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greatest loss of life and property. The six Hurricane Hunter aircraft of the 70's bore the names of the greatest hurricanes of the prior decades: Dora, Inez, Blanche, Faith, Cindy, Betsy and the Category 5 storm that devastated the Gulf Coast in 1969, Camille. All six aircraft have since been lost to history as they were retired from service following the arrival of the WP-3s, accompanied by significant improvements in earth orbiting weather satellites.

In 1969 the Hurricane Hunters participated in Project Stormfury the only successful attempt by man to control the weather on a grand scale. Project Stormfury was a joint effort begun in 1962 with the government's Environmental Science and Services Administration (ESSA). Over a period of several days, aircraft from the Navy, Marines, and ESSA made multiple sorties into Hurricane Debbie, some dropping canisters containing silver iodine into the eyewall clouds in an attempt to cool down the storm's heat engine and alter its composition. The success of this mission is mostly considered as uncertain, as the observed weather changes could have been attributed to other natural causes. Nevertheless, the attempt required hundreds of hours of flight and the careful coordination of over ten aircraft aloft in stormy skies at one time. A truly remarkable feat by any measure.

The idea of flying through the eyewall of a hurricane has been romanticized by some and characterized as craziness by other. The truth is that it takes a special kind of courage, trust, and character to fly into the abyss and return safely time after time with high spirits and camaraderie found nowhere else in the maritime service. At times, the roar of the winds drowned out the roar of the mighty Rolls Royce engines, and drifting backwards in flight because the eyewall winds exceed the forward speed of the aircraft was always an interesting experience. Returning from within the eye was sometimes interesting, as well, often with pilots and engineers struggling to find new ways to keep a Connie flying under aerodynamic conditions that weren't written in the operating manual.

Sometimes, I am reminded of a familiar quote taken from the movie "Alien", albeit slightly modified: "In the eyewall, no one can hear you scream." But then, you would have to have been there.

Learn more about this author, Francis Jock.
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