Delays, which had plagued ferrying operations over the route during the first half year, were significantly streamlined now. Soviet officials continued to be a source of friction, bit even in this respect, a certain level of mutual tolerance was arrived at and the job of expediting aircraft and cargo pressed on.
Lend-lease aircraft arriving at Great Falls spent an average of 25.3 days in the hands of the Alaska Wing. This figure represents the time from which an airplane arrived at Great Falls, went through processing and any requested modifications, then flew on to Fairbanks and was officially handed over to the Russians. After hand over the average time that an airplane remained in Alaska was 7.6 days. Processing during winter months was naturally more involved and time consuming than the similar task performed during summer months. Consequently, the time that an airplane remained within the jurisdiction of the Alaska Wing through the cold weather months was somewhat longer than the 25.3-day average. The time period was significantly shorter than the average during the summer.
With the massive increase of ferrying activities came the addition of another ferrying squadron to the 7th Ferrying Group - the 7th was activated in late June.
An unfortunate but inevitable aspect of the growing scale of ferrying was the increase in accidents. Mishaps at landing fields became a daily occurrence as fledgling pilots were involved in a plethora of plane-bending incidents. Leading the way numerically were landing mishaps, with the most frequent error being that of forgetting to lower the landing gear prior to touch down.
Taxiing mishaps rated a milestone as the 1,000th lend-lease airplane was delivered to the Soviets over the Alaska-Siberia route. This milestone was reached with the departure of A-20G #42-53972 from Ladd Field in the hands of a Russian pilot. Deliveries, much to the delight of the Soviets, were on the increase and reaching all-time monthly delivery total highs.
The brief ceremony accompanying the occasion was marked by speeches from both American and Russian dignitaries in which each expressed their delight but qualified their gratitude with the comment, Send more!
Upon the expiration of the Second Protocol on June 30, 1943, a total of 1,066 lend-lease airplanes had been handed over to the Soviets in Fairbanks.
Nick of Time
Engine failure continued to plague Airacobra pilots, a problem which would persist without satisfactory remedy until the type was phased out of the ALSIB picture in another year.
While ferrying an Aircobra north on July 2, Lt. John W. Gaines experienced persistent engine roughness, all seemed manageable until between Watson Lake and Whitehorse. About an hour out, Gaines' engine began to sputter and finally quit at an altitude of about 7,000 feet (2,133 m) in the vicinity of Teslin Lake. Frantically Gaines tried to restart the engine as the altimeter needle rapidly unwound. At 800 feet (244 m) there was but one option and no time to hesitate. Gaines rolled out the right door and yanked the parachute rip cord ring. A sharp jolt announced the opening of the chute while in the same instant the abandoned airplane exploded on the ground beneath his feet, nearly enveloping him in the blossoming fireball. Gaines landed with a painful thump only feet from the flaming wreckage, spraining an ankle. After hobbling over to the Alaska Highway, Gaines flagged down a passing vehicle and returned to Watson Lake for medical attention.
Gear Up and Forgotten
Pilot inexperience led to scores of instances of pilots forgetting to lower their landing gear or temperamental mechanical linkages that prevented their extention. Major damage to the airplane and severely rattled pilots were the predictable results.
Control tower logs are awash with such incidents, as the following entries affirm: July 6, 1943; daily diary entry from RCAF Station Whitehorse: A P-39 crashed on the runway with the wheels retracted. When on final approach, the tower noticed his wheels were not down but attempts to warn the pilot went unnoticed and a landing was made causing significant damage to the plane but the pilot was uninjured.
July 17, 1943: daily diary entry from RCAF Station Fort St. John: One plane, a P-39, really dropped in to stay. His undercarriage wouldn't fully extend despite every effort by the pilot. His radio was not functioning so a message was written on the side of another P-39 so that the pilot could be instructed as to the correct procedure for lowering the landing gear by the emergency method. The emergency method failed to work so the pilot flew around the field to burn off access fuel until it was nearly all expended. As nearly everyone on the station assembled for the show, the pilot jettisoned his spare fuel tank and landed on his belly. The pilot got out a little shaken and asked for a cigarette, the airplane suffered considerable damage. Capt. Green and Capt. Van Sickle took charge and gave assistance to the pilot. The aircraft was dragged from the field.
July 20, 1943: daily diary entry from RCAF Station Fort St. John: There was one pilot flying a P-39 that was likely just seconds away from eternity. He came in for a landing with his wheels retracted and not tuned to the frequency. The tower had time to just fire off one flare at him which succeeded in alerting him and he was able to pull-up and go around and land-this time with the gear down. Attached was the auxiliary fuel tank which would likely have burst into flames.
Northern Comforts
Personnel who had suffered through the bitter winter of 1942-43, ill-prepared and poorly equipped, were determined to go into the upcoming winter girded for the worst. Col. Gaffney continued to push relentlessly to build facilities and sweep away impediments to the Alaska Wings' primary mission - moving aircraft over the northwest route. To achieve this end it was essential to maintain constant liaison between USAAF and RCAF officials. With the emergence of the route from the primitive airway to an organized and semi-efficient one, the desperate days of the previous fall and winter were but a distant memory.
At that time borrowing between the USAAF, RCAF, DOT and Northwest Airlines was the order of the day. Now with all these units approaching self-sufficiency, contact between these groups became less frequent. In spite of this, the sense of comradeship was high and relations excellent. Movies were generally supplied by the Americans and considered the undisputed highlight of the week. The Americans kindly made these available to all.
Desperately needed hangars were under construction at most airfields throughout the summer, while barracks and other living quarters were receiving finishing touches. Wood cutting occupied the better part of most days for the enlisted men as this was the primary means of fuel for cooking and heating at most bases. The quantity of wood required for a winter was staggering, some thirty men were detailed at Watson Lake and Twenty at Whitehorse specifically for this purpose. The USAAF also made arrangements to have coal shipped up from Seattle as an additional fuel source.
Life was still primitive and difficult at most bases but gone were the days of camping out. Symbolic of this transition was an event recorded by the Fort Nelson RCAF diarist in late August, 1943: An historic moment has occurred as water is now gushing from showers and taps for the first time. It is also our first experience with water in quantity. Men are having as many as five showers a day to make up for months without! |
