THE NIGHT DIPPERS

ON JUNE 30, 1960, I ATTENDED A SMALL CEREMONY WHERE I RECEIVED MY U.S. NAVY WINGS OF GOLD AFTER 18 MONTHS OF TRAINING. IT WAS A JOYFUL EXPERIENCE FOLLOWING MONTHS OF STRESS AND ANXIETY AS I STUMBLED THROUGH THE MANY TRAINING PHASES AND WATCHED FRIENDS FALL TO THE DEMANDS OF THE INTENSIVE CURRICULUM.

I was a lucky one who survived. Very lucky.

In 1959 the Navy had not yet developed a discrete program to train helicopter pilots. “Real” pilots flew airplanes. During training we flew North American T-28s and Beechcraft T-34s through a full curriculum of aerobatics, formation, instrument flying, cross-country navigation and gunnery before moving on to multiengine instruction in the Beechcraft SNB (C-45) and finally to three months of helicopter training.

I was subsequently assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 5 (HS-5) at Quonset Point, R.I., flying the Sikorsky HSS-1 Seabat. The 14,000-pound HSS-1 (redesignated the SH-34G in 1962) was a large helicopter for the time, powered by a 1,525-hp Wright R-1820 radial engine. The Wright Cyclone had been successful in several World War II airplane applications but it was not very reliable in the HSS series, as it ran