WWII: B
OISE NAVY PILOT FLIES COVER FOR GEORGE BUSHWhen Nat Adams, Boise architect, joined the Navy air arm in 1942, he had no idea that he would be flying cover for the future President of the United States.
But that’s the way it turned out. Adams took his pre-flight at St. Maries College and his primary training at Los Alamitos, both in California. He was then sent to Corpus Christi, Texas, for operational advanced training in Navy fighter aircraft. In combat he flew the famous F6F Hellcat, powered by a 2,000 horsepower Pratt & Whitney engine.
The F6F was capable of 300+ miles per hour and was armed with six 50-caliber machine guns. It could carry a 500-pound bomb as well.
Nat, or "Blackie" as his comrades called him, was soon in the Pacific flying off of three different carriers, the last one being the U.S.S. San Jacinto, an Independence class carrier (CVL) that was home to about thirty-six aircraft.
Also assigned to the San Jacinto was Torpedo Squadron 51, among whose members was the youngest pilot in the Navy, one George H.W. Bush. His aircraft was a three-man torpedo bomber (TBF) which carried a torpedo or bombs, depending on the mission.
Actually, before the end of the war, both Adams and Bush would be fished out of the Pacific by the U.S. Navy. The usual basic mission for Adams and his comrades was to fly cover for the TBFs. This called for engaging enemy fighters as well as strafing runs on both land and water targets.
Adams' crash landing in the water occurred on July 25, 1944, about six weeks before that of Bush. His flight was attacking a Japanese ship which, it turned out, was loaded with mines.
Their strikes caused the entire cargo to explode. This explosion developed into a giant mushroom cloud and sent metal parts flying high in the air just as Adams’ F6F passed over the doomed ship. It damaged a wing and tore away an aileron, a vital control element.
He tried to make it back to the San Jacinto but when that proved impossible, he bellied into the water alongside a destroyer, the U.S.S. Healy.
Although he was without his one-man raft, he swam over to the destroyer and was pulled aboard. Adams was forced to spend ten days aboard the Healy before he could get back to his carrier.
Photo of actual explosion of the Japanese ship
Later, in September, when Bush was shot down, Adams’ group was flying cover for a Bush bombing run on an island radio facility. Adams saw Bush’s plane smoking after being hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire but he could not tell, from his position high above, whose plane it was. Only after he landed did he learn it was Bush’s plane.
Bush was picked up by a U.S. submarine and taken to Pearl Harbor. He declined the opportunity to remain stateside, wanting to return to his squadron still in the thick of the fighting. Needless to say, those on the San Jacinto were grateful to see peace finally come a year later.
