Description

There are just two kinds of aviators the fueled and the fooled. The first kind arrive by plane. The second kind arrive by parachute, palanquin-raft, rickshaw, wheelbarrow, ambulance, stretcher, or other conveyance. Occasionally they don’t arrive at all. Possibly you prefer the more picturesque vehicle, but the Navy has a definite prejudice in favor of your arriving in what you started out in the plane. Eventually you can visit the ruins of Tokyo and gratify your craving for a rickshaw ride while examining the results of your bombing. Of course you can be fooled legitimately. The carrier may change course and the tactical situation be such that you cannot be notified or you may have to drop a fuel tank. But if you’ve been saving gas, and watching your fuel consumption you may have a good chance to set down on an island or on an emergency field. At the worst, you will have enough to make your dunking a lot easier, because a forced landing at sea is greatly helped if you can use your engine.