Malfunction Card-o-Dial   Save
Charles Walder Parke WW2 Collection
Description: Rotating wheel chart with instructions for handling in-flight malfunctions of the M2 Browning machine gun. The edge of the wheel displays the different types of malfunctions. When turned to each setting, the chart reveals the cause of that malfunction and the appropriate stoppage position for the situation. The back of the card lists pre-flight maintenance procedures. This chart was distributed at the Kearney Air Force Base in Nebraska, where C. Walder Parke was stationed in March of 1944. Charles Walder Parke was born on July 28, 1924, and grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 intending to be a pilot during WWII, but spent most of his military career as a navigator on B-17 Flying Fortresses in the 94th Bombardment Group. Parke earned two Bronze Stars, an Air Medal with several Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his successful bombing missions, including some over Berlin. He is best known for being on board a B-17 which was shot down over France by German planes on June 25, 1944, during a non-combat mission. The crew managed to make an emergency landing, and everyone inside survived. After the war, Parke founded the Cleveland-based Laurel Industries Inc., which became a prominent supplier of antimony oxide to the plastics industry. He died of Lou-Gehrig’s Disease on September 15, 1996, at the age of 72. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS1510_B02F03_008_01
Subjects: Aeronautics, Military; Browning machine gun; Machine guns--Maintenance and repair
Places: Charles Walder Parke WW2 Collection