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SURGEONS PLAY VITAL PAR T IN WINNING
MANY -AIR BATTLES
THE battle for aerial supremacy over the Japanese ii the
South-West -Pacific is being won to a large degree by men
who never handle the controls of bombers or fighters, and who
never service planes on the ground.
They are the squadron flight
surgeons whose prompt remedial
measures prevent airmen from dy
ing in their oxygen masks at alti
tudes or being irretrievably ruined
through flying fatigue.
Tremendous importance of con
stant medical exaimination of airmen
is emphasised by Captain William
S. Butts, acting flight surgeon of an
American bomber squadron stationed
in the North Western area.
"The airmen who takes his oxy
gen mask off for more than 39 sec
onds while flying at 35,000 feet or
higher would lose consciousness and
die within five minutes," he said.
"There have been deaths caused by
oxygen tubes becoming loose and
their wearers passing out before fina
ing the trouble. Yet, if an airman
has a: running nose or a cold which
blocks the nasal tubes, he must take
off his mask to clear it.
"lf the tube leading from the nose
to the ear becomes blocked an air
man may burst his eardrum through
uncompensated air pressure outside."
All sinous..troubles, and even air
men's minor colds, are watched with
meticulous care by the flight sur
geons.
Onset of flying fatigue in pilots
can only be detected by medical offi
cers with intimate knowledge of
airmen's lives.
If pilots become nervous, find difTl
culty in concentrating, lose enthus
iasm, eannot sleep, become hysteri
cal during mild arguments, or niOody
through too much thought and will
not associate with their friends, flight
surgeons can be certain they are suf
fering from flying fatigue--a con
dition due to too much flying.
HUMAN ELEMENT
Taken in- its early stages and com
bated by long rest, flying fatigue
can be overcome, enabling the victim
to fly in combat again. Neglected,
it becomes worse and ultimately, if
patients do not receive treatment,
they become useless as fliers.
"The human element is one of the
weakest parts of the aeroplane," said
Calptaii Biutts. "You. can never
know what it will do under the ter
rific strain of combat.
'My job is to make sure that the
crew, members are not worked so
bard that they crack under the emo
tional and physical strain.
"Particularly you have to watch
them the night before a raid. At
altitude any gas in the stomach ex
pands as the pressure diminishes.
Ultimately it may cause cramp which
totally incapacitates.
"We advise airmen to avoid eat
ing beans, sweet potatoes, anything
greasy and not to drink beer. We
try to get them to bed fairly early
-a difficult enough job when men
are excited at the prospect of a mis
sion.
"After all, the man who falls to
sleep in a raid is not much use to
the rest of the crew."
Captain Butts believes the planes
of the various combatants have now
reached such a stage of efficiency
that the contest has passed from the
arena of machines to that of men.
"If you read that one plane man
oeuvred much faster than another
you can bet your boots it was due
to one pilot being able to withstand
a sharp turn of speed more than
another," he said.
"So careful protection of the human
element in combat becomes of prime
importance."
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