Bunker Hill (CV 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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intense, hustling Blackie Walker became V-1-D junior officer under popular Lieuten- ant A. R. Land-Pappy Middleton, athletic officer who switched from V-4 to V-1 late in 1943. Middleton's transfer to a Naval Pre- flight school in the early summer of 1944 left the V-1-D unit in Walker's hands, and Lieu- tenant K. A. Hashagen reported aboard to take over Fly Two and athletic duties, mov- ing to Fly One on Mitchell's receipt of orders in August. V-1-C remained in the hands of Lieutanant Mitchell throughout the first year, until he was relieved by Ensign Howard J. Nelson, Jr., and proceeded to duty at NAF, Philadelphia. Primary job of the Walker-Miklausen- Mitchell team, over and above direction of their specific units, was management of the flight deck, the control of traflic and the direction of crews topside. Walker assumed the duties of Flight Deck Control on Bed- well's transfer, playing the key liason role between the schedule makers of Flag and Air Plot and the translation of their orders into flight deck trafllc. Miklausen handled Fly Three, the gruelling direction of aircraft out of the landing gear and up the deck, and the precise business of spotting for launchings. Mitchell worked Fly One, launched all flights and directed stacking of planes upon landing, and the flow of air- craft aft for respotting. Repair VIII, included on the V-1-D mus- ter rolls but a distinctive unit of its own, was the small, alert crew headed by Lieu- tenant Cjgj Browne, bomb demolition expert and Air Department flre marshal. Its func- tion was in effecting rescue of personnel from crashed planes, clearing away wreckage, fight- ing fires and making emergency repairs to the deck when damaged. The blonde, gag- loving Brownie stayed with the ship until August, 1944, when his long-awaited orders to flight training, and his relief, Lieutenant Cjgj William Pitscher, arrived. Browne and one of his crewmen, Slc C. H. Martin, were awarded the Navy and Marine Corps medal for one of their many actions in emergencies. Fast-working, genial R. E. Howell, AMM 2c, was the bull petty ofllcer of the unit. Working with the angry, deafening roar of engines in their ears and fighting the blast! of slipstream that could tear the shirts off their backs or blow men helplessly down the deck, the crews of V-1-D well deserved the words of praise so often spoken by observers watching the machinery of a flight deck op- eration. Flight Deck Chief J. D. Tex Sadler, ACMM, youthful Wasp veteran and Texan, headed the crews and paced the work I C51 an . or .4 X x - f a 'r . Y, 5. la X Q ,pl Y ,N ff it .1 . , ...gl - ., .1 ' 1 . , J V 1 I ' ' K' -,A Q, 'ju' , sn-, 1, gi mb . F. 5 V p 1' . ,, 'QU Q 41 . eggs? sr: . 1, - -Ra'-. . if -, H a -- i :'m'.f'?::, i .is ff ..- it -'S' 559' ri? If' J ,p at if gi - ,- Q .Q , a i, ,, .11 M. ,. -3, a f as .. ,A . H ,.-M I ,iii ,c , 4, ,i,,,,,AL . . H .7-4 V -A I 1 K4 , 5 a- N Q, Y, . . .ff-'J . .A 4 I , I ., of the spotters and directors. Among the latter were burly A. H. Pete Kludjian, BM1cg stogie-smoking P. E. Penza AMM1cg quiet Frank Niadna, AMM1cg wiry H. I. Bud Lofton, BM2cg Frank Renz and James Ellison, AMM2cs, affable Charlie Almond, PtrV2c, and big Joe Scarba, AMM3c. It was due to their efforts that the crews main- tained a consistent record of top-notch per- formances, strike after strike. A .ff- 1 L. .r U 'sa' HANGAR DECK HUSTLERS Cn the hangar deck, a similar esprit de corps and hustle spurred the efficiency of V-l-H, the virtually anonymous backstage performers of the big show topside. Hand- ling planes as fast as they could land and be placed on elevators, the hangar deck crews were in position to make the flight deck look good or bad-and they always made it look good. They had such further bedevilments as working with only inches to spare between planes, and special spotting demands of the

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VETERANS SET THE PACE - hrough the pre-commissioning period, duf- ing shakedown and in combat action, it was Commander Smith, who paced the air operations. A volatile, practical malji the heavy-set Warrior pounded the deck Wlth all the stamina and vigor of his big frame- Uncompromising in his demand for a fast- stepping, efficient organization, Commander Smith Worked unceasingly, driving himself harder than he did his men, to create that team. He measured operations in seconds and fractions of seconds, and tirelessly strove for perfection in every phase of operations. Even as Air Boss, he retained his interest in expediting the drudgery of deck operations and you often could find him on the Hight deck, bearing a hand. His right bower was a survivor of the old Wasp, Lieutenant Cjgj Paul Bedwell, USN, a wiry, iiery, one-time Boatsvvain Whose eleven years of flight deck experience were of ines- timable value in the training of the Hight deck team. He was its wheelhorse until his transfer to the States near the end of 1943, and under his tutelage Lieutenant Wallace C. Mitchell, Lieutenants Qjgj E. Cardon Walker, Steve Miklausen and D. W. Browne were Whipped into leaders of a fast-operating V-1 division. Succeeding Commander Smith as Air Of- ficer was square-jawed, quick-moving Gil Frauenheirn, who had come aboard as Lieu- tenant Commander at San Diego for a visit, remained to take over the V-2 division, moved to Assistant Air Boss with Com- mander Major's transfer, and had the de- partment leadership thrust into his hands by Fate. With it came a spot promotion to the rank of Commander, to lend him weight in the unnumbered discussions of operations, and to complement the ability. that qualified him forthe silver leafs. His first assistant was Commander P. P, Pete Barrick, conscientious, steady work- man who had reported aboard in April, 1944, and was completing a tour of duty in the various Air Department divisions when M stepped up. ln September, 1944, he received 0,-del-5 to a sister carrier, being relieved in Qctober, bv Lieutenant Commander W. E, Bertram, USN. veteran carrier pilot and ern. while Belleau Wood flight deck officer. Four units comprised the V-l division, whose primary concern vias aircraft trafiic and control, V-1-A, the arresting gear crew, V-1-C, the catapult crewg Y-l-ll, the Flight .1 5 1 - --- , f 1 , deck handling crews, elevator operators, jeep and tractor drivers, and Repair Vlllg and V-1-H, the hangar deck crews handling sim- ilar duties. Qi, 'U' THE UNIT LINEUPS SHIFT The original administrative lineup found Commander Smith as V-l ofiicer and, head- ing the units, Lieutenant Cjgj Walker in ar- resting gearg Lieutenant Mitchell, the cata- pultsg Lieutenant C-igi licdwell, the flight deck, and Lieutenant Rushmore H. Mariner, the hangar deck. As time went on and trans- fers .were afiected, change in the lineup of division leadership make recapitulation read like a boxscore. Stocky, imperturbable Rush Mariner moved to V-I ofiicer when Com- mander Smith became Air Bossg Lieutenant Percy H. Clark, Mariner's first assistant, t00k over V-1-H and later the division, with bulky Lieutenant ljgi Victor A. Hughtih former Chief Machinist and Clarks assist' ant, aSSuming the unit otiicership near the close of the first vear, a Lleumnanlf tial. Niklatisen, after A mart pprentlceshlli' as J- O., took Over V-l-A, 1115

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1 l 3 1 Q I 3 l s l l l 1 i l l l ......-.-- .,, .l 1 i l.. lk . . - k s uadron and aviation engineers' Chuc lilhrlow, CBM, the Hangar Deck, Chlef' and Bill Stolzenburg,AMM1c, his assistant, were the deck bosses, aided bY an assortment, of plane directors who were adept at threading planes through the jampacked hangar with a minimum of Dilbert accidents that brought out raging engineers to replace a smashed stabilizer or bumped wing Stub- These directors, all of them crew leaderS SIHCC commissioning, included Joe Fernicola and Donald Dinges, AMM3csg C. E. Lambdm and D. E. Mitchell, CoXs'ns, and Johnny Surrett, BM2c. Two other units whose work attracted less attention but was as important to flight op- erations as any other were the arresting gear crew and the catapult gang. The arresting gear gang did its job with a high degree of efliciency, learning many tricks of the trade under their first Chief, Vincent Prevetti, whose 18 years of experience won him pro- motion from CMM to Warrant Machinist, and transfer back to new construction. His place was filled by quiet W. E. Smith, who came aboard as a first-class aviation mech and rose to ACMM. J. E. Toczek, W. R. Braun and B. L. 'Burow were the AMM1cs heading up the crew. The Catapult crew, saddled with a new type of machine whose peculiarities under heavy use had to be learned and mastered in the combat zone, was ably bossed by F. P. Zimmerman, ACMM, whose long exper- ience with all types of machinery, and his innate mechanical practicality were of im- mense value. M. D. Harsh, Art Engelgau, and T. S. Jones, AMM1cs, were the bull petty oiiicers credited with maintenance and per- formance of the intricate and powerful Cam- pults. Fox 32-in coininission-roger. Talkers at the Status Board and at the VF engineering desk, erase a line on their black- boards, chalk in an oc , and another plane ij ready I0 fly. Fox 32-a husky Hellcat-had returned from the afternoon hop, its wing blasted to hell and the fuselage riddled by debris thrown up by on exploding f7ap gunihoa. Bwig following dawn, if ,flew anotherfghu-r' 1? ' Jlxla ,imrnu in that. .Yo glansor. I! zamfaf, it mf fffwff' 'ff 'W -fed I wvdm lzuml on the sfirk, and wen! hflaw- -if UTI ,m.,.j,5 amy' ,W-fgl,t111t'!l1.i' Iooh' utter, Ill! BBQ was f1.f,tf.t,m1', and work started. In Ihr shadow, baruish ligh! of the hfmgar' rink, sl wing gg clianged, an mginr w'lli14-ffmfnf wwf, flflflws Inge palrlml u jr. .in armmg threw packed the gypsy will: lllflf' 11lr'.1'll'l4'4lI!?f' ltntlfal, Gnd Wdkllgd while two men with headsrls rlamprd to their ears-hdf1'le1l wilh Ihr radio. From some Corner came a rrew of men ,making a gas hose through the forest of wlirels, pol-rd Ihr brass nozzle into tlzirsly tanks. Up forward the homhmgi and arming crews, 'Yreslf' from Ihrre hours of sleep, gulped ho! coffee as they awailrdllzr bombs that vm due up from the nmgazirirs al 17200. Bring 'em up, send 'em lopsidr, do all the numer- ous little things izeressary to insure proper op- eration ofa lflllfllmll, l000wpound bomb--all in lhc' pilflz-blafk of Ihr-fllghl deff. Fox 324 sr'r in roirinizssirin roger. To the vast and relatively unrecognized V-2 division falls the responsibility for the servicing and maintenance of the carriers hitting power, keeping aircraft availability ll the highest possible peak. Working long hours through the night on engine repairs, fighting the thick blackness of the flight deck to ser- vice planes for the first strike, the men of V-2 get little of the glamor of carrier com- bat, the thrill of watching a flight rendez- VOUS in the murky dawn s-finale of the COP' side's big show. 'l'l1cy've more work todo. Their satisfaction will come from the pilot? thumbs up okaying engine pcrformtmlf bomb release and gun operation, when 59 lands back on lioaril. .The Bunker Hill's YJ2.-li gang had it! 59' gmnrngS with the first squadrons at NNW' R'!ll1Ci'JC Igommamler Major and Cornmlw . .' . - i ' on t V -k. agdanowith, lulgfy. AU Qu-agp een s WPCF. freely mixed squadron and personnel to build an ace maintenance sion. Tirelessly fighting the bugs af tht dl,