During normal Ops A6 Bombers required 6 chains, Tankers 12 chains. During Hurricane conditions we used 24 chains. Each chain weighed roughly 10lbs and had a tensile strength of 10,000lbs each. (Plane Captain school 101). . . lol
Heh, "Plane Captain" is trained via the line shack and you have to be signed off on all land and carrier deck duties (if you are in a squad that deployed....see Arlo was in a P3 Orion squad, land based only)
Each "Plane Captain Training" is different for each individual aircraft type, some not to hard, some can be overwhelming depending on the aircraft's components that requires inspection, albeit a daily, pre-flight, post-flight or turnaround inspection...
As for A4 skyhawks, F4 phantoms, A7 corsairs, S-3As, F14s and F-18s, my recollection was 3 per gear on land and at sea....unless like on land and doing low/high power turn quals or deployed and certain circumstances called for more....I'm sure you remember the 3 different levels of maintenance: O, I and D....and what each letter stands for...
Towards the end of Westpac 86 chains were becoming a "scarce commodity". We were circumventing a hurricane North East of the Philippines, and although we were nowhere near the Hurricane we were taking spray across the bow and occasionally hitting a heavy swell that would make the entire ship shake as she pitched down. One morning we were sent to check on our planes up on the 1 row. My plane was 2nd from the front of the boat and when I got to her she had two chains left attached w/ one just dangling.
Every morning for the last month of the cruise you would walk the deck searching the F14s, A7s, S3s, E2s and even the Helo's to take back chains the other squadrons had taken during the night. Lots of equipment ended up at the bottom of the ocean towards the end of a Cruise. I remember loading 2 1/2 pallets of ammo cans filled w/ 10 chains each prior to Cruise and barley had 3/4 of a pallet left on the offload. Kids!. . . .lol
Sounds like y'alls QA & QC wasn't up to par....out of 4 deployments on 2 different carriers, I only remember a particular squad not checking a tool/socket back in, which required all airdales on deck from all squadrons/shops...for extended FOD walk down and back of the flight deck....ironically it was an AE6B squad's AE3 that left his socket in the aircraft he was working on....probably needless to say that he was written up for it...
Seems things were pretty relaxed in your squad, by the way you described your westpac'86, including the carrier as well...guess things were quite different for flagship squadrons and carriers....
Never forget......
