When you mentioned sight off Cuba, a situation occurred in 1964 to us aboard the R/V Robert D. Conrad WHBA, a scientific survey ship operated by Lamont Observatory which was a part of Columbia University. We were on the southern coast of Cuba taking core samples, mapping the bottom and who. knows what else when a single engine Cuban aircraft buzzed us at bridge height, you could see the pilots face and feel the fillings in your teeth rattle. He was that close, a hand painted Cuban flag on the tail. The rest of the story goes on when a short time later a US Navy jet buzzed us a couple of times.

You would have thought this was the end of aircraft for the day, well sure enough a while later a 4-engine US Navy patrol plane showed up and this is where I had my first blinker light training with an aircraft. The only thing Ican remember was that the OM wasn't particularly happy!

‘The next morning we were stopped and circled by 4 Navy destroyers when their launch arrived alongside, guns in tow. Once aboard one chap wanted to see the radio room which said it all. Before the launch arrived back to their destroyer, the OM was using my amateur station making a phone patch to Lamont, the chief scientist Dr. Ewing explaining to him what happened. Of course he could have used the commercial cw station, this guy I think wanted to be ham! The guy who handled the patch was so nervous listening to what was going on he dropped the you this was all after the Bay of Pigs and we it! The vessel really did look like some sort of spy ship with all the antennas and other top side stuff...yes, the blinker light did work just fine.

73

Rich

N2NA