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Rating:  -
The Hurricane Hunter and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle
Author: Tom Barnes
Book One: The Hurricane Hunters
Sometimes life can throw you a bad curve or so you think. Three men who wanted to serve their country and fight in the Pacific during World War II thought they had been deprived the privilege of fighting in the war and never realized that fate might have dealt them a better hand than they thought at the time. Imagine enlisting in the service to fight in a war and missing the briefing meeting. Charlie Wilson did. What about Tom Barnes and Paul Byrd their orders were misplaced and wound up somewhere else. Good luck, or just plain fate that dealt them a different hand and saved three lives.
Tom Barnes in his book the Hurricane Hunter and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle relates in his own words the events that led up to this catastrophe and how he became a hurricane hunter. Hurricane Hunters are aircrafts that actually fly right into tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Eastern Pacific Ocean for the purpose of directly measuring weather data in and around these storms. Believe it of not in the United States, the Air Force, Navy and NOAA units have all participated in this mission. Prior to having artificial satellites to find the storms, the military units flew routine weather reconnaissance track to detect formations of tropical cyclones. This is the true story of Tom Barnes and his real life experience as a Hurricane Hunter.
Imagine being told that your new job is to fly through hurricanes in order help make predictions about the size, strength and future path of the hurricane. Would you do it? Imagine taking this information and giving it to local officials in order to help them make decisions about possible needed evacuations of areas that might be at risk for a hurricane of great magnitude. Why was he one of the chosen ones and what reason did the Navy have for creating this group and having these men as part of the new wave of Hurricane Hunter? These brave men who were going to fight a different war, an enemy that could easily destroy, kill, and cripple entire states, cities and more. Not considered by most as dangerous as fighting an armed enemy, but deadly non-the less depending on the category of the storm. Men who were chosen for the consistency and attention paid to performing their preflight checklists, onboard load limits, flight inspections and more, these brave and newly trained men would learn to hunt hurricanes in order to develop a warning system to help save lives.
Through the author's eyes the reader can visualize and feel the excitement generated as he and the crew of his plane venture out each time they were called into action. You could feel the energy of the storms being described and the descriptions and chain of events from beginning to the end help the reader become part of the hunt for the hurricane along with Tom and his crewmembers.
Being someone that hates rainstorms, lightning and would rather hide under the bed during a hurricane or blizzard, I cannot tell you how much respect I have and everyone should for these brave men. Separated from his navy squadron and having to cope with being sent or stationed to the Pacific author Tom Barnes winds up at the Jacksonville Municipal Airport handling a heavy bomber unit.
Describing the voracity of the hurricanes and the force of the anger and rage when they make landfall and create a whirlwind of havoc and destruction, he and his many hurricane hunters track storm from Barbados to Honduras and Belize. The unusual part is that these hurricanes were categorized and logged in sequence as Hurricane I and so on and not given the name of a person. How strange not to hear that hurricane Tom, or Bill or Paul was going to knock at your front door real soon. Instead, it was hurricane II that might have been a Category 2 or 3 hurricanes.
When Tom finally does see a real hurricane and describes it from 28,000 feet above the ground you understand the real beauty of the storm along with the horrific results that come along with it. The sky, the lightning, the winds, the turbulent weather and the end result are so vividly described by Tom and his friend Bill Hurley, that you wonder why such a magnificent site causes so much devastation.
The voice and humor of the great Hurricane Hunter and author is heard throughout this informative, interesting and man who belong to Squadron 114 who contributed to the research and initial development of the famous low-level penetration technique. This method has been used or employed by the Navy for more than 20 years. The Navy did not authorize flights into the hurricanes until 1947. The author's Privateer aircraft saw duty until 1952.
For those who lost their lives in the war you will not be forgotten nor will those who in the storm.
Would you go up in a plane and track a dangerous storm? Would you want to be a Hurricane Hunter? Read Tom's book and decide for yourself when you learn the real story of a real Hurricane Hunter first hand.
Lost in the Bermuda Triangle:
The author continues by telling us about the tragic events that caused Flight 19 to disappear off the radar and never to be heard from again.
The Bermuda Triangle has always been one of mystery and considered one of the most dangerous areas responsible and blamed for the disappearance of over 2000 vessels and 75 airplanes through the short time period of three centuries. But one of the most famous disappearances in the history of the triangle is that of Flight 19 which began a routine practice bombing exercise never to be heard from again.
What really happened to Flight 19 and the five TBM avengers and fourteen airmen? As related by our author Flight 19 was designated as a training exercise and took place on December 5, 1945. The flight was from Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station Florida and included five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers of the U.S. Navy and mysterious disappeared claiming the lives of 27 men. There are fourteen men in the flight and 13 on board a search and rescue aircraft that were sent to find them. Just did happen?
Flight Leader Charles Taylor had many more hour of training than the student officers that accompanied him on the flight. But, he seemed apprehensive about leading this flight and although he expressed his wishes to be replaced, they were denied. It was a sunny day 58 years again when these five Navy planes took off for this routine mission. Neither the crew nor the planes were ever seen again.
After the flight took off if became apparent from the communications that were received that Flight 19 was having trouble staying on course after completing the first round of their mission. As several other flight leaders tried to help them and asked what his compass direction was, the unidentified man who requested help stated he did not know. Another flight instructor at the base informed Fort Lauderdale that Flight 19 was lost. Flight Leader Charles Taylor speaking with FT 74 was instructed to put the sun on his port wing and fly up the coast to Fort Lauderdale. But all of the communications indicated that geography and navigation did not come easily to the flight leader of Flight 19 and he was bearing far off course.
Completing the first leg of their bombing and strafing exercise Flight 19 was told to continue east on the course of 091 degrees. The author relates all of the directions given to the flight leader, and what would have happened had they make the correct final turn to get home. The author relates many scenarios. Giving many different versions, including his own, of what might have happened that fateful day in December. Was Taylor afraid to fly in this area? What was the reason he transferred here and asked to be replaced and not fly this mission? These are questions that will never be answered.
When it became obvious that they were lost many of the air bases, aircraft and merchant ships were on the alert. Several sent aircraft to search for the Avenger to bring them home. One called the Mariner exploded and was never heard from again.
Several carriers reported seeing and hearing a mid-air explosion, then seeing flames 120 ft high and burning on the sea for ten minutes. But, just what really did happen and what was determined at the hearings following this disaster you will have to read for yourself. Read Chapter three of Lost in the Bermuda Triangle and weigh the evidence, read the facts, listen to the voices of the men involved as they speak to you through the author, and you decide for yourself. Find out what problems Flight Leader Taylor had in the past and you decide who is to blame and why no one was aware of his difficulties and why he was allowed to fly.
Was it mutiny or a boiler explosion at sea to a flight leader who should not have been flying? This is one of the many unexplained disappearances and all of the theories and explanations unless they can be proved, are total speculation. Read the book, study the facts and you decide what you think happened to the men of Flight 19 and the Mariner.
Author Tom Barnes relates the facts as he learned them first hand as they happened. Well written and taking the reader along with the men on Flight 19 you could feel the frustration of those who tried to help but could not.
I give both books Five Perfect Hurricanes That Come From the East and are beautiful to watch from above the ground but never make landfall and cause destruction so that both Tom and Bill will win their bets and the pool.
Fran Lewis: Reviewer
Rating: -
Written from the perspective of 'being there', join, Tom Barnes in his rich-with-history account of his experiences as a navy pilot working hurricane patrol in 1944. At an altitude of 28,000 feet, Barnes describes the beauty of the 'beast', and the birth of a hurricane, as well as the intricate maze of an instrument panel. Charting storms in the Devil's Triangle during hurricane season was definitely not for sissies. Suspense and humor are joined together, along with a picture perfect depiction of numerous navigations, making this a book that's difficult to put down. History buffs will find this a treasure to read. As a bonus, Barnes has included his own history as it related to Flight 19 and its mysterious disappearance. Two thumbs up, Tom!
Rating: -
View A Hurricane At 20,000 Feet
Separated from his navy squadron which was sent to the Pacific, the author found himself in Florida at the Jacksonville Municipal Airport with its long runways able to handle a heavy bomber outfit. With a great deal of skill he relates his experiences during 1945 as World War II was winding down. True- to- life anecdotes and episodes move the story along.
Sent to Masters Field in Miami, after Washington ordered the military to develop a hurricane warning system, he was assigned to Squadron 114, the early Hurricane Hunters. They tracked storms from Barbados in the eastern Carribean to Honduras and Belize in the west. At that time hurricanes had Roman Numeral numbers instead of names. Hurricane #IX, a category 4, hit Miami and Masters Field. He writes from experience with frightening realism about the danger and destruction of hurricanes.
Flying many times over the Bermuda Triangle, the same area as the five planes which made up Flight 19 mysteriously lost while on a training mission, the author adds his speculation as to what may have happened to them. Interesting and logical.
I found this well written, well researched book to be riveting and compelling. Worth the read.
Lenora Smalley
Writer and Poet
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