NEBNA Member - Bill Sowell
The Enlisted Bombardier/Navigator
HatWing was formed in fifty one;
a carrier-based nuclear force.
The Savage was the plane they flew;
atomic strikes its mission, of course.
So HatWing needed bombardiers
to man the AJ's right hand seat.
They were all officers until
enlisted B/N's joined the fleet.
And once they showed their mettle,
the rest was history.
Those "white hats" in that gold braid world
became the modern day AP.
And though they switched from props to jets,
(first A3D then A3J,)
the need for B/N's never lessened
and so their numbers grew each day.
But Navy flying has its hazards,
be it off ship or from the shore,
so some were lost in accidents
while Viet Nam claimed some more.
Now all those left have joined together
to tell you, through this site,
the names of those who flew back then
and some of their adventures during flight.
You see, their story isn't known too well,
for few knew they existed,
so hang around and learn about
HatWing's B/N's who were enlisted.
Bill Sowell
Abort! Abort!
It was late in fifty seven on board Randolph, CV fifteen.
The plane we flew was the AJ; the first this ship had seen..
The day was gray and dismal but hardly any wind, you know. .
In fact the first jet launch had been canceled because the wind's speed was too low..
We were scheduled for a deck run that early morning in the Med. .
It wasn't my regular pilot. I had the OinC instead. .
Abeam the island we wound her up and finished the pre-takeoff check. .
When told to, I saluted and they waved us down that deck..
f course the "Savage" had its problems and took some skill to fly it .
but I knew this one wouldn't get airborne 'cause it suddenly got mighty quiet.
ALL THE POWER CAME OFF THE ENGINES!
and I looked over, distressed,
at my pilot with both feet on the brakes and the yoke clear back in his chest.
"What happened" I asked, anxiously, meanwhile preparing for the worse
"Port engine" he answered through clenched teeth, a statement I'd describe as "terse."
Now the deck was wet from an early rain, and so the plane began to slide,
ever so slowly, sideways, towards the catwalk on the starboard side.
And then I heard what I'd always feared, except this time I couldn't flee;
the ship's crash yodel was going off and the damn thing was sounding for me!
But just when I thought all was lost, something straightened us out
and we stopped just short of the bow; 'twas a miracle I thought, no doubt.
Once on deck we saw the "miracle," a "Fury" parked aft of the starboard cat,
with a jury strut shoved clean through one wing; our starboard tip tank had caused that.
Later we learned we'd just lost a tach which caused him to abort the run.
We didn't vote on "abort", but had we, the vote "against" would have been two to one.
Bill Sowell