Название: Ghosts of World War II: NAS Banana River Автор: Barbara Marriott
Издательство: Fireship Press
ISBN: 1732030510
Год: 2018
Страниц: 148
Язык: английский
Формат: epub, pdf (conv)
Размер: 10.14 MB
How do you write about something that doesn’t exist? The only thing left of the Banana River Naval Air Station is chunks of cement from old runways, bits and pieces of wood, a legend, and a spirit—the spirit of a base that came from nowhere, played its part gallantly in a time of world crisis, then disappeared into the sand and sea of Florida. While the Banana River Naval Air Station (BRNAS) no longer exists, its spirit continued on until after the Korean War in the PBY aircraft that was the reason for its establishment.
Banana River was established to provide a training base for seaplanes; the missions of these airmen and their aircraft captured the base’s spirit. After the base closed, its spirit continued in the missions carried out in Korea, as the Navy’s PBM seaplane continued its job. This is what the present revision has added to this saga of an old Navy airfield.
The material in this book was obtained from declassified official Navy records of the Banana River Naval Air Station, and from Bill Sproull, who flew the PBM in Korea.
It was nothing more than a thin strip of land bordered by an ocean and a landlocked salt river. Its inhabitants were hoards of sand flies and mosquitoes. In time, it probably would have been taken over by developers, and become another resort area. But catastrophic events, beyond its shores, dictated a different role.
The sand was shaped into a naval base and the sand flies and mosquitoes shared space with the young men who came to prepare for war. Yet, in a time that threatened their lifestyle, their country, and the world, these strangers became a cohesive unit that worked together, played together, and in some cases died together.
The sea and sky were the canvas of aviation war machines that became the hunters and killers of the deadly efficient submarines lurking just off its shore - the German Wolf Pak.
The battle of underwater boats and flying boats gave the Banana River Naval Air Station its cause. A cause fueled by the determination of world leaders and the madness of power and greed. Here, technologies clashed in the depth of the ocean and the vastness of the sky.
Then, as suddenly as the Banana River Naval Air Station appeared, it was gone...vanished, leaving only the folklore, the official reports, and a river with stories to tell.
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