I’ve been watching a lot of movies lately, many of which are war movies and I like those which are about the navy. I see how the navy operated in WW-2.
I spent a lot of my navy years on aircraft carriers and I enjoyed it. Most of the planes were jets, while my squadron flew the E-2A airborne early warning planes. They had 2 enormous propellers, each prop was about 8 feet in length and the props were almost down to the deck, leaving just about 3 feet between them and the deck. It was scary walking by them in the daytime and worse at night. One time I was up on deck in the plane at about sundown. I was always the last man out of the plane. It was my job to ensure everything was working prior to takeoff and if there was something not working, I had to repair it before the plane would launch. That particular time I came out of the plane and it was pitch black everywhere. I had forgotten my flashlight to see with and I had to get across the flight deck to the island. I had to get down into a pushup position and do an alligator walk to stay under those propellers. I did get back safely otherwise I wouldn’t be here to write this story.
When I watch those WW-2 navy movies I see every plane on their decks was propeller driven. 80-90 planes with their propellers engaged and the sailors on those decks had to dodge all of those props to get to safety. Of course in WW-2 planes didn’t take off or land after dark, but I can’t help but wonder how many sailors on those decks may have been killed by those spinning propellers.
Back in WW-2 and even today, working on a navy flight deck is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. The E2 planes are the only planes with propellers, but walking behind a jet is as dangerous as it was when planes were all prop driven.
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