Willy's Lost in the SW Pacfic

Willy

Willy

Administrator
There I was, hanging out in the Chief's Mess on USS Lexington (CV-16) enjoying my cup of coffee and a donut when I get a phone call telling me to get to the Squadron Ready Room. So, I head up there and get told that they need someone for a long range scouting mission and that they were happy to inform me that I just volunteered. Drat! So they hand me a set of orders detaching me TAD from Flight 19 and tell me to get ready because we launch ASAP. I get to looking at the orders and they have me going all over from the Solomons to the P.I where I'm supposed to wait on further orders to catch back up with the ship.

So, I stop by the stateroom where I pack my flight bag, go round up my tailgunner Fred from the messdecks where he's loosing at a card game and we head up to the flight deck where my SBD is gassed up and ready to go. First thing I notice is that I've got no bomb slung underneath. Hope we don't see anything that needs sunk. But at least the guns are loaded.

We quickly take off and head for the secret starting point for the mission. Some little airbase on some island with the code of KDR. Hope we can find it. But we did spot this odd looking vessel enroute and had to dive down and check it out. Had a US flag, but I aint ever seen anything like that before in this man's Navy......
 
ENJOY THE TRIP

Hope you enjoy the stay at Kandrian Airport (KDR) in Papua N.G. At least I think that is where you are going!:icon_lol: But that vessel sure does look like the one maintained at Pensacola Naval Air Station for helicopter training. Except there it is the IX 514 and the lats and longs displayed sure do look like those off of Pennsie! Just my lost opinion. Nice looking rendition
 
I remember IX 514 back when it was YFU 79 and the deck house was on the stern. Had to go check on it daily to make sure it didn't sink at the pier.
 
Slid over to Buka for a quick meet with PRB. It's probably a good thing he's not an ensign :d
 
Prepping the SBD for the flight to Rabaul. Hopefully, I can pry Fred loose from his card game.
 
After 3 honey does, 2 crash to desktops and 1 failure to connect to the Flight Center server, I'm off to Rabaul.. :banghead:
 
Leveled off at cruise alt. Sure is nice weather here compared to what we usually get with Flight 19.
 
Here I was cruising along towards Munda when I spotted a carrier steaming along below me. Naturally I had to check it out. Turned out to be a US Navy CVL, so I decided to drop in for a visit. Easy landing although the Captain says I have to move along shortly as the wings don't fold on a SBD so they can't get it down the elevator to the hangerbay to stow it. Seems they need the flight deck space for thier own aircraft.

So a quick visit to the Chief's Mess for coffee and donuts and to see if there's anyone I know onboard.

http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=CTuW1F0dizpSMJYvF293LvP75KQ

Also I'm claiming style points for a carrier landing :d
 
Well the Captain and Air Boss of the Langley are getting a bit nervous about my occupying so much of their "real estate" upstairs. They did tell me that there's a fleet carrier operating out in the Coral Sea and gave me the frequencies for it, so it's off to Munda then out to sea. But I think I'll take a break in Munda once I get there.
 
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