Business owners and leaders – like the pioneers before them – depend on their records. Business continuity is driven by data. Data, as we know it today, are electronic files on laptops, personal computers or servers – customer records, spreadsheets, invoices, presentations, databases, photographs, emails, and more – but to a data recovery expert they are simply “zeroes” and “ones” organized on a computer’s hard disk drive.

Hard drives do malfunction and do fail. These fragile mechanical devices’ read/write heads sometimes are not capable of accessing the data if the system is mishandled and damaged. Computers become contaminated with viruses or bugs or when software no longer works as it should. Power interruptions, power surges or blackouts, like the infamous August 14, 2003 blackout, cause computers to shut down unexpectedly.

There always remains a threat that hard drives could be exposed to fire, extreme temperatures, smoke and water that can damage the drive and impair its ability to access the data. And then, there is human error. The unthinkable can happen and data can be accidentally deleted by users.

The implications of data loss to a business can have both legal and financial ramifications. Lost data can cripple an organization and in some cases drive it out of business, especially a smaller company. In fact, according to research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), digital data is growing in sheer volume, even for small businesses, which are less able to manage it due to lack of IT skills. The report, “The Expanding Digital Universe”, also predicts that in 2007 the volume of information created and replicated will surpass the storage capacity available to store it.

There are several “best practices” that businesses can follow to reduce the probability of losing data:

1. Schedule and conduct regular backups of data and check to make sure the backup information can be retrieved.

2. If possible, store backups offsite.

3. Use anti-virus software and update it frequently to scan and screen all incoming e-mails especially those with attachments.

4. Use power surge protectors since a power fluctuation can disrupt software, erase valuable data and damage the hard drive.

5. Maintain computers in a dry, controlled environment free from dust and smoke.

6. Buy USB or external hard drives and save data to these removable devices and perhaps provide one to each employee.

7.Turn off computers immediately if they make unusual noises.

If business owners are not staffed with IT personnel and prefer not to attempt recovery of their irreplaceable digital data with a Do-It-Yourself solution, they would be well advised to seek the assistance of a reputable and experienced data recovery specialist.

Losing data isn’t something businesses openly like to talk about. It’s not a matter of if data loss disaster will strike, but when. Lost data can result in lost revenue,

so don’t let your data get caught between a rock and a hard drive.

I have spent a few decades trying to foresee the next disaster and prevent it from happening. Perhaps, as a

reaction, I tend to be less structured in my vacations. I know where I am going, and when I will be there, but I tend to presume that I can deal with whatever comes up when the time comes. Thankfully, I have pretty much been able to manage without encountering major problems.

Either method can work for a good, enjoyable vacation. Knowing what kind of person you are, and what you want out of the vacation is required. Whichever plan you embrace, some preparation is required. You have to know what budget you can use. This is money and time at least. If you intend to fly, you will need to have tickets far enough ahead of time to get the best price. If you drive, the car needs to be serviced to limit the chances of something breaking at an inopportune time. A car should be stocked with an emergency kit, with first aid supplies, water, a blanket and possibly some survival rations of some sort. You should always keep an atlas and local map in the car.

Even when simply going somewhere reasonably close to your home town, you should always do your research. There are many little treasures you can find that are not normally considered tourist destinations. I have been able to visit places from movies, books and history that were not on any guided tour. Whenever possible, I ask people I know in person or through the internet about the places I intend to visit. This has worked both ways, with both the person living there and me, the visitor, likely to learn about the place.

One of the lessons I have learned from my father is that a spontaneous vacation, where you go to a city and then explore instead of following an itinerary, can benefit from planning. Like my father, I keep a folder with every document and message pertaining to the vacation. It greatly helps when the time comes to deal with troubles. The folder includes places that might be useful, like an embassy, tourist center, welcome center or other such site.

The most important thing to remember about a vacation is to enjoy it. Bring what you need for comfort, plan for multiple things you might want to do, so you have available options in case something does not work. Do not be afraid to follow your nose if you find something exciting. Just do not break the budget you set when you started.

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We a… More >>

Natural Law in Terrestrial Phenomena: A Study in the Causation of Earthquakes, Volcanic Eruptions, Wind-Storms, Temperature, Rainfall, with a Record of Evidence

wholesale Hurricane Tattoo machines have truly let us to get our system artwork for the next degree and as might be apparent when you drop by the seashore they have too permitted us to multiply the variety of tattoos which are being granted.

The subsequent decision is the scale of the gun as well as assortment. Usually a wholesale Hurricane Tattoo machine is either built for painting outlines or for shading, despite the fact that there can be machines out there that may do both with adjustments. The tattoo machine you choose is depending on your feel stage and how soft  you’re with high-quality tuning your device. Typically only tattoo specialists who’ve been recently around for a few years will opt for the multi-purpose model as it demands plenty of tuning and needs a skillful hand.

Those new wholesale Hurricane Tattoo machines have truly made it easy for specialists to use tats. Several folks choose to produce the equipment at home. This in a number of cases could be quite harmful and folks making use of such equipments could be really careful. If you really would like to use tattoo on others and also be a professional artist, then it’s  highly recommended to be taught from the specialists and also buy the kits and systems from well known dealers. Today, designers can also be capable of create excellent tats which are correct  and likewise fluctuate in colors.

Interesting Anecdotes

The book Following Fish: Travels Around The India by Samanth Subramanian has several interesting anecdotes though you are most likely to remember the one which saved many fishermen from near certain death in 2004. As one fisherman explains, all of them were still sleeping due to the toddy hangover during the time when tsunami struck the coastline, since the previous day was Christmas day. They had toddy one day before the tsunami.

Beautifully Captured Anecdotes

You expect the writers writing on fish to go to places like Alleppey and Goa, but Samanth Subramanian manages to take you to some unexpected locations as well, for example, he takes you to one angler’s paradise in Konkan which is renamed as Xanadu by him so the exact location still remains a secret even if he tells you the story of the place in the book. Following Fish: Travels Around The India by Samanth Subramanian notices several finer things of life in these places which would have remained undiscovered otherwise. Elements such as indolence of Goa, the flavor of sol kadhi and the flavor of Mumbai are all beautifully captured in the book Following Fish: Travels Around The India by Samanth Subramanian.

A Chapter That Stands Out

At the same time, there are some chapters in the book which do not gel well with other parts of the book. For example, there is a chapter on Fish treatment in Hyderabad in which people swallow a live fish. The essay itself doesn’t have any problem, as it is nicely written about a family into faith healing, though it doesn’t connect well with rest of the book.

A Beautiful Travelogue

Samanth Subramanian’s book does not have anything new, particularly for those who are well acquainted with the areas described in the book. You will come across a reportage feel in the book even though no breaking news is being produced in the book. It is just a travelogue, though a beautiful one.

Don’t Expect Breaking News

Chances are that those who belong to the areas being written about will not find anything they didn’t already know in Subramanian’s essays. Following Fish has a reportage feel to it but it isn’t attempting to present any breaking news about the various fishing cultures of India. It’s a travelogue and in that, it is successful. As you reach the last page of the book, you feel Samanth Subramanian should have stopped more often along the coastline during his travel.

Recurring Events

One essay which is based on the toddy shops of Kerala, explains most people who go to the toddy shops want to get high as quickly as possible, they don’t want to enjoy their drink or stay there. That’s the reason why so much spurious liquor is flowing around the place, and instances when people go blind keep happening, time and again. The first essay is on West Bengal and keeps moving to the coastline up to Gujarat.

This has brought about some interesting results: for example, registration of .De, the official TLD of Germany is about Ten million; on the other hand, Nic Mexico, the administrator for Mexico’s .Mx had allowed the registration of less than 300,000 domains since its inception twenty years ago; Germany has 82 million people, while Mexico’s population approaches 110 million, 27 million of whom reputedly use the Internet. If the desire of Mexicans for their own extension is anything like Germany’s it looks like there could be some explosive growth coming in .MX. The registrar giant Godaddy appears to think so: they recently announced an expansion of their services to Mexico and Spanish speaking customers on a scale not seen for any other ccTLD (country-code Top-Level Domain).

The Sunrise Period for the extension .Mx re-opening ends on July 31, 2009. Anyone reading this article will realize that that date came and went before it was published. Not that it would have done you much good anyway unless you owned a third-level .Mx domain (.Com.Mx, .Net.Mx, etc.); had you owned one of those you could have possibly traded it in for a straight second-level .Mx. And probably have set yourself up for endless wrangles in the next period.

The next period, termed the “waiting period,” begins on August 1 and ends August 31, 2009. During this period Nic Mexico will try to settle all the disputes occasioned by the competing parties trying to turn their third-level names into second-level names; the winners will be the registrants that held the third-level names longest.

From September 1 onward registration will be open without restriction except that new registrations will be apparently limited for a period of one year. The going price for registration that first year will apparently be in the thirty to thirty-five dollar range, quite a markdown from the original $125.00 but still probably a bit high for the average Mexican in this economy. Let us hope that Nic Mexico sees the light and the price comes down to .Com levels in the second year.

For the last twenty years the Mexican administrators have limited sales of the ccTLD .Mx to a select few. September 1, 2009 that will no longer be the case; anyone can buy a domain name with the .Mx extension. There are more Mexicans than Spaniards; more Mexicans than Frenchmen; more Mexicans than Germans and almost twice as many Mexicans as Englishmen. Domain names are about language. And one of the proudest, most numerous peoples on the planet speaking one of the most powerful languages is about to get a chance to express themselves. Get ready for a buying landslide.

                Southern New Jersey, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware River, had been inextricably tied to naval aviation with several air stations during World War II.  The largest, and therefore most important, had been Naval Air Station Wildwood.

                Tracing its origins to President Roosevelt, who had used New Deal funds to construct civilian airports under the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) for military conversion in the event of war, Naval Air Station Wildwood had been sparked by the emerging need for a pilot training base to protect the Atlantic seaboard from German submarines which had targeted US supply ships traveling to Britain.  Nazi Germany, having already captured France in June of 1942, had become an increasing threat.

                In Southern New Jersey, the US Coast Guard transferred its station, which had been originally built as a World War I naval base in 1917, to the Navy, which had then commissioned it Naval Air Station Cape May in September of 1940 and from which observation and scout squadron training had subsequently been conducted.

                But the urgency for additional facilities had heightened the following year when the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, alerting of the need for naval aircraft and proficient dive-bomber pilots.  The Cape May base had been pitifully inadequate for this purpose, prompting a series of surveys in Lower Township for additional land.

                An initial 500 acres, leased for $1.00 from Cape May County for later conversion to civilian use, had resulted in March, 1942 governmental construction bids, and workmen, under the direction of the Army Corps of Engineers, commenced the arduous deforestation process by clearing trees and filling in swamps to prepare land for a fighting squadron training base in Rio Grande.  Although the construction effort had been successful, its purpose had not been: the Army ultimately elected to establish a similar facility some 40 miles north, in Millville, abandoning the project.

                The cleared, 500-acre area, with potential application as an auxiliary field for the inadequately-sized Cape May Naval Air Station, had still been 400 acres short of the Navy’s stipulated 900-acre requirement, and this had only been remedied by the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders’ emergency resolution authorizing an additional $15,000 for land acquisition.  The win-win expenditure had been perceived as providing both the Navy with the needed land for its base and the county with the needed employment to arrest it from its economic fall into Depression’s quicksand, although the need for such a facility had been clearly demonstrated by the concurrent Battle of the Coral Sea in May and the Battle of Midway in June, victories only sustainable with the qualified bases where pilots could be trained.  In fact, the number of such pilots had been estimated as 20,000.  The proposed Rio Grande base, it had been argued, would be crucial to sustaining naval aviation’s imprint in the Pacific.

                Resultantly, the Navy, leasing the land from the county and appropriating $500,000 for the new airfield, commenced construction in October of 1942, subsequently completing one 4,000-foot runway, three 5,000-foot runways, a control tower, hangars, barracks, an operations building, a mess hall, a water supply station, a steam heating plant, a sewage system, and roads, providing employment for 362 local civilians.

The base, adopting its name from the nearest post office, had been commissioned “Naval Air Station Rio Grande” on April 1, 1943, and Lieutenant Commander Morris Ruggles Brownell, Jr. had assumed command of it, but early confusion with the identically-named city in Texas had resulted in its redesignation as “Naval Air Station Wildwood” on June 17, a name hitherto only associated with a southern New Jersey beach resort.  Supplemented by Woodbine Auxiliary Airfield, which had opened two months later, in August, and a facility in Delaware, the new naval air station met the Navy’s capacity needs and enabled it to concentrate dive-bombing pilot training at the new field.  It had also operated in conjunction with Naval Air Stations Cape May and Atlantic City.

                Composite Squadron Thirty (VC-30) of Carrier Air Group 30 (CAG30) had been the first to have been commissioned by the Navy at its new facility in April of 1943 for the USS Monterey, although the squadron’s size had initially necessitated the use of eight Westward huts and tents and hotels in Wildwood for 150 of its pilots until base facility construction had been completed.

                The initially-combined Bombing Squadron Fourteen and Fifteen (VB-14 and VB-15), training under the “Fleet Air Detachment Wildwood Operation Plan for the Defense of the Eastern Sea Frontier” in Douglas SDB Dauntless aircraft, practiced squadron flying, individual bombing practice, diving, navigation, glide bombing, fixed gunnery, free gunnery, instrument night flying, and anti-submarine surface strafing. 

II. Naval Air Station Wildwood Aircraft 

                Instrumental to Naval Air Station Wildwood and the Navy’s combat strategy in the Pacific had been the dive-bomber aircraft, which provided precision attacks of rapidly moving targets at steep descent angles.  Such designs, of the low-wing, metal airframe type usually powered by a single piston engine, had been capable of operating from aircraft carriers with arrester hook provision and had been equipped with dive brakes, such as split flaps, to prohibit excessive, unrecoverable profiles, limit airframe stress, and increase the maneuver’s duration to improve the accuracy, aim, and trajectory of the bomb itself, which had typically been carried on a hinged bomb rack.  After its release, it had to be projected downward, with sufficient clearance from the propeller arc to avoid interference.

                The Douglas SBD Dauntless, the first such dive-bomber to be deployed at the station, had been the Navy’s standard, ship-borne aircraft responsible for several decisive victories in the Pacific.  Based upon the Northrop BT-1, a scout and dive-bomber, it had been given life as the XBT-1 when the Navy had ordered a single prototype.  First flying in this form on August 19, 1935, the aircraft, powered by a 700-hp Pratt and Whitney R-1535-66 Twin Wasp Junior two-row radial engine, had featured a low wing; split flaps; aftward, semi-retractable main wheels stored in underwing fairings; and a fixed tailwheel, but the airframe, considered underpowered, had subsequently been refitted with uprated, 825-hp R-1535-94 engines in December, and the split flaps had been replaced with the holed type to rectify handling characteristics.

                The subsequent XBT-2, significantly modified after Douglas had acquired Northrop, featured a tandemly arranged, forward-facing pilot and rearward-facing, gunner/radio operator; fabric-covered ailerons, elevators, and rudders; two .50-caliber Browning machine guns installed in the nose cowling and synchronized to fire through the propeller arc; an under-fuselage, swinging cradle release-mounted, 1,600-pound bomb; and two underwing, 100-pound bomb pylons.  Powered by a 1,000-hp, nine-cylinder, air-cooled Wright Cyclone R-1820-32 radial engine which drove a three-bladed, adjustable-pitch, spinner-equipped propeller, the aircraft stored fuel in two 90-gallon, wing integral tanks, four wing center section tanks totaling 210 gallons; and a single, 15-gallon auxiliary fuel tank. 

                The design, redesignated SBD-1 under the Douglas model scheme, had entered service with the Marines’ VMB-2 Squadron in 1940 and the Navy had equally operated 57 of the type.

                Despite its extensive improvement program, it had still lacked sufficient range and had been devoid of armor protection, resulting in the SBD-2, which had featured a 100-gallon fuel capacity increase and revised ammunition.  It had entered service with the Navy with the 58th airframe.

                The succeeding SBD-3 had addressed several earlier deficiencies by introducing a still larger fuel capacity, self-sealing fuel tanks, crew and armor protection, a bullet-proof windshield, a Wright Cyclone R-1820-52 engine, and modified cowling.

                The SBD-4 had featured a hydromatic propeller and replaced the previous 12-volt electrical system with a 24-volt one, while the SBD-5, the most numerically produced version, had been built at Douglas’ new Tulsa, Oklahoma, factory.  Featuring a 33-foot overall length and a 41.6-foot wingspan, the 1,200-hp Pratt and Whitney R-1820-66–powered aircraft had a 10,855-pound maximum take off weight and a 255-mph maximum speed.  It had had a 770-mile range.

                The final version, the SBD-6, had featured the most capable powerplant, at a 1,350-hp rating, and the largest fuel capacity.

                The Douglas SBD Dauntless had been instrumental in numerous Pacific theatre victories.  In the Battle of Midway, for example, which had occurred on June 4, 1942, the type had destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers, sank a heavy cruiser, and severely damaged another, while it sank the Ryugo in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons.  In the Battle of Guadalcanal, which had taken place between November 12 and 15 of that year, it had destroyed nine transports and sank the cruiser Kinugasa, ending its career as a carrier-borne aircraft two years later on June 20, 1944 with victories against the Japanese Mobile Fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

                During initial Douglas Dauntless training at Naval Air Station Wildwood, however, it had not been so victorious, with mounting casualties of the very pilots who had trained in them because of poor handling characteristic-created accidents, prompting a replacement trainer.

                That replacement appeared in the form of the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, whose instability, structural weakness, and inferior design had hardly been synonymous with “improvement.”

                Based upon the antiquated biplane design of the 1930s intended for dive-bombing maneuvers, the aircraft had been considerably modernized when the Navy had submitted specifications in 1938 for a carrier-based scout bomber accommodating two crew members and able to internally carry 1,000 pounds of bombs over long ranges.

                The resultant prototype, designated XSBC2C-1, had first taken to the skies on December 18, 1940, but had been structurally weak and had demonstrated poor handling characteristics, sustaining engine failure two months later on February 8 during an approach and crashing.  The US military, intending to target performance deficiencies on production aircraft, had already ordered the type, and an initial series of redesigns, entailing a longer fuselage, a larger tail, increased armor, installation of an autopilot, and self-sealing fuel tanks, had resulted in an airplane which bore little resemblance to its earlier iteration.

The new version, first flying on October 20, 1941, sustained in-flight structural failure during a test flight two months later, on December 21, forcing its pilot to parachute to safety, and during demonstrations of the first six production aircraft, it had been determined that the 40-percent gross weight increase, from the 7,122 pounds of the initial version to the 10,220 pounds of the current one, had been dangerously excessive.

                The aircraft, appearing in its initial SB2C-1 guise, had been an all-metal, mid-wing monoplane powered by a single, 14-cylinder, air-cooled, two-row, Double Wasp, 1,700-hp Wright R-2600-8 piston engine which drove a three-bladed propeller.  The wings, which folded to facilitate aircraft carrier storage, featured inboard, split flaps for dive-bombing profiles and outboard ailerons and their fuel tanks had been self-sealing.  Crew had been accommodated in fore and aft, greenhouse-style canopy cockpits, and the tail-dragging configuration had sported an under-fuselage, stinger-type-arresting hook.  Armament had included four 12.7-mm, wing-installed Browning machine guns, a 1,000-pound bomb bay-stored bomb, and a flexible mount in the rear cockpit.

                All of the 200 SB2C-1s built had been used for pilot training.

                The succeeding SB2C-1C, of which 778 had been produced, had featured additional fuel tankage and had been the first to enter combat, its initial raid targeting the Japanese stronghold of Rabaul on November 11, but the design had been woefully underpowered.

                The singularly-produced SB2C-2 had been intended for amphibian operation with floats, while the SB2C-3, attempting to rectify the basic design’s power deficiency had been equipped with a four-bladed Curtiss Electric propeller run by a 1,900-hp R-2600-20 engine.  Entering service in 1944, the type had enjoyed a considerable production run, of 1,112.

                The SB2C-4, the most extensively produced variant with 2,045 airframes, had featured a 36.8-foot overall length and a 49.9-foot wingspan, whose perforated flaps had minimized dive-induced buffeting.  Powered by the previous version’s R-2600-20 engine, the 16,616-pound fighter, armed with two wing-mounted, 20-mm cannons; two aft cockpit-installed, 7.62-mm machine guns; and fuselage bay and underwing rack-carried, 2,000-pound bombs; could achieve a maximum speed of 295 mph and cover up to 1,165 miles.

                The SB2C-5, the last major variant to have been built, had introduced a fuel capacity increase.  Nine hundred seventy had been produced.

                Navy Squadron VB-17, based on the aircraft carrier Bunker Hill, had been the first to successfully operate the SB2C Helldiver, launching 23 aircraft, divided into six, four-unit divisions, in its first major combat campaign in November of 1943.

                During the subsequent four-month period, the type conducted dive-bombing missions to Tarawaya, Nauru, New Zealand, Truk, and the Marshall Islands, and by June of the following year, Helldiver fleets had been based on the five aircraft carriers of Bunker Hill, Essex, Hornet, Wasp, and Yorktown.  Four months later this number had increased to eight.

                Operating with TBM Avengers, the SB2Cs had succeeded in sinking the super battleship, Musashi, and later claimed 44 air-to-air victories, having achieved more shipping kills than any other aircraft type.

                Although the Helldiver had initially been plagued with an antiquated heritage and numerous design deficiencies, progressively introduced modifications had rendered it an effective dive-bomber which had been instrumental in many Pacific theatre victories.

                As a solution for Naval Air Station Wildwood’s accident rate, however, it had only served to produce the opposite effect: with the introduction of the aircraft to the training program, the number of pilot training fatalities had increased!

                The Combined Bombing Squadron Fifty-Two (VC-52), arriving at the station in September of 1943, commenced gunnery and torpedo training with the base’s third major carrier-based fighter, the Grumman TBF-1 Avenger.

                Sparked by the Navy’s requirements for a powerful torpedo bomber with a 300-mph speed, a 1,000-mile range with a maximum 2,000-pound payload, a 30,000-foot service ceiling, and an internal weapons bay, the aircraft, designated XTBF-1 and designed by Grumman’s Iron Works, had appeared with a rugged fuselage and a Wright 14-cylinder, 1,700-hp, double row radial R-2600-8 engine.  Its wings, whose large area had resulted in simplistic flying characteristics, had folded flat against the airframe in order to reduce required carrier storage space, and its armament had consisted of three .30-caliber machine guns, one of which had been mounted on the nose and fired through the propeller arc, one of which had been located in the belly and fired rearward, and one of which had been installed as a rear gunner turret.  Because of its mid-wing mounting, sufficient internal space had been created to store a 2,000-pound torpedo, four 500-pound bombs, or additional fuel, and the three-person crew had encompassed the pilot, the rear gunner, and the bombardier/belly gunner.

                The first production aircraft, designated TBF-1, had first flown on August 1, 1941, and the insatiable need for this very capable fighter had required additional manufacturing capability in the form of a General Motors production line.  So manufactured, it had been designated TBM-1, and had first appeared in this guise in late-1942.

                The modified TBF-1C, with fuel tank provision in the bomb bay, as well as two wing integral tanks, had increased capacity from 335 to 726 gallons, resulting in a coincident range increase, and the single, .30-caliber machine gun had been replaced by two, .50-caliber, wing-mounted units, as well as an additional one for the turret.  The General Motors-manufactured counterpart had been designated TBM-1C.

                The ultimate, and numerically most produced, variant, the TBM-3, had featured a 40-foot, 11.5-inch overall length and a 54.2-foot wingspan.  Powered by a 1,900-hp Wright R-2600-20 engine, the aircraft, used for reconnaissance, scouting, and torpedo and glide bombing, had been equipped with a forward-facing, dorsal and ventral machine gun, as well as wing hard points for rockets or drop tanks.  With a 17,895-pound gross weight, it could climb at 2,060 feet-per-minute, cruise at a maximum, 276-mph speed, and fly 1,000-mile sorties.  Some 4,657 had been produced.

                Although only six Grumman TBF Avengers had been delivered in time for the June 4, 1942 Battle of Midway, five had been destroyed in two separate missions, while the sixth had succeeded in dropping its torpedo before returning to base with little more than its trim tab to provide longitudinal control.

                Two months later, on August 24, 26 aircraft had been launched from the Saratoga and Enterprise carriers near the Solomon Islands, sinking the light carrier Ryugo on the second of four strikes with a torpedo.

                And yet three months later, in November, the 37,000-ton Hiei, leading Japanese naval forces, had been destroyed after multiple strikes by Avengers in the Battle of Guadalcanal.

                In the North Atlantic, the type, operating from the USS Bogue, had destroyed some 30 submarines and ripped a cavernous hole in the Japanese transport, I-52.  

                One of the most famous Avenger pilots, George H. W. Bush, had been shot down on September 2, 1944 over Chichi Jima after take off from the USS San Jacinto, although he had successfully parachuted to safety.

                Two months later, the aircraft had been instrumental in sinking the Japanese battleship, Musashi, in the Battle of the Subuyan Sea.

                The final testament to the type’s ruggedness and torpedo-launching capability had occurred on April 7, 1945 when a fleet of Avengers had destroyed the battleship Yamato and the cruiser Yahagi during their journey to Okinawa.

                Of the 9,836 Avengers produced, 7,546 had been built by General Motors.

                The fourth major aircraft to be used at Naval Air Station Wildwood, perhaps attempting to rectify the earlier SB2C’s flaws, had offered diametrically opposed efficiency and performance.  Its speed and capability, unduplicated by any present fighter, had enabled it to outrun and outclimb any propeller-driven enemy aircraft.  That aircraft had been the Chance-Vought F4U Corsair.

                Based upon the US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics requirement for a high-performance, carrier-based fighter submitted to the Vought-Sikorsky Division of the United Aircraft Corporation, the proposed design, designated the V-166-A, had projected use of the air-cooled, Pratt and Whitney R-1830 Wasp radial engine because of its service reliability, but speed targets could only be met with the much larger XR-2800-4 Double Wasp.  Hitherto the world’s most powerful piston powerplant, it had developed more than 100 hp per cylinder, of which there had been 18, requiring a 13.4-foot diameter, three-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propeller.  Although it had required considerable ground clearance because of its size, the very purpose for which a carrier-based fighter had been designed had dictated short, robust landing gear struts to withstand the rapid, often deck-pounding contact and almost instantaneous deceleration required of such an operation.  As a result, these parameters had dictated conflictive design solutions, and engineers had only been able to ensure both sufficient propeller clearance and short enough undercarriage linkage by introducing a gull wing configuration, which had coincidentally improved the aircraft’s aerodynamic characteristics, thereby augmenting higher operational speeds.  It had been the first to feature flushly stored wheels in the retracted mode.

                The Pratt and Whitney engine, whose air inlet had been located in the wing root, closely conformed to the fuselage’s circular shape.

                First flying on May 29, 1940 in prototype form, the aircraft, designated XF4U-1, had been powered by the 1,850-hp R-2800-4 engine and had featured a greenhouse-type cockpit and four .50-caliber Colt-Browning machine guns, two of which had been installed in the nose and two of which had been located in the wings.

                The first production standard version, the F4U-1, had been powered by the 2,000-hp R-2800-8 and had featured exclusively wing-mounted armament.  Taking to the skies on July 31, 1942, it had been the first fighter to exceed 400 mph in level flight.

                Several subsequent versions had been offered.  The F4U-2, for example, had been intended for night missions, while the F4U-3 had been designed for high-altitude operations coupling its 2,000-hp R-2800-16 Double Wasp engine with two Bierman model 1009A turbo-superchargers.  Because of its mechanical difficulties, it had eroded its performance and the variant had been quickly discontinued.

                The F4U-4, a fighter-bomber version, had featured a 33.8-foot overall length and a 41-foot wingspan, which had rendered a 314-square-foot area.  Its 2,100-hp R-2800-18W engine, driving a four-bladed propeller, had been equipped with methanol-water injection, thus producing a five-minute, war-emergency rating of 2,450 hp and resulting in a maximum, 446-mph airspeed.  Its service ceiling had been 41,500 feet.

                The F4U-5, the definitive version, had featured a five-inch longer fuselage; a two-degree, downward-angled engine to increase stability; duralumin outer wing panels and control surfaces to cater to its higher speeds; and a 2,350-hp, dual supercharger-equipped Pratt and Whitney R-2800-32W engine.  The type had a 45,000-foot service ceiling.

                In January of 1945, an additional $500,000 appropriation had enabled Naval Air Station Wildwood to expand and acquire new equipment, including weapons, tactics, link trainers, a 20-mm gunnery school, and a catapult and arresting gear to foster carrier landing practice at its Georgetown Auxiliary Field.  Part of this appropriation had been used to acquire rocket-equipped F4U Corsairs.

                Although the station had originally been designed for 108 officers, 1,200 enlisted men, and 72 aircraft, these numbers had swelled to 443, 2,497, and 154, respectively, and by October of 1944, take offs and landings had peaked at 16,994.  Dive bombing target practice had occurred along the Atlantic and Delaware Bay coasts, while a lighting system at an affiliated field had enabled pilots to perfect night carrier landings.

                When the respective training had been completed, the pilots, now arranges in air groups, had transferred to their assigned aircraft carriers.

III. Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum 

                When victory had closed the doors on World War II’s theaters in 1945, the Navy had discontinued its training programs at Naval Air Station Wildwood and by December of the following year, it had been deactivated, its 109 buildings having been declared surplus.  Of these, 79 had been offered by the War Assets Administration, which had intermittently acquired the property, for off-site use, while several larger structures had been given to Cape May County, which had resumed operation of the station.  Hanger Number One, which had been designed by architect Albert Kahn and whose construction had commenced as far back as October of 1942, had been one of them.

                Formed by bolted wood Pratt trusses subdivided into ten-foot panels at the roof level, the cavernous, 2,558,000-cubic-foot structure had been 290 feet long, 219 feet wide, and 51 feet high, and had been completed with cross-braced vertical supports at its north and south elevations and a center support, which had once provided the division between its two internal bays.  Its east and west elevations had been created by 12 full-height telescoping doors.  Aside from once housing the air station’s aircraft fleet, it had also featured offices, workrooms, and maintenance facilities.

                The hangar, having been used for several post-war purposes, had headquartered United States Overseas Airlines (USOA) between 1949 and 1964, which had provided a global route system with its own fleet and in-flight crews, and it had also briefly housed a banner-towing aircraft company.

                The subsequently abandoned structure, having fallen into a state of disrepair with rotting wood and cracked windows, had been resurrected by Dr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Salvatore in 1997, who had formed the not-for-profit Naval Air Station Wildwood Foundation to save and preserve it as a memorial to the 42 pilots who had lost their lives during their training here between 1943 and 1945, and had subsequently been listed on the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places at the National Significance Level.  That hangar now houses the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum, which features some 30 aircraft, engines, interactive exhibits provided by the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, films, a library, and a gift shop.

                Of the aircraft, the Grumman F4F Wildcat, featuring a three-bladed propeller, folding wings, self-sealing fuel tanks, and six machine guns, had served at the station, and had been the first US-designed fighter capable of downing a German aircraft.

                The Consolidated PBY Catalina, a high-wing, twin-engined, hull-shaped airframe for amphibian operations, had been a patrol bomber armed with .50-caliber Browning machine guns, torpedoes, and depth charges, and had performed multi-role missions, including submarine scouting, search and rescue, and escorting.

                The Boeing-Stearman PT-17 Kaydet, built in 1943, had been the most prevalently used World War II primary trainer.  The two-person, single-engine, open cockpit biplane had served as the initial step before pilot transition to heavier, more complex equipment.

                The Vultee BT-13, often the “next step,” had featured tandem controls and instruments, and had also been extensively used.

                The Grumman TBM-3E Avenger, one of the main aircraft based at Naval Air Station Wildwood, is one of only eight designs, like the very hangar which houses it, included on the National Register of Historic Places.

                The T-28C Trojan, which had replaced the AT-6 Texan in Asia and Africa, had provided carrier landing practice, and is equipped with an arresting hook.  It had been used for close air support against enemy ground forces.

                The OE-2 Bird Dog, the military version of the four-seat, twin-bladed, high-wing, tailwheel Cessna 170, had carried white phosphorous target-marking rockets under its wings during the Vietnam War and had also been used as an observation aircraft.

                Several rotary-wing designs are also represented by the museum.  The HH-52A Seaguard amphibious search-and-rescue helicopter, for example, features a hull-like fuselage and outrigger floats and had been stationed on a US Coast Guard ice breaker.

                The AH-1 Cobra, backbone of the US Army’s attack helicopter fleet and a type still in use today, had been equipped with rocket mounts and machine guns.  Formerly part of a Vietnam “Kill Team,” it had trailed a LOACH, which had drawn ground fire.

                The Bell UH-1 Iroquois Huey, the most widely used military helicopter with more than 16,000 having been produced, had been instrumental in numerous missions, such as air assault, command and control, medical evacuation, search-and-rescue, gunship, and transport, particularly during the Vietnam War, although it is still used by the Air Force and the Marines today.

                Jet fighters are also represented.  The Lockheed T-33 Thunderbird, a low-wing, single-engine, dual-seat trainer with a bubble canopy, had progressed from drawing board to airplane in 150 days.  Its F-80C Shooting Star counterpart had served for some 40 years in more than 20 world air forces.  The museum’s example itself had served in the Yugoslavian Air Force.

                The single-engined, delta-winged McDonnell-Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, which had first entered service with the Navy in 1956, could operate from an aircraft carrier, yet deliver nuclear weapons.

                The Grumman F-14 Tomcat features dual engines and vertical tails.  The museum’s F-14A, which had entered service in 1982, had later been upgraded to F-14B standard and had been the first to exceed 7,000 takes offs and landings from the USS John F. Kennedy.

                The Northrop F-5E Tiger II, a lightweight supersonic fighter deployed during the Cold War, had been designed as a response to the Soviet MiG-21.

                Aside from the actual fixed and rotary wing aircraft, the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum often hosts fly-ins, veterans’ ceremonies, historical lectures, and school field trips.

                The 1,000-acre Cape May Airport, the museum’s location, is itself of historic value, having evolved from the naval air station.  Sporting two 4,998-foot runways (1-19 and 10-28), six taxiways, and three parking ramps, the general aviation facility annually fields 39,000 movements primarily comprised of corporate, recreational, and charter aircraft, and stands as a testament to the location where fields, once cultivating corn, had later cultivated pilots whose dive-bombing skills had been instrumental in Pacific theatre and ultimate World War II victory.