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Hello again. I'm having trouble researching Midway for a short story I'm trying to write. I saw some of the stories in the short story section were WWII oriented, so I thought someone could help me out. Here are the questions I have...

1. Did pilots in Midway have any sort of floatation device built into their jackets?

2. I know the callsign 'Strawberry' for the scout planes. I was wondering what the callsigns would be for the normal fighters, the ones that were scrambled first.

3. What were the procedures for picking up downed pilots floating at sea?

Again, thanks for any and all help you guys can provide. I'm looking forward to completing this story and putting it in the Short Stories section.

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We have first raised a dust and then complain we cannot see.

Queasy Dillo

1) No, pilots wore an inflatable life vest commonly known as a 'Mae West'. It was worn over the parachute harness and was inflated by a small CO2 charge.

2) All I can say is that callsigns and flight names varied from unit to unit and ship to ship.

3) If a downed pilot was within visual range of a larger ship (aircraft carrier, destroyer, cruiser, etc) a small boat would be dispatched and the pilot retrieved. Further away, the pick-up would usually be executed by a submarine. The pilot/aircrew would later be returned to their ship.

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You have not yet begun to scratch the surface of my depravity.

Nimbus1944

Before the battle, air-to-ship communications were supposedly silenced, to protect the location of our carriers.

Tactical calls could be changed frequently, on a local basis. For purposes of a short story, author's choice should do.

In encoded communiques, the 64 individual planes of Marine Air Group 22 would have officially been referred to as 2722+letter+number (2722A1, 2722H7, etc.), and Midway itself as ACOW (equivalent to Japan's "AF" for Midway). The official "clear" call sign of Midway was NGQ.

Initial air action from Midway:
http://www.worldwar2history.info/Mid...of-Midway.html

MAG-22:
http://www.acepilots.com/usmc/hist7.html

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Forgetting to live, it seems;
Nor would it be right to dwell on life
And yet forget our dreams.
-If There Were No Magicians