Air Force the Official Service Journal - Air Force Historical Studies ...

world. Nearly l.()l)() fli£;ht nurvcs .uid a like
number of ,urgleal tcchu iciaus were gradu.
ated.
Cadet Recruitirrg Suspended
After five months ill wh iclr the hooks
were opened agaill for I~vcnrolds to sign tip
for future traininf; as uu-mbcr« of thc Air
Corps Enlisted Reserve, the procurcmcut ob-
[cct ivc has been met and rcuniting suspcndcd,
cficct ivc October 31. Since the
month follO\\inf; Pearl Harbor when the
enlisted rese-rve program \\'as begun. more
than 1.2 SO.l)Ol) have volunteered for air
combat erew training, \\'ith m.mv thousands
still in am training centers ami others on
the "waiting list" or vet to come of age,
nearly half a million of this total have won
\\'ings.
Wanted: Suggestions
Officers .md 111('11 who arc "sitting" on
ideas for new :Ii(b to training sholdd acccpt
this as a gentle prod from the Training Aids
Division.
T:\D is OIl tlie hunt for ,sngf;estions which
might lead to the development of new de.
vices, films. posters. mauuals and the like. or
to the moditication or elimination of train.
ing aid,s alrc.idv in me. \\'hether vour idea
,.I "in the fonn:'lti\c sl:lge. in blucpriut form
or ulrcadv reali/l'd in a workable: product,
send it in for cOIlllx'tent cvn luat inu. YO\1
may be ho.trcluu; for personal uve an improvcmcnt
wh ich could be effected thronghont
the :\:\F,
Ideas should be sulunittcd t hrouah chan.
nels to the .\,\1' Trainim; ,\ich Division,
One Park Avenue. New York 16, N. Y.
Brake Cocktail
Three cam of fruit [uirc. a jng of drink.
ing water and the ingenuih' of T ISgt.
Philip A, Brodziak. Rocknwav. N, J., are
credited by the 7th :\ir lort« with sa\'ing
its B.24, "Pi-t ol 1':lekin' \lama." from a
possible CLlSh,
On a mission over 1\\0 [im.r. hullct s from
an cnemv fighter severed the hvdr.mlic tubes
in the Liberator" left \\'ing. Brodziak, en.
"DO!\'T Tc\LK TO ~IE ABOUT FL.-\K!"
guiccr and top turret £;lml1('r. st oppcd the
flo«: of the tluir! to the broken hnes bv
pmchmg the tube shut with pliers. Thel{,
fearing that not enongh fluid remained in
the hvdruulic svstcm to operate the brakes
and flaps for a safe landing. he added the
f ruit jniee .u«l water from the uew's flight
rations.
\\-hcn the bomber hit the home strip,
the flaps came dO\\'II. aided In' the force of
the landing. and the brakes had just enough
pres>me to keep the plane from rolling off
the end of the flIn\Yay.
The Numbers Game
We often have been asked wI1\' a serial
nurn bcr is what it is and a lot' of other
mysterious questions about AS.Ns.
Here arc a few answers:
Serial numlx-r s of five clir;its or less indio
cate officers in the Regubr Annv.
:-\ational Cuard. Rc-crvc and :\US officers
commissioned dllflllg this w.rr h.nc serial
number of six digits,
Reguhr Armv enlistee! personnel who en.
tercel the .\nm on or after J ulv 1. I 'HO,
ILl\'C serial iuuulx-r-, from io.noo.ouu to
19.99 C ).999, :'sJ:ltion:ll Cu.u d numbcr« he£;in
with 20.000,OO() and Selective Service nurnbcrs
will: ')O.Ollll,I)()(J.
The second chgit in the serial number of
:I Rcaular Annv enlisted man or a selectee
indicate, the xcrvicc couun.uid area of en.
livt mcut. For inst.mre. a selectee with :I
«rinl uumlx-r of H.200.111 was inducted in
t he 4th Scrvir:« Counu.md area. fonucrlv the
4th Corps Area. The third digit in the ~erial
nunrbcr of :Ill elllisled m:lIl ill a :'\atiollal
Cuard unit inducted into federal service in.
dicatcs the service couunand area of induebon.
Serial numbers were first gi\'l'n to enlisted
men in 1915 and to officctsin 1921.
Yes. somcbodv has :\S:\' 1. Ccucral John
J, Pershing. .
Removing an Obstacle
If vou h:I\'C squirme-d through a torturous
hour or two in a hot. stnff\' chss!Oolll while
delivered a lectnre or supervixcd
the uuwinclins;
of a tr:lining film. yon
1lI;1\' like thi, one.
'i'he 'I'Llinillg .\ids
Divixion is c:nnpai£;n'
ing to in.ik« chss.
room inst ruction and
a tour O\'Cr au o]»
st.rclc cour sc :IS dissimilar
:IS possihle,
Reports of poorlv
ventilated classrooms
jammed with uncoiufort.iblc
scats h.ivc
been received frOI11
vnrious seetio11S of the
count rv. Such conditions
'in\:tri:lbh' :HC
accouip.micd h;' dllll
trainee a u d ic n c c s
~ whose single thollght
is to get the hell out
in the open. and fast,
One T\D officer h:ls cxpl.uncd it LIther
ior mnllv as Follow»: "If. :1.1 in the case of
J comflat obst:lcle cour-,c, divcomfort aids
the pmpose of the instruc-tion, usc it; if
discomfort impairs the in-t ruct iou. prevent
it. :\ little fresh air and :1 comfortahle chair
will not dcstrov the moral fiber of a soldier
\dlOse dllt\' of 'the 1ll0inelit is to look, listen
and learn."
Easy Does It
\\'hen :\laj, Cell, Uzal C. Fnt. then (om
manding general of the 2d Air Force (Sec
"New Command ASSIgnments," Page 22)
was injured crit icallv in a take-off crash at
Fort vvorth. Texas. carlv in October, and his
life depended upon h;s beillg transported
gently but quicklv to Brooke Ccncrnl l lospital.
San .\ntonio. the ,\ir Tr.invport Com.
m.uid rcallv c.nnc through,
The vcrcr.m ainn.m \\'as in bad shape.
The accidcnt ]1:)(1 ocrurr.d when the copilot,
misl1nderstandinr; :1 signal from the
piloting general. rctrnctorl the landing gear
before their Iourcnniuc Iiomlx-r was airborne.
The p1:111esct tlcd back to earth, the
propellers dug into the concrete ruuw.iv and
one blade snapped. p.nt of it penetrating
the fuse1:1r;e and striking Ccucr.rl j':nt a
glancing hlow in the h:lek.
:\ lcdical officers diseO\'Cred the hurt lius;
metal had cut throllgh the (;enn:ll\ back
muscles, had torn his rihs from his 'pille and
dislocated his lower vertebrae. There was
severe pressllfe on the spinal cord and no
muxcl« to support it. The Ccucrals life
hllng lircrnllv bv :1 thread, The ,shghte,st jar
might kill him.
:\fter a decision \\'as made to rush the 111jured
officer to S:ln Antonio, Lt. Col. Albert
E. Higgins. eomm:ln(Jillg the ATC's 5th
Ferrying Croup, hased at LO\'C Field, Dallas,
was :Isked to arrange the flil;ht. For the
delicate task. he chose his dcputv com
mauclcr. :\ la]. Clarencc S. Chiles. as pilot,
and :\laj. ll.irold 1" Carter as copilot. Told
to pick their own plane. the majors deri(led
upon a C4~,
Arriving at Fort \\'orth with in a few
minutes, tlrcv fouur] all W:Is in rc.idinc-« for
them to fl\.' out the (;enLT:J1. who meanwhile
hacl been ctreflllh- r('mO\Td from the
crashee! plane .mrl Iash~d to a stretcher designed
for spin.il cases.
\\-hile the medics were informing them
t hat am' hump or sudden movement in takinr;
off. fl\inl; or landillg might mean instunt
clc.it h for the p.rt icnr, the ,\'I'C men
c]l('cked t hc wc.rt lin .md dderm inccl the air
wax rollgh .it lowrr :J1titudcs hilt eomparat
ivclv smoot h .rt S,()()() feet, :\fter survcvuu;
the t:Ixi strips to liud t hc most suitable aile,
they completed their pl.m-, for the "life or
death" flight .mcl wcr« rc.rdv to start.
:\lthough the LUllP "POIl \\hieh the C-47
stood was hut :1 sllmt dist:lllee from the takeoff
area. :\ l.ijor Cit ilr-, taxied so carcfullv
that it \\':1, 1 S minute. before he reaehe;]
the head of the ruuwuv. Tlu-n, he sl 0\\'1v
applied P(J\\l'f .mcl. when t he transport Idt
the groulld .rt redllced throttle, there was
scarcely auy vibratiun,
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