AIR: Sights & Racks

To many a U.S. merchant seaman facing danger on the high seas, two organizations stand head & shoulders above all others. One of them is an obvious object of professional admiration: the U.S. Navy. But the other would stump most guessers. It is the unpaid, volunteer Civil Air Patrol. Men in ships, hardened by endless repetition to the inherent hazards of their own calling, still gape with honest admiration when they hear the sewing-machine hum of a low-powered CAP engine far from land and see a tiny landplane soaring overhead, patiently on the watch for the feather of a...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!