VS-23 TBM3S Avenger Ditching April 1951 USS Bairoko

My father ditching during the Korean War off Korea / Japan along side CVE-115 USS Bairoko on 17 April, 1951.
Esn. J.A. Meinhard pilot, naval photographer unknown.

BU# TBM-3S91157

April 18, 1951

His letter home

"Dear Folks,

The Lord is gracious. Yesterday I got wet when my engine quit, and I had to make a water landing. I was making an approach to land aboard the ship when my engine started sputtering. The engine sounded like it was running out of gas although I was running on an almost full tank. I switched the fuel selector valve to another tank, but the engine continued to sputter and die so I raised the wheels and made ready for a water landing.

The landing was soft like flopping on a pillow and water went everywhere. In a matter of seconds I was standing on the wing with water all around, and I couldn’t get my life raft out. I intended to dive off the wing into the water but saw the plane was floating level so I decided to stay until she started to sink.

I went back to the cockpit and after working a bit I got my raft out. I inflated the raft, put it on the wing, climbed in, and pushed off. I had a laugh about putting the raft on the wing and then climbing in because it all seemed very funny.
The plane stayed afloat for 2 ½ minutes and then sank. Usually they will float from 15 seconds to a minute. The plane sank in about 1 ½ minutes after I pulled away in the raft. I was picked up by the destroyer Bradford in about 10 to 15 minutes after I ditched. I got out with just a scratch on the leg.

All my reactions were automatic as to how I was taught in pilot training, and I didn’t panic. During the event of the emergency it seemed like I had all the time in the world – like ages were passing by.

The water was warm, wet, and salty. My clothes were soaked with dye marker, but I felt good when I got some hot coffee and took a warm shower. The destroyer people were very nice to me. The Executive Officer game me clean shirt, trousers, shoes, and socks to wear, and I got a nice piping hot turkey dinner. The helicopter came over from the carrier in the afternoon, picked me up, and took me back to the carrier. I was scheduled to fly today but the “Doc” grounded me because of a cold, but I intend to get up tomorrow."

© 2021 Meinhard Family Collection / J.A. Meinhard Author