This Is Not A Fighter!

Initially, Bill Watt was flying the C-47 cargo plane (the civilian version is the Douglas DC-3).  He later joined the Search & Rescue squadron.  The flying route to China was treacherous and planes went down in the jungle enroute.  When a plane would not show up, out went the Search and Rescue plane who looked for flashes of the shiny aluminum on the route and hopefully see signs of life nearby.  They would then push out survival supplies in hopes that the pilots could walk out of the jungle to help.  This flight path was affectionately called, 'Aluminum Alley' because of all the wrecked planes.  One of my Daddy's co-pilots in India, Howard Peterson, sent me the photo to the left in 1997.  He kept in contact with my mother after Daddy died.  The inscription reads "This was our 'home' for a year.  Willie Watt & I flew in a dive at 360 mph on a test flight in 1945."

C-47 Skytrain