t just make that up. It came on TV before Star Trek (1966) and I was in the 5th grade. The family name was “Robinson” (go figure!), and the youngest child’s name was “Will,” played by Billy Mumy. And… they had a robot (aptly named “Robby”) because… well, they were in space and… this was 60s TV.

And because I know children of the 60s want to know… Zorro (Guy Williams) played the father and Lassies’s “mom” (June Lockhart) played the mother. But I digress…

This was way (WAY) before computer graphics, CGI, and all that other technical Hollywoodized movie mumbo-jumbo magic. Stay with me here… I’m making a point.

In almost every episode, Will Robinson would wander off somewhere, doing something “not-so-smart,” like most teenagers or airdales did at one time or another and… eventually got into trouble.

The robot would start flailing his “clothes dryer vent pipe-like” arms all round, his bubble head lights would flash and he’d say (in his 60s robotic-like voice), “Danger Will Robinson, Danger!”

Anybody old enough to remember the original TV show, Lost in Space, or am I dating myself?

Flight Deck “Danger”

I bring up that old 60s TV series up because as an airdale, working on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, danger lurks everywhere, but there’s not always someone around to yell, “Danger, Chet Adkins, Danger!” That’s no surprise to anyone who’s been there & done that. For those who weren’t “lucky” enough to experience the flight deck, indulge me…

When flight operations began and the announcements started flowing over the 5MC (the flight deck PA system), the adrenaline kicked in—it was time to go to work. “Man all flight quarters stations. Secure all loose gear about the flight deck. Check fire bottles. Stand clear of propellers. Start engines.”

When we heard those announcements, we’d put on our “game face.” We upped our awareness level and our heads began that constant swivel motion that many of us still practice today—it’s something that never left me. And it’s especially useful now when I’m out riding my bike or in crowds.

Launch Dangers

USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) had 4 launch catapults: Cats 1 & 2 were the “bow” cats—located toward the bow on the starboard (“right”) side of the ship; Cats 3 & 4 were the “waist” cats—located amidships on the port (“left”) side.

Back in my day (mid-70s), it was common to find 50 aircraft on the flight deck, either parked or readying for launch. Aircraft would usually launch off Cats 1 & 2 or Cats 3 & 4, though it wasn’t uncommon to vary the launches.

As you can see with the photo, Cats #1, #3, & #4 are used. Aircraft are parked alongside Cat #2 on the bow, also known as “Fly 1.”

There were a few times, though, when we’d use all four catapults and launch 20 aircraft in under 10 minutes. That was… interesting and exciting.

And of course, there was the “Launch the Alert 5!” which I’ve previously blogged about.

The few launch incidents I remember most vividly were:

1. Blown down from a jet exhaust… it happens more times than you’d think. Most of the time, you can “feel” it about to happen and react to that. First, there’s the hot exhaust that quickly increases; then, if you’re lucky, you can spot the culprit aircraft out of the corner of your eye and move quickly.

The old firefighter’s adage, “Stop, Drop, & Roll” was something we all knew and practiced, grabbing a hold of a pad eye on the flight deck for that extra security measure. Fortunately, during Westpac ’75 and all the time I was aboard Kitty Hawk, no one was ever blown overboard.

There’s a short 30-second YouTube video of an airdale being blown down the deck from a launching EA-6 Prowler. Don’t worry—no blood, no death, no one gets hurt… but the stand-up finale is well worth the watch.

2. An A-7 Corsair launched off Cat #2 and dropped a 700-pound bomb that skidded down the flight deck before coming to a stop. I was driving the Crash truck at the time and that would be labeled a big “Oh Crap!” moment. Long story short, the bomb did not explode, and we used the Crash forklift to pick it up and dump it overboard. After that, back to a normal day of flight ops.

3. Then there was an F-4 Phantom that launched off Cat #3 in full afterburner (S.O.P.), but for some reason the tail stabilizer locked in full nose-up position. It didn’t take the pilot long before he punched out at about 700 feet above sea level—he and the RIO (Rear Intercept Officer) “gently” parachuted down into the water. The helicopter “plane guard” picked them up, and they were fine, though Davy Jones gained another F-4 Phantom for his locker.

4. We lost a shipmate when an HS-8 (“Eightballers”) plane guard helo in preparation for take-off from the flight deck lost hydraulics in the starboard landing gear and collapsed… with the airman inside the wheel well. That was no doubt the worst and I try not to think about it, but now and then, that horrible memory surfaces. I was one of the crewmen who helped put him into a stretcher to get him down to Sick Bay. Writing a blog post, “Gone in an Instant,” helped me get through that one.

We trained—constantly—for various situations. In most cases, training involved everyone on the flight deck, whether or not they wanted to participate in the training. There were usually about 200 men (and now women) on the flight deck during normal flight operations, and we all had our individual jobs to perform.

But when there was an emergency, an event, or worse—a crash—everyone had to up their game.

History is full of shipboard incidents, fires, explosions, etc. Heck, part of our training in the V-1 Division (flight deck) was to watch training films of various types of aircraft crashes and discuss how we’d react to the emergency.

Training is all well & good—and we did a ton of it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: your training automatically kicks in when needed. When it came down to it, I personally think that you can’t train for every incident, but all that training boosted our confidence to handle almost any situation. During my brief four-year Navy experience, I believe we did most things right.

And since I left the Navy, those instincts are still there and I still react, maybe not as quickly or as nimble as back then, but I still react. Anyone else?

Recovery Dangers

While a carrier can launch multiple aircraft simultaneously, only one aircraft can recover at a time. Yet, most of the training films we watched involved landing aircraft and all the things that can go wrong.

Picture this: a jet aircraft traveling about 120mph, landing at an angle on the flight deck of a moving, pitching (up and down), runway, trying to “catch” one of four arresting gear cables stretched across the deck with a tail hook the pilot can’t see, and coming to a dead stop within a few hundred feet…

I mean… what could go wrong?

Fortunately for me, there were only a few recovery mishaps.

1. There was that time when I was the Fly 3 Yellow shirt director, stationed at the “angle” of the carrier, ready to direct the landing aircraft out of the recovery area. An A-7 Corsair snagged an arresting gear cable, but the pilot didn’t realize it. He applied full power while yanking back on the elevator, thinking he’d completely missed all four cables (called a “bolter”). About 10 feet in the air, the A-7 smacked back down onto the flight deck. But thank the good Lord, nothing snapped, nothing broke, and the nose wheel didn’t jam up into the cockpit.

That was what we called a “skivvy-check” moment.

2. An HS-8 (“Eightballers”) helo came in too heavy, which is the main reason helicopters approach the flight deck from the port side and hover alongside the ship, before the helo flight deck director signals the pilot to fly over the carrier to land. This one particular helo came in too fast (I believe the investigators later determined it was an engine malfunction) and went straight to the water.

My friend Jack Kuiphoff was there and looked over the side of the ship and told me he saw the crewmen kicking out the windows to quickly get out of a sinking aircraft. All crew escaped unharmed; another plane guard helo from the same squadron rescued them.

Rig the Barricade

This never happened during the time I was aboard Kitty Hawk, but we certainly practiced “rigging the barricade”—probably every time we set out to sea. Practice, practice, practice.

All modern day Navy aircraft have tail hooks that “catch” one of 4, one-inch arresting gear cables stretched across the recovery area. These cables are connected up to a series of hydraulic systems that help “brake” the aircraft to a stop within a short distance.

The question is… what happens when the aircraft tail hook malfunctions AND the ship is nowhere near a land base which is where the aircraft would divert to for a safer landing.

Hence, the aircraft barricade, a 20-foot high “tennis net” designed to catch a landing 50,000 pound aircraft traveling 120 mph.

When it comes time to “rig the barricade,” all able-bodied hands on deck take part. Back in my day, we’d use an aircraft tow tractor to grab one end of the barricade from it’s in-deck storage and haul it across to the other side. Then, flight deck personnel would grab both top & bottom to stretch it out before the two end stanchions raised up from the flight deck to fully extend the barricade.

The ABEs (Aviation Boatswains Mate-Equipment) were in charge of the operation and knew what needed to be done and in what sequence.

The goal was to rig the barricade within five minutes, ready to recover the ailing aircraft.

I can’t say enough about teamwork. We all knew what we needed to do and when to do it and when done, we knew enough to get out of the way to let the ABEs finish the task.

Next came the hard part… waiting & worrying—anxious moments for all, especially the pilot. All eyes were on the approaching aircraft; all unnecessary personnel cleared the flight deck, and Crash crew suited up, ready in the event a fire broke out.

Like I mentioned earlier, I never experienced an aircraft landing in the barricade, but the shipmates that came before me during the Vietnam War… well, let’s just say they had more problem aircraft returning from a mission than we did.

Arresting Gear Cable…

I never saw this happen and there are a few YouTube videos in case you feel a need to watch, but one of my ABH “A” school instructors told us of a time when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye and immediately jumped up, lifting his feet off the flight deck as far as possible, but the snapped arresting gear cable took the heels right off his boots. He was fine… a little shaken, he said, but nonetheless, a “what if” he carried with him through his life.

Depending on airspeed, wind speed, and a bunch of other aerodynamics, an aircraft weighing 30,000 to 55,000 pounds lands on the flight deck with a speed of anywhere from 120 to 150 mph and stops within two seconds with the help of the aircraft’s tail hook grabbing the arresting gear cable. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a one-inch thick cable.

Sometimes, things go wrong and the cable snaps. That’s not a good day for anybody.

Imagine pulling a rubber band back… back… back… until it snaps. That hurts, but it’s only a sting.

When an arresting gear cable snaps from the tension of a landing aircraft, it’s the same principle as that rubber band, only it’s a lot bigger, a lot more tension, and causes a lot more damage.

I won’t go into details because I wasn’t there to witness it, but a snapped cable causes serious damage to nearby aircraft, equipment, and… shipmates.

Triggers

These are things I know I will Never Forget. Most of the time the memories stay below the surface, but periodically, something may trigger them back to the very forefront of my mind.

I also know from my own experience, there are certain triggers that cause a particular memory to surface. Fortunately for me, most of them are good thoughts—ocean breezes & salt spray in my face, spectacular sunrises and sunsets, and Navy coffee.

Helicopters don’t bother me anymore; in fact, I’ve ridden in both Navy helicopters and civilian tourist helicopters, and those memories from long ago events didn’t resurface. I try to focus on the more pleasant helicopter rides and that seems to work for me.

I smell diesel and often my thoughts go back to the flight deck, downwind of a jet exhaust. If I’m smelling that diesel and the wind picks up with a strong blow, I’m tempted to Stop, Drop, & Roll, but I catch myself and laugh it off. I know others who do the same.

Now and then when I my “spidey sense” tingles, I blurt out loud, “Danger, Will Robinson. Danger!”

And my wife gives me that look—you know THAT look—and all I can do is smile… because she knows.

Until we meet again,
Andy

Previous posts mentioned in this blog

• #33 – Launch the Alert 5!
• #26 – That Adrenaline Rush
• #37 – Hawaii, One Word: Beautiful!
• #36 – Gone in an Instant
• #3 – Between a Rock and a Hard Place
• #23 – Rough Seas: Sea of Japan

Answers

1. Ian Fleming.
2. Platoon (1986), Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe).
3. Highway to the Danger Zone (1986), Kenny Loggins; written by Giorgio Moroder & Thomas Ross Whitlock.

Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran (’73-77) and the author of several books. His newest novel, NEVER FORGET, is the story of A Vietnam Veteran’s Journey for Redemption & Forgiveness. NEVER FORGET is FREE (eBook, PDF) for all veterans. Download your FREE copy HERE.