Airman Research Paper

The family of an Army Air Force crewman would be concerned about their son’s safety for many reasons. Being in the Air Force could lead to a crewman’s death with a single shot and a plunge into the sea. The Pacific Ocean’s “...bottom was littered with downed warplanes and ghosts of lost airmen. Every day of this long and ferocious war, more would join them.” (pg.70) When airmen is flying into a battle, they are putting their life at risk. An aircraft could be shot from land and its wing could be torn off or it could be shot in the gasoline tanks and explode. Weather also made flying difficult. Foggy and stormy days “...reduced visibility to zero...” (pg.85) This was a safety hazard for Army Air Force crewman because when the runway is not visible, …show more content…
Delaying the landing as much as they could, some planes plummeted into the sea. The family of a B-24 Liberator might have particular concerns for their son. Most B-24 Liberators, also known as “The Flying Coffin”, had plenty of faults. The B-24 was a plane with the reputation “... for being delicate, especially in the skinny wings, which could snap off if struck in combat.” (pg. 64) The B-24 Liberator was a plane which held a lot more fuel than a regular plane but it was very thin. If a crewman fell against the doors, they would fall out of the sky. All B-24 had to be driven carefully and no crewman on the Liberator could unattentive. When a B-24 crashed and the plane could not stay airborne, escape was crucial. The Liberators were so heavy with utilities that “...Liberators sank quickly; one airman recalled watching his B-24 sink so quickly that he could still see its lights when it was far below the surface.”(pg. 89) Exiting a B-24 under pressure would be harder because of the minimal time crewmen had. In many of the seas, sharks roamed waiting for a meal. If a crewman got trapped in a B-24 Liberator and the plane sunk, there wouldn’t be a body