Author: Lee Anderson, VP-48
I read with great interest the story in the latest issue of the Mariner/Marlin magazine about the P5M landing in El Paso, Texas. During our 2001 VP-48 reunion in San Diego I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with two of the crew members who flew the plane off of Ascarate Lake, Rusty Willams who was the Co-pilot and Larry Gabbert who was the Ordnance man who rigged the JATO.
The plane had departed NAS North Island on April 10, 1960, flown by a Crew from VR(F)-32, with LTJG Burke as PPC. It’s final destiantion was to be Baltimore, MD, via NAS Corpus Christi and NAS Pensacola. As reported the plane experienced serious engine trouble over the desert and consequently a successful landing was made on Ascarate Lake in El Paso, Texas.
The troubled engine was repaired by mechanics from NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. The plane was stripped of all avionics with the exception of one radio, the searchlight, Bombay fuel tank, and all other non essential equipment was removed. The plane was fueled with just enough fuel to reach NAS Corpus Christi.
The 4000 ft elevation of the lake was of great concern because of the density altitude so the takeoff would depend on favorable winds assisting the P5M off the water.
An all volunteer crew was assembled for this monumental event. The crew from VP-48 was LCDR W.L. Schad, PPC; Lt. G.R.(Rusty) Williams, PPC-2; K.E.Goth, AD1, Plane Captain; and Larry Gabbert, AOAN, JATO rigger. The Panel Operator was M.H. Hewitt from VR-32.
On April 23, 1960 the weather was finally acceptable for takeoff. All of the 8-15 foot trees on the shore at the departure end of the lake were bent over and tied down with ropes. A small boat was used to break up the smooth water of the lake to aid in the P5M breaking free from the lake. The early morning JATO takeoff was a success with the plane clearing the trees by only 6-8 feet!
An interesting side story to this event is that Larry Gabbert was also aboard the ill-fated flight the crashed on Mt. Laguna while en route to the Salton Sea on New Years Day, 1959, less than a year and a half prior to the Ascarate Lake takeoff. All of the crew successfully bailed out with the exception of the PPC Lt. John Collier and PPC-2 Lt. Marshall Dickens who perished in the crash. Larry told me at the 2001 reunion that he was the last one to exit the aircraft. He said that as soon as he jumped from the plane he pulled the rip cord on his parachute. Seconds after his parachute opened he impacted the ground. He was very fortunate to have survived. Fifteen months after the crash he volunteered for the El Paso takeoff. Larry passed away on March 26, 2016.
Shortly before Rusty Williams passed away he sent me a VHS tape of the Ascarate Lake takeoff showing the actual 16mm movie made during the takeoff. It has since been transferred to a DVD. The video isn’t the best quality, but it is a factual story told by Rusty Williams.
In 2015 my wife Kathy and I, along with Don Frazeur and his wife Donna, drove to the 2015 VP-48 reunion in San Antonio, TX. Don was the Panel Operator with me when we flew with Crew 1 in 1965. Along the way we made a side trip to Ascarate Lake in El Paso to see for ourselves what they were up against in trying to takeoff from such as small lake. Being that the lake isn’t really that long, it was more than luck that lifted the P5M off of the lake that day.
A link to the El Paso Times Story about the takeoff:
govet.ws/ZzUaG
