On 16 January 1942, a TBD Devastator from VT-6 became lost on patrol, ran out of fuel, and ditched. Chief Aviation Pilot Howard Dixon and his two crewmates spent thirty-four days in a small rubber raft after their food and water washed overboard. They eventually reached Pukapuka, where local people fed them and alerted Allied authorities. USS Swan recovered the crew, and Dixon received the Navy Cross. Their return preserved more than three lives: experienced aviators were also needed to train the much larger force then entering service. Survival, accumulated skill, and training capacity were all part of naval combat power.
Notable Point · 27:16-29:38
Howard Dixon's crew and scarce aircrew experience
A lost TBD crew's thirty-four-day survival shows why experienced aviators mattered to a navy expanding at wartime speed.