Page 50 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

CHAPTER 13 - First Job in a Weather Station

My next assignment was at Turner Air Force Base, Albany, Georgia. Turner Field was
a SAC (Strategic Air Command) base under the command of General Curtis LeMay.
Since we were now at war, tall barbed-wire fences were being installed around the base
and guards were stationed in towers around the field. For night patrol duty, the guards
wore leather suits, the insides lined with wool. This was the beginning of jet aviation
era. The first jets we saw were F-80 Shooting Stars. One problem of the early jet
technology was the problem of flame-outs. I saw one F-80 approaching the field when
his engine suddenly quit. The powerless plane made a pancake landing short of the
runway, its wheels flying off on impact. Fortunately, there was no fire and he escaped
with no serious injury.

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