Subdeacon Joe Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Screen capture from a video I ran across: OK, you old Salts, what's with the pink covers? Oh, the video? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 I can’t see the photo but my guess is some butthead threw a red rag in with the laundry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Just spit balling here. Looking closely at the screen grab my guess is they are wearing the red covers to differentiate themselves from the rest of the ships crew as part of a shipboard training exercise. Maybe they are causalities??? Notice some of the individuals in the Lower left are wearing OBAs The group with the pink covers are all wearing some sort of bulky canvas thing tied around their waist. I don't think it is a life preserver as I have never seen one worn about the waist and couldn't find pictures of any on the interwebs. I see others wearing period correct life jackets. Did you notice the sailor with the M1903? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Dan Dawkins Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Were they the navy's equivalent of prison bit#%@$? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Dan Dawkins Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 I'm going to catch hell for that...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene Slim SASS 81783 Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 44 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said: Just spit balling here. Looking closely at the screen grab my guess is they are wearing the red covers to differentiate themselves from the rest of the ships crew as part of a shipboard training exercise. Maybe they are causalities??? Notice some of the individuals in the Lower left are wearing OBAs The group with the pink covers are all wearing some sort of bulky canvas thing tied around their waist. I don't think it is a life preserver as I have never seen one worn about the waist and couldn't find pictures of any on the interwebs. I see others wearing period correct life jackets. Did you notice the sailor with the M1903? I agree Dave. I’m also guessing it was a training exercise based on the variety of things being worn, which might explain the marine with the backpack and rifle aboard ship. There was in fact an inflatable flotation belt worn around the waist that was common during the war. It appears the pink-covered boys are wearing them in various states of inflation. I don’t see them on anyone else. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30016258 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Interesting. I can see the photo this morning. I would say that the guys in, Ahem...light red covers...are part of the flight crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 I wish my grandfather was still alive. He was in the Navy in WW2 and was severely wounded in a kamikazee attack. He died in 2010 after his third bout with cancer, but if he was around I would be able to ask him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 I'm not certain, but could this be the waist-style life preserver that some of the men on deck are wearing? https://www.captainjacksmilitaria.com/index.php?page=ww2-u-s-navy-life-preserver LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 38 minutes ago, Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 said: I'm not certain, but could this be the waist-style life preserver that some of the men on deck are wearing? https://www.captainjacksmilitaria.com/index.php?page=ww2-u-s-navy-life-preserver LL That is exactly what they are. The Navy phased them out after finding upside down drowned sailors after accidents and sinkings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 In 1967 there was a PBYon Okinawa. It was an amphibious model and was owned by an Aussie commercial company. I have no idea what their real mission was, but they brought a lot of fresh seafood in for the exchanges and commissaries. I went down to Naha civilian port on several trips and eventually coaxed one of the crew members into asking the pilot if I could snag even a very short ride in the plane. I finally got to ride on a thirty minute "check flight". Noisiest thing I ever rode in, but the view from the starboard blister was grand experience. You could see almost every direction from there. That, and a ride in a Kaman "eggbeater" at Ton Son Nhut, are my best airplane memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene Slim SASS 81783 Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 1 hour ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: That is exactly what they are. The Navy phased them out after finding upside down drowned sailors after accidents and sinkings. Yup. When I learned to water ski back in the mid '60s, the standard accoutrement was a ski belt that worked the same way. I noticed when waiting in the water I had to constantly move my arms to keep from going face down. Figured I'd be a dead duck if I was ever unconscious. Oh well, they're handy for dragging the body into the boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joke 'um Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 The pink hats are to differentiate the airdales from the real sailors. Today, they continue the tradition by wearing pink skivvy shorts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted January 9, 2021 Author Share Posted January 9, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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