Questionaire for Pilots and Aircrew who ejected or used a parachute extraction system or other forms of assisted aircrew escape system.

 

 

 

 

1.     Full Name of the Person who ejected / baled-out

     Jack Paul Carrodus

2.     Rank at the time of the ejection

     1st Lt        

3.     Age at the time of the ejection / bale out

     28

4.     Date of the ejection / bale-out

      May 21, 1959

5.     Time of the ejection / bale-out

      1042Z

6.     Air Force You Were With

      USAF

 7.     Type and Make of aircraft you ejected / baled-out from

      McDonnell Douglas - RF-101

 8.     If a multiple place aircraft who were the other members of the crew, their name, rank, unit,  and what happened to them?

      Single seater

 9.     Serial / Werke / Bu.No. Airframe Number of Your Aircraft

      Unknown

 10. Unit or Group Aircraft belonged to

       18 TRS   Shaw AFB, South Carolina in route to 66th TRW, Loan Fr.

 11. Coding Carried by aircraft (Tail Codes / Modex / Special Markings etc.)

      Uknown

12. Call sign you were known by that day

      High Flight Charlie

13. Base you flew from / were attached to

      Took off from Kindley AFB, Bermuda/attached to Shaw AFB, Sumter, SC - PCS to France

14. Height of your ejection / bale-out

      38,000 ft.

15. Airspeed at which you ejected / baled-out

      450+ knots approximate

16.  Attitude of aircraft at time of ejection / bale-out

Relatively straight and level

17. Location you ejected / baled-out – Name of Country, Area, Town. Village etc

      35' 03" N - 47' 37" W  essentially over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean

18. Type of terrain you ejected / baled-out over

      Water

19.  Weather conditions at time of ejection / bale-out

       25,000' Overcast - basically CAVU

20.  Was the ejection bale-out in Peacetime / Conflict Non-Combat / Conflict Combat?

       Conflict Non-Combat

21.  Did you initiate the ejection / bale-out yourself  (or in the case of ejection seat aircraft  were you ejected by a command ejection)  or was it inadvertent and if so what caused it?

       Self initiated ejection

22.  Did you jettison the canopy or was ejection / bale-out through the canopy?

       I jettisoned the canopy

23.  Did you experience any difficulty in ejection / bale-out / parachuting e.g. seat separation, tumbling, landing?

       The survival kit came loose and was lost-stitching was rotted.  Parachute opened at 38,000'. 

24. Did you suffer any injuries prior to, during or after ejection / bale-out and what were they caused by?

       At the time of bailout I was showered with fluids (jet fuel/hydraulic fluid) and suffered severe frost bite.

25.  Did you experience temporal distortion where time appears to extend? If Yes could you briefly describe the sensation

      Ejection knocked me unconscious.  I regained consciousness in a cloud with a loud ringing in my ears. My       

      feeling or sensation was that of being in another environment or world.  My thoughts were if this was   Heaven, the choir sounded awful and it was extremely cold, too cold to be Hell.

      

26.  did you in your ejection experiences ever have what several pilots told me – a sensation that they were outside of their aircraft witnessing the events as they unfolded – I suppose what would be called by some as an “out of body experience” – or have you ever spoken to other ejectees / egressees who mentioned such a phenomenon?  

     I thought I had died.

27.  What ejection seat / parachute make  / mark did you use and do you know type of parachute used? (e.g. Martin-Baker GRU-5, Irvin 1-24) Weber ejection seat and parachute made by Switlik, Trenton NJ.

 

28. “Could you please give a running account of the episode, including events leading to the incident (omit any information you consider inappropriate or classified), aircraft damage, events prior to ejection, any communications, ejection / bale-out factors, descent and survival.” Collision with another aircraft.

 

(Note: This  question is based on one from an official USN form – AVIATION COMBAT CASUALTY and I can find no better way of asking the question. (any information “for background information only” should be clearly marked and will be treated as such)– Write this answer in whichever way you feel best suits you – one French Test Parachutist gave me details of the waiting around, smoking, having cups of coffee, what he ate before the test, the place he had the meal, the weather, the atmosphere, his feelings of apprehension not fear. Then the getting ready for the flight, the getting into the aircraft, the take-off the flying around, the countdown, the ejection and how time stretched, how he remembered his thoughts and how his body felt. Another pilot told me of the parachute descent and the landing, who reached him, their and his reaction, another told me of knowing he’d hit the airstream at too high a speed and his subsequent injuries – there is no one correct way to answer this. It is a highly subjective question and highly subjective answers are appreciated. Many of the best quotes I have on record come  from these memories. Answer this question how you feel best.

If you would prefer to audio tape this instead please let me know and I will forward you a blank cassette. All I ask if you do tape your memories is to SPELL out names and places so I can be accurate in typing them. Please also indicate any Callsigns or acronyms used. I know quite a lot through my researches over the years but I’d be happier if you assume I know nothing and explain them)

 

 

29. Do you have any photographs of yourself around the period of your ejection / bale-out and now (a then and now to give a historic perspective within the file)  that I can obtain quality copies of  (if scanned at least 300 dpi)? Will search my albums. 

 

30.  Ditto your aircraft before, and if possible after the ejection / bale-out.

       No

31. Do you have xeroxes of any documentation concerning your ejection / bale-out that I could have copies of – reports – newspaper clippings – magazine articles – commendations – etc.

     Yes-will send via postal Article in FlyPast magazine dated August 2000 called "VooDoo Eyes" written by Doug Gordon.  Also USAF Aerospace Safety dated July 1965

32. Do you have any information as to any other ejection or ejectee or “caterpillar member”?

     No

33.  Was this your only ejection / bale-out? If no could you please fill out a similar form for each ejection / bale-out?

      Yes

34. Do you know if your ejection caused any alteration to either the system or amendments to the safety training procedures?

     Yes,  all survival equipment was checked for quality. My survival equipment was determined to have been old and 

     and the stitching had rotted.

 Could you indicate by a simple YES or NO if  you object to copies of this information being held on my data base

      No objection.  Feel free to ask questions or clarification.  

 

Sincere thanks for taking the time to fill in this form

 

Mike Bennett

 

“Eshcolbrook”, 106, Main Street, Clifton Campville, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 0AP England

tel. 01 827 373 497

e-mail MbenShar@aol.com

www.ejection-history.org.uk