News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office

ALASKA
Down on Island
RESCUE
The pilot of a L1SA landed on a tiD1'
i8land in the Alaskan wild8 last month when
the right engine quit while he was flying
in a 8i~8hip formation after completing a
photographic mi88ion. Kember8 of the crew
escaped un8cathed.
Mr. Sgt. Barron O. Power8 and Tech. Sgt.
Ralph S. Davi8. members of the First Photo
Section at Maxwell Field, described the
forced landin« when the7 returned to the
Southeast A.ir COrp8Training Center recentl7,
after spending a month on the photo
mission in Alaska.
"Ye had accomplished our mission and had
taken off from Juneau on the ~~ back,"
the7 said. "It was 1 p. M. when the right
motor 8aid 'whoot' and quit at 5,300 feet.
• The pilot teathered the propeller.
"Ye sat quiet, buckling on sa.:f'et7 belts.
Wewere a 8i~ship formation of B-l8A's.
The other five ships wheeled over us. We
were headed down. Some jagged mountain
ground the inmshing water left. Weate
lome canned goods. We'Were shivering, and
bull t a tire al though it wasn't cold.
"The other five ships in the formation
roared low. and we signaled nobody was
hurt. lie began to hear the putt-putt of
a motor launch. A Oanadian doctor out
fishing had seen U8 go down. He vent for
help. In leV81!1hours some men from the
Oanadian Ro;ral Air lorce base at Prince
Rupert, came tor us in a larger launch.
"We had bacon and eggs at the Prince
Bupert barrack8 that night ••. and 8a;r, if
those .liC~ fliers were an7 nicer to U8.
the7 would have had to dress and undress
us. The7 treated us 11ke kings.
"All the Canadians were like that ••. hospi
table. Once we landed at a place called
Prince George, and the entire population
of 1,500 turned out and ran or rode bic7clel
seven miles just to greet us. (Gas there
costs 57 cents a gallon). At the village
of White Horle on the Yukon, they gave us
moose steak."
HOUSING
peaks were coming up. The Pacific ';as out Noncommissioned officers assigned to the
.. on one side. NewOrleans A1'lII7Air Base, who are author-
"Wewere losing altitude fast. The pilot ized to live off the post, now can obtain
took over for the co-pilot. I heard. him apartments in the low-rent housing projects
tell the flight c01llll12.ndor we vere going of the ci t;r of NewOrleans at rents ranging.
down. Not a word was said that waen' t an from $8.25 to $22 per month, all utili ties
order. Wewere down to 800 feet and the included.
mountain tops were looming up at us. Lieut. 001. Olarence H. Welch, base com-
"There were several choices. We could mander, completed arrangements Jul;r 1 with
'clmte out. Ye could mush downwithout the local housin« body. which operates unwheels.
but there was a lot of gas in the der the Federal Housing Authori t7, where b 7
belly tanks of the ship. Wecould plane rental paid b7 noncommissioned officers,
down on the water but there was the chance will depend upon the soldier's income, inof
submerging. Suddenl7 we were clear of cluding bothpa;r and allowances.
the mountains and saw a little island out Rent paid in the housing projects in-
, in the ocean. It turned out to be 165 cludes all utilities--water, electricit7
paces long ••• about one tenth as wide. We for l1ghtland refrigeration, and gas for
saw driftwood and timber in its middle. cooking and hot water. Each home is
"Ye hit on one end of the island and equipped with an electric refrigerator,
bounced 50 feet high. The j~ed timber four-burner gas range, hot water heater.
we would have hit if we hadn't bounced, combination sink and laundry' tra;r •
• slipped underneath us. We hit again, Rent 8chedules are arranged according to
bounced, and 8topped. I stepped off from incomeand the space required b7 the famil7.
the place the plane hit to the edcgeof the It thus might be that a three-bedroom home
island. It was uact17 165 paces, That might c08t the occupant considerab17 le8s
plane had travelled 164. Two feet aWB:3" than another tenant would pa;r for a onewas
deep water • .&.thigh tide therewouldn't bedroom home. In other words, a staff serhave
been an island. geant wi th no children, requiring onl7 one
bedroom but enjo;r1ng a certain income,would
"And the tide was changing when we hit. Pill' ,aore tor an apartment of that size than
We 8al vB«8d the radio and some other things a lel".. at."Uh three children and a smallbefore
the water rushed over the ship. We erine .. WOQ1dplQ"for an apartment wi th
built a fire on the one little strip of three bedroom••
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