From Book "Aces of the Air" (1929)
Article Parachutes!
By Lt Harold Blaine "Min" Miller USN
Engineering Officer, Fighting Plane Squadron Two
Page 88 "Parachute are sometime used under unintentional circumstances. In the summer of 1928 Lieut. Dick Gaines was practicing aerobatics in a Navy fighting plane at an altitude of 9,000 feet. While in the inverted position at the top of a loop, he decided to fly on his back. His control stick was pushed forward, but too far, for the plane stalled while on its back. It then whipped into the mysterious "outside spin" and after tow dizzy turns threw Gaines out in spite of his safety belt. After an interval the astonished pilot pulled his rip-cord and floated down to the surface of San Diego Bay, where he was picked up buy a seaplane"
Dick Gaines is "Richard Kenna 'Dick' Gaines" Naval Aviator #3410 and he may actually have been a Ensign not Lieut at the time. He ended up as Commander USS Intrepid CV11 Sept 1944. The incident happened on October 30th 1928
The seaplane pilot who picked him up was Paul Irvin "Pappy" Gunn (later Colonel USAAF) *
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Gunn
* Some sources have Lieutenant Ray Taylor as the pilot but maybe a crew of two ??
https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cg...9281101-01.1.8
Can anyone please suggest an aircraft type and serial for this incident ?
Many Thanks
Paul McMillan