Number one in a series of seven photographs which show the dramatic air-sea rescue of Ensign E.H. Barry, USN, pilot of a Grumman AF Guardian, when he was forced to ditch his plane immediately after taking off from the aircraft carrier USS Block Island (CVE-106). The series was taken by a Navy photographer on the bridge of the USS Bearss (DD-654). During the rescue, the pilots parachute opened, making it impossible for the helicopter to complete the rescue and pull him from the helicopter sling. After hitting the water for the second time, Ens. Barry began cutting his parachute shroud lines. Before he had completed cutting them, a motor whaleboat from the USS Bearss (DD-654) rescued him from the sea. Approximately twelve minutes after he crashed, Ensign Barry was on board the USS Bearss (DD-654) and being treated for minor cuts and abrasions. In this photograph, the pilot is hanging from the helicopter sling with the parachute shrouds trailing in the sea. Just prior to the time this photograph was taken, the pilot had pushed back the canopy of the plane and swam under water a short distance from the plane before coming to the surface. A wing tank is shown floating between the helicopter and the plane. At this time the shroud lines of the parachute are relatively slack.