Burning Aircraft Fuel

If you are with the aircraft, you can improvise a stove to burn jet fuel, lubricating oil, or a mixture of them. Place 1 to 2 inches of sand or fine gravel in the bottom of a can or other container and add fuel. Be careful when lighting; the fuel may burst into flames at first. Make slots at the top of the canto let flame and smoke out, and punch holes just above the level of the sand to provide a draft. To make a fire burn longer, mix fuel with oil. If there is no container, simply dig a hole in the ground, fill it with loose dirt, pour on fuel, and light; take care to protect your face and hands. Always ensure that you handle fuel carefully to prevent spilling it on your clothing.

You can use lubricating oil with a wick arrangement for fuel. Make the wick of string, rope, rag, or even a cigarette, and rest it on the edge of a receptacle filled with oil. Also, soak rags, paper, wood, or other fuel in oil, and throw them on the fire.

You can also make a stove out of any empty waxed ration carton by cutting off one end and punching a hole in each side near the unopened end. Stand the carton on the closed end; stuff an empty sack loosely inside the carton, leaving an end hanging over the top; light this end\the stove will burn from the top down and will boil more than a pint of water.

Useful Hints

Do not waste matches by trying to start a poorly prepared fire. Do not use matches for lighting cigarettes; get alight from the fire or use a burning lens. Do not build unnecessary fires; save your fuel. Practice primitive methods of making fires before all the matches are gone.

Carry some dry tinder with you in a waterproof container. Expose it to the sun on dry days. Adding a little powdered charcoal will improve it and allow the tinder to stay dry, as the charcoal will absorb small quantities of water vapor from the humidity. Collect good tinder wherever it can be found.

Collect kindling along the trail before making camp. Keep firewood dry under shelter. Dry damp wood near the fire so that it can be used later. Save some of the best kindling and fuel for quick fire making in the morning.

To split logs, whittle hardwood wedges and drive them into cracks in the log with a rock or club; split wood burns more easily.

To make a fire last overnight, place large logs over it so that the fire will burn into the heart of the logs. When a good bed of coals has been formed, cover it lightly with ashes and then dry earth. In the morning the fire will still be smoldering.

Fire can be carried from one place to another in the form of a lighted punk, smoldering coconut husk, or slow-burning coals. When you want a new fire, fan the smoldering material into flame.

Do not waste fire-making materials. Use only what is necessary to start a fire and to keep it going for the purpose needed. Put out the fire upon leaving the campsite.

ARCTIC.\ Do not build a fire under a snowcovered tree-snow may fall and put out the fire.

Low, dead, needle-bearing branches of standing spruce trees are good fuel. On the tundra, wood is scarce. Look for any woody bush or shrub; burn roots as well as stems. Look for dry twigs in willow thickets or for dry grasses. On the coasts, look for driftwood.

Animal fat and bones can be used as fuel. Put chunks of fat on a stick or bone framework or on top of a perforated can with a wick of greasy cloth or sphagnum moss underneath, and light the wick. Congealed oil can be burned in the same way.

A candle burning in a tin can makes a simple heater for the shelter.

In cold weather, drain oil from the aircraft and store it for fuel. If the temperature is not low enough to solidify the oil, leave it in the aircraft and drain it off when needed.

TROPICS.\ In the tropics, wood is plentiful. Even if it is wet outside, the heart of dead wood will be dry enough to burn. Dry wood can also be found hanging in the network of vines or lying on bushes.

In palm country, good tinder can be obtained from the fibers at the bases of palm leaves. The insides of dry termite nests make good kindling.

Keep spare wood dry by stowing it under the shelter. Dry out wet kindling and fuel near the fire for future use.

SURVIVAL SELF-TREATMENT FIRST AID

During a survival situation the one thing that can jeopardize the aircrewman's ability to survive is a medical problem. Injuries incurred during ejection, parachute descent, and/or parachute landing can reduce survival expectancy as well as compromise the ability to evade the enemy.

Military personnel must be able to treat their injuries and sicknesses in a survival situation. The treatments described in this chapter are suitable for application by nonmedical personnel.

Some of the first-aid procedures described may be substandard compared with present medical standards within U.S. medical facilities. However, in a survival situation, they will increase your survival expectancy.

Health and Hygiene

In a survival situation, cleanliness is more than a virtue. It is essential if infection is to be prevented. Since skin is the first line of defense for your body, you must give particular attention to the washing of your face, hands, armpits, groin, and feet to minimize the chance of small scratches and abrasions becoming infected. Keeping the hands clean is especially important because most germs are introduced to the body by the hands. Keep fingernails short to prevent scratches; scratches as well as cuts and insect bites can cause serious infections, especially in the tropics. If an antiseptic is available use it on even the smallest of scratches or insect bites. Remember, an infection may hurt your chances of survival.

Clean clothes help to prevent infections and chafing, especially fungal infections that are common in the tropics. If washing clothes is not possible, at least shake and air clothing in the sun.

Soap is not essential to keeping clean. A substitute of ashes, sand, loamy soil, or other expedients may be used in cleaning the body and the utensils used in cooking and eating.

Intestinal Illnesses

Contaminated water or spoiled food, fatigue, overeating in hot weather, or using dirty utensils may cause diarrhea and other intestinal illnesses. Cook or wash food carefully before eating. When possible, purify water by boiling for 10 minutes; this will leave no doubt as to water purity at any altitude. If diarrhea does occur, the following field treatments may be used: l Rest and fast, except for drinking water, for the first 24 hours; then take only liquid foods, and avoid starches. 

. Eat several small meals instead of one or two large ones. Drink tannic tea or eat clay, chalk, or charcoal. Once the diarrhea has stopped, do not worry about lack of bowel movement. This will take care of itself in a few days provided you have an ample daily supply of water.

Foot Care

If traveling afoot in a survival situation, you should take particular care of your feet. Remove clots of material from socks to eliminate possible sources of friction and ensure that shoes fit properly. If possible, air your shoes and socks at night by putting them on small stakes. This keeps the insides dry and eliminates the danger of insects crawling inside. Watch for blisters and apply adhesive tape smoothly to your skin

wherever shoes rub. If you have blisters and they burst, leave the skin in place and apply a clean dressing. Carrying an extra pair of socks in your survival vest is suggested. At least once per day, clean, dry, and massage your feet to ensure adequate circulation. Remember, trench foot is caused by prolonged exposure to wet, usually cold, conditions; but it may be developed in the tropics. If symptoms of trench foot appear-that is, tingling, numbness, swelling, blisters, or sores\pay extra attention to your feet and give them proper care.

Control of Bleeding

The control of heavy bleeding is extremely important under all conditions, but it is of even greater importance in a survival situation since transfusions are not possible. When breathing ceases in conjunction with heavy bleeding, you must first take action to initiate breathing, then to stop the bleeding.

NOTE: Never apply a tourniquet unless that is the only way to stop bleeding from an extremity.

Restoration of Breathing

When breathing signs are absent, the most common cause is blockage of the airway. If normal first-aid procedures fail to clear the airway and restore breathing, you have one alternate procedure. This procedure is called a cricothyroidotomy and can be performed successfully by unskilled nonmedical personnel. To perform a cricothyroidotomy, proceed as follows:

1. Locate the thyroid cartilage (Adam's apple), which is the largest bony protrusion in the center line of the neck.

2. Locate the cricoid cartilage (the first circular ridge below the Adam's apple). The point of incision is the depression immediately above the cricoid cartilage.

3. Using a sterile surgical razor blade, if available, or any other cutting instrument in an emergency, make a lateral incision one-fourth to one-half of an inch wide and approximately one-fourth of an inch deep into the trachea.

4. Insert the lower half of a ball-point pen barrel or any similar rigid tube into the incision one-half to three-fourths of an inch or until movement of air is felt or heard.

5. Secure the tube with tape if it is to be left in place for an extended period of time or if the victim is to be transported.

Control of Pain

Control of pain accompanying disease or injury is extremely difficult because pain cannot be measured. The severity of pain accompanying any disease or injury is relative to the individual's ability to withstand or cope with that pain. Although some individuals can tolerate a great deal of pain, others cannot. Psychological injury may alter an individual's pain threshold. Regardless of this difficulty, every effort should be made to control or eliminate pain, not only because of its adverse effect on morale, but also because it contributes to shock and makes a survivor less capable of performing other essential tasks. The ideal method for pain reduction is to eliminate its cause. Since this is not always possible, the following methods are recommended: 

. Reduce movement of the painful area.

Immobilize the wounded area in a position that provides maximum comfort and ease of maintenance. Use splints and bandages. 

. Apply a clean dressing that will protect the wound from the air and from painful contacts with objects in the environment. 

l Apply hot or cold compresses. Try both hot and cold compresses to determine which offers the most relief. 

. A common injury sustained by downed aircrew members is broken teeth. This results in extreme pain because the nerves are exposed to air. To ease the pain, take the following steps: 

. Cover broken teeth with pine or other tree saps or any waxy substance. 

. Drink tea made from the boiled inner bark of a willow tree. The bark contains an active substance called salicylate, which is an aspirin substitute. Aspirin will prevent blood from clotting. Pain-relieving drugs should be given sparingly, and then only to relieve true pain, not to soothe the victim's apprehension. The only ready-made pain reliever available to aircrew members is the aspirin located in the SRU-31/P Medical Packet #1.