The Long Way Home by Ed Dover

Author:Ed Dover [Dover, Ed]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Aviation, Flying Boats, History, Non-Fiction, World War II
ISBN: 9780615214726
Amazon: 061521472X
Publisher: Ed Dover
Published: 2010-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

Crew members at their stations on the flight deck.

From L to R: Navigator, Pilot and Co-Pilot, Radio Officer, Engineering Officer

CHAPTER X

EDGE OF THE WAR ZONE

On the morning of December 19th, John Steers heard the sound first. He had slept in one of the main cabin bunks near the sea wing entry hatch. The banging sound seemed far off at first, as if it were part of some dream. But, as it continued to intrude on his senses, he awoke to realize that someone was banging on the hatch from the outside.

“Okay! Okay!” he finally called aloud. “Just a minute!”

When he opened the hatch he saw the harbormaster from the evening before standing on the sea wing smiling at him.

“Good morning, sir!” the harbormaster greeted him. “May we speak to your captain? We need to arrange for your refueling. Also we can take you ashore for breakfast if you wish.”

“Yeah, okay,” Steers replied, still groggy from too little sleep. “Just a minute and I’ll get him for you.”

He made his way to the forward crew compartment where Bob Ford had bunked down. By now the rest of the crew were also stirring awake.

“What is it, Johnny?” Ford asked, as he crawled out of the bunk.

“The Dutch harbormaster is alongside. Wants to see about refueling. And he says we can come ashore for breakfast.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to him. Might as well do that. The refueling could take some time.”

Ford came to the open hatch where the harbormaster was waiting. “Good morning, sir. I understand you are ready to refuel us?”

“Yes, Captain. My crew can bring the petrol out as soon as you give the word.”

“Let me talk to my flight engineer first. Your Colonel Koenrad said we could get only 90 octane auto gas. We may have to make some fuel management adjustments to compensate for the lower octane. Shouldn’t take too long. Meanwhile, can you take the rest of my crew ashore?”

“Yes, that will be fine. We’ll take them ashore, then return with the petrol.”

All the crew members, except Ford, Swede Rothe, and Jocko Parrish, boarded the patrol boat and went ashore. As soon as they were clear, Ford turned to Rothe.

“Swede,” he explained, “they can only give us 90 octane auto gas. What’s the status of our remaining 100 octane?”

“The lower sea wing tanks are down to one third and the outboard mains are just about dry. I suggest we transfer all the remaining 100 octane to the inboard mains where we can reserve it for takeoff and landing. Load the 90 octane into the other tanks and try to use it only for en route cruising. That way, if we run into any power problems like pre-detonation or backfiring it won’t be during critical takeoff or landing operations.”

“Okay, let’s do it.”

The trio returned to the flight deck. Rothe powered up the auxiliary power generator and switched on the fuel transfer pumps. Soon, the remaining 100 octane was transferred from the sea wing tanks and outboard tanks to the main inboards.

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