“Don’t you think we’re about to get in a war, Canidy?” the admiral asked suddenly.
“I hope not, sir,” he said. The question made him uncomfortable.
“Yes or no?” the admiral asked impatiently.
“I don’t see how we can avoid it, sir,” Canidy said. The admiral snorted.
“How would you like to get into it early, Canidy?” General Chennault asked.
“I’d rather not get into it at all, sir,” Canidy replied, after a moment’s hesitation. He had decided that this was one of those occasions when he would say what he was thinking, rather than what he was expected to say.
“I’m surprised,” Chermault said. “The admiral told me you’ve been flying the new Grumman.”
“Yes, sir.”
“All that power scare you?” Chennault asked.
“No, sir,” Canidy replied. “The airplane’s first-rate. But nobody was shooting at me.”
The two leathery-faced old pilots looked at each other, and then General Chennault looked into Canidy’s eyes. “What do you want out of the service, Canidy?” he asked softly.
“I’m afraid my answer would sound flippant, sir,” Canidy said. “Out, you mean? What you want out of the service is yourself?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And then what?”
“I’m an aeronautical engineer, sir. I’ve been offered a job by Boeing.”
“They’ll have you designing ashtrays for transports,” the admiral said, smiling, but meaning it. “You won’t be flying.”
“They’ve offered me a job in high-speed airfoil design, sir,” Canidy said, unable to let it pass.
“What do you know about high-speed airfoil design?” the admiral asked disparagingly.
“That’s my specialty, sir,” Canidy said.
“You’re one hell of a fighter pilot, according to your records,” Chennault said, ending the sparring. “They didn’t let you fly the F4F-3 because they liked you or because they thought you were a wing expert.”
“General Chennault is a highly qualified judge of fighter pilots, Canidy,” the admiral said, offering an olive branch. “That’s a hell of a compliment from him.”
“I’ve read the general’s book, sir,” Canidy said.
“On your own? Or because it was suggested to you?” Chennault asked.
“I was ordered to read it, sir,” Canidy said.
“I want your honest opinion of The Role of Pursuit Aviation,” the admiral said. “Theoretically, it sounds fine,” Canidy said. “Just ‘theoretically’?” the admiral asked. “It’s never been put to the test of actual combat, sir,” Canidy said. “And if it was?” Chennault asked. “I’m not in a position to judge, sir,” Canidy said. “But you have, haven’t you?” Chennault said. “Speak up, Canidy. Where did I go wrong?”
Chennault’s book was a treatise on the interception and pursuit of enemy bombardment aircraft. Canidy had given it a lot of thought.
“I wondered about armament and armor, sir,” he said.
Chennault made a “come on” signal with his hand.
“The larger bombers get, the greater their weight-carrying capacity,” Canidy said. “Which means they can armor their engines and fuel tanks, and carry more and larger-caliber weaponry, and some armor. And that obviously means a decrease in their speed and maneuverability and range. So long as the enemy doesn’t have really large airplanes… like the Boeing B -17… it won’t be a problem. But if they do..
Chennault was impressed with Canidy’s analysis of his theory. He had himself seen the problems Canidy had spotted. But he did not like to hear them from a young man still damp behind the ears.
“How would you like to go into combat as a pursuit pilot, in say, sixty days?” Chennault asked abruptly.
Canidy felt the skin at the base of his neck curl. The question was asked in dead seriousness.
“I don’t think I’d like that at all, sir,” he said.
“Christ, when I was your age…” the admiral said.
“Within a year, give or take a couple of months, we’re going to be at war,” General Chennault said. “If you believe that we’re not, you believe in the tooth fairy. You also believe in the tooth fairy if you think the Navy is going to release a healthy, highly skilled pursuit pilot with demonstrated qualities of leadership just before the war starts.”
Well, Canidy thought, there it is, right out in the open. Two unpleasantfacts that I have been unwilling to face.
“I’m very much afraid that you’re right, sir,” Canidy said.