Water G Suits: “Sound Like a Couple of Active People in a Waterbed” — Chuck Yeager

Captain Chuck Yeager, stationed at Leiston Air Base in England during World War II, tested all sorts of items before he became a test pilot. His 357th Fighter Group were among the first to get the P-51s and one of the squadrons that tested one of the first (anti-) G-suits based on water.

“G”s are units of gravity – when you are standing on earth with no outside pressure, that is one G of gravity).

When pulling more than about 4 Gs, a pilot might black out. The reason is the pressure causes your blood rushes to your legs and feet. As Chuck Yeager said, “When being chased by an enemy aircraft, you do some tight turns, pulling a lot of G’s. You black out but so does the other guy. You just hope you wake up before he does!” (101 Chuck YEAGER-isms: Wit & Wisdom from America’s Hero – rightstuffstore.com).

To prevent blacking out, people were trying to come up with solutions. One was the water G suit which was made out of nylon, like pantyhose today. You’d put on the G-suit, get in the cockpit, and the crew chief would fill up the G-suit with water through the two nipples at the top.
The idea was the water would compress your thighs and body counteracting the G forces when you were in a dogfight pulling tight turns or other situations. A working, effective G suit would give the pilot wearing it the edge.

The problem with the water G suit is the water, after pulling G’s, pooled down around the pilot’s ankles and as Chuck Yeager said, “Every time you kicked the rudder, it sounded like a couple of active people in a waterbed.” (101 Chuck YEAGER-isms: Wit & Wisdom from America’s Hero – rightstuffstore.com).

When Yeager returned from combat, he’d slosh one leg over the side of the cockpit, get the other one over, waddle out to the edge of the wing. The crew chief would unscrew the nipples at the bottom of the G suit, and the water would pour out. After an 8 hour mission right before which he had had a cup of coffee, the power of suggestion…the crew chief would see 3 streams of water coming off the leading edge of the wing.

c. GCYI