Vs-931 Antisubmarine Squadron

By J. ROBERT WAGNER

VS-931 Antisubmarine Squadron is a true story which describes the intensive training and tactics used in the search for enemy submarines during the Korean War. The danger of carrier operations, training missions and problems with equipment is born out by numerous close calls and crashes. Sometimes these unpredictable mishaps resulted in injury or death of carrier personnel and flight crews.

The humor among squadron personnel often served as relief from the intense, long hour teamwork that was continuously required. When the job at hand was finally completed, service personnel always looked for some way to have fun.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 3, 2004
• ISBN: 9781418431006

J. ROBERT WAGNER

Upon being called up for active duty during the Korean War, my initial duty was in ordnance and working with items related to this.  Because of my love of flying, it wasn’t long before I began training and flying as an air crewman with a squadron in aircraft destined for antisubmarine warfare.  There was much excitement, thrills and cherished experiences encountered and yes many close calls which sometimes made you wonder if you were next.  However, being so young at the time we did not waste much time thinking about the dangers of carrier operations or the exceptionally low attack altitude of 50 feet during daytime and 300 feet at night and relying only on the radio altimeter to keep us from plunging into the ocean. There were numerous items that were worthy to remember and upon being discharged I began jotting things down with the thought that maybe someday I would write about my experiences.  Being a professor for more than thirty years, I found myself writing class notes and technical books for use by students in the University and even writing the text for an Audio Tutorial Training Course for a technical organization.  I became the Journal Technical Editor and News Letter Editor for a professional organization and a Contributing Editor for another global technical magazine.  Upon retiring, I served as the Editor for an American Legion Post News Letter that won the Best American Legion Computer Generated Publication Award in Pennsylvania three years in a row.  Writing had become fun to do and a rather interesting and worthwhile pastime. Realizing that Veterans are now dying off at the rate of 1,800 a day and having the thought that some Veterans or other individuals and perhaps my children might be interested in reading about some of my experiences encountered while on active duty during the Korean War, the decision was made to write and publish my memoirs.  I suspect that having attended my first service related reunion this past year gave me the extra push to assemble all of the notes and put the various stories in writing so that everyone could read some of the events that happened in VS-931 antisubmarine squadron.  

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© 2004 J. ROBERT WAGNER

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 12/03/04

ISBN: 978-1-4184-3100-6 (e)

ISBN: 1-4184-3098-6 (sc)

ISBN: 1-4184-3099-4 (dj)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

DEFINITIONS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO:

Donald Allen, Air Crewman

Robert Carter, Pilot

Donald Galletly, Pilot

John McLaughlin, Air Crewman

INTRODUCTION

VS-931 Antisubmarine Squadron is a true story which describes how the author became interested in the Naval Air Reserves and the activation of the squadron during the Korean War to hunt for enemy submarines. There was intensive training for carrier qualifications and on equipment and use of ordnance, sonobuoys, bombsight, searchlight, radar, antisubmarine warfare tactics, as well as training for one’s ultimate survival. The danger of carrier operations, training missions and problems with equipment is born out by numerous close calls and crashes. Sometimes these unpredictable mishaps resulted in injury or death of carrier personnel and flight crews. Flight operations aboard a carrier, as well as the techniques for locating and tracking submarines are described. The humor among squadron personnel often served as relief from the intense, long hour teamwork that was continuously required. When the job at hand was finally completed, service personnel always looked for some way to have fun. Action, traveling, making new friends, sight seeing and liberty, as well as the GI bill were found to be some of the rewards of serving on active duty in a United States Navy Squadron.

CHAPTER 1

MODEL AIRPLANES LEAD TO AIR NAVY

Growing up as a boy and later as a teenager, I was always exposed to the outdoors, swimming, camping and nature. We hunted and fished in local fields, quarries and rivers. When on camping or canoe trips, my friends and I were never without our 22 caliber rifles. My father bought the 22 at the beginning of WWII just to have a rifle on hand in case it was needed. He was a captain for the local air raid wardens. All of the homes had their sand buckets for possible incendiary bombs that might be dropped by the enemy. Houses were equipped with black shades to prevent light from getting out in case of an air raid. My father worked at a textile mill and brought home khaki canvas which my mother made emergency kits on her sewing machine for all of the air raid wardens in our immediate area.

I trapped muskrats, skunks, and other animals for their pelts which were sold for pocket money. At first, I carried a small rifle that I had borrowed on my trapping route but later bought a 22 Smith & Wesson revolver as it was less bulky to carry. When I was about 16 years old, I asked my father if I could buy a 30-30 carbine for deer and bear hunting. He said I’ll let you buy it only if you promise not to ask me to take off school to go deer hunting. For target practice I didn’t have to go very far, for right out the back door of the kitchen I shot the 22 caliber rifle, pistol and the 30-30 carbine at targets tacked up on a large popular tree in our back yard. Just after getting my 30-30 carbine, deer season opened in Pennsylvania. I played football in high school and because our high school won the town rival game we were given off the first day of deer hunting season. Riding my bicycle for 10 minutes and then about 35 minutes after entering the woods, I bagged a 7 point buck. All of my friends in the neighborhood went up to the mountains for a week for deer hunting and came back empty handed. It turned out that I was the lucky one and they should have gone hunting with me and not missed school instead.

As a hobby, I built model airplanes and gradually progressed to U control gasoline model planes and later to free flight airplanes. I never lost any but had many crashes. When there were model airplane meets in the area, I always went to them. To my knowledge, there was no such thing as radio controlled planes at that time. We also built enormous kites that were so big that we had to use farmers bailing twine for string. We often took some of the model planes that we built, and after adding a hook above their cockpit, the wind would send them up the bailing twine. Once reaching a point near the kite high in the sky, one shake of the bailing twine would permit the model airplanes to come off the bailing twine and begin their long flight to the ground.

When I was 7 years old, my father paid to have myself, two other siblings and himself take a plane ride in a Tri Motor Ford. This was the first flight ever taken by any of us in our family. During the war, we often drove on our bicycles to nearby Wing’s Field to watch the small airplanes land and take off. The ride back home was fun as there was a steep hill that had four severe bumps that gave the sensation you were taking off when going down at a good clip on our bicycles. Unfortunately for the local kids, new machinery for laying macadam smoothly has now spoiled the thrill for the new generation of kids. There was once a fire at the airfield which wiped out a whole string of hangers. The tangled mess of burnt planes constructed with tubular aluminum was a sight to see.

During WWII, my father took me to a War Savings Bond fundraiser in downtown Philadelphia that exhibited a P-39 Bell Airacobra being riveted together by women war plant workers. Then, sometime later, we went to the Philadelphia Naval Base where a few ships were on exhibit and the first helicopter I ever saw was shown. It was just a tubular aluminum structure with an open cockpit. The small field was where Yellow Pearl bi-wing trainers were once built for the Navy. My first trip to Willow Grove NAS was on a field trip that was arranged by the base for the Boy Scouts. I remember a pilot discussing the F4U Corsair and water injection to increase horse power when needed.

With my keen interest in airplanes, it is no wonder that as soon as I was old enough I joined the Naval Air Reserves at Willow Grove NAS. I had three friends in my neighborhood that joined the navy reserves at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. They were attached to a submarine outfit at the base. One of them tells a story that once he had mess duty while at sea and was asked to get rid of the garbage. Assuming that they would make another submerged dive, he dumped the garbage on the deck of the submarine assuming that the next dive would wash it off. Well, for some reason the sub didn’t make another dive and he was forced to get up on deck and wash the garbage away with a scrubbing brush and a mop. Whether it was this or some other reason, they transferred to Willow Grove NAS. When our community had their very first 4th of July parade in 1949, the four of us were chosen to lead the mile long parade serving as the color guard and wearing our brand new navy uniforms.

When taking my physical at Willow Grove, I met someone else that had the same interests as I did. With our interest in hunting and guns, we both decided to get into ordnance as soon as we finished the 12 days of boot school. He was to become my best friend in the navy and we both were first assigned to the VA-80A squadron. Some time later, our squadron was changed to VS-931. In boot school we learned semaphore, how to march, basic navy principles and equipment, how to fight fires and numerous other things. We visited the parachute loft to see how parachutes were hung up to dry and then repacked and also learned how to use the various components in a life raft for survival. This included how to fish, make a sail, use reflective mirrors and flares, how to collect rainwater and how to use other items. We also learned how to put on a parachute and use it. At the fire house, we learned fire fighting and we toured the tower to understand exactly what the purpose of the tower was and its operation. We toured the electronic shop, ordnance shop and learned how to service, direct aircraft and why a ground wire must be used when refueling an airplane. We went out to the pistol and rifle range to learn firearm safety and to do target practice. In addition to learning what goes on in the various areas of an air base, visiting the different departments would also help a person in making a decision on what trade or field they wanted to get into in the navy. With our interest in hunting and guns, my good friend and I of course decided to get into ordnance.

Whenever possible, I would try to fly as a passenger. I enjoyed seeing the mountains, rivers, bridges, cities and the ocean from above. In addition, base pay could be fortified considerably if you were awarded flight pay. We referred to this as getting your flight skins. To obtain flight skins you had to have at least 2 hours of flight time recorded for the period that the award was to be given.

On one particular day at Willow Grove NAS, I took a flight on a TBM. Some inexperienced person that refueled the aircraft did not put the gas cap back on properly. The gas cap on a TBM was located behind an access panel on the fuselage directly above the left wing. When we took off and climbed no more than several hundred feet, high octane gasoline began pouring down the tunnel and into the bilge. I immediately called the pilot and advised him that high octane gasoline was spilling into the bilge. The fumes are highly volatile and could cause an explosion with even a small spark. I made sure that I did not move the least amount for fear of causing any static or a spark which could cause the fumes to explode or start a fire. The pilot immediately called for an emergency landing and we landed within minutes of taking off. As soon as we came to a stop on the runway, the pilot cut his engine and we both jumped out of the plane and proceeded to a safe distance away from the aircraft. The base fire engines were immediately on the spot and did whatever they had to do to rid the plane of the spilled liquid gas and its fumes. We were given transportation back to the line shack and a tow motor later pulled the airplane off of the runway and back to the parking apron. This incident was to become the first of my two sets of nine lives that I was fortunate to live through while attached to the U. S. Navy.

CHAPTER 2

VS-931 SQUADRON ACTIVATED

In June of 1950 I graduated from high school and obtained a temporary job at a company making electrical insulation tubing for the electronic industry. I had football scholarships to Temple University and Delaware University, but only took the entrance examination to Temple. I was accepted for admission at Temple University but on June 25, 1950, 135,000 North Korean soldiers crossed the 38th parallel and attacked Seoul. This act initiated the Korean War and President Truman began to activate certain reserve units. Because the Korean conflict was heating up, I thought for sure it wouldn’t be long before being called up to active duty so I chose not to matriculate at Temple University. My hunch was right, and of all times I received the telegram notifying me of being activated on January 8, 1951 which just happened to be my birthday. It read as follows:

"CNART DIRECTS THE IMMEDIATE ALERTING OF ORGANIZED RESERVISTS WHO ARE TO BE INVOLUNTARILY CALLED TO ACTIVE DUTY X YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT WITHIN THIRTY DAYS YOU WILL RECEIVE ORDERS BY REGISTERED MAIL TO REPORT ON 1 MARCH 1951 TO COMMANDING OFFICER VS931 FOR ACTIVE DUTY AND FURTHER ASSIGNMENT X=

COMMANDING OFFICER NAS WILLOW GROVE PENN=.."

A registered letter of my orders was received on January 15, 1951 informing me to proceed and report to the Medical Officer, U.S. Naval Air Station, Willow Grove, Pa. for a preliminary physical examination prior to 0900, on 30 January 1951, to determine your physical fitness for active duty.

When I showed up at the Dispensary for my physical, I was not aware that I had to have my registered letter which was essentially my orders. Living only about 15 miles from the base, I was told to return home and get my orders. It was icy that day, and on my hurried return trip back to the base, I attempted to slow down for a stop sign. The car skidded and did a complete 180o in the middle of the road. There were no cars around, and since I never left the road, there was no damage to the car that I borrowed from my father. The fact that the car was pointing in a direction to go back home, maybe someone up above was trying to tell me something. Looking back on things, the fact that I am still alive, I doubt that this was the case.

The navy doctor signed the statement on my orders which read Reported for preliminary physical examination this date and found physically qualified for active duty.

Further the orders stated …if found physically qualified you will commence travel in such time as to report to the Commanding Officer, Squadron VS-931, U.S. Naval Air Station, Willow Grove, PA at 0800 on 1 March 1951 for active duty and when directed by him to COMAIRPAC for further assignment as a member of Squadron VS-931. With the physical being passed and with the orders being explicit, so started my active duty with a great squadron.

Immediately after mustering in the first day on active duty, the emphasis was on training. We had TBMs assigned to the squadron, and pilots began visual and instrument formularization flights. A TBM was manufactured by General Motors whereas a TBF was manufactured by Grumman. Both of these planes are identical Navy torpedo bombers and I tend to call all of them TBMs no matter who manufactured the aircraft. They were WWII carrier type aircraft which had a 54 foot wing span and were 42 feet long. We sometimes referred to them as pregnant turkeys but more often, we just called them a turkey as they had a fat fuselage which was somewhat analogous to a live turkey. Depending on your job qualification, individuals were sent to their own departments to begin getting involved and training in their respective fields. The various departments included planning, electrical, electronics, engineering, line, ordnance, air frames and administration. Being in ordnance, my duties involved performing maintenance checks of ordnance related items on aircraft, loading bombs, rockets and 50 caliber machine guns. Sometimes the tips of the 50 caliber bullets would be painted a different identifying color for each aircraft so that the bullet holes in an aerial tow target could be identified and counted for each pilot on the gunnery practice flight. When belting the 50 calibers about every fifth bullet would be a tracer bullet so the pilot can see where his bullets are going. Planes with bombs and loaded machine guns were free to leave the airfield as soon as take off clearance was given by the tower. When equipped with rockets, planes would taxi to an apron near the take-off runway to have their rocket stations checked for electrical continuity and no-voltage. This was very important because the rocket pig tails had to be plugged in by hand and any stray voltage could fire the rocket. It only took 1-1/2 volts to set off the rocket’s igniter. If a rocket did go off, the person plugging in the pig tale would be severely burnt and perhaps could loose an arm or receive some other serious injury.

If the planes fired their 50 caliber machine guns, the guns had to be removed from the aircraft, cleaned and oiled and returned to the aircraft. The gun ports on the wings would then be resealed with adhesive duct tape to prevent rain or moisture getting to the guns. When used again, the 50 caliber bullets would shoot right through the tape on the wings.

Occasionally, I would go up on one of the ordnance hops to drop a smokelight if needed and get in my flight time for receiving flight pay. For bombing practice, the planes would head for a bombing range which was located north of Atlantic City in a secluded area not too far from the ocean. A range operator would record the position of each bomb strike and report it back to the pilot by radio. Rocket and machine gun practice was usually done several miles out at sea. I would drop a smokelight in the ocean and then the pilots in the various planes would use it as a target. When the machine guns are fired, you can feel the vibrations from the guns going off and can smell the smoke from the gunpowder even though the machine guns were located in the wings. It is believed that the cause of the vibration was due to the large heavy bolts in the receiver of the 50 caliber guns slamming back and forth as the guns were fired. When rockets are fired there is a loud bang and the distinct odor of the burning rocket motor can be detected.

I often rode in the turret on the TBM because the view was spectacular. The turret could not be operated electrically since they were disabled. However, it was fun to operate the turret mechanically. I never did fire the gun in the turret as we were not requested to do so in our training and the guns were never loaded. On one flight, one particular pilot complained to me on the intercom for operating the turret because it affected his trim as he always would have to adjust his controls depending on the position of the turret.

For training in ordnance, we had to completely strip down an M1 carbine, M1 rifle, 45 caliber automatic and the 50 caliber machine gun blind folded. We even had to set the head space on the 50 caliber machine gun blind folded. Once learning all of the parts and their mechanical function, it was really very simple to do. Of all