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1944
 PILOT ERROR
SENSE

AVIATION TRAINING DIVISION · OFFICE , Of THE CHIEF

OF NAVAL OPERATIONS · U. 5. NAVY · ISSUED AUGUST 1944

L84-8-13 Property of the

(7 of 7) Harl\/. .rack~n Library
Thv fv1useum of Flight
 NOW YOU HAVE WINGS!

Probably you have found out already that these

are very helpful to you and your career. On
account of your Wings, people envy you. And
Wings help you to make friends-particularly,
they help you to make girl friends.
But unless you watch yourself, your \Vings can
help you to make less agreeable things, mistakes,
for instance. In fact, there are so ~any dumb
mistakes you can make in the Navy that they
have been classified as to type, and various rates
have been established for them.

3
 unbuckled, holding on to the seat with @ne hand to keep from falling out? That's been
T~e appropriate ratings are available to young naval aviators, and you are eligible
done, mind you, but are you that cocky?
to stnke for any and all of them, although it is very difficult for you to make all of them
at once.
To make one or more of these rates, only three things are necessary.
(a) Cockiness
(b) Carelessness
(c) Judgment (poor)
Before striking for one of the rates, analyze yourself. l\fake sure you are ready. Ask
yourself these questions:
1. "Am I cocky enough?"

2. "Have I achieved Maximum Carelessness?"

\ This doesn't mean leaving your wallet in your other suit when you're going out on
Can you truthfully say to yourself that now, when you have learned to take off and
a foursome wi_th a pal whom you know to have en<?ugh dough to c~tch the check. It
~and a service type airplane, you have enough overconfidence to go out and crack it up
means somethmg really outstanding-like trying to take off in a TBF with the wings
m a truly spectacular manner? Could you put it into a slow roll with your safety belt

4
.folded. You think_that's too much to expect? O.K., it happened. And it wasn 't a example. if you have an engine failure just after take-off, the plane will try to land
student who set this remarkable record, it was an aviator with wings! straight ahead, which will do the least damage possible. But if you try to make it
execute a I 80 ° turn to get back to the field , the plane will show proper resentment and
you will wind up with a face full of instruments.

3. "Can I count on my iudgment to make me do the right thing at the wrong \Vell, if you can answer these three questions in the affirmative, you are ready to
time and vice versa?" strike for a rate. But don 't get grabby. Try for one at a time while you're learning,

I SENTENCE
T\HS GUY
TO DiE!

and then step out and try for two or more at a time. It is not too much to hope for to
It's hard to exercise bad judgment in an airplane. It wants to take off; you have to make Goon 1/ c at the same time you make Squashhead 2/ c, if you play your cards right.
restrain it from taking off too soon. It wants to land; you have to keep it in the air You might even strike for Heel 3/ c on the same flight when you q1~alify as Cbief Stinker.
when you're landing. But you can misguide it, all right, if you apply yourself. For Deeds like this have been performed.

6 7
 The outstanding record in the service to date is held by Ensign Thaddeus P. HefHe-
thong of Waukeg-a n, who, shortly after leaving his carrier, staggered his shipmates in
the fleet by achieving simultaneously a first class rating as Goon, Dope, Sucker, Straggler,
Klunk, and Zaney.
This, however, is a record you can hardly hope to duplicate. Ensign HefHethong's
portrait hangs in the Municipal Auditorium in Waukegan. Ensign HefHethong hangs,
it is reputed, in the anteroom of the C. 0.
Let us examine the various rates and the qualifications for them. Don't let the high
standard of requirements appall you. You can meet them-they are being met all too
frequently, which is why officers have so little hair. They pull some of it out by the
roots every time some bright-eyed, bushy tailed naval aviator qualifies for a new rate.
8 9
(It is a recorded fact that one officer formed a '·Share the Worry" dub, claiming no
one man could do all the necessary worrying about the screwy practices of the flyers
under his supervision without breaking under the strain.)
The first of the rates, and the easiest to make, is Dope. You make that by getting
yourself lost, and one of the best ways to qualify for it is to catch up on your sleep during
Nav courses. There is something about a Mark 3 plotting board that makes you want
to just lay your head right on it and wander off into dreams. That is a good way to
make Dope.
DOPE
You qualify as Dope 3/ c if you can't find your way to the hangar. To make Dope
2/ c, you have to be unable to find your way back to the airport. If you can't find any
airport, you make Dope 1/c automatically. But to make Chief, you have to get lost
from your carrier. This is really the easiest rate to make, but it has the disadvantage

that it is very difficult to draw your specialty mark from ship's service, which, of course,
is located on the same carrier that you haven't been able to find. Your shipmates,
however, will inform your next of kin that the last thing you did was to make Chief
Dope. This will be a great source of satisfaction to your N. of K., who will tell your
little nieces and nephews about it. Your little nephews will not be impressed. Kids
are getting very smart, these days.
-n-tE G-UY WAS · A DOPE./
HE. COULDN'T NAVIGATE.I
Another easy rate to make is Straggler. You qualify by simply getting out of forma-
tion. This rating is available to VF, VB, VT-almost any type of pilot. It is rather
difficult to make in the ferry command, but otherwise it is a cinch.
IO
STRAGGLER
If you merely lag behind the f~rmation and louse up its appearance, the best you can
hope for is Straggler 3/c. But if you apply yourself assiduously, you may be able so to
conduct yourself that you upset the entire section, scattering it around the sky with
gay abandon, and this rates you as Straggler 2/c. · If you can get more than one forma-
tion Fubar (Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition) you make Straggler 1/c.
But the crowning glory is making Chief Straggler. This can only be accomplished
in a combat zone, and you make it by dawdling along behind the formation until a
couple of Oscars come al~ng and nibble away your wing surfaces with 7. 7 machine
guns. The rate, unfortunately, is conferred only posthumously.
11
 Speaking of combat operations, the rate of Sucker is available only when in the
proximity of the Sons of Heaven and the Luftwaffe. You make this rate, like Straggler,
by getting out of formation, but the Sucker has a different frame of mind from the
Straggler. The latter wanders off because his mind is wandering. The former leaves
the formation because he wants to become a hero and can't stand to share the glory.
,,,.__,J~llP-,,.- /
I'LL CLAW
'EM APART/
SUCKER
In words, the Sucker is i lone wolf-or, more correctly, the lone wolf is a Sucker.
To be a Sucker you have to go larruping off on your own pursuit of an enemy plane
only to find that it is a decoy. The way you find that it is a decoy is by a series of signals
pumped into you by the fixed guns of your target's accomplice, who has been lurking
in the vicinity for that purpose.
•
Making Sucker 3/ c is easy. All you have to do is leave the formation. You are a
Sucker 2/ c if the enemy makes a colander out of your plane. To make I / c you have to
12
be shot down, which is easier than you may think, at that, but Chief is really hard. To
qualify, you must get shot down yourself and get a teammate shot down for going out
and trying to rescue you. What makes Chief difficult is that very few teammates have
any interest in bothering with a lone wolf, so in the normal course ~f events, unless
somebody in your squadron is a soft-hearted, sentimental boob, about the best you can
hope for is Sucker I /c.
l
I
There is great temptation to be a lone wolf. It makes mighty nice reading in the
newspapers. There was a story in a Minneapolis paper once about a man in the Flying
Tigers (who, as you know, ,vere 80y; Ex-Naval Aviators) who shot down 24 Jap planes
single handed. This fellow's interview not only said that he did it, it told how he did it,
in detail. The Flying Tigers ~ead it with great interest, because the guy was an aviation
mech and had never been off the ground in combat. Nevertheless, he remains the
outstanding lone wolf of the war to date-he bragged the loudest!
J
l
SQUASH HEAD
There is another rate you can make during formation Hying which is even more
desirable than the two aforementioned-Squashhead. This specialty mark usually is
I
13
 earned during the process of joining up, and it gets the eyes of one and all upon you- to you. Don't think for a minute that the specialty marks are restricted to the bom-
you and the unwilling partner who inadvertently assists you in making the rate. bastic, swashbuckling young aviators. Not at all. By spending only fifteen minutes
You make Squashhead 3/ c by bustling into the formation and cutting across in front a day, you, too, can join the swelling ranks of rated dunderheads.
of the section leader. This brings you to his notice in a most effective way, and if you For instance, if you don't want to go in for the more spectacular specialties, why not
have been annoyed by his seeming lack of attention to you in the past, he will more strike for Klunk? All you need is a little self-confidence, and an airplane instrument
than make up for it now-and later, when he gets you on the ground. panel.
Getting out of position in the formation and elbowing other planes around while
correcting yourself is a good way to make Squashhead 2/ c. If you come barreling into
the formation, bank sharply. and ~mack into the plane in your blind spot, you have
become a Squashhead I / c. You also make it by boiling in from astern and getting
sucked into the slip-stream. Nobody has made Chief Squashhead yet. To do that,
you have to knock the whole formation out of the air. which is hard to do, because the
cowards employ evasive tactics.

A good way to make Klunk is to forget to set your altimeter. If the instrument reads
50 and your altitude is -3, you make Chief without further examination, which is
fortunate, because you won 't look well when examined.
A young PBY pilo~ at N .A.S. Jacksonville recently made Klunk 1/ c by a quick and
most efficacious method while practicing w.ater landings. With his eye riveted on the

The foregoing rates are rather conspicuous, and in cas, you are the shy, retiring type
who shuns the spotlight of publicity, perhaps some of the more modest rates will appeal
\

14 15
:!

· artificial horizon, ·he landed with his starboard float about one fathom under the water,
on his first attempt. His instructor thereupon reasoned with him in terms which drew
an exception from the chaplain at Cecil Field, some 16 miles away. The pilot tried
again, and managed to get the port wing tip in the water. This time, the women's clubs
of St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Lake City and Gainesville called up the station to
complain about the instructor's language.
"I don't understand it, sir, " the pilot wailed to the instructor. "I had ,my eye right
on the artificial horizon. And it was just as level as ... as the horizon."
"Lemme see it," said the instructor. "Why you Klunk! The *%x&.#ing thing is
caged! You couldn't budge it with a snap roll."
This is only one incident that shows how to make Klunk. There are many misuses
of instruments that can qualify you, and you are at liberty to select the one that becomes
you most. Don't try to be outstanding by failing to heed your gas gauge, however.
Any sap can do that, and most saps do. In fact, it happens so frequently that the crash adventures, such as wheels-up landings, engines cutting out, putting down the diving
board just says, "Ho hum," and tells Western Union to send another telegram begin- flaps instead of the landing flaps on SBD's, spraying the runway and hangars with
ning, "We regret to inform you, etc., etc." machine-gun fire-all kinds of swell experiences that the ordinary, or stodgy, type of
naval aviator never gets.

GOON
A similar rate is that of Goon, which you get by over-rating your memory, and getting
too old, and wise, and experienced to bother with the check-off list. Among the people
who have never made Goon are the Marine and Navy pilots you read about in the news-
-papers-the flyers who kill Japs. - It seems they always use their check-off lists .. ·. no Some of the available rates can only be made in the fleet with proper application of
self-confidence. the factors of cockiness, carelessness and judgment (poor).
But if you want to make your mark in Naval aviation history-and in the dirt beyond One example is the rate of Stinker, which is awarded for disobeying the signals of the ,
- the end of the runway-just skip the check-off list and make Goon. It leads to wonderful signal officer aboard a carrier. You can get set to make this rate by close attention to

16 ' 17
disunity while practicing field carrier landings. Disobeying a wave-off is about the best You can also make quite a name for yourself by thinking up little quips, or gags, to
way of becoming a Stinker, but only Stinker I / c is awarded for it ashore. Out with the tell over the voice radio. You are always sure of an audience, of course, and the fact
fleet, you make Chief-but quickly. that the fighter director and the squadron leaders may want to get some information
on the air insures their listening closely ,to you so they'll know when you're through
r DON'T NEcP
NO HELP/ and it becomes their turn.
Another way to be a Heel is by making up your own code and using that instead of
the fighter director voca~ulary. If your squadron mates don't know what you mean, to
hell with them. Let 'em get sharp, so they can keep up with you.
To be more specific, here is a good way to make Heel 1/c. Let's pretend that you
are Purple One and the Fighter Director is himself.
FIGHTER DIRECTOR: "Purple One. This is Purple Base. Over."
YOU: "H'ya, Charley. What's cookin'?"
FIGHTER DIRECTOR: "Purple One. This is Purple Base. Over."
YOU: "Yeah, yeah. I heard you the first time. This is Purple
One. Purple One, right in the pink. Ha, ha. Get it

STINKER
Probably you think of the signal officer as an inarticulate gent who stands out there
all by himself communicating with his fellow-man by waving little paddles. But if you
don't do what the little paddles tell you to, you will find that the signal officer is one of
the most outspoken citizens afloat or ashore, and the unbroken flow of invective he will
heap upon you will approach the duration of a well-organized filibuster. An interesting
experiment, while making Stinker, is to see whether you can make the signal officer
madder by ignoring a cut signal or a wave-off. You can even make a sporting proposi- Charley, right in the pink!''
tion out of it and make bets on it. FIGHTER DIRECTOR: "Purple One. This is Purple Base. Mattress. Over."
YOU: "Quit clowning, Charley. Mattress over! What are we
Another sea-going rate is that of Heel, <loin', Charley, makin' beds? I'm no sack-switcher.
which you can make only in collaboration How about you, Charley, old boy, old boy?"
with the fighter director. You qualify by FIGHTER DIRECTOR: "Purple One. This is Purple Base. Vector two five
failing to comply with his orders, or better zero. Two bogies. One five miles. Angels ten.
yet, by trying to argue with him over voice Buster. Over."
radio. YOU: "What's that? Wait a minute, Charley, lemme have that
stuff again. I didn't_get all the statistics. Just tell me
where those characters are and I '11 mow 'em down like
flies.''
HEEL At this point the conversation ends, as the Fighter Director has become purple. But
you get the idea.

18 19
 And while we're on the subject of communications, there's another field that's almost
unlimited when it comes to making rates-contact reports. So much depends on what
you send back to your base in a c~.mtact report that there's practically no ceiling on the
extent to which you can louse up the situation, not only by what you send, but what
you don't send.
For instance, a patrol plane pilot once made Zaney 1/c-the appropriate rate for
making inadequate contact reports-by sighting a Jap task .force and reporting:
.
engine difficulties arising out of the operation of a Japanese 20 mm cannon. He radioed
his base:
"Am landing in a bay."
This led to a fascinating game of hide and seek, as the Aleutian chain is about I, I 00
miles long and the islands contain some 37 4 or so bays. As a matter of fact, it took his

--=---- -- - .______- - - -
KEY!
PE.EK A &oo - --
:__ ==-~-=---=-
- =--- - -- -=-- -
w-.R.E- ARA- You ?

squadron mates 13 days to find him, his radio having gone dead when his plane sank.
Being marooned did not inconvenience him, however, as he had supplemented his
emergency ration with fish and several ducks, and, in fact, had become so impressed
with his surroundings that he desired to remain and become a pacifist. They finally
ZANEY talked him into submitting to rescue.
Oh, we could go on for hours about the ways to make these rates. There was one
''Many enemy ships. Over." case of a student pilot, whose name became legend but unfortunately has been forgotten,
It was a master stroke. He confused the base thoroughly, and undoubtedly would who distinguished himself immeasurably by making a wheels-up landing despite a
have made Chief if they hadn't been able to get him on voice radio and trick him into
telling them ·where the enemy ships were, how many of them arid what kind, whether
they had planes and other trivia like that. · But you'll have to admit that he did his best
to prove he was Zaney material.
Probably you are wondering why this genius didn't make Chief Zaney. Well, the
reason is that his feat has been topped by others who really merited the honor more.
There is one pilot who reported two enemy carriers which turned out to be transports.
And there is another who set the record for misleading contact reports to date by report-
ing two enemy submarines, which the startled attack group found to be enemy flattops.
You can well imagine that when you go out loaded with depth bombs, prepared to bring
back the pants of two submarine skippers, it is ' a little disconcerting to find that your
targets are two carriers practically beckoning for torpedoes and demolition bombs.
Another young aviator made Zaney under conditions of hardship and considerable
privation. He was flying patrol off the Aleutian Islands, and was forced to land due to

20
21
running fire of protest on voice radio from the tower. After he had been pulled out of
the wreckage and dusted off, his instructor asked him,
"For God's sakes, couldn't you hear the tower screaming at you?''
'•Naw," replied the student. ··some damned horn kept squawking in the cockpit all
the way down an' I couldn't hear anything."
The cases cited have been outstanding, but they are not the top-flight cases. Above
the rates enumerated there is one which transcends all others! It has been made, but
never twice by the same young aviator. l\Iany others have nearly made it. Break enough
of the rules, and you ·11 make it yourself:

.
CORPSE 1/ c

ADDITIONAL COPIES of this booklet may be obtained from

NAVAL AIR COMBAT INTELLIGENCE OFFICES
attached to the following commands:
Commander Air Force, Atlantic Fleet Com Fair West Coast, NAS San Diego, Calif.

Commander, Air Force, Pacific Fleet ComFair Alameda, NAS Alameda, Calif.

Commander, North Pacific Force ComFair Seattle, NAS Seattle, Wash.

Commander, South Pacific Force N. A. 0. T. C., NAS Jacksonville, Fla.

Commander, Southwest Pacific Force C. 0., NAS Coco Solo, C. Z.

22 23
 PUBLICATIONS OF THE AVIATION TRAINING DIVISION
. ·oFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS U. S. NAVY
*
SENSE BOOKLETS
ALEUTIAN SENSE "G" SENSE (gravity) PATROL SENSE*
Don't be befogged. Down and down you go. Eyes of the Fleet.
ARCTIC SENSE GUNNERY SENSE PRISONER SENSE*
What to do at the point of an Some hints for air gunners. · Rules of captive etiquette.
icicle.
DUNKING SENSE MANNERS SENSE SECURITY SENSE
Forced landing technique. Gentlemen, be seated! Zip that lip, brother!
FLAT-HATTING SENSE OXYGEN SENSE SHARK SENSE
Don't kill yourself, please. Breathing at high altitudes. Private life of a coward.
FUEL SAVING SENSE PARACHUTE SENSE TAXI SENSE
Ratio11ing makes sense. How to jump. Hail and farewell.

STUDY AIDS
STUDY-AND HOW NOTES FOR ENSIGNS A-V (N), USNR
Many 4.0's for the reader. Rules of the service.
FLIGHT QUARTERS* THERE'S NO SUBSTITUTE FOR MARKSMANSHIP
Duties of flight deck personnel. Companion book to "Gunnery Sense."
USING YOUR NAVY WINGS SO YOU ARE GOING TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC
How, where, and when. Guide to tropical isles.
DON'T KILL YOUR FRIENDS THIS IS ANN (Publ. by the War Dept.>
·safety precautions for fixed gunnery. · Beware the mosquito! She drinks blood!

AEROLOGY SERIES
ICE FORMATION ON AIRCRAFT . FOG THE WARM FRONT
AIR MASSES AND FRONTS
THUNDERSTORMS THE OCCLUDED FRONTS THE COLD FRONT

*RESTRICTED

~fc,perty of the
Re, ■ esls
OFFICE
fer th abne , ■ bliulins sb11I~ bt aUressd lo lbe AVIATION TRAINING
Of THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS, NAVY DEPARTMENT,
DIVISION, OP33J,
WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
Harl V, Brackin Library
The MYSSUm of Flight
* U. 5, GOVERNMENT ~RINTINCi OFFICE : ltH - 11 40039,
24