Chapter 11

“I wasn’t the only instructor transferred to the 124th, though one of the few with combat experience. There were several points we wanted to drill home to the men that might save their lives: learning the Thach Weave and how to survive should they have to bail out or ditch their plane in the water.”Â

“First, I told the others about Lieutenant Commander Thach, the combat manoeuvres he created, and what he and Lieutenant O’Hare had taught me. I used models of the Corsair to simulate how we’d cover each other’s wings and attack the enemy plane following behind.”

“It was difficult to give practical lessons while on the ground, so we devised a plan. When it was time to practise, we suggested the planes fly in formation while, 1,000 feet below, three of us demonstrated the Thach Weave. It was easier to show them in the air at speed than to simulate it. When we had the target in our sights, we’d say, ‘Guns, guns, guns,’ to pretend to fire on the enemy plane. We weren’t allowed to do any target practise at all with real ammunition at first, only with blanks to simulate the feeling and sounds, and some didn’t fire their guns until flying in combat.”

“Back in the classroom, if you have to do a controlled ditching, try to be as parallel to the water as much possible and let the tail hit first, or you’re in for a sudden stop. Usually the propeller will catch the surface and cause the plane to flip over, like it almost happened to me, and you’re most likely to panic. Sadly, some pilots had to ditch their planes; the canopy would jam shut, and they drowned.”

“We had every plane equipped with a piece of metal, similar to a screwdriver, that we could jam into the rails of the canopy so it wouldn’t shut closed on us. Then I was asked to explain how I got the nickname Skipper. We also demonstrated how to get your life raft from the compartment behind the cockpit.”

“If you have to bail out of your plane, try to invert, push the stick forward, and let gravity help you out to the side. Many a pilot has been severely injured or killed because they hit the tail section of their plane. Also, remember that you are fighting against winds that match your air speed when you have to bail out.”

“If you witness one of us downed and land in the water, if at all possible, make several passes to see if he is alive, and tilt your wings to let him know you’ve seen him, then report his position. Hopefully he can be rescued.”

“We were able to use a fifty-foot-high platform set in water to simulate landing by parachute. A few didn’t know how to swim and had to be taught. We each had to be able to inflate our Mae West vests and get out of our parachute harness before we’d be pulled under water.”

“We practised formation flying and pretend strafing of land and water targets. I was eager to see what my Corsair could do and put her through her paces. I couldn’t believe how fast, agile, and responsive she was to the stick. The split S was so easy to do, as were other moves.”

“One manoeuvre I wanted to try was the inverted flat spin. I wanted plenty of altitude and climbed to about 18,000 feet. I put her nose down and rolled her over into the spin. After several turns, I switched the fuel to rich, causing dark smoke to billow from the exhaust. She handled the spins much better than my Wildcat, and after twenty turns, she slowed her rotation and rolled out of it.”

“November and the early part of December passed by quickly as we got used to flying together and practising combat manoeuvres. Training involved gunnery with 50-calibre machine guns and dive bombing practice with live bombs, napalm, and rockets. We did extensive formation flying in very tight formations, doing acrobatic and evasive practice tactics and the Thach Weave.”

“Lieutenant Walsh became our resident photographer, taking pictures for prosperity of us and our planes during training in San Diego and when we deployed. We needed more training in the air, but we were told we’d learn from experience on the job, so to speak. Despite having only about twenty to twenty-five hours of flying time each, the 124th was declared operational and ready for combat on December 28th. Sadly, we lost one pilot due to a training accident, Lieutenant Lanyon. We also lost four Corsairs.”

“I remember that the 124th first comprised of Major Gise, twenty-nine pilots, twenty-four Corsairs, approximately 230 ground crew, and a civilian from the Vought Air Company, Mel Raffo, for technical issues. We made our way towards the Solomon Islands on 8 January of ‘43, and several ship changes later, we arrived on Espiritu Santo on 29 January. Unfortunately, our ground support crews didn’t accompany our Corsairs, so there was a shortage of maintenance personnel.”

“I remember Major Gise telling us to prepare our own assigned planes. The black goo that covered the white lettering and decals was hell to get off. The guys had no clue how to load 2400 rounds of ammo into the six Browning machine guns. Luckily, I had helped reload Wildcat’s guns on my carriers with the same ammo, so I showed them how. We also had to dig foxholes in case the Japanese attacked. The holes had to be deep enough to stand in at ground level. Palm tree trunks, and sandbags were placed around them for further protection.”