[ARC5] WWII Navy Pilots info

[Mike Bracey]

 Rod,
Thanks for posting this I found this very interesting. I had always heard that fighter pilots mostly communicated with each other using hand signals. It was nice to have it verified by the real pilots. God Bless those heroes.
Mike KE5YTV


    On Tuesday, July 16, 2019, 12:13:49 PM CDT, revcom at wbsnet.org <revcom at wbsnet.org> wrote:  
 
 ARC-5ers

This may or may not be of any interest, but thought would post it and see
if anyone liked it.
I ran across my notes just the other day.


A couple years ago I did a 'mini-survey' with a couple of WWII Navy
pilots. I was trying to find out the radio usage they experienced.

1. Ray Lindsay, age 94, (my father-in-law, now deceased)
-Rank... Ensign
-Time in Navy.....1943-1945
-What plane(s) did you fly?.....Hellcat-F6E
-What carrier was you stationed on?...USS White Plains, CVE-66
 base out of Oahu.
-Did you have any combat missions...No, mostly escort and training
 missions in the Pacific.

 RADIO USAGE
-Did you tune the radio sets....No, they were set up by flight crew.
-Did you use the radio much?...Very little
-Who did you talk to?...Got signals from carrier, no plane to plane
 conversations at all, used hand signals mostly.
-What type of Microphone did you use?.....Throat, later a hand type.
-Did you use code (CW) any?....No, but had to pass 12 word per minute
 in training.  Never used a key in the plane.
-Did you utilize radio direction finding?...Got signal from carrier, a
-To/From- signal.
-Did you ever have to adjust the radios?...No
-Where was radio equipment located?....Behind me I think, all handled by
 flight crew.
-What was most memorable use of radio?...During a training mission in
 Florida, on a landing approach, my engine quit, I had a crash landing.
 The control tower said "get out, you are on fire!"  I did!  I had live
ammo on plane.

2. Freeman Knight, age 99 (still with us!!)
-Rank...Lt JG
-Time in Navy...1942-1945
-What plane(s) did you fly?...Hellcat, Wildcat and Corsair
-What carrier was you stationed on?...USS Wasp, CV-18
 based out of Boston.
-Did you have any combat missions?...Yes, in the Pacific

 RADIO USAGE
-Did you 'tune' the radio sets?...No, they were set on channel
 by the  flight crew before we took off.
-Did you use the radio much?...Not much at all.
-Who did you talk to?...The ship, mostly, got mission summary from them.
-What type of microphone did you use?...Hand type, hung up in cabin.
-Did you use code (CW) any?...No, we got an "A" and "N" signal from ship.
 I did have to pass a code test in training.
-Did you ever have to adjust the radios?...No
-Where were the radios located?...Either on the firewall or behind the
 seat, I'm not sure, never actually saw them.
-What was the most memorable use of radio?...I remember it very clearly,
 was August 15th, 1945. Was on a 'scouting mission'. We got a message.
 "Drop your ammo, the war is over!"  We all yelled in the radio then!

Both were interesting fellers to talk with.

73
Rod
KØEQH

















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