|
Poopy Suits
Before we left Hawaii we were measured for custom tailored Poopy Suits. A custom made Poopy Suit is not something you’d
want to wear to the Navy Ball but if you were attending a swimming party in the northern part of the Sea of Japan in mid winter, it would be quite appropriate. If we were required to ditch while on a mission we’d
survive for approximately 90 seconds in the sub zero water. With a Poopy Suit, we could survive for around 30 minutes; long enough to inflate a rubber raft and climb into it.
Wearing a Poopy Suit is
about as comfortable as wearing a straight jacket. Actually a straight jacket is more comfortable. It's a two piece suit. The inner suit is similar to the snow suit my mother used to make me wear when I was a child.
This part of the suit is comfortable. The outer garment is another matter. Around the neck, wrists, and ankles, are rubber sleeves that fit tight enough to cut off the flow of blood. If your face turns blue and you
gasp for breath, you know the suit fits properly.
Most of our patrols started at around 0200 in the morning. At least, that's when we started preparing for the flight. In the winter months, the
first step is to crawl into our survival suits, which is the correct name for a poopy suit. Getting in and out of one takes time and effort. This is why they're called poopy suits. If you happen to have Diarrhea,
not an uncommon ailment in the Japan of the 50s, you never had time to get out of the suit. There was only one alternative.
On one mission the weather in Iwakuni was so
bad we had to land at an alternate base; an Air Force Base. One of our crew members had a bad case of diarrhea and was swimming in his own filth. As long as he kept his suit sealed we were all safe. We had to eat
something and we couldn't go back to Iwakuni until the fog cleared so the Air Force let us go to the club in our poopy suits if we promised to sit way in the back. . If they had known what was inside one of the crew
member's poopy suits, they never would have let us in the club at all. When we got back home we made him stay in his suit until we’d all dressed and gone.
On a 10 hour patrol bouncing around the sky
at 10,000 ft your stomach gets a bit upset and by the time you get home your suit is filled with foul smelling gases. There's a screw valve on the side of the suit you can use open to adjust the air pressure inside
the suit as you make large changes in altitude.
At the end of a mission when we were on approach with the wheels down, the air would rush in through the nose wheel hatch, sweep over the wing beam,
rush to the back of the plane and exit through two small holes in the tail gun section. This is where the Boats would be sitting. At precisely the right moment we’d all open our poopy suit valves and squeeze our
suits. This was always followed by screams from the tail section, easily heard over the roar of the engines.
We often had to go to an alternate field to land because Iwakuni was socked in so often.
We usually ended up at the nearest Air Force base. On one mission we flushed out a Russian sub and had to track him until we were relieved by another ASW aircraft ( If you lose him he's gone for good). It was the
wee hours of the morning, we were low on fuel, and Iwakuni, as usual, was socked in. We were directed to land at an Air Force base which, by the time we got there, was also socked in.
Hodgson, the
plane captain, told Novetzke that there was only enough fuel for one pass. Novetzke told GCA that if they didn't land now, call out the boats, we would have to ditch. We got permission to land and started a
GCA approach. At four miles out we lost the radio. There was nothing to do but hold the same course and rate of descent and hope the runway came up to meet us. It did. We didn't see the runway until we were on it
but we were down. It took the follow-me jeep 20 minutes to find us. All we wanted now was a hot shower and a little sleep. It would be four hours before we saw a bed or a shower.
The Air Police felt
that we were not authorized to land at this high security Air Force base so they had us line up outside the aircraft with our hands in the air. They were going to show the Navy who was in charge. When we topped off
the next day there was no fuel left in the tanks.
Next:On Patrol
|
