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Flying on the ZPG-2N Airship
It always
seemed like there were delays when it was time to go fly in our blimp.
I was always anxious to get up flying and turn on all my electronics equipment
to see what was going to need worked on. Everything could check out OK on the
ground but often the shaking the vacuum tubes got on takeoff would require something
to be repaired before it would work in flight. I got a lot of satisfaction out of
keeping the electronics equipment working and operating it, especially when we were on exercises with the fleet and hunted real submarines during the "cold war". We were officially designated a Combat Aircrew and authorized to wear the Combat Aircrew metal wings insignia on our dress uniform.
On the long 30 to 40 hour missions we were on
duty 4 hours and off 4 hours. The Nan-ship was built with sufficient space
and facilities to be rather comfortable. It had an upper deck with 9 bunks
and a galley area equipped with stove, oven, refrigerator, and sink. Shown
here is one half of the eating area, which also served as a lounge area.
It was a nice place to take a break away from the "war" going on below.
One time our two mechanics decided to bake a cake on the mission during their
off-duty time. They said they put helium in it to make it the world's lightest
cake! Do you think it took both of them to hold it down?
The meals
were prepared by whoever was our best cook on the crew. Right now I can't
remember eating a single meal on a mission - and know I never cooked any.
I guess the meals were not very memorable, either good or bad.
The entrance to the 9 sleeping bunks area is seen in this snapshot. I can remember how good it felt crawling into one of the top bunks when I went off my 4-hours of duty on a long mission. After 20 or 30 hours of flying with 4-hours on duty and 4 hours off duty, my time and space got all mixed up. The bunk was a really special safe place for a few hours to sort things out and rest. Nobody bothered me and the warmth and sound of the engines were more comforting than any place I've ever been since. The way the bunk area was nestled up to the big helium bag was a lot like being a fetus inside a big round belly.
On these
long missions we got a bit dirty and sweaty but had good facilities for cleaning
up. We really could have used a shower on board, though! After we landed
and unloaded our equipment, the shower was the first place I headed for back
in the barracks.
We worked well together as a crew. I never saw any "personality problems"
between crew members. I think we all respected each other's skills. We needed
to depend on everyone to do his job, or we might all go down at sea. Here
I am sharing some of Mom's homemade oatmeal cookies with officers
on the crew. When we flew together there wasn't so much separation between
enlisted men and officers. Things worked much better that way.
I remember this incident and picture well! We were waiting for takeoff on a long mission and received a radio message to standby for delivery of some important electronics parts. So there we were with 60 ground handlers holding the airship bow lines, the engines were running, and the ship was bucking anxiously ready to climb into the sky. In a few minutes my buddy Dave came speeding across the mat in a truck. He signaled to open a hatch for the important box. The box was a shoe box with cookies from mom. He had checked my mail for me, knew what was inside the box, and thought it was important to have on the mission. It was! Thanks Mom. Thanks Dave.
The pilot's compartment was spacious and well equipped with
radios, instruments, and an automatic pilot. That made cruising really a
treat up there with the huge windows. We could even open some of the side
windows and hang out and take pictures. That is how many of these pictures
were taken. There were many opportunities for any crew member to sit in the right hand copilot seat when
not much was happening. It was nice to cruise along looking out the
big windows. At the time of this snapshot we were just churning our way through the fog about 50 to 70 mph
(80 - 112 kph) and there wasn't much to see or do except listen to the
radio as we made our way to our destination. On this occasion the pilot couldn't see anything in the fog so the navigator, radar, and autopilot were depended on to fly us where we were going.
One of my duties while flying was maintaining high frequency radio contact with
the base and other airships. We used Morse code to send position
reports every hour and send regular text messages. We usually sent to our buddies as fast as we could. I
guess it was a radioman's version of wrestling with your buddy to see who was strongest. However,
there was a camaraderie among radiomen that was very important. Many times the weather was bad and
radio transmissions were extremely poor. That radio circuit was the only link
we had with someone for weather reports, instructions, and help. Sometimes it took many tries to get the message through in bad weather.
It helped a lot when I had an understanding buddy on the other end of the circuit.
I remember one night we were returning from several hundred miles out in the Atlantic Ocean and there was a really big storm moving up the coast fast. The headwinds had us slowed to just a few knots per hour advance towards home. We were even flying VERY close to the water where the wind was slower. All around us there was lighting and I was ready to give up my $80 a month flight pay! The crew commander told me to stay in touch with the base and keep repeatedly reporting our position --not said, but understood to mean "so they could come find us if/when we go in the water." I tuned up the 90 watt ART-13 transmitter for maximum output and stayed constantly on the circuit, going nearly deaf from the static crashes in the earphones from the lightning all around us. Only about one or two letters in each word was readable on the circuit. I was sending everything extremely slow and repeated each letter until each word was acknowledged received. We kept churning away all night into the headwinds with very few miles progress each long hour. It was a long night! At dawn the wind let up a little and we started making some headway. We arrived back at the base in the afternoon and I remember that we got an extra day off after that mission. I was really grateful and happy to see my buddies who sat up all night with me on the radio circuit.
A memorable place where I loved to be alone and rest for awhile
was the armament rack at the stern of the car. There was about a two by three
foot shelf extending out on each side of the car, for carrying weapons. The
racks were at deck level and a panel opened down and out over each. I loved
to lash myself with a line to something and lean out over the edge of the
shelf in the wind and look down. I saw whales and sharks several times.
We often spent many hours just cruising low and slow. Once I asked our crew commander if I could use the winch to troll for fish sometime. He didn't think I was serious, I guess, and said, "Sure". When I showed up one mission with a hook about 6 inches across, he stopped me fast! I was serious and thought we could handle a shark easily with the winch. I wonder what would have happened when we landed with a 12 foot shark hanging from the stern of our airship.
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© 2007 Larry Rodrigues. All rights reserved.