My Carrier War by Norman E. Berg

Author:Norman E. Berg [Berg, Norman E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biographies & Memoirs, Leaders & Notable People, Military, History, World War II, Professionals & Academics, Military & Spies
ISBN: 9781555717353
Amazon: B00BUW9N14
Publisher: L&R Publishing/Hellgate Press
Published: 2013-03-01T11:00:00+00:00

Carrier Quals at Sea

I didn’t get a lot of rest that night. Too many strange noises from the ship and then all the procedures I would have to follow trying to land aboard were not conducive to sleep. I still felt rested, though, as I arrived at the ready room at 0630. Three other pilots gathered in the ward room for breakfast before the briefing.

The LSO began the briefing. “OK, guys, you’ve all done well with the FCLP. You all know the landing signals that I’ll be using. Berg, you still tend to be a little fast on the final. Get set up on the downwind leg, with your altitude and speed correct for a landing. Now, one word of warning. You’re not landing on a runway like in FCLP. This is a moving landing platform. The runway where you’ve been doing FCLP was not 60 feet above the surface, and it was not moving forward and up and down. You may feel a bit disoriented on your first pass. Guys, just follow my signals, and I’ll get you aboard. OK, I’ll turn you over to the flight deck officer.”

Damn! What’s this disorientation stuff? Just follow his signals he says. “Berg, you’re fast”...well, what’s my choice? OK, calm down. Hundreds of Navy pilots have made carrier landings. Just go do it!

We listened up as the flight deck officer reviewed the signals we would receive after landing and preparing to take off again. “Tail hook retracted; landing flaps down; taxi to take-off spot; go over take-off checklist; hold brakes; turn up full power; salute when ready for takeoff.”

He continued, “Remember pilots, we want each of you to make six landings. Flight conditions are near perfect. We have 12 to 15 knots of wind from the southeast. The carrier will turn into the wind for flight operations. The carrier speed will be 14 knots. This combination will give us an average of 26 to 29 knots of wind over the deck for landings. Any questions? OK, I’ll see you on the flight deck. Good luck.”

I quickly calculated my final approach’s air speed by estimating my plane would be going around 80 knots as I approached the flight deck, subtract the wind over the deck of 26 to 29 knots from my 80 knots of indicated air speed, and my actual speed on final approach would be between 51 and 54 knots. Damn! He was right—perfect conditions. This was going to be a snap!

The order came over the intercom in the ready room, “Pilots, man your planes.” As the four of us headed for the flight deck, I thought of those pilots at the Battle of Midway, old Torpedo Eight; they all had heard the same message. For me, this time it was just for carrier quals. For them, it was death in battle.

My thoughts quickly shifted back to the situation at hand as I arrived on the flight deck. My plane was spotted second for takeoff. A young sailor helped me strap on my parachute and hook up the radio cords to my helmet.

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