Hurricane Hunting: The 70 year dare continues

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Brian Lamar
  • 403d wing
KEESLER AFB, Miss. --  Testosterone...So many historical events can be directly linked to this chemical compound produced in the lives of men. It can be blamed for the drive that results in the continuation of the human race, wars that are fought, and more entertaining things like the jumping of the Grand Canyon on a motorcycle. In a specific case of misplaced bravery 70 years ago, it can be blamed for deliberately flying directly into the eye of a hurricane.

Before World War II, Army Air Corps Lt. Col. Joe Duckworth had a solid career as an Eastern Airlines pilot. At the beginning of the war, instrument flying was a relatively new experience for many pilots. Duckworth had already established a reputation as being a pioneer for flying at night and in bad weather due to his proficiency as an instrument flyer with Eastern Airlines. The Army Air Corps recognized his worth and recruited Duckworth to lead the instrument flying school at Bryan Air Force Base in Texas. Many British pilots were stationed at this revolutionary school to receive instrument training due to the Royal Air Force's tactic on night raids and bombing runs during dark hours in order to catch German's by surprise and reduce civilian casualties.

During a night away from training, possibly due to severe weather, the Officer's Club was abuzz with this international crowd of testosterone-filled pilots, who were discussing the reports of the storm that was churning off the coast of Galveston. After months of complaints from the British airmen that Duckworth's AT-6 Texan was too slow and fragile, he chose to "show" the Brits what he and his plane were made of. This was slightly more than a testosterone check. Duckworth used this moment as a teaching tool. According to historical reports, Duckworth felt there would be no better way to prove that instrument flying can save your life than in a hurricane.

Duckworth found Navigator Ralph O'Hare and convinced him to come along. During Duckworth's flight, information on wind speed, direction and barometric pressure was gathered, thus establishing the new life-saving mission for the United States Air Force.

Here is a condensed history of some of the highlights after Duckworth's daring journey.

On Sep. 10, 1944, a little more than a year after the first "sanctioned" hurricane hunting flight, a weather data collection mission was authorized north of Puerto Rico in the West Atlantic Ocean, which began a legacy of data collection that has improved the world's ability to brace for the Earth's most destructive atmospheric events. In 1944, without the protection of satellite data, The United States 3rd Naval Fleet ran into Typhoon "Cobra" in the Pacific with the loss of three destroyers and 790 sailors reinforcing the war time, as well as, the peace time importance of hurricane hunting.

After 10 years of hurricane hunting Edward R. Murrow rode with the Hurricane Hunters in Hurricane Edna in October 1954. "In the eye of a hurricane, you learn things other than of a scientific nature. You feel the puniness of man and his works. If a true definition of humility is ever written, it might well be written in the eye of a hurricane." - Edward R. Murrow.

A "brango ball", the predecessor to the dropsonde, the main instrument used to gather data into a hurricane is released in 1958 into Hurricane Helene's eye. Also in 1958 the first real-time hurricane track forecast is made by data collected by the hurricane hunters.

In 1969 a 2D computer simulation model of a hurricane was developed and two years later Richard Anthes created the first 3D simulation.

In 1974, tragedy strikes the hurricane hunters approximately 400 miles off the Philippines coast with the crash and disappearance of a WC-130 aircraft known as Swan 38. Neither, the plane nor the crew were ever recovered. Very little data exists to what happened.

In 2004, Hurricanes, Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne struck Florida in one year, setting a new record for U.S. landfall.

In 2005, one of the busiest storm seasons on record produced 28 named storms, 15 of which were hurricanes. Keesler Air Force Base, the current home of the hurricane hunters received a direct hit reducing many of the hurricane hunters' homes to rubble.

In 2013, the Hurricane Hunters are busy balancing a higher than average predicted storm season with a lower than average budget due to sequestration, although, so far, the storm season has been kind to the nation and the hurricane hunters with no hurricanes.