RE: B-24 Liberator: Ditching at Sea
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09/26/2007 01:10:37 AM
Steven:
Here is what William Carigan wrote about Ditching in a B-24 in his book "Ad Lib: Flying the B-24 Liberator in World War Two." I did not include the portion on crew procedures to prepare to ditch and drills.
“Warning: if time permits, waist windows should be jettisoned through the belly hatch to avoid danger of their closing and jamming shut on impact. It is most important that all bottom hatches be closed and that the top hatches and waist windows be open. …
“Ditching positions: … there are three suitable general positions: the flight deck, the rear compartment forward of the waist windows, and the half deck. [Above the rear bomb bay.] The half deck is one of the best ditching positions in the airplane and as many men as possible should be there with feet braced forward, protected with coats and cushions from sharp edges. The men on the half deck could aid others if injured by water or carried back into the tail. …
“The dangers from a hard landing are that the top turret can be torn loose; and if bomb-bay doors are caved inward, water may fracture No. 6 bulkhead and flood the rear compartment. …
“Technique of landing the airplane [on water]: to land the airplane properly, the pilot must determine the direction of the wind, wind velocity, and the character of the waves…. When flying over water the pilot must develop some judgment about the seas, waves, ground swell and wind. This is another skill you need to develop before the grim event.
In a B-24 ditching, avoid a high rate of sink. That’s one reason you jettisoned everything except the shadows. Get the airplane slowed down before you start your glide, and control the rate of descent with power if possible. Approach the surface with half flaps, bringing down full flaps to slow the speed as you flare out. Best technique is to approach at low airspeed and low rate of descent. As everywhere else, grease it in—it means more here. Don’t attempt to land tail low, because this puts too much strain on station 6. Don’t drop it in or you will collapse the bomb-bay doors and force water against station 6, to the consternation of the crewmen in the aft section.
Note: I [William Carigan] never ditched the B-24, which is attended with a somewhat low rate of success; but the techniques are those recommended by ditching survivors.
Landing on a calm sea: if the surface of the sea is calm, without whitecaps or waves, land upwind.
Landing on a swell: when whitecaps exist but foam is not being blown into spray, ditch along the top and parallel with the swell.
Landing in high waves: if foam is whipped into spray, wind velocity is too great to land crosswind. Ditch upwind on upslope of wave. This is the procedure for a high wind and a heavy sea.
Caution: there may be more than one impact. Warn the crew to hold positions until the airplane comes to rest.
Procedure after landing: The airplane will usually remain afloat from one to ten minutes. As soon as the aircraft comes to rest, engineer will pull releases on the life rafts. Crew should exit as fast as possible with necessary equipment as follows.
Through the flight-deck hatch (each man inflates his life vest after clearing hatch): navigator first, receives emergency radio (if stored on flight deck) from radio operator or flight engineer and goes to left raft. Radio operator second after passing emergency radio to navigator, goes to left raft. Engineer third, receives ration box from copilot and goes to right raft. Copilot fourth, after handing ration box to flight engineer, goes to right raft and takes command. Pilot fifth, hands out water and other supplies and goes to the left raft and takes command.
“From rear compartment (life vests should be inflated after individuals are clear of the waist windows so vests won't interfere with exits if hatches are under water): right waist gunner or nose gunner first through right waist window to right raft, carrying water or other supplies, followed by bombardier to right raft. Left waist gunner first through left waist window to left raft, holding ration-box rope; tail gunner second, through left waist window after throwing out radio (if in his charge) holding tightly to rope, to left raft.
“Note: if time and circumstances permit, take out the frequency meter and be sure to keep it dry. (Emphasis mine.) By attaching antenna from the Gibson Girl emergency radio to frequency meter, it can be operated as an efficient receiver to provide two-way communication for several hours. ...
“Life Rafts: Two type A-2 life rafts are carried in the fuselage above the wings and slightly aft of the top turret. To release either raft from inside the aiplane, pull the T-handle, on early aircraft located at the rear of the flight deck left side.... The pull cable releases the lock pins which hold the life raft doors closed and allows the spring bungee to throw the life raft out, clear of the fuselage. A ripcord attached to the raft cradle automatically opens the valve that controls the raft inflation from the CO2 bottle. To release either raft from outside the airplane, the lever flush in the fuselage aft of each door should be lifted and twisted 90 degrees. This action pulls the same cable and releases the raft in the same manner as described above. Do not release rafts until airplane is at rest in the water. …"
Ken
Ken Alexander
Son of 1st Lt. Clair B. Alexander Jr.
Pilot, B-24s: 10/12/1944 - 04/24/1945
15th AF, 49th Wing, 461st BG, 764th BS
Torretta Airfield, Cerignola, Italy