In September of 1999, the 53rd WRS received its first of 10 WC-130Js. 1, 1993, the 53rd WRS was reactivated and assigned to the Air Force Reserve, replacing the 815th WS. In June of 1991, the 53rd WRS was deactivated, and all weather reconnaissance responsibility fell to the Air Force Reserve's 815th Weather Squadron, which had existed concurrently with the 53rd since 1976. When Ramey closed in 1973, the Hurricane Hunters came to their present location at Keesler AFB, Miss. In 1966, the 53rd WRS once again left the United States, this time for Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico. The squadron returned to Bermuda for a short time, and then back to the United States at Hunter AFB, Ga. In late 1947, the Hurricane Hunters moved across the Atlantic to Kindley Field, Bermuda, later relocating at Burtonwood Royal Air Force Station, England, and Dharan, Saudi Arabia. The squadron moved from New Hampshire and then on to Florida. The 53rd WRS was originally activated in 1944 during World War II as the 3rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, Air Route, Medium, tracking weather in the North Atlantic between North American and Europe. Since that time, the Hurricane Hunters have had many designations and called many airfields home. Duckworth's pioneering efforts paved the way for further flights into tropical cyclones. These were generally considered to be the first airborne attempts to obtain data for use in plotting the position of a tropical cyclone as it approached land. Major Duckworth flew into the eye of that storm twice that day, once with a navigator and again with a weather officer. Joe Duckworth flew a propeller-driven, single-engine North American AT-6 "Texan" trainer into the eye of a hurricane. It all started in 1943 as a bar room dare, when two Army Air Corps pilots challenged each other to fly through a hurricane. These personnel are responsible for coordinating Department of Commerce requirements for hurricane data, tasking weather reconnaissance missions and monitoring all data transmitted from weather reconnaissance aircraft. The supervisory meteorologist of the unit serves as Chief, Aerial Reconnaissance Coordination, All Hurricanes, better known as CARCAH. It measures and encodes weather data down to the ocean surface.Ĭo-located with the National Hurricane Center in Miami, is a small group of Air Force Reserve civilian personnel, assigned to the 53rd WRS. The weather reconnaissance loadmaster collects and records vertical meteorological data using a parachute-borne sensor known as a dropsonde. The flight meteorologist acts as flight director and observes and records meteorological data at flight level using a computer that encodes weather data every 30 seconds. The navigator keeps track of the aircraft's position and movement and monitors radar to avoid tornadic activity. The pilot, who serves as the aircraft commander, and the co-pilot man the flight controls. WC-130Js carry a basic crew of five: pilot, co-pilot, navigator, flight meteorologist and weather reconnaissance loadmaster. The rest of the squadron is made up of Air Force Reservists. Fifty-nine unit members hold air reserve technician positions. The WC-130J is the next generation "Hurricane Hunter" designed to continue weather reconnaissance well into the 21st century. These Super Hercules aircraft are equipped with palletized meteorological data-gathering instruments. To perform their mission, the Hurricane Hunters have 10 WC-130J aircraft. The unit also flies winter storm missions off both coasts of the United States. They provide surveillance of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the central Pacific Ocean for the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The mission of the Hurricane Hunters is to recruit, organize and train assigned personnel to perform aerial weather reconnaissance. It is the only operational unit in the world flying weather reconnaissance on a routine basis. The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, a component of the 403rd Wing located at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., is a one-of-a-kind organization.
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