The United States military increased its efforts to recruit and train more pilots due to a shortage of qualified pilots. The V-5 Naval Aviation Cadet Training Program was a highly regarded training route that produced thousands of Top Gun Navy pilots.
More than 50% of pilots could not swim
A U.S. Navy instructor in outdoor survival said that more than half the Pre-Flight cadets couldn’t swim when they arrived at basic training. This despite the fact swimming was vital for combat pilots who fly over the ocean. Although 75% of Navy pilots were killed or forced to land safely, only 5% made it. This was because they couldn’t swim or find water on unfamiliar islands or terrain.
There were tens of thousands of applicants aged 18-26 for the naval aviation program. V-5 pre-flight schools were inspired by Annapolis’ and were able to attract some of the most renowned swimming coaches in the nation thanks to their willingness to share their knowledge across five campuses in different parts of the country. Picture Michael Phelps teaching naval cadets to swim.
Cadets had to complete 90 days of intense physical training before they could take control of some of the most powerful warplanes in the military. They also had to study navigational academics and undergo rigorous physical training. Many former cadets stated that swimming was the hardest course in Pre-Flight and was responsible for nearly a quarter of the deaths of cadets. Although many students died or drowned during the ground training program, the strict standards and inherent dangers were understandable in the context of wartime.
Cadets from the Navy’s pre-flight swimming course had to swim one kilometer and dive fifty feet to survive gunfire or the suction of a sinking plane. Within weeks, cadets who couldn’t swim began jumping from platforms onto burning oil pools. The Dilbert Duker mock cockpit was also used to teach pilots how escape from a sinking aircraft. This mock cockpit is famously shown in “An Officer and a Gentleman”.
Eighty percent of seaborne pilots would have to land on the water during combat. Training was focused on stamina, endurance, and the ability to remain afloat for hours in rough waters till rescue. To boost morale, Pre-Flight competed with swimming schools like Stanford and other military bases such as Camp Lejeune. The following swimming events were set by cadets from the St. Mary’s College Preflight School in Moraga in 1944: The 50-yard freestyle was completed in 24.3 seconds; the 100-yard freestyle took 55.2 seconds; the mile took 23 minutes; the 25-yard underwater swim took 13.6 seconds and the 25-yard carry swim took 20.8 seconds.
These schools were home to over 80,000 cadets, and more than 1,000 instructors during World War II. President George H.W. Bush, one of the youngest cadets ever to enter the program. Lt. Gerald R. Ford was the coach for Pre-Flight swimming.
Swim training is still an important part of Pearl Harbor today. Naval Aviation School’s Command Detachment Pearl Harbor screens and trains potential search and rescue swimmers before they go to school. They also teach open water survival skills and administer second-class swim exams. Afloat Training Group Middle Pacific assists with the training of SAR swimmers at Pearl Harbor.
The post Recalling Pearl Harbor and The Role of Swim Training played was first published on PoolMagazine.com. Get the Latest Pool News.
Pearl Harbor is the reason the Navy made it mandatory that you learned how to swim&wade in deep waters before leaving basic training.
— WriteMyTruth (@DragonPoetikFly) January 10, 2014
