Caruso

Caruso – The old RT (radio telephone) sets in the early Spitfires had to be switched one way for receiving and in the opposite way for broadcasting. The microphone was in the canvas mask portion of the old type of leather helmet along with the oxygen intake. The switching set-up meant that one had to frig with the switch when, on many an occasion, more important things had to be done within the cockpit and, indeed, looking outside of the cockpit while fighting. So it was decided by the powers-that-were that all RT sets would be altered so that the fighter pilot could listen out and talk without having to touch the switch whatsoever. Now, one was able to hear pilots cursing under their breath, singing and humming, moaning either by nature or by legitimate injury, sneezing and coughing, praying, and so on.

One early morning, Richie and I had to take our shift escorting a convoy through the Channel and Strait. (Fighters took over from the Coastal command aircraft as the convoy entered the ‘hot’ areas of enemy aircraft action.) The latest song on the wartime hit parade was “The Last time I Saw Paris.” While Richie and I were patrolling the long convoy of ships on this beautiful, sunny morning, I was humming and barking this very song. When we got back to Westhampnett after being relieved over the convoy and were in the Flight hut, Richie said to me, “Did you hear that crazy son-of-a-bitch singing away on ‘The Last Time I Saw Paris’ all the time that we were out there?” “No,” I answered honestly. Richie went on “I couldn’t hear control at all, and the convoy could have been jumped for all I could hear.” (When two microphones were active simultaneously, the broadcast was garbled.) Richie picked up the Flight telephone and called fighter control in order to find out whether or not control had also heard the crazy SOB. And, indeed, they had. It didn’t dawn on me for a number of days that I was the crazy SOB.

After many situations such as ours, the RT system was changed back to the old method of switching, and much entertainment by the professional performers was muffled again.