Les Harris told this story at the Myrtle Beach reunion.
We got a report that one of our planes had hit a mountain in France. I went on one of the planes as a spotter to look for the plane. I was on the flight line at the time so I guess I volunteered to go.
They were going to load a Communication Jeep and a trailer on the same plane. We took the rear doors off so the spotters could sit at the open doors and look for the plane.
We took off and climbed up to about 15,000 feet. I went up to the cockpit and thought I would sit there a while. I suddenly heard one of the engines sputter and then rev up and then sputter again. The pilot told me to go down stairs and put my chute on, wait for the green light to come on and "BAIL OUT!" They were giving the other engine all it would take but the plane was still going down. That took me down stairs pretty fast!
I got down stairs and got my chute on as fast as I could, sat down in a jump seat and buckled up. I couldn't take my eyes off of the light, I was waiting for it to turn green. I had always told myself I would never jump, I would go down wih the plane. I wasn't so sure now. You see I had never jumped before. I was sitting there thinking about the green light.
After awhile I heard the engine start up, "VAROOOOOOOOM". I looked out and seen both engines were running good and we were gaining altitude. I didn't know what I should do, so I decided to get up, my legs were hurting so bad. I got up and I couldn't stand up straight because I had the straps pulled so tight between my legs.
We were gaining altitude so I went up to see what had happened.
Just before the engine quit, the pilot was transferring fuel to equalize the plane. When he turned the cross-flow switch he didn't turn it to the proper position; he turned the fuel "OFF".
Needless to say I was the happiest person in the world right then.
I got to Rhein Main and joined the 12th in 1951. I
was assigned as an aircraft Electrical Technition.
We took a whole fiight of C-119s to Casablanca, North
Africa to a base I think was called "Nurser AFB". One
of the planes was flown by the Headquarters
Commander. I can't think of
his name It might have been Col. Strickland.
When we landed that afternoon we got a call to the
plane I was on that the Colonel had a problem with
his cowl flaps. They were stuck
in the open position and he couldn't get them to the
proper position. The cowl flaps are to adjust
the engine temperture. Since I
was the only
electrican on the flight he wanted me to get my tools
and see if I could fix them as soon a we
landed.
When we landed it sure seemed hot to me. I had to get
up on the wing and take the Cannon Plug loose from
the actuator and see what the problem was. As it
turned out I knew I had to replace the wiring in the
connector to the actuator. I just happened to have a
new one with me. I looked for a
Tech Manual but couldn't find one.
I had to cut the connector off because it was so hot
on the wing it felt like my skin was frying. I had to
lay on top of the nacelle and reach around (I couldn't even see the
accuator) because I couldn't see the plug on
the actuator.
I did get the plug off and found the problem.
I determined that I had to replace the plug, but that
would mean soldering it. I was sure I could do this
and get the wiring back the right way. I replaced the
plug and got in the plane to check it out. I tried the different positions, but
I had two of the wires switched.
I wanted to change it but I was
informed by the
Colonel I didn't have the time, He had to get the
planes off fast.
I thought "what in the world am
I going to do?" I
decided I would take a little card and put it by the
cowl flap switch so the Colonel would know what
position was which.(Bad
Mistake)
The Colonel came and got it the plane. I then
explained the card to him. He got very irritated; in
fact he said to me "How do you
think I'm going to do this?"
I said; "Sir: the only way I
know is to read the positions on the card".
I got in a fair amount of
trouble you know! I got a
dressing down because, apparently I didn't know my
job. I explained to him that I didn't have time to
find a Tech Manual, and it was so hot on
the wing. But he DIDN'T SEEM TO CARE!!!
I felt real bad about this. We went on and got the
Troopers and made the drop.
When we got back to Nurser I thought I could fix it
before we left for Germany. He said he had gotten
pretty accustomed to the new positions and I could
fix it
when we got home. I guess I
made out OK but I never
wanted to meet that Colonel again!!!
After leaving the Air Force I attended the University
of Arkansas and obtained a degree in Electrical
Engeneering; worked on the Titan II missle program in
Arkansas for two years; moved to Alabama and worked
on the NASA space program for six years. I then
retired from the missle program.