NigG,
This sent me scurrying back to my log. I started on my new toy straight after the New Year (5th Jan '43). Luckily, we (110 *) seem to have got ourselves a good bombing range right away (cf "Pilot's Brevet" p.130 #2592). On this we practised (or rather taught ourselves !) dive bombing from then @ to May 12th, then went off for a week's 'ops' together with 82 at Chittagong before the rains came and we had to come back.
Note *: At the end of April, my log is countersigned by Sqdn. Ldr. A.M. Gill. How come ? Don't think 84 was with us at Madhaiganj, but suppose they must have been.
Note @: March is a blank, seems I had malaria and jaundice.
Anyway, I must have done over 100 practice dives in that time (4 per sortie), plus 52 for real, plus just one more demo (which did not go at all well ! - cf "Pilot's Brevet" p.151 #3019).
I've never heard of lasting 'G' effects from prolonged dive bombing; would suppose that the proportion of surviving 90+ veteran dive bombers would be much the same as that of the the population as a whole. In any case, today's FJs regularly pull much more than the possible 5'G's which was all we could get before "grey-out".
...It's a pity the doctors didn't tell us about this before we dived more than three times the maximum number of dives now recommended. A little late now! However, they were exhilarating days. We were young; we were lucky in many ways; and, most important, most of us survived - thank the Lord.'...
Amen to that !...
Danny.