Watches Issued In Caribbean For Future Ernesto

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Hurricane hunting began with a bet eight decades ago this week.

The date was July 27, 1943. A hurricane was nearing Galveston, Texas, not far from where American pilots were training British counterparts in the new technique of instrument flying, using AT-6 Texan trainer planes.

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Not fully understanding the ferocity of a hurricane and why planes need to be evacuated, in a barroom, the British started ribbing the Americans, including U.S. flight instructor Col. Joe Duckworth, over the "frailty" of the AT-6. An example of such a plane is shown below.

The World War II hardened British trainees who had flown in battle over Europe thought the AT-6s were inferior planes compared to others in the American fleet and others that the British had flown.

Duckworth had had enough and decided to prove the plane’s worth, as well as prove the strength of instrument flying.

After some barroom chatter, the bet was made. If Duckworth could fly into the storm and back, he would be owed a highball.

(​MORE HUNTING LIKELY: Expect Storms This August)

With the hurricane roaring ashore, Duckworth took off from Bryan Field with a navigator named Lt. Ralph O'Hair, en route to the hurricane using instruments alone. They had not requested permission from headquarters.

Without official support, the pair flew into the hurricane between 4,000 and 9,000 feet. O’Hair recalled the penetration into the storm’s eyewall as "being tossed about like a stick in a dog's mouth."

The pair flew into the hurricane and back using only the instrument technique, proving its worth and winning the bet. Duckworth penetrated the eye twice – the first time accidentally.

Duckworth’s report on conditions in the eye as the hurricane made landfall and moved inland:

As we broke into the “eye” of the storm we were, of course, contact, and could see the sun and the ground. Apparently the “eye” was like a leaning cone as observation of the ground showed a considerable ground wind.

Duckworth notably made the observation that the bottom of the eye lagged behind upper portions of the eye, likely due to friction at the ground.

(​MORE: Hurricane Season Outlook Updated)

Two turbulent flights were flown into that hurricane by Duckworth, but in the end, O'Hair had enough with just one flight and never flew into another hurricane again. When they landed after the first flight, Bryan Field’s weather officer – Lieutenant William Jones-Burdick – asked to be flown into the hurricane once more to record visual observations. The bet was won by Duckworth and by the Americans.

Damage from this hurricane totaled $16.5 million (1943 USD), but given that the Great Depression had recently ended and people likely could not afford insurance, this damage toll is likely understated. Nineteen people were killed, and parts of eastern Texas flooded.

The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron was activated the following year during World War II, but later hopped around to New Hampshire, Florida, Bermuda, England, Saudi Arabia, Puerto Rico and, finally, to Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi where they reside today.

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