Editors note: We recognize that the title photo is not of a Hellcat. The author did not have a photo available of his uncle flying the Hellcat.
It’s July 1st, 1946. The teak deck of the USS Shangri-La is hot to the touch. The Sun at this time of the year in the Pacific is a terror. As an American pilot is climbing into the cockpit of a Grumman F6F Hellcat, numerous servicemen are assisting him. This is a routine procedure, yet, nothing about what he is getting ready to do is routine.
The pilot is fitted with special gear. Added to his normal jumpsuit was a large lead vest. Formed to his head, was a specially designed lead shield which covered one half of his face and skull. The thought process being that if he were to lose vision or hearing, he could simply remove the lead helmet and maneuver the plane with one eye and one ear.
The aircraft itself was outfitted with collection canisters and other instruments. The cockpit sported protection as well. Lined with lead, the Hellcat weighed more than normal, requiring a special takeoff procedure just to get off the deck.
The Unknown Pilots Of The Nuclear Era
Many people know about the nuclear arms race post World War II. Some might have even heard of Bikini Atoll (after all, it is the home of Spongebob SquarePants). But I’d be willing to bet that not many people know about the type of testing that was conducted, and exactly how American pilots were used.
The Hellcat Drone
After launching off the deck of the USS Shangri-La, the heavy Hellcat climbed up to 40,000 feet. The pilot’s mission was to fly up to altitude and remotely via radio, control a separate Grumman F6F Hellcat as it flew through the Atomic Cloud. This mission was two fold: first, the pilot would send the manless, or ‘Drone’, aircraft through the cloud. On the other side, another pilot in the exact same type of aircraft and with the same protective suit on, would then take control of the drone and land it back on the deck of the carrier. Secondly, both pilots would fly around the edges of the massive mushroom cloud.
Since the plane was outfitted with testing equipment that would collect particles of the fallout as the pilot skirted the edges of the cloud, it was extremely vital to get the birds back on the carrier, hence the lead. Both pilots also had instruments inside the cockpit monitoring their radiation absorption. Whilst flying, both pilots would constantly read these displays out loud, to save them in the flight recorder.
At 8:45 on that warm morning, a B-29 dropped a nuclear bomb. Named “Abel”, it exploded 520 feet above Bikini Atoll. As the mushroom cloud rose and rose, our pilot sent the unmanned aircraft through the cloud to the other side, where the other pilot took control. Our pilot then circumnavigated the cloud. The turbulence coming off the cloud would prove to be extremely rough, leaving him to rely on his training to maintain altitude and keep the plane level. While doing all of this, he was continuing to read the displayed data on his instruments into the cockpit voice recorder.
Sniffers Deployed
As he flew, the airplane was sucking radioactive air into the pistons, through the block and surely into the cabin of the cockpit. These pilots would later go on to be called “Sniffers”, and our pilot, on this day flying around Abel, would be the first.
The unpredictability of the turbulence would surely have made hand flying extremely difficult and while the mushroom cloud would intermittently block the view out of the cockpit, the hardest part of looking outside would be the heavy lead helmet covering half of his view.
While we don’t have evidence of this exact F6F Hellcat, no. 58623, going through Abel, there are many that believe he did. After over 3 hours in the air, he navigated back to USS Shangri-La and landed on the teak deck. Upon touchdown and shutting the engine off, naval servicemen scrubbed every inch of the aircraft and the pilot with soap and water. A desperate attempt to get rid of any lingering radiation.
Hellcat Promptly disposed of
Afterwards, the plane was thought to be dumped overboard, ensuring the engine wouldn’t spread radiation from its exhaust in the future. 58623 would never fly again. However, the pilot, my grandfather, would continue to fly for years afterward. I never met him, as he (un)surprisingly succumbed to complications from cancer in the 60’s. The picture attached to this post is him, somewhere in the Pacific theater. Sitting in a Hellcat, just like the one he flew on that day. Though here, he didn’t need the special lead suit.
As the nuclear arms race raged on, the military eventually allowed pilots to fly through the mushroom clouds from these test bombs. As this proved detrimental and many pilots were lost, they eventually backtracked and banned flying through atomic clouds.
Apocalypse Ahead
My uncle is convinced that my grandfather did in fact fly through the center of Abel that day. And while I never got the chance to meet him, I understand the kind of temptation that must have existed. Up in the air, with the weapon of the apocalypse so close you could touch it. I’m certain he did.
