That time a helo crew dropped greased pigs onto an aircraft carrier

What’s faster than a greased apple down a drainpipe? A greased pig, apparently.

In 1986, members of a U.S. Navy helicopter crew stationed aboard the USS America sought to bring a moment of levity to the conclusion of their six-month deployment to the Mediterranean.

With the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy poised to relieve the Kitty Hawk-class super carrier, aircrewman Brian Christoff and his fellow aviators hatched a plan.

“I was an Aircrewman/SAR Swimmer with HS-11 helo squadron,” Christoff wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post. “The fighter jet jocks got with us and came up with this slant, on an age-old tradition, of releasing a greased pig onto the deck of the relieving ship. Three pigs painted with red, white and blue food coloring and lathered in grease. The Kennedy never [saw] it coming!”