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They were always the last to leave the ship. It meant waiting up to an hour in the noise and heat while a backwash of jet fumes filled the fat old plane, gently rocking it in the night.
By 6 p.m. on Jan. 25, it was already dark in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz, the EA-3B “Whale” – the oldest, slowest and heaviest jet to be launched from today’s supercarriers – waited its turn after the fighters, them the attack aircraft, then the tankers and submarine hunters thundered into the sky. Despite the cold outside, the heat was oppressive inside the belly of the Whale. Making it worse was the regulation winter gear: flight suits plus a heavy, rubberized set of water-tight coveralls called “Poopsie suits” to protect the fliers from hypothermia if the failed out, a life preserver with pockets crammed full with things a man lost at sea would need – homing beacon, strobe light, medical supplies, knife, fish hooks ,line, then the parachute. Walking to the plane, the men resembled waddling ducks.
By 6 p.m. on Jan. 25, it was already dark in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz, the EA-3B “Whale” – the oldest, slowest and heaviest jet to be launched from today’s supercarriers – waited its turn after the fighters, them the attack aircraft, then the tankers and submarine hunters thundered into the sky. Despite the cold outside, the heat was oppressive inside the belly of the Whale. Making it worse was the regulation winter gear: flight suits plus a heavy, rubberized set of water-tight coveralls called “Poopsie suits” to protect the fliers from hypothermia if the failed out, a life preserver with pockets crammed full with things a man lost at sea would need – homing beacon, strobe light, medical supplies, knife, fish hooks ,line, then the parachute. Walking to the plane, the men resembled waddling ducks.
Lost Sons of the Nimitz
Posted from stationhypo.com
Flying
Intelligence
Spying
CT: Cryptologic Technician
Aircraft Carriers
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel what a read and share my friend:
What Alan Levine got was the EA-3B. Ordered in 1949 and christened “Skywarrior,” it was originally to be the Navy’s carrier-based long-range nuclear bomber. But by the time Skywarrior joined the fleet in ’56, the Navy’s nuclear hardware was on submarines. Instead, engineers jammed the plane with electronic gear and seats for four men. At 72,000 pounds and a wingspan of 72 feet, it remains the heaviest thing to fly off an aircraft carrier. And with its swollen belly and molten gray skin, someone suggested it looked like a whale. The name stuck.
A Whale’s mission typically lasted four bone-numbing hours, flying in circles at 35,000 feet, quietly vacuuming up all the voice and digital radio signals within its horizon. For the pilot and navigator it is tedious. For the intelligence analysis, though, there are Soviet ships to monitor, land-based “bear” bombers routinely flying close to an American battle group to test its reactions. Such cat-and-mouse games are a feast of intelligence for the silently trolling EA-3B.
Lt Col Charlie Brown SSG Michael Noll Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Cpl Vic Burk SPC Margaret Higgins MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. PFC David Foster Sgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) PO2 Marco Monsalve LTC David Brown SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth ] PO1 Tony Holland SSG William Jones 1SG Dan Capri SPC Nancy Greene PO1 Tony Holland SrA John MonettePO1 Tony Holland
What Alan Levine got was the EA-3B. Ordered in 1949 and christened “Skywarrior,” it was originally to be the Navy’s carrier-based long-range nuclear bomber. But by the time Skywarrior joined the fleet in ’56, the Navy’s nuclear hardware was on submarines. Instead, engineers jammed the plane with electronic gear and seats for four men. At 72,000 pounds and a wingspan of 72 feet, it remains the heaviest thing to fly off an aircraft carrier. And with its swollen belly and molten gray skin, someone suggested it looked like a whale. The name stuck.
A Whale’s mission typically lasted four bone-numbing hours, flying in circles at 35,000 feet, quietly vacuuming up all the voice and digital radio signals within its horizon. For the pilot and navigator it is tedious. For the intelligence analysis, though, there are Soviet ships to monitor, land-based “bear” bombers routinely flying close to an American battle group to test its reactions. Such cat-and-mouse games are a feast of intelligence for the silently trolling EA-3B.
Lt Col Charlie Brown SSG Michael Noll Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Cpl Vic Burk SPC Margaret Higgins MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. PFC David Foster Sgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) PO2 Marco Monsalve LTC David Brown SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth ] PO1 Tony Holland SSG William Jones 1SG Dan Capri SPC Nancy Greene PO1 Tony Holland SrA John MonettePO1 Tony Holland
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen - I did not know that Brother Jack, thank you for enlightening me.
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Lt Col Charlie Brown SSG Michael Noll Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Cpl Vic Burk SPC Margaret Higgins MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. PFC David Foster Sgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) PO2 Marco Monsalve LTC David Brown SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth ] PO1 Tony Holland SSG William Jones 1SG Dan Capri SPC Nancy Greene PO1 Tony Holland SrA John MonettePO1 Tony Holland
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Lt Col Charlie Brown SSG Michael Noll Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Cpl Vic Burk SPC Margaret Higgins MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. PFC David Foster Sgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) PO2 Marco Monsalve LTC David Brown SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth ] PO1 Tony Holland SSG William Jones 1SG Dan Capri SPC Nancy Greene PO1 Tony Holland SrA John MonettePO1 Tony Holland
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PO2 Marco Monsalve
Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen - or 1/4 of the trip for one of the old EC-121 elint flights in the Sea of Japan
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