Way Back When Ch. 02

Way Back When

PART 2

TE-5

TYPHOON SEASON 1961-62, GUAM, MARIANAS ISLANDS

TE-5 was a Lockheed Super Constellation passenger aircraft that had been re-configured for the U.S.Navy to fly "Barrier Missions" over the ships operating in the Pacific Ocean. As a passenger aircraft it was designed to carry about 150 persons. As a barrier operative the plane was fitted with radar and other electronic equipment, was staffed by about 25 crew-members, and could patrol for up to 24 hours under the right conditions. Significant to this narrative, TE-5 had four R-3350 engines totaling 13,400 horsepower available, but was capable of cruising at altitude at 150mph on just two engines enabling it's temporal range of 24 hours. This airplane was very easy to control; just the pressure of one finger on the control wheel would initiate a turn. This, too, is significant information.

Barrier patrol was TE-5's primary mission. She had a secondary mission; Typhoon Reconnaissance. Pacific typhoons often caused great damage in countries of Southeast Asia, and there was little forewarning in those years just after WWII. If a typhoon was discovered, or even suspected, our squadron was tasked with locating and tracking the storm, to determine where it was going and how destructive it might become. This is where my experience begins....

The crew of TE-5 was on alert for typhoon duty when the call was received indicating a possible storm in the South China Sea. We departed heading for the reported location to see what we could find. We had a small crew since we were not to be flying a barrier patrol, about 10 crew-members.

In those years technology was so primitive and un-tested that the standard procedure when acquiring initial documentation on a storm was to enter the eye of the typhoon, take meteorological readings and tracking data, report the findings immediately via emergency radio transmission, and then return to base. This procedure worked so well it was used repeatedly. Entering the eye of a typhoon was done at 1,500 feet altitude as there was a buffer at that level (from the downdraft produced by the storm). We began our entry, even though the weather radar we used showed an entirely closed eye of only 1 mile diameter. No-one on the crew seemed concerned, and as this was my initial flight with the crew (and my first flight in our squadron) I was blissfully naive. The ride became very rough. Intercom chatter became anxious.

One of the crew who had not strapped himself in found himself stuck to the ceiling of the cabin; then suddenly slammed to the floor. He crawled to a bunk at the rear of the plane and wasn't seen again until we landed. I looked forward to the flight deck to observe both the pilot and copilot pulling the elevator controls into their stomachs while leveraging by "standing" on the instrument panel in front of them, attempting to keep the plane from being forced into the sea! This is a plane with a light load, 13,000 horsepower available, and typically controllable with fingertip pressures! When we finally entered the eye of the storm we were less than 700 feet from the water level taking sea spray over the nose of the plane! To remain in the eye we had to bank the plane at an angle that made climbing very difficult, exacerbated by such low atmospheric pressure we were near TE-5's service ceiling!

The decision was made to exit the storm at a much higher altitude than 1,500 feet! We had to climb very carefully so as to remain in the eye of the storm. It took nearly an hour when it should have been only minutes under normal circumstances. Finally the radioman was able to send his emergency message the three hundred miles to Guam (an interesting side story here: Al Pinney, the very experienced radioman, tried to make contact with any receiving station in the Pacific Basin, to no avail. When he sent the request "Anyone Listening," he received a response immediately, from a ham operator in Newfoundland, literally on the other side of the planet! This person was able to relay Al's message back to Guam when Al couldn't reach Guam himself! This was due to unusual atmospheric conditions.)

As TE-5 headed home to Guam, the flight mechanic began assessing damage to the plane from the violence of the typhoon. He learned that the hydraulic system was leaking a serious amount of fluid at various places throughout the fuselage. Also, the counterbalance of the elevator was nearly falling off. Other flight controls were working improperly. We were in trouble. Fortunately our flight mechanic had enough extra hydraulic fluid aboard that he was able to replace what we were losing. However, we reached Guam with none to spare.

Once back in our squadron area, a team of mechanics went aboard to assess total damage. There was so much they determined the plane should not have been able to fly. The squadron commander asked the pilot what he did to get the plane home? The pilot, pointing skyward, remarked, "I didn't!"

At that place in my life I was questioning if there was a God, and considering atheism as a serious belief. Our pilot's comment had a direct effect on my thinking which has continued to this day. Just a few months later the Spirit led me to meetings in San Diego where I learned about the true message of the Bible, and the God of the Bible. Since those days, while looking back over my personal history, I have documented many events where God has led or protected me. I realize that I have truly been blessed.

I will always remember TE-5.