Taunton Korean War vet reflects on U.S. S. Bennington ‘disaster’ Read more: http://www.tauntongazette.com/dcover/x1560333163/Taunton-Korean-War-vet-r

From the Taunton Gazette: Taunton Korean War vet reflects on U.S. S. Bennington ‘disaster’
Taunton —

Taunton’s Donald Scott recently revisited the memory of a near naval aircraft carrier catastrophe in the North Atlantic that he witnessed first-hand, ending in what many who witnessed it called a “miracle.”

Scott, a Korean War veteran, was aboard the U.S.S. Bennington on Sept. 23, 1953 when 42 U.S. and Canadian propeller planes became stranded in the sky as the result of heavy fog that prevented pilots from finding the aircraft carrier.

“Everyone was quite scared, but they were excited when they all got down,” Scott said. “There was plenty of prayers being said. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone on flight deck, but there was people all around on the catwalks watching them come in. It was quite a thing to see.”

The event, which took place in the context of a large NATO exercise called Operation Mariner, involved three aircraft carriers. Along with the Bennington was the U.S.S. Wasp and the Canadian carrier HMCS Magnificent.

The incident was recapped in the October 2011 issue of “Flight Journal.” The magazine dubbed it the “greatest peacetime disaster in the naval aviation history.”

While beyond the range of any suitable landing fields ashore (the nearest land was 460 miles northwest of Cape Farewell in Greenland), the NATO contingent launched a strike exercise.

The situation was complicated by conflicting weather reports, with a strong fog leaving 42 aircrafts circling the carriers with low amounts of fuel as the night set in.

Scott said many service members on the carriers believed the fog clearing just in time for everyone to land was a miracle.

“What was extraordinary was they couldn’t land for two hours,” Scott said. “One of the small planes — I was in the landing signal — was given the wave off. But the pilot knew he didn’t have enough gas for another circle, so he went ahead and landed. One pilot was so nervous he couldn’t get out of the plane.”

Scott said his role on the Bennington was to signal aircrafts to take off.

When Scott left the military in 1954, he was a Second Class Aviation Metalsmith Petty Officer.

Scott has lived in Taunton has resided in the Silver City since 1961 with his wife Catherine.