Don selects a few bizarre memories among many:
1) Doing slow rolls in a Harvard at Kingston after the piss-tube used by the previous pilot had been blocked.
2) The peculiar smell of the jungle reaching to 6,000 ft. over Sumatra and Java.
3) A critical moment - deck landing on HMS Victorious in April 1944 in violent weather on a frozen deck when the rolling of the ship stopped seconds after landing, just in time to prevent the aircraft sliding over the side.

Most Memorable Ops Etc.

4) Ground School at HMS St. Vincent Barracks, Portsmouth (a former naval prison dating back to 1850 and infested with cockroaches) - dessert was always the famous St. Vincent plum duff and it was difficult to distinguish the raisins from the cockroaches.
5) Huge losses due to accidents - five crews of 15 lost in one month.
6) Malaria and dysentry at the same time, at the end of which Don’s weight was 90 lbs.
7) Hostility of the non-flying ship’s company toward aircrew, probably because of their higher pay.
During his naval service, Don flew Tiger Moths, Harvard Mk. II , Miles Master Mk.I & II; Fairey Barracuda Mk. II and III; Hawker Hurricane and Fairey Fulmar. His operational time was spent entirely on Barracudas which he describes as a bad aircraft. He says that it was underpowered because, although it was designed for the
R.R. Griffon engine, they all went to the RAF and the Barracudas got Merlin 32s. Despite its low power, Don says that the Barracuda was quite agile and good for deck landings - “because it didn’t want to fly in the first place” !! One additional bad feature was the failure of the wing-folding securing pins. Several aircraft were lost in dive bombing because of sheared pins. Merlin engines performed poorly in the tropics - Don says that Seafire and Spitfire pilots will agree with that - and he adds “ It was a good thing that Lancs didn’t go east.”
“I loved being under the RCAF at Kingston” Don reminisces. It was top class, he says, and a efficient organization, plus being democratic, particularly after the iron, autocratic discipline of the RN. A highlight of his stay in Kingston was being inspected by Billy Bishop. “Naval flying was considerably more difficult than shore - based flying” Don says. Apart from deck operations, he describes the life as being tight and hard - disciplined. The Navy maintained a battleship mentality right up to the later stages of the Pacific War, according to Don, when carriers became king. There were no admirals with flying training - exactly opposite to the United States Navy.                                            02/03/01