Harold Maples

Bio

Harold Maples served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He discusses with his friend, Guy Metcalf, the refueling stations around Cold Bay, Alaska used during the Korean War. As part of his role during the war, he calculated the range of the DC-4, known as the Skymaster. The Skymaster was a four-engine, long range, heavy transport used by the United States and Canadian Air Forces along with the United States Marine Corps. Harold discusses the refueling needs for the Skymaster in the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea. He focuses on Shemya Island, which only had a four by five mile landing strip with one set of lights. To highlight the dangers of landing at Shemya Island, he discusses one incident in which a pilot was concerned about missing the runway.