Editing Flight 19 (section)

== Navigation training flight ==
[[File:Charles C. Taylor.jpg|thumb|Lieutenant Charles Carroll Taylor, USNR, flight leader of Flight 19]]
Flight 19 undertook a routine navigation and combat training exercise in [[torpedo bomber|TBM-type aircraft]].<ref name=NatGeoMayell>{{cite news |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1205_021205_bermudatriangle.html |title=Bermuda Triangle: Behind the Intrigue |work=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] |first=Hillary |last=Mayell |page=2 |date=December 15, 2003 |access-date=March 10, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022121628/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/bermuda-triangle-mystery-disappearance/ |archive-date=October 22, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The assignment was called "Navigation problem No. 1", a combination of bombing and navigation that other flights had completed or were scheduled to undertake that day.<ref name="NAN73"/> The flight leader, [[United States Navy]] [[Lieutenant]] Charles Carroll Taylor, had about 2,500 flying hours, mostly in aircraft of this type, while his trainee pilots each had 300 total and 60 flight hours in the Avenger.<ref name="NAN73"/> Taylor had completed a combat tour in the Pacific theater as a torpedo bomber pilot on the aircraft carrier {{USS|Hancock|CV-19|6}} and had recently arrived from [[Coast Guard Air Station Miami|NAS Miami]] where he had also been a VTB (torpedo-bombing plane) instructor. The student pilots had recently completed other training missions in the area where the flight was to take place.<ref name="NAN73"/> They were [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine]] [[Captain (land)|Captain]]s Edward Joseph Powers and George William Stivers, U.S. Marine [[Second Lieutenant]] Forrest James Gerber and USN [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] Joseph Tipton Bossi.

The aircraft were three TBM-1Cs (BuNo 45714, 'FT3'; BuNo 46325, 'FT81'; BuNo 73209, 'FT117'), one TBM-1E (BuNo 46094, 'FT36'); and one TBM-3 (BuNo 23307, 'FT28'). Each aircraft was a version of the [[Grumman TBF Avenger]], built by General Motors' Eastern Aircraft Division under wartime production license. Under the [[1922 United States Navy aircraft designation system|U.S. Navy aircraft designation system used during World War II]], Grumman-built Avengers were designated TBF and GM-built aircraft such as these were designated TBM. Each was fully fueled, and during pre-flight checks, it was discovered they were all missing clocks. Navigation of the route was intended to teach [[dead reckoning]] principles, which involved calculating, among other things, elapsed time. The apparent lack of timekeeping equipment was not a cause for concern, as it was assumed each man had his own watch. Takeoff was scheduled for 13:45 local time, but the late arrival of Taylor delayed departure until 14:10. The weather at NAS Fort Lauderdale was described as "favorable, sea state moderate to rough".<ref name="NAN73"/>

The exercise involved three legs, with the flight having flown four, the fourth being returning to NAS Ft. Lauderdale after reaching the Florida coast. After take off, they flew on heading 091° (almost due east) for {{convert|56|nmi|mi km|lk=on|abbr=on}} until reaching Hens and Chickens Shoals, commonly called Chicken Rocks, where low level bombing practice was carried out. The flight was to continue on that heading for another {{convert|67|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} before turning onto a course of 346° for {{convert|73|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}}, in the process over-flying [[Grand Bahama]] island. The next scheduled turn was to a heading of 241° to fly {{convert|120|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} at the end of which the exercise was completed, and the Avengers would turn left to then return to NAS Ft. Lauderdale.<ref name="NAN73" />

[[File:Flt19map.png|right|300px|thumb|Flight 19's scheduled navigation exercise was on December 5, 1945.<br/>'''1.''' Leave [[Naval Air Station|NAS Fort Lauderdale]] 14:10 on heading 091° for {{convert|56|nmi|km|sigfig=3}}, drop bombs at Hens and Chickens shoals (B) until about 15:00 then continue on heading 091° for {{convert|67|nmi|km|sigfig=3}}<br/>'''2.''' Turn left to heading 346° and fly {{convert|73|nmi|km|sigfig=3}}.<br/>'''3.''' Turn left to heading 241° for {{convert|120|nmi|km|sigfig=3}} to end exercise north of NAS Fort Lauderdale.<br/>'''4.''' 17:50 radio triangulation establishes the flight's position to within {{convert|50|nmi|km|sigfig=2}} of {{coord|29|N|79|W}} and their last reported course, 270°.<br/>'''5.''' PBM Mariner leaves NAS Banana River 19:27.<br/>'''6.''' 19:50 Mariner explodes near {{coord|28|N|80|W}}.]]

Radio conversations between the pilots were overheard by the base and other aircraft in the area. The practice bombing operation is known to have been carried out because, at about 15:00, a pilot requested and was given permission to drop his last bomb.<ref name="NAN73"/> Forty minutes later, another flight instructor, Lieutenant Robert F. Cox in FT-74, who was forming up with his group of students for the same mission, received an unidentified transmission.<ref name="hyper"/>

An unidentified crew member asked Powers, one of the students, for his compass reading. Powers replied: "I don't know where we are. We must have got lost after that last turn." Cox then transmitted; "This is FT-74, plane or boat calling 'Powers' please identify yourself so someone can help you." The response after a few moments was a request from the others in the flight for suggestions. FT-74 tried again and a man identified as FT-28 (Taylor) came on. "FT-28, this is FT-74, what is your trouble?" "Both of my compasses are out", Taylor replied, "and I am trying to find Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I am over land but it's broken. I am sure I'm in the Keys but I don't know how far down and I don't know how to get to Fort Lauderdale."<ref name="NAN73"/>
FT-74 informed the NAS that aircraft were lost, then advised Taylor to put the sun on his [[Port (nautical)|port]] wing and fly north up the coast to Fort Lauderdale. Base operations then asked if the flight leader's aircraft was equipped with a standard YG ([[Identification friend or foe|IFF]] transmitter), which could be used to triangulate the flight's position, but the message was not acknowledged by FT-28. (Later he would indicate that his transmitter was activated.) Instead, at 16:45, FT-28 radioed: "We are heading 030 degrees for 45 minutes, then we will fly north to make sure we are not over the Gulf of Mexico." During this time no bearings could be made on the flight, and [[Identification friend or foe|IFF]] could not be picked up. Taylor was told to broadcast on 4805 [[kHz]]. This order was not acknowledged so he was asked to switch to 3000&nbsp;kHz, the search and rescue frequency. Taylor replied – "I cannot switch frequencies. I must keep my planes intact."<ref name="NAN73"/>

At 16:56, Taylor was again asked to turn on his transmitter for [[Secondary surveillance radar|YG]] if he had one. He did not acknowledge but, a few minutes later, advised his flight "Change course to 090 degrees (due east) for 10 minutes." About the same time, someone in the flight said, "Dammit, if we could just fly west we would get home; head west, dammit."<ref name="NAN73"/> This difference of opinion later led to questions about why the students did not simply head west on their own.<ref name=santafe>{{cite news |url=http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/35198.html |title=Flight 19 crew honored by House; disappearance began notion of Bermuda Triangle |work=Free New Mexican |first=Elisabeth |last=Goodridge |date=November 17, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051126014843/http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/35198.html |archive-date=November 26, 2005}}</ref> It has been explained that this can be attributed to military discipline.<ref name=santafe/>&nbsp;As the weather deteriorated, radio contact became intermittent, and it was believed that the five aircraft by this point were more than {{convert|200|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} out to sea, east of the Florida peninsula. Taylor radioed "We'll fly 270 degrees west until landfall or running out of gas" and requested a weather check at 17:24. By 17:50, several land-based radio stations had triangulated Flight 19's position as being within a {{convert|100|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} radius of {{Coord|29|N|79|W}}; Flight 19 was north of the Bahamas and well off the coast of central Florida.

At 18:04, Taylor radioed to his flight "Holding 270. We didn't fly far enough east; we may as well just turn around and fly east again". By that time, the weather had deteriorated even more and the sun had set. Around 18:20, Taylor's last message was received. (It has also been reported that Taylor's last message was received at 19:04.)<ref name="MysBermTri2005">{{cite episode |title=Mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle |series=[[Decoding the Past]] |network=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]] |season=1 |number=16 |year=2005}}</ref> He was heard saying, "All planes close up tight ... we'll have to [[Water landing|ditch]] unless landfall ... when the first plane drops below 10 gallons [{{convert|10|usgal|L|disp=out|abbr=off|sp=us}}], we all go down together."<ref name=NatGeoMayell/><ref name="NAN73"/>