The origins of CLARA was addressed by Grampaw Pettibone in Naval Aviation News March - April 2001: without any definitive result!
In response to our question “Can you CLARA-fy this?” in the Jan-Feb 01 issue, we received the following dialog from Cdr. Reggie Carpenter of the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 staff:
During our Med/Gulf deployment last year, the CVW-17 staff asked the best and brightest landing signal officers (LSO) in the air wing if they knew the origin of the “CLARA” call. The question was originally posed after a late night of grueling, redundant staff work that typically ends by asking life’s-mystery-type queries. The email trail below, in chronological order, is the result.
The original question posed by Assistant Ops Officer LCdr. Tyler Frautschi: A recently formulated question has been successfully parried and passed to you by our less-than-all-knowing air wing LSOs (since you did the LSO school thing): What is the story behind, or historical significance of, the term CLARA. Please enlighten us if you can.
The response from former LSO School Officer in Charge LCdr. Gary Herbert: You are wise to consult the oracle on important LSOingdom questions. But, alas, on this issue my magic eight ball remains silent. Even among old timers (flatpaddles, straight-deck and starboard-side-mirrortype LSOs) who gave history lectures at the LSO school, no one knew its origins.
My thoughts are that simply screaming,
“PADDLES, 402, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND ALL THAT IS HOLY, WHERE THE HELL AM I, HOW DID I GET HERE, AND JUST WHAT DO
YOU PROPOSE I DO TO SAVE MYSELF?!” was just too difficult to spit out on the radio. As every comment in LSO grading is an acronym, I propose the following:
For Low:
Crap, Looking At Rounddown Again
Committed to Land Aft of Ramp Anyway
Choose to Land Atop Ready-8 Again
For High:
Chop power, Lower nose And then Reef Aft
Check LOX At this Ridiculous Altitude?
Cockeyed LSOs Adjusted Roll Angle
Just Because:
Can’t Land—Application Ready for Airlines
Can LSOs Actually Read Anything?
Finally:
“Paddles, 402, I’m, uh, duh, CLARA’n an
emergency!”
The final response by LCdr. (sel) Howie Wanamaker, the staff airborne early warning Naval Flight Officer, offered his logical view:
OK, enough! A simple explanation from an NFO (as always!): CLARA = clarification of my position.
FWIW, I never heard the term in RN Carrier Ops back in the days of steam catapults and angled decks
