Ground crew safety / genl info handout

[cco23i]

O.K,
For any and all ground crew reenactors or living historian I redid our hand out and if your interested chime in!

Scott

 

[Sgt Brown]

And.....?

(Nothing attached to your post.)

Tom

 

[cco23i]

I will send them Tom I guess I forgot for people to PM me. Sorry boss. Dang and I need your email address' as I have it save on my computer for the group.

Scott

 

[Gray Ghost]

PM heading your way.

=GG=

 

[Sgt Brown]

I will send them Tom I guess I forgot for people to PM me. Sorry boss. Dang and I need your email address' as I have it save on my computer for the group.

Scott

My number is 1-900-OLD-FART. Only $!.00 a minute!

Seriously 1939-1945@embarqmail.com

Tom

 

[Phantomfixer]

It is funny hearing about ground crew safety. I guess the USAAF was still learning in those days. How many times have you seen pictures of guys gassing up a plane with no ground wires and fuel gushing from the "over the wing" nozzle. How about homemade engine stands. I did notice they always had a firebottle handy!!! Safety first
have a good one Scott
John

 

[Stearmen]

High Octain Blood

It is funny hearing about ground crew safety. I guess the USAAF was still learning in those days. How many times have you seen pictures of guys gassing up a plane with no ground wires and fuel gushing from the "over the wing" nozzle. How about homemade engine stands. I did notice they always had a firebottle handy!!! Safety first
have a good one Scott
John

In WWII the ground crews would use high octane gasoline for every thing from cleaning parts and whole airplanes, to removing the summer camouflage from their assigned planes. I remember hearing a pilot on TV talk in tears about the time he told his Crew Chief that it was getting time to remove the summer paint, the next morning when he went to the flight line his fighter plane was natural metal, and his ground crew all had bloody hands! They scrubbed it with gasoline.

 

[cco23i]

Yup and THAT'S how it was done, heck we used JP-4 for EVERYTHING or as we called it the "magical mystery fluid" it cleaned an F-111 and man it looked good. Actually surprisingly the AAF did a LOT in the ways of safety ESPECIALLY compared to the civilian side of the house.

Scott

 

[jbmilart]

In WWII the ground crews would use high octane gasoline for every thing from cleaning parts and whole airplanes, to removing the summer camouflage from their assigned planes. I remember hearing a pilot on TV talk in tears about the time he told his Crew Chief that it was getting time to remove the summer paint, the next morning when he went to the flight line his fighter plane was natural metal, and his ground crew all had bloody hands! They scrubbed it with gasoline.

That my friend was Col. Bud Anderson who told that story and I met him at the 2010 Reno Air Races. He was a special guest with another friend of mine aviation artist, Lonnie Ortega who is a vendor there for about 20 years now. Bud Anderson doesn't live very far from Reno...Auburn, CA. and his very best friend Chuck Yeager lives 20 miles away in Grass Valley, CA. Bud Anderson signed his book, "To Fly and Fight" for me...I am hoping to do a squadron patch for him in the near future...maybe when I see him at the 2011 races.

Jim

 

[MPicciotto]

I'm reading the history of the 316th Troop Carriers right now. And while in North Africa the author tells the story of how one of the A/C was destroyed by fire and a crew chief wound up in the hospital when shortly after the deck was cleaned the C/C went to enter the A/C with a lit cigarette in his mouth.

Matt

 

[cco23i]

AND if you read the safety regs it CLEARLY states NO SMOKING on or near an aircraft after or during fueling. Hell into the 80's inside transports you were allowed to smoke during long flights.

Scott

 

[Sgt Brown]

Makes me think of something I read of a postwar incident involving General Curtis LeMay. He arrived at an airbase and was standing around the aircraft puffing away on his signature cigar. Some airman assigned to security had the guts to comment, "You know, Sir, you really aren't supposed to smoke around the aircraft. It might blow up." LeMay looked over, removed the cigar from his mouth and growled, "It wouldn't dare!"

Tom

PS. I got to meet Bud Anderson, Pete Petersen, Robin Olds and Chuck Yeager at the Lousiville, KY, airshow some years back. What a gang of guys! I have seen that video of Bud talking about his ground crew. The emotion is so real and gripping it makes a tear come to your eye, too.

 

[Phantomfixer]

If I remember the book right, Anderson made " a passing comment about the paint adding x amount of weight to the plane and how it would be 3-5 MPH faster without the paint". Or something like that.

I met Yeager in Germany, Ramstein actually he was coming to see his son. Can't confirm the reason and his son but I know he was there as he shook a 18 year old's very shaky hand. Gabreski's son was stationed at Ramstein too, as an F-4 pilot. Nice guy, I crewed his jet a time or two . Met Gabreski at Reading, Gabby's manager wanted me to "keep moving" then I brought up his son at Ramstein...the line stopped for 15 minutes, the manager hated me but Gabby loved to talk about his son.

 

[1930artdeco]

Av gas also does wonders for cooling down Beer

Mike

 

[cco23i]

Nah, liquid NITROGEN or OXYGEN!!

 

[MPicciotto]

I've heard of beer being taken up on "training flights" during WW2 and brought up to altitude to chill it down.

Matt

 

[cco23i]

I've heard that too. Heck we would be finishing up a job (this is in the 80's) and our section commander showed up in his military pick up and as soon as we had the airplane "buttoned up" he started handing out beers. Yup it was a rough life. lol

Scott

 

[Gray Ghost]

Av gas also does wonders for cooling down Beer

Mike

I heard from guys in the 13th Air Force that they would dig a hole on the beach, put their beer in the hole and pour Av Gas on it and when it evaporated, the beer was cold. They said it was not bad if you did not mind the smell of gas when you were drinking it. I was also told about how they would put beer and ice trays with water on to B-25s and take them up to altitude to do checks on the bomber. When they got back the beer would be cold and they would have ice in the trays. If it was just slush, they would take it up again on another test flight and that would take care of it. They finally appropriated, 10 finger discount, an ice cooler that happened to be laying around in the Red Cross tent. They did not need to take the bombers up on ice runs after that. Just never could understand why someone would just leave a perfectly good ice cooler laying around like that. The wonders that you will find in a jungle in the south pacific. LOL

=GG=

 

[cco23i]

There was a story of an American supply depot being captured in North Africa and the German pilots would take cases of Coke up and get them good and cold and bring them back when the "patrol" was done.

Scott

 

[Sgt Brown]

There was a story of an American supply depot being captured in North Africa and the German pilots would take cases of Coke up and get them good and cold and bring them back when the "patrol" was done.

Scott

Why would fine German airmen want anything to do with "decadent" Amerikaner soft drink? Adolph would never approve!

Tom