Intermediate training stresses formations with heavier ships
It’s not difficult to see that the whole scheme of P-3, from it’s Commander right down to the last plane in the squadron, is a living, vital tribute to the spirited and adventurous career of Lt. Cuddihy, in whose name the field was dedicated. Instead of the lumbering “Yellow Perils,” there are Voughts and Vultees; instead of landing and takeoffs, there is precision flying; instead of routine flying, day in and day out, there is the thrill of the heavier, more powerful service ship.
And why does this begin with the commander? Because Lt. Cmdr. George McCoy Cox, U.S.N., has had ten years and eight months at sea, mostly serving on aircraft carriers. He won designation as naval aviator at Pensacola in 1928, after serving on the USS Idaho, his first cruise after graduation from Annapolis in 1925. You can readily guess he is a “fighter pilot” by the gleam in his eye and his alertness. In keeping with his obvious “fighter” talents, he holds the Navy Distinguished Marksman Medal for his work in the Camp Perry, National Rifle Matches.
Lt. Cmdr. Cox came to NAS after completion of duty as Squadron Executive Officer on USS Lexington, as Flight Officer at Pearl Harbor, and as instructor at Pensacola. He has served in observation squadrons on battleships, and in fighter and bombing squadrons on the aircraft carrier Langley, Saratoga, Ranger, and Lexington. Rest assured that he is a capable and experienced officer for such an important post.
Then you may ask; what does the squadron have to do with the memory of Lt. Cuddihy? Because he risked his life by deliberately putting a F-4B-1 into a flat spin, just to try to get it out. Everywhere, pilots are indebted to him for learning to alter the head resistance and bring a plane out of the dangerous “flat spin.” As a testing and racing pilot, he advanced the science of aeronautics, and his flight over the Andes from Beunos Aires, Argentina, to Santiago, Chile, did much for Pan-American relations.
After his death in 1929, the Distinguished Flying Cross was presented for his brilliant efforts, his earnestness, and courage. P-3’s intermediate training program is, therefore, a splendid tribute to the memory of Lt. George Thomas Cuddihy.
The face of your correspondent is red, for throughout this series of “P” field articles, there has been no mention of
what the “P” stands for. It is no secret; Lt. Comdr. Cox explained that it is a designation used by BBC contractors to identify the three fields. They called them Project 1, Project 2, and Project 3, before the fields were dedicated. Shortening the designation to the simpler P-1, P-2, and P-3, was but a step around the corner, and that’s how it all started but now these designations are obsolete.
Purpose of Cuddihy Field, is to take students from both Rodd and Cabaniss fields and give them a stepping-stone to the heavier service-type ship. Here they get several hours of dual and much formation flying before being advanced to instrument work, and the combat ships. When you receive your commission you will have flown about 33 hours at P-3 with experience in both the SNV-1 and the OS2U-3 ships.
Cuddihy Field has the constant difficulty of keeping the graduates of both Rodd and Cabaniss fields in the air. It’s a case of two busy highways suddenly converging into one, and P-3 has to handle traffic rolling from here to instruments. As if that weren’t enough, they’re going to move the instructor’s school from Rodd to Cuddihy. This will leave Rodd and Cabaniss purely to primary flying, but Cuddihy will have a problem on its hands.
It’s a big job they’re doing at P-3, but an aggressive spirit has kept them well up to the schedule. Maybe it’s the spirit of achievement as was personified by Lt. Cuddihy, or maybe it’s the fight of Lt. Comdr. Cox, but whatever it is, they deserve a vote of thanks from the whole base.