Quote:
Originally Posted by SSE 4 2SS
Hi-jack away...
I had a friend in the navy way back when... He is quite a bit older than I am... He served on the Kitty Hawk... Went on a West Pac to Yankee Station, you probably know when... He said the stopped in Pearl to rep up, and then headed to Yankee Station... Enroute they ran into a typhoon... Had the Port Fwd elevator down for some reason and a wave took it off... completely... the Captain got relieved... He said at one point in the storm the destroyer escorts would literally submarine, come up shaking like a dog and do it at the next wave... He said that out of 3000+ men, 2500 were huddled a-mid'ships trying to minimize the pitch effects on themselves...
he didn't realize how big the seas were unitl they had two feet of blue water run all the way down the deck... He said they crested one wave, buried the bull horns in the next wave and when the bow came up,, it brought literally tons of water and it ran the length of the deck... spilling off the side the whole way... Now I have to take this friend with a grain of salt, but working out here, I came to realize just how big the seas can get... so...
I'm amazed how big the seas can get and how quickly it can happen... Slick calm now and four or five hours later your looking for some relief...
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That story about the Kitty Hawk is pretty well known... I don't think people understand how big an elevator is on the carrier... Like big enough for 2 F14 or F18s to fit side by side not opposing.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by PQ
Holy *hit............ Serious? How big were those freaking waves? Damn.
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Not necessarily 70 feet but when the carrier is pitching the flight deck can be as low as 30 ish feet above water... So you more plow through the next wave... But I can tell you this... We been crossing the Indian Ocean... and when you are sitting in the Galley on a ship the size of an Aircraft Carrier and your food is launched off the table cut the wave hits the bow so hard it's like she ran aground... That will rattle any one's cage...
I've been flying looking for good weather.... Literally, they'd send the helo's out to try and get above the clouds and look for clear weather to run flight ops... and just as we lifted off the flight deck the destroyer next to us literally disappeared.. I mean GONE... underwater... I thought for sure I was gonna have to rescue someone in that weather... but I'll be dammed if she didn't just breach the other side and shake it of like a dog getting out of a pond. I was astounded...
Quote:
Originally Posted by MisterCamaro69
Cool stories... Why did he get pist at you calling him Chief?
Chris, thanks for your service, and Robert, thanks for your gas 
If the feces proceeds to collide with the oscillating rotater, I hope I'm with you guys  |
Well surface guys are pretty anal about their actual rank..
Chief, Senior Chief, and Master Chiefs all wear different rank insignia...
And since I was an airdale on board ship, junior airdale on board ship, who called him by the wrong rank.... (You really only call Chiefs "Chief" Senior Chiefs "Senior" and Master Chiefs... "Master Chief"... Or CMC but only if they are the "Command Master Chief")..... He decided I was gonna be the example...
so to call a Senior Chief just "Chief" is robing him of one rank...
and the fact that I was an "Air Wing" guy didn't help much...
And you are very welcome.. I'd be glad to paddle that creek with you guys should the need arise.
