humor in bad times

[joeblogs]

I am reading John Lundstrom's "The First Team & The Guadal Canal Campaign." This is the second of two wonderful books on US Navy & Marine fighter squadrons in the pacific during 1942.

There is a passage that describes the loss of the USS Wasp in September of that year. At the time there were only two U.S. fleet carriers operating in the area Wasp & Hornet (Enterprise was badly damaged by bombs in August & Saratoga was torpedoed & under repair). The Wasp was hit by as many as 4 torpedos from an I boat and lit up very fast.

This so discomforted the pilots on Hornet that, when they had a chance, they gathered up their entire stash of liquor and stowed it in an SBD to fly to Espiritu. Unfortunately, the aircraft encountered bad weather, got lost and crashed.

The Hornet was not touched...

-blogs

[Pongo]

Have to find those books.

[APDrone]

http://www.usni.org/press/press.html

[joeblogs]

I should add the pilot lived, so he had to explain what happened to his buddies...

-blogs

Originally posted by joeblogs
I am reading John Lundstrom's "The First Team & The Guadal Canal Campaign." This is the second of two wonderful books on US Navy & Marine fighter squadrons in the pacific during 1942.

There is a passage that describes the loss of the USS Wasp in September of that year. At the time there were only two U.S. fleet carriers operating in the area Wasp & Hornet (Enterprise was badly damaged by bombs in August & Saratoga was torpedoed & under repair). The Wasp was hit by as many as 4 torpedos from an I boat and lit up very fast.

This so discomforted the pilots on Hornet that, when they had a chance, they gathered up their entire stash of liquor and stowed it in an SBD to fly to Espiritu. Unfortunately, the aircraft encountered bad weather, got lost and crashed.

The Hornet was not touched...

-blogs

[Ouch]

Originally posted by Pongo
Have to find those books.

Without a doubt, these are the dryest books I've ever read about airial combat.

And the best ones as well.  I cannot reccommend these books enough.

The combat is  described from both sides in a  plain and matter of fact way that just blows your mind when you think about the young men they are talking about.

I usually re-read each of these books at least once a year.

Ouch out.

[joeblogs]

Yes very dry, but so detailed.

I was working up a count of plane losses through coral sea and it looked like, prior to Midway, USN lost more planes to accidents and mechanical failures than to combat...  

-blogs

Originally posted by Ouch
Without a doubt, these are the dryest books I've ever read about airial combat.

And the best ones as well.  I cannot reccommend these books enough.

The combat is  described from both sides in a  plain and matter of fact way that just blows your mind when you think about the young men they are talking about.

I usually re-read each of these books at least once a year.

Ouch out.