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'Hurricane Hunters' are aircraft that fly into tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic Ocean and Northeastern Pacific Ocean for the specific purpose of directly measuring weather data in and around those storms. In the Western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean, the titles of ''Typhoon Chasers'' (Air Force) or ''Typhoon Trackers'' (Navy) are used for these organizations. In the United States, the Air Force, Navy, NOAA and NASA units have all participated in this mission.
Before artificial satellites were used to find storms, the military units flew routine weather reconnaissance tracks to actually hunt to see if any tropical cyclones were forming. While satellites can now perform this part of the mission, they still cannot directly measure the weather data inside these storms.
The '53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron', better known as the “'Hurricane Hunters',” is a United States Air Force squadron of aircraft, based in Biloxi, Mississippi, that flies missions into hurricanes and weather systems for research purposes and observation.
The Hurricane Hunters of the Air Force Reserve should not be confused with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters, based out of its Aircraft Operations Center on MacDill AFB, in Tampa, Florida, who use their WP-3D Orion and Gulfstream IV-SP aircraft for this mission.
Although satellite data has revolutionized weather forecasters' ability to spot signs of tropical cyclones before they form, there are still many important tasks for which it is not suited. Satellite imagery cannot determine the interior barometric pressure of a hurricane, nor can it provide accurate information about wind speeds. These data are needed by forecasters to accurately predict a hurricane's development and movement.
Because satellites cannot collect the data and ships are both too slow and too vulnerable to large storm-generated waves, the only viable way to collect this data is with aircraft. Thus, the '53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron “Hurricane Hunters”' has the task of flying instrumented WC-130J aircraft into storms to collect the required meteorological data. The area of responsibility for the “Hurricane Hunters” is midway through the Atlantic Ocean to the Hawai’ian Islands. The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters have also been tasked to fly into typhoons in the Pacific Ocean on occasion, as well as gather data in winter storms.

Contents

Aircraft

Deployment

Current deployment

Hurricane Katrina

History

1943 Surprise Hurricane

Swan 38

See also

Sources

External links

Aircraft

The WC-130J aircraft is a venerable workhorse of an aircraft with four turboprop engines. Their purpose is to fly directly into the hurricane, typically penetrating the hurricane's eye several times in one mission at no higher than 10,000 feet and no lower than 500 feet. The 53rd WRS “Hurricane Hunters” operate ten WC-130J aircraft for weather reconnaissance.
Other aircraft have been used to investigate hurricanes, including an instrumented Lockheed U-2 that was flown in Hurricane Ginny during the 1963 Atlantic hurricane season.
Past aircraft used were the RB-17, 1945-1946; TB-17, 1945-1947; B-25, 1946-1947; B-29, 1946-1947. WB-29, 1951-1956; WB-50, 1956-1960. WB-50, 1962-1963; WB-47, 1963-1969; C-130, 1965; WC-130B,E,H 1965-1991; RC-130, 1974-1975; HC-130, 1976. WC-130H, 1993-2005.

Deployment

Current deployment

The Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron is currently based at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, and the majority of all of the reconnaissance flights are based from Keesler. The United States Air Force Reserve “Hurricane Hunters” are the only operational weather reconnaissance unit in the world.
NOAA, a non-military uniformed service, also performs research hurricane missions with a separate fleet of three aircraft, most of which are based at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.

Hurricane Katrina

The landfall of Hurricane Katrina on 29 August 2005 caused devastating damage to Keesler Air Force Base, home base of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. The equipment and personnel of the squadron were flying out of Dobbins Air Reserve Base near Atlanta. Despite heavy losses, the squadron never missed a tasked mission from the National Hurricane Center. The 53rd has since returned to Keesler and is now once again flying weather reconnaissance missions from the base.

History

1943 Surprise Hurricane

The 1943 Surprise Hurricane, which struck Houston, Texas during World War II, marked the first intentional meteorological flight into a hurricane. It started with a bet.
That summer, British pilots were being trained in instrument flying at Bryan Field. When they saw that the Americans were evacuating their AT-6 Texan trainers in the face of the storm, they began questioning the construction of the aircraft. Lead instructor Colonel Joe Duckworth took one of the trainers out, and flew it straight into the eye of the storm. After he returned safely with navigator Lt. Ralph O'Hair, the base's weather officer, Lt. William Jones-Burdick, took over the navigator's seat and Duckworth flew into the storm a second time.
This flight showed that hurricane reconnaissance flights were possible, and further flights continued on an irregular basis. In 1946, the moniker “Hurricane Hunters” was first used, and the Air Force and now Air Force Reserve have used it ever since.

Swan 38

In 1974, a newly converted WC-130 (serial number 65-0965) was transferred to the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, the "Typhoon Chasers", at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam. The aircraft was sent to investigate Typhoon Bess. The crew departed Clark Air Base in the Philippines with the callsign “Swan 38.”
Radio contact with the aircraft was lost on 12 October 1974, apparently as the aircraft was heading into the typhoon's eye to make a second position fix. There were no radio transmissions indicating an emergency on board, and search teams could not locate the aircraft or its crew. All six crew members were listed as KIA.
Swan 38 is one of only a handful of Hurricane Hunter flights lost, and the only WC-130 to go down in a storm.

See also

★ Tropical cyclone

★ Vortex data message

Sources

★ Whiskey Charlie

★ ASN Accident description 13 OCT 1974 Lockheed WC-130H Hercules 65-0965

★ Why and how people fly into hurricanes - USA Today - sidebar, "Fatal flights"

External links

★ 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron homepage

★ 403rd Wing Homepage

★ Air Weather Reconnaissance Association homepage

★ NHC Reconnaissance data archive

★ The NOAA Aircraft Operations Center homepage

★ Navy Hurricane Hunters homepage

★ VW-1 All Hands Alumni Association homepage