My Passion for the Grumman F6F Hellcat
By
Charles “Chuck” J. Dixon
It was 1943 and I was 13 years old. I learned to build flying models. During World War II the Hellcat had asserted its air superiority in 1943; so, I built one. Then I sold it to a lady who wanted it for her grandson.
Already, aviation was in my blood.
When I was 17 I joined the Naval Air Reserves at Millington Naval Air Station. It was there I got my hands on a real F6F Hellcat. Among other things I learned how to put gas in it without squirting it everywhere. During some two-week cruises I was taught to be a Plane Captain. On the way to Pensacola Naval Air station the following picture is what I saw from my seat in the gunner’s position of a Gruman Avenger. It is a formation of F6F Hellcats from our squadron. Every one of the pilots were World War II veterans.
Figure 1 Formation of F6F Wildcats
In 1950, I was called to active duty for the Korean War. I wound up in a Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron at Alameda Naval Air Station in California. There I learned about many distinct types of Naval Fighter aircraft. We still had two World War Two F6F Hellcats, and I became Plane Captain for one of them.
These aircraft were used as utility for our pilots to get their flight time. On what I like to call “Dark Friday,” two pilots signed in to get some flight time. After about 2 hours only one came back and it was not mine. I asked the pilot of the other F6F about my plane. He said, “I don’t know, I lost him in a cloud.” My first thought was “Did I do something wrong.?” I had a weekend off duty, and I worried all weekend about what happened, When I got back on Monday, I learned the wings on the returned aircraft were buckled, too much load was pulled to get out of a dive. Now, I knew why my aircraft did not make it and we lost the pilot.
At Alameda I continued to be a Taxi Pilot. My task became taxing the F6F and many other types of aircraft to the Compass Rose (A huge compass on the ground) to calibrate the magnetic compass. When my military time was up I used the GI Bill to help get a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Later, I got a master’s degree. My life from that point has continued to be interesting and adventurous. I have never forgotten my story about the F6F hellcat, it arises often.
Just recently I am privileged to have gained a new friend who was a Navy pilot about the same time I was in the Navy. We had been on the same aircraft carrier, but not at the same time. I was surprised to learn that my friend was an F6F Hellcat pilot. It was even more exciting to learn he had become a member of the ” Blue Angels” flying the F6F aircraft one of the first aircraft the Blue Angels used.
Figure 2 Flying War Cats
I was excited to get a new hat from the Commemorative Airforce (CAF) that has the flying War-Cats on it. I received it just before I met my new friend, and I used it to honor him at his recent ninety-eight birthday. In two months, I will only be ninety-four, but we have a lot of Navy in common. .I like to wear the hat because I get a lot of questions about it. It is not only good for advertising for CAF, but for talking about my own book, Chasing A Whirlwind and my wife’s book, Born Three Times.
Both of us have had exciting lives. I began learning to fly in a single seat glider after enrolling in college. Eventually I earned a pilot’s license and an instrument rating. As an Engineer and Research Scientist, I became an inventor with a few US patents. Two of these were done after My wife and I started our own business, “Consulting Aviation Services Inc.” My Christian life was followings God’s plan, and I know aviation and flying has been part of it.
My wife’s book, Born Three Times tells of her exciting life with a liver transplant. She is 80 years old and has had the transplant for 26 years. Our first spouses passed away, so, part of her book discusses her search for Saint Superman. I did not qualify, but I could fly. She authored an article for “Chicken Soup for the Soul” called “Love at First Flight.” It was selected and published in the book and in our local newspaper. Then, NBC interviewed us on television. We enjoyed our 15 minutes of fame for a weekend!
You can find more about us on our website, https://chasingawhirlwind.com and Facebook “Chuck and Frieda Dixon”.
