Whale of a Tale

Provided by my Midway shipmate, and Lead Librarian, Phil Eakin, CDR, USN Ret.

20 September 1973.  An EA-3B Skywarrior, bureau number 144855 of VQ-1 based at Agana, Guam, ditched in the Pacific Ocean between Guam and the Philippines.  All five occupants were recovered.

EA-3B Skywarrior, bureau number 144855 of VQ-1 based at Agana, Guam, ditched in the Pacific Ocean between Guam and the Philippines. 

13 April 2024.  It was just another Saturday on the Midway.  There was a guest aboard who was looking for the A-6 ready room and ran into a docent who happened to be the DOW (Docent of the Watch) for the day, Paul Schubarth.  Paul took the gent down and showed him the A-6 ready room.  While there, the guest mentioned he also used to fly EA-3Bs.  As it happens, Paul knew one of the regular Saturday docents, Jay Parker, had to eject from a VQ-1 EA-3B flying from Agana, Guam to Cubi Point, The Philippines, in 1973 and mentioned that to the guest.  The guest, Joseph MacDonald, remarked he was willing to bet he was the pilot of that aircraft, because he himself had to eject from an EA-3B.

A reunion of sorts in Hangar Bay 1 was quickly organized involving Joesph and his wife Pam, Jay Parker, and a number of other docents, including David Harper, who was asked to take photographs.  Library volunteer Phil Eakin was asked to come down from the library to take notes in order to document the event.

The EA-3B had a normal crew of three, but Jay Parker was an NFO and a passenger going to Cubi Point with another passenger, a pilot, and they were supposed to ferry another plane from Cubi back to Guam.

What caused them all to have to eject was the electronics on the EA-3B went a bit wonky, the aircraft’s navigation system failed, so they did not know where they were, and they eventually ran so low on fuel they knew they would have to eject before the plane ran out of fuel and crashed. 

EA-3s do not have ejection seats.  These folks had to slide down a chute and out the bottom of the plane.  Jay parker ejected first at 10,000 feet, spent a bit of time in the water, and then spotted a P-3 (Navy maritime patrol aircraft) a few miles away.  Jay fired a bunch of flares, got the P-3’s attention, and the P-3 flew by, dipped wings and headed for the horizon.

Another docent present for the impromptu reunion, Chuck Hay, was assigned to the P-3 squadron at Guam at the time, was familiar with the event and had discussed it before with Jay Parker.  Chuck said the P-3 did see Jay in the water and radioed Jay’s correct position but had to get back to Guam because that plane was low on fuel too.  No time to look for the others (by this time, a Mayday had gone out and incident was known to many).  

Chuck said another P-3 subsequently left Guam to confirm location on the known survivor and to look for the rest.  Problem was, the P-3 sent out to look had a rookie navigator who had never been to navigation school.  He plotted the radioed position wrong on his chart.  When the P-3 arrived on scene, they couldn’t find Jay at the location plotted, but the aircraft skipper commenced an expanding search, and they eventually found Jay 60 miles (one degree of latitude) away. 

Eventually, a responding JMSDF destroyer (Haruna) sent its SH-3 helicopter out ahead and plucked Jay from the ocean after about 4 ½ hours in the drink.  All others were eventually located and picked up by the Haruna’s helicopter, and all five returned to Yokosuka on the Haruna.

The EA-3 is called “The Whale” for a good reason.  It weighs about 80,000 pounds.  One would think when that plane hits the water after a 10,000-foot dive there would be little for the eye to see on the water’s surface.  But this EA-3 did not sink when it went into the water, so a destroyer or destroyers had to be sent out to blast the plane until it did sink because of all the super secretive gear aboard.

Joseph, the EA-3B pilot, said he got an audience with the admiral in charge of COMFAIRWESTPAC a couple days later for a disciplinary board because the Navy did not look kindly at losing such a large, complex, and expensive aircraft.  But Joseph said he got off the hook after the situation was explained to the admiral. 

Anyway, 13 April 2024 on the Midway turned out to be a nice reunion for a couple guys who went for a swim together 50 years before.

Legend for Jay Parker Photos (all from Jay Parker collection)

Photos:  https://ussmidway41-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/library1_midway_org/EpV2a8wZMAdCn2uWeNK7D6IBd5Qp_akL8VbgRL7Oz14bkg?e=YpSkZb   Link is set to Anyone with link can View

Caterpillar – Certificate awarded by the Caterpillar Club to brand new member Jay for successful parachute jump on the date indicated (silk is made by caterpillars).

Group_Haruna – the five rescued personnel from the Whale are seated in the front row on the flight deck of the JMSDF Haruna, with the ship’s C.O. and X.O. in the middle.  Standing in the back row are flight crew members of the Haruna’s SH-3 helicopter.  Jay Parker is on the far left of front row.  Joeseph MacDonald is third from the left in the front row.

Jay Hoisted – Jay being hoisted by the JMSDF helicopter crew from his life raft below.  Jay said he swam a few feet to get into the hoist collar before being lifted out.  He says he thought it was a U.S. helo until he got up to the open hatch and saw Japanese faces looking at him.

JMSDF Haruna – Jay said Haruna was only decommissioned about a year ago.

Whale Wet Wing – Jay said because the fuel tanks in the aircraft wings were empty, they caused the aircraft to float after crashing in the ocean.  A U.S. destroyer was sent out to make sure none of the wreckage was left on the surface of the ocean.

Whale Wing Away – Jay said the U.S. destroyer picked up the wing bit that was floating and finished off the rest of the aircraft with gunfire to make sure it sank.