May 10th, 1943
NAS Glenview - Lagadec: "It's going to be an intense few days. Spring is well underway, the days are longer, we're going to spend 10 to 12 hours a day on the flight line, including two or three hours in the air. The weather forecast says "good weather", let's take advantage of it!
No time to lose: take-offs start around 07:00. Fortunately, the transit to the Wolverine in avia route takes only a few minutes, fifteen at the most at the end of the racetrack before it turns around. This makes it possible to refuel the planes without any problem and/or to change pilots between two sessions. Everyone takes off in groups of a dozen planes of the same category.
Some figures to better understand the problem. The GAE, at this time, is 100 pilots of which a good half have never landed and the other half need to be requalified, that is to say about 1 200 landings to be carried out in 10 to 12 days. Priority to novices, of course, but the Pacha in the lead anyway... So, no time to lose!
We take off in the middle of a cloud of training aircraft going about their occupations. Then the method is the same as during our passage in Pensacola, except that the transit towards the aircraft carrier is extremely short. So short, in fact, that with the F4F-4s, we will give up very quickly to retract the train, what will avoid us the 29 turns of crank to make in less than 5 minutes for each ascent or extension of the wheels.
Well, as soon as we took off, we headed for the lake. No need to climb very high, 500 to 1,000 feet are enough. As soon as you have "wet feet", find the Wolverine - easy: with its coal-fired heater, it produces almost as much smoke as Andy in anger. Radio contact. Answer in French by one of our sailors on board, well seen: safety above all, it is reassuring for a novice.
Descent to 300 feet. We enter the circuit by the back starboard of the boat. At the top, turn to 180° to the left, the others continue straight ahead and take turns at the helm.
Downwind, reverse course to the aircraft carrier, reduce, propeller at small pitch, one notch of flap.
Take out the gear (if necessary!), open the canopy, tighten the harnesses... Golly, the warns the radio. Exit!
One overtakes the aircraft carrier by the back, new 180° turn, one enters the groove, the alignment facing backwards, at the orders of the batman. Flaps to block, to reduce still, limit stall. Wings down, says the batman.
The zinc crawls as it approaches the back of the boat, reaches the deck... The "Cut" of the batman, throttle off, wheels touching, full throttle! The stick scrapes the deck, hooks one of the strands which holds the plane. The pilot is thrown forward and sent back as fast by the harness to the bottom of his bucket. Throttle off, plane stopped. Throttle at idle. Red light at the avia gate.
No time to breathe. Behind, a yellow dog picks up the stick. Another one, in front, takes the plane in charge. A glance at the instrument panel, all clear. A flap notch, brakes locked, full throttle. Roar of the P&W, keep the tail wheel on the deck... Green light to the bridge. Top of the yellow dog. Brakes released. Rolling.
A few tens of meters and the plane flies again, passes the bridge and sinks! Return the hand, not too much, the water is close! Gear and flaps up, speed increases, climbing, stabilized at 1000 feet, propeller at full speed... Phew!
On the clock, less than 4 minutes since the entry in the groove.
Five minutes of flight before a wide right turn to come back to the aircraft carrier and enter again in the circuit.
Behind, the ballet continues, a well-oiled, well-oiled machine. The planes, one after the other, follow the same procedure and link up landings and take-offs. The pilots, a little hesitant the first time in front of this small rectangle which moves, are reassured with the turns.
One hour already. Four times the pilots came back. The radio announces: "Gathering on Red Leader, return to base". A glance at the gauge, it is indeed time: at low altitude, with the periods of overspeed, the consumption of the Pratts is staggering, and we don't fly with full tanks to lighten the plane (even the armament has been unloaded).
At the end of the day, more than one hundred landings were made with only one propeller with curved blades at Glenview. An American pilot, with his engine crossed, wallowed in a Wildcat on one of the runways. Comments from the chief instructor: "Good job, tomorrow we'll boost the movement!"
In theory, we could go up to 20 rotations per hour and 200 in ten hours, but that would be exhausting for the deck crew. In reality, 120 to 130 is a good number. In the morning, it goes faster, but the air traffic controller on board reduces the pace at the end of the morning for safety reasons because of fatigue, even if it means speeding up later to make up for the time lost due to an accident, which is always possible.