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I was a 20-year-old airman just out of fighter jet mechanics school,
assigned to the 36th FBS at K-13 (Suwon). We arrived there after our
transport ship skirted along a typhoon for three days. We reported in
October 1952 and I was immediately assigned as a crew chief on a specific
F-80C. The next morning, I pulled "Able Alert" at 4:00 a.m.
There was no time to become adjusted to the job.
Crew
chief duties included "walk around" inspection with the pilot,
assisting him in "office seat down," and starting the APU
(auxiliary power unit). After saying, "Fire in the hole," we
would remove and display gear safety pins and wave him to taxi out. When
the aircraft returned, we would refuel and rearm, check all the fluids,
and resolve pilot write-ups with flight line maintenance assistance. When
a multi-ship (up to 48 aircraft) returned, things became hectic. Crew
chiefs, flight chiefs, fuel trucks, and munitions troops with their trucks
and equipment, made for a busy and crowded flight line. Many times a
"bright light" tail pipe inspection would require a trip up the
hole.
Our squadron was the first in the 8th FBW to switch over to
the new F-86Fs in early 1953. The Sabre was much easier to refuel.
The F-80 had seven separate fuel tanks. The F-86 had a single point
refueling system.
Flight
line maintenance could be risky at times. One of my friends walked in
front of a jet intake and had a quick trip up the inlet. He survived after
a stay in the hospital back in Japan. Another incident was when an F-86
was pulling into a sandbagged-protected revetment with armed .50-caliber
guns. They fired off, setting an APU on fire. It took a while to put the
fire out and get things under control.
Looking back, I honestly have never met an Air
Force pilot that I didn’t like or admire. Unlike the non-flying officers
at K-13, the pilots always took time to chat with the maintenance troops.
My service and time spent with the 36th FBS in Korea was rewarding and is
well remembered.
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