VMA-121
I was staged out of the US through El Toro, but never actually assigned to a squadron there. I was at Cherry Point for threee months after I got my wings prior to going to Korea, via ?El Toro. I am not sure I would use the word "over loaded" to describe the ordinanace loads on the AD. It cvould carry an incredible amount of ordinance (as we often discovered "dogging" for hours waiting for a target which required the ordinance you had on board). I don't think I ever saw an AD in 121 that you couldn't make out "Navy" under the "Marine" [painted on the rear of the fuselage], i.e. we got aircraft after the Navy had them. Maybe we got a new 6, but I am not sure. You could always spot an AD driver, our flight suits were always greasy (the AD was not considered an excesive oil burner if it burned less than 12 gal. an hour!). I remember one time being asked to take a plane back to Japan for an IG inspection to see how maitenance was doing.Obviously the maintenance crew picked out what they considered to be a wll maintained aircraft. I thought I would be on the ground for maybe an hour or so in Japan, When I got there the aircraft was grounded as unflyable, and I had to hitch a ride back to base.The plane was brought back a week or so later, and it then was really the best plane in the squadron! The Marine Corps always had hunk and would pridefully make do with just about anything. I remember when we were pulled back and as supply officer, I had to go on the LST when our stuff was moved around. I got to the boat a bit early, and watched a convoy of smart, clean, smoothly operating units from an Army outfit come on board, then I see this train of wreckers pulling a variety of really beat up jeeps, weapons carriers, trucks loaded with boxes it looked like the Army had thrown away. That was our [USMC] stuff; and we thought we had thrown away the stuff which was really junk. I was in the squadron after the cease fire when we had to begin to account for things and live on budgets, I can remember the Wing Supply Officer saying Marine outfits never spend all their budget, they always have something to turn back, just to show they don't waste money. Fight operations always slowed down at the end of the month to make sure we had some gas on the way back; made our Coronel look good at Group and Wing!
I was the supply officer in the squadron at the end of my tour and I was respondible for packing up the things of people who were killed. I can't remember if we sent home log books. I don't think so (Got them! - Ed.) I flew my last hop in 1958.
I was not in VMA-121 at the time your grandfather Collins was killed in an AD. As I reflect back to those tmes and what happend to man like your grandfather, I am humbled by the gift of life which I have received. so undeservedly when I think of people like him and some of my friends who did not return from Korea. My best friend died at the end of the runway at K-3 when his engine cut out and his aircraft was still loaded with ordinance. For many years I called his parents on Memorial Day to let them know that he was still in my thoughts. Four years ago when I called, I discovered that both of his parents had died. I gues that finally ended the war for me. I guess it must surely not be ended for the families of men who died then. Enough of me.
I think I ended up with about 1800 hours in the AD, I flew everything from the 1's through the 6's. I did not fly 5's because I was never in a squadron which had them, they were the big cockpit version. Are you sure your grandfather stalled out on take-off? (yes. - Ed.) I know that they tended to really load them up. The AD could carry its own weight in ordinance and often they were loaded to the gills which might have meant a a stall; but, they had really big R3350-24w engines which had incredible power. I presume your grandfather was originally a Corsair (F4U) pilot They were 121's aircraft prior to the AD. I only had a checkout hop in one of those, but they certainly had a reputation for being a lot less forgiving than the AD. On takeoff, loaded with ordinance, a cutout engine, even for a moment at a critical time could have caused a stall [in the F4U]. That is how my buddy died.
I flew in a fighter squadron in the reserves when I was back in the states. I went to grad school in New Haven, CT and flew out of Floyd Bennett field in NYC. we had the Navy version of the F-86-Hs which were fun, but they would never replace the AD in my heart as an airplane driver.
