gary1954 wrote:
C VEICH wrote:
Mark Allen M wrote:
Armchair quarterbacking I know but I think I may have elected to go out the other way!
I saw that and wondered what his thought process was. I'm not the shapest knife (i said knife) in the drawer

, but.....doesn't one generally move away from flames instead of jumping into the frying pan?
Greetings from Holland
I know this particular incident. I try to translate a part of the book "Een bevlogen avontuur" by R.J. Idzerda (squad leader of the 860sq, flying the seafuries at that time)
The name of the pilot is not known to me. But his nickname was "de Kluis" wich translates into "the vault". He crashed on the British carrier HMS Illustrous. He got away without burns and got back to flying duty after his broken ankle was healed. He probably jumped on this side of the aircraft because he was used to get in and out on this side of the airplane and this side was lower to the deck, so he didn't have to fall very far. Or maybe the airplane was still sliding along the deck and he did not wanted it to slide over him when he jumped out.
There was also a pleasant anecdote about this pilot. It occurred during a Mediterranean cruise of the Royal Dutch navy only carrier, the "Karel Doorman". A detachment of eight Seafuries paid a visit to the French naval airbase "Oran" in Tunesia. The MLD pilots were very surprised to see that their french colleagues drank a glass of wine during the lunch. This was strictly forbidden in the Dutch navy. Not wanting to 'insult' their hosts, they also took a glass thinned with water. Late in the afternoon, they would return to the carrier. Because the French did not speak any english, they had to ask for take-off permission in french. The dutch pilots rehearsed a few sentences for this before they left the carrier. Asking take-off permission in english went like this:
"Request Permission to enter the runway for take-off" In French, this translates to
"Demande Permission pour pénétrer la piste et décoller" "De Kluis, being the funny guy, pronounced it like this:
"Demande Permission pour pénétrer le décolleté" This translates into something like:
I am asking for permission to penetrate the cleavage" Realizing it was a joke from a merry Dutch pilot, who was not used to a glass of wine, the French ATC Laughed Out Loud
