VP48 1959 Deployment- Kwajalein to Midway (Part 2 of 6)

I should have introduced the crew already so I can refer to them by name:

Lt. George Surovik- Pilot- Plane Commander

LTJG Al Bell- Copilot

LTJG Jay Dow- Navigator

Don Crocker AD2- Plane Captain

Ed Doering, AM2-

Jim Dollar, AT2

Ken Largent AD3

Marlyn Nelson AE3

John Reid-Green, AN AT Striker

Lucious Smith, AO3

Dave Thomas A18, AT Striker

After we finally got airborne and left Kwajalein, it looked like an easy ride to Midway Island. We were flying at 10,000 feet, which is about the limit for being comfortable without an oxygen mask. The ocean was blue and pretty for as far as you could see. All we flight crew members had to do was drink coffee and try to keep from being bored. After a few hours, we reached the point of no return. That’s the place where you no longer have enough gas to turn around and get back to where you started. Not long after this, one of our engines died. If I remember correctly, it was the starboard engine. The pilots, Surovik and Bell, feathered the prop and started trimming up for single engine flight. Lt. Surovik was also calling ahead to Midway with a Mayday call. As the radar operator, I was ordered to fire it up and see if there were any nearby ships. I could see ahead for about 120 miles, and there wasn’t a blip in sight. Midway Control told Lt. Surovik they were dispatching a Coast Guard seaplane to escort us in. LTJG Dow was computing the fuel situation at the new rate of burn and also doing some figuring to determine when and where we might be intercepted by the escort.

In a few minutes, an order was given to the crew to jettison the non-essential gear that was stowed aft. We were told that if more weight reduction was required, or personal gear was next.

For the next few hours, we just hummed along and wondered where the escort was and if he would be paddling a lifeboat before we saw it. Fortunately, it was just a slow and boring ride until the escort plane arrived and escorted us in to Midway.

Midway was equipped to beach seaplanes. They had the wheels with floats and a seaplane ramp to pull us up. After landing and being brought ashore, we checked in at the barracks. I remember that the lockers had light bulbs in the bottom to keep your clothing dry and to fight the humidity.

We would be on Midway about a month while we waited for a new engine to be shipped from the states. We removed the bad engine from the plane and got it ready for the replacement. After that, we spent most of our time sitting in the shade under the wing of our plane and watching the gooney birds. There were thousands of them and every square foot of beach was taken. These albatrosses had a six or seven foot wingspan and looked beautiful in the air. But, when they came down, it was always a crash landing, and they often collided with each other on the ground.

If you want to hear more about the gooney birds, there is a story in this blog entitled “The Gooney Birds of Midway Island.”

Dave Thomas

5/16/2024