Ford Island Photographer

Wings of Gold, Fall 2004 by Potts, Paul

I joined VJ-I on Ford Island in Hawaii in November 1942 when USS Saratoga (CV-3) went into dry dock after her second torpedo hit. Our job was to provide photo coverage from the air for the fleet camera party. We were also tasked with mapping and general photography, including photostats, as we had a machine for that purpose. Mainly we provided coverage of gunnery exercises, capturing on film the splashes of battleships and cruisers firing at a towed target. We also filmed shore bombardments on the island of Kahoolawe and torpedo tracks after they were launched.

After a gunnery exercise we would land, develop the film and number each exposure on the edge with India ink and print about six or seven copies each. After washing and drying the prints we packaged and delivered them to the Fleet Camera Party. It included two crews on separate ships taking photos from different locations for triangulation to judge the accuracy of the each salvo. Sometimes the duty section worked all night to finish the job. We took a lot of pride in our work.

We flew the single-engine Grumman J2F Duck and twin-engine Sikorsky JRS-I aircraft, both amphibians. When we took photos of the ships firing their guns at a towed surface target we used JRSs because we could open the bow hatch and stand up in the slipstream with a 20-inch aerial camera. We were able to maintain sight of the target even as the plane flew figure eights around it. We flew patrol missions alongside the islands around HiIo. Admittedly, we never encountered any enemy aircraft or ships. Occasionally, we fired the 50-caliber machine gun at the whitecaps just to keep in practice.

The JRSs were old. When a part was needed for repairs we sometimes robbed another plane that was in a hard down status. Our photo lab was on Ford Island a mile from the barracks, the mess hall and the rest of the squadron, so we had a long walk to work. The lab had a panel track for the duty section to transport men to and from the flight line.

We had four duty sections. Every fourth day you had the duty and after your shift, if there was unfinished priority work, the duty section took over and the rest quit at 1630.

Only one section each day was eligible for liberty which was from 0800 to 1800. On rare occasions when you put in for it you got overnight liberty and got to stay at the Royal Hawaiian hotel. The Royal Hawaiian was used for R & R for the troops, mainly for those returning from long overseas duty. Every now and then, however, local squadron personnel could qualify.

I think I made the list on two occasions during my tour. But if you didn't rate liberty, there was plenty to do in your spare time. We had a lovely summing pool and lots of sports activities not to mention the beer hall. The mess hall put out excellent meals. Probably the best mess hall food I ever had. We had plenty of fresh avocado and pineapple. While meat was rationed in the states, we had Maui beef quite often.

I had the bottom bunk on the lanai on the second floor of the barracks, an open-air wing like a veranda. It was very comfortable sleeping as most of time the weather was warm even at night.

To go ashore meant taking the ferry to the sub base then hopping on a bus to Waikiki or elsewhere. We walked a lot, sight seeing and taking pictures. We took a bus to Pali or Kaneohe or to the windward side of the island. The Pali was a sheer drop from the top of a mountain straight down nearly 2,000 feet to near sea level and the access road to it wound around all the way down. The drive was an adventure, particularly because the wind blew constantly.

Once we tried to map an area in the middle of Maui between two mountains. The only aircraft available for the task was a PBY-5A. The hatch for the vertical mount was in the tail section just aft of the after bulkhead where the relief tube was located. It was a very blustery day and the pilot had a hard time maintaining altitude. At one point we dropped 1,000 feet abruptly with the nose uncomfortably high.

I was the "Bubble Boy" on one of our missions. My job was to watch the level and keep the bubble in the center when making runs. Things went well until the third run when one of the crew used the relief tube. I was downwind from it, and the camera and I got sprayed pretty good. I wiped the lens off and told the plane captain not to let anyone use the relief tube until the hatch was closed. We started the fourth run and it happened again. Angry, I complained once more and cleaned off the lens. We started a fifth run and dammed if it didn't happen again. By now I was not only mad, I was getting sick. I told the chief I was through and if he wanted to finish the map he had to get someone else. The chief took over and finished the job. My flight jacket was ruined and I was saturated with you know what.

Because it was a blustery day and the pilot had a hard time maintaining altitude, the photos of three of the runs came out fuzzy. Someone told me, "I guess you could say it was a p_____ poor map."