Robert Louis D'Abadie, Pt. Coupee Parish, La. Submitted by James Dabadie ------------------------------------------------------------------ ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------ ROBERT LOUIS D'ABADIE (Son of Felix D'Abadie and Christine Jewell) OCT. 14, 1923 - JUNE 15, 1965 In December 1943, Robert Louis D'Abadie graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in aeronautical engineering, World War II had engulfed all Americans and only those young men who were near finishing a degree in a technical study were exempt from the draft. Bob's first job was with Boeing Aircraft Co. in Seattle, Wash. He was a technical analyst in the flight test department. At that time Boeing, which produced the popular B-17 bomber for the Army Air Force, began switching its production to the B-29 which was to be used in the Pacific Theater against Japan. By May, 1944, no more engineering exemptions from the draft were allowed and all young engineers were allowed to volunteer for their choice of branch in the Armed Forces. Bob D'Abadie chose the Navy. He remembered other D'Abadies who had served in the Navy. (I believe Amedee was one.) One of them became acquainted with "Aunt" Coral Nelson, while in California, and "Aunt" Coral became an unofficial member of the D'Abadie family. She visited in Louisiana several times, and various D'Abadies visited her in Escondido or San Diego, CA. Bob became a "90 Day Wonder", graduating from U.S.S. Beardown at the University of Arizona with the rank of Ensign. He served two years in the Navy as a gunnery officer aboard various landing craft (LST and LSI)( Landing ship-tank, Landing ship-infantry)in the Pacific. Other than observing high flying Japanese bombers over Formosa, he was not in a naval engagement. The landing craft build-up was in preparation for the invasion of Japan. When the war ended, the G.I. Bill sent a flood of discharged veterans to college. The colleges had difficulty expanding rapidly enough to take care of the influx. Never-the-less, Bob was accepted by L.S.U. to pursue a master's degree in mechanical engineering. He was asked to teach classes in mechanical drawing at the same time. In 1948 he went job shopping. His first job was weighing cotton bales at a cotton compress. The boss wanted to keep him, but knew a man with a masters degree could do better. An offer came from a lumber company in Arkansas which needed a plant engineer. They offered $320 a month, a decent beginning salary at that time. Aunt Blanche Johnson, on the Jewell side of the family, had great experience living in company towns in north Louisiana, and told Bob it was a stifling way of life and he should look farther. Bob traveled to Ft. Worth, Texas and interviewed with Consolidated Vought (Convair). This company manufactured the huge B-36 powered by 6 propeller type engines. It was nicknamed the Peacemaker for it could carry a bomb load great distances. That was needed during the Cold War era. Bob accepted Convair's job offer as an analyst in the Flight Test Department with great excitement. Bob stayed in Ft. Worth for 12 years and worked up in the Flight Test Department as the company went through name and organizational changes. The company became known as General Dynamics. He flew 1000 test hours on the B-36 as a flight test engineer. At one time he helped test a small nuclear power plant and another exotic power plant for the B-36. Jet pods were added to the B-36 to add range and pay load capabilities to the plane. A B-36 and crew at Carswell Air Force Base, across the field from Convair were scheduled to drop a test nuclear bomb in the Marshall Islands in the pacific Ocean. The pilot, Lt. Coi. George J. Savage, was one of Bob's close friends. Bob had suggested that Savage and his crew wax the airplane to help add speed in the turn and flight away from the bomb drop. The drop was made without error and the blackened, smoked plane sat at the end of a runway in Ft. Worth upon return for some time to "cool off". In the late 1950s, the B-58, a supersonic bomber was ready for testing. Bob was older and a supervisor in flight test. The B-58 was one of a new class of aircraft with computerized weapons systems. It required a crew of two. Bob took one flight in the B-58. He received recognition as one of the first 10 to go supersonic in the plane. He found his reflexes were no longer quick enough, and did not complain when his flying days were over. The B-58's were sophisticated airplanes. They crashed several times before production models were turned over to the U,S. Air force. The crashes were caused by pilot error, metal fatigue which resulted from a design fault, and a thunderstorm. Pilots trained in propeller airplanes during World War II were not suited to fly supersonic jets. Four of Bob's flight test engineers were killed in those crashes along with the pilots. Bob felt responsible for his men's deaths as he had assigned them to the fatal flights. Bob began fighting bouts of depression that worsened over time. The XF-11 (F-l 1 I), a swing wing fighter plane, was on the drawing boards. Bob and his men began the master flight testing plan for it. Bob knew he could not endure any more flight test deaths, so in 1960, he left the aircraft field and transferred to the missile division of General Dynamics. Twelve Atlas missiles were being installed around Roswell, New Mexico. Bob was a technical specialist on several of the missile sites. His job was engineering trouble- shooting. At the time of the Cuban missile crisis, President Kennedy had 12 Atlas missiles at Roswell, among others, aimed at Moscow, in case of need. The General Dynamics technical force was able to manually load and position the Atlas missiles during that emergency. The Atlas missile quickly became obsolete. Bob was transferred to the San Diego plant to design and test missile refinements. Some of his work was carried out at San Bemardino, CA and Vandenberg Air Force Base near Santa Maria, CA. During that portion of the cold war against Russia, missile contracts were awarded to various defense companies. Work slowed at General Dynamics and Bob took a job with North American Aviation. Shortly before his death, Bob was assigned flight test work on the Saturn project which was designed to put a man on the moon. The rocket testing was to be done in a flame bucket on the river near Pascagoula Mississippi. Before making the move, Bob collapsed and died on June 15,1965. He was buried at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetary in San Diego California. Bernice D'Abadie July 13, 1998