Service Tales and Other War Stories
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BOEING 747 400 Service Tales and Other War Stories By John Clarkson It is intended that limited copies of this book be printed and those copies be given or donated to the following: • Immediate family members, • A few close family friends, • A few selected people with whom I have worked over the years, in particular those for whom I have had a great deal of respect, and • Selected service organisations who may wish to read about, or reminisce over the type of service we had in the 1960’s through to the 1980’s. Note: There has been no commercial gain by the author from this book, and its distribution has been controlled by the author. LIST OF CHAPTERS Prologue .............................................................................. 0.1 Pre Service .......................................................................... 1.1 Apprentice Days ................................................................. 2.1 Amberley Experience ......................................................... 3.1 Butterworth - Malaysia - 1965 ........................................... 4.1 Ubon - Thailand .................................................................. 5.1 ARDU - Aircraft Research at Laverton ............................ 6.1 Vietnam at Last - No 9 Squadron Helicopters .................. 7.1 Return to Amberley - February 1972 ................................ 8.1 Tuggeranong - Bombing Range Clearance ....................... 9.1 Kingswood - an Ordnance Depot - February 1975 ................................................................... 10.1 Operational - Maritime Squadron - August 1978 ....................................................................... 11.1 Amberley Again - January 1981 ...................................... 12.1 New Life - Outside the Service ......................................... 13.1 Welcome Home Parade - At Last ..................................... 14.1 A New Career - with Qantas Airways ............................. 15.1 Motor Cars - The Good, Bad and Others ........................ 16.1 My Spiritual Journey ....................................................... 17.1 Final Chapter - Retirement - New Start .......................... 18.1 Intentionally Blank Service Tales and Other War Stories Prologue Chapter 0 Prologue Who could have possibly have imagined it? That this young naive 16 year old apprentice studying to become an Armament Fitter and work on the weapons systems of several RAAF aircraft would one day end up writing Operations Manuals for Qantas Pilots? Well in this article, I hope I can describe the wonderful path taken by this fellow and some of the interesting spots in between. For many years, I had been reluctant to write such an article as this, as I always thought of myself as simply an ‘average Armourer’, and also thought I was indeed privileged to serve on some of the RAAF’s finest squadrons. Later in my career, when I pursued a career in Qantas Airways Limited, once again I was privileged to be offered a path not expected of an average Armourer. However, as it has been revealed to me by some, I am possibly one of a few Armourers who has seen service on five or six different types of units and has been certified to carry out servicing on up to eight different aircraft types not including a couple of Qantas aircraft. Service as an Armourer has a price to pay at times, but it can give amazing rewards. During the year of 2002, the initial version of this article was published in the “Australian Armourers’ Association” newsletter, serialised over three issues. Soon after it was published, realising the published edition was somewhat abridged, a few people asked if they could read the ‘unabridged’ version. So, over a period of three or four years, I have been working on the expanded or more comprehensive version. I hope to cover not only service and work related issues, but also a number of social and other entertaining events. A greater proportion of the events described were actually witnessed by myself, but there will be some within that were related to me by other Armourers, or events which occurred at a unit just prior to my arrival or just after my departure. Above all, the article is meant to record a period of life and of service which we may not ever see again. Over the years, many things have changed; procedures have been improved, technology has improved, all of which are to the betterment of the service and the aviation industry in general. But there was a camaraderie in the ‘old’ service which when looking back had a certain attraction. As is usually the case with many of our servicemen, I did not take as many photographs as I should have at those overseas bases, as I simply thought my experience was no different to many others. 0.1 Prologue Service Tales and Other War Stories The difficult part of writing a book such as this, is when the manuscript is nearly completed, it seems to stay that way for some considerable time. The danger is that when one is wrapping up the script, one remembers yet another anecdote! So, another amendment is organised to include this recently remembered anecdote and fit in the correct place and order of events. So, as we are now at March 2006, the aim now is to think of any notable events not yet mentioned, include them in the text and wrap up the book for final vetting and printing. So I ask my readers to simply read on. I hope you find it as enjoyable as you do interesting and informative. 0.2 Service Tales and Other War Stories Pre Service Chapter 1 Pre Service In August 1959, about 6 weeks after my 15th birthday, my mother was quite worried about my future. My academic achievements were at best barely reasonable, I had just finished the second term of my Junior Certificate, (Year 10), but she could definitely not afford to continue my schooling for the next year. My father had passed away from his second heart attack just four months earlier in April 1959. I had been attending a highly reputable Grammar School in Brisbane for the Sub-Junior and Junior school years, (now known as Year 9 and 10). The school Masters had reviewed all the current Junior students with recommendations for their future education. When my case was reviewed, the advice for me, given in a public forum, was not to bother with Sub-Senior, (Year 11), as I probably wouldn't do any good. There was no reference to the loss of my father, or any other related difficulties, just the observation that I probably would not succeed. I was very disappointed and thought my only future was that of an apprentice motor mechanic somewhere in Wynnum, a bayside suburb of Brisbane where I was raised. Then during a family conversation, a close family friend, who had seen WWII service with the RAAF, suggested I apply for the RAAF Apprenticeship scheme. So, it began as simple as that. I filled out all the necessary paperwork, had it countersigned by my Mother in all the right places, and we waited. In October, I was called to do the medical and psych tests, and a few weeks later received a letter telling me I had been accepted. So at the tender age of 15 and a half years, in January 1960, I left Brisbane with a large number of other budding apprentices on the long rail journey to Wagga. 1.1 Pre Service Service Tales and Other War Stories Intentionally Blank 1.2 Service Tales and Other War Stories Apprentice Days Chapter 2 Apprentice Days Commencing Monday 18 January 1960, I was a RAAF Apprentice, one of the 14th intake. What a culture shock. Ushered to one of the many fibro huts, each of which contained 16 apprentices, separated in the middle, with 8 in each end, I suddenly learnt about how to get along with a group of wild ones. I can still remember my introduction with the “Hut NCO”. This huge man, (remember, I was about 5 ft. 5 ins and about 6 to 7 stone), introduced himself as our Hut NCO. Yes, it was none other than the big Wally Crust. I think he was as big then as he always was, i.e., a huge front row forward! Initial Administration The first week was mainly spent with issue of our kit, allocating our accommodation, or bed space, bed linen and blankets, a smattering of drill just to let us know what was coming, and a brief description of the base and its facilities. Medical Examination One of the few things I remember about the first week at Wagga, was the day we all had our medical. Just after lunch, we were all asked to change into our sporting, or gym gear, i.e., pale blue tee shirt with dark blue shorts and white sand shoes. On entering the Gym, we were informed that we were all participating in a ‘flow through’ medical examination. We were asked to strip and stand in the queue waiting for the Medical Officer. As we filed into the main area of the Gym, there were all the apprentices of our entire intake, all 150 of us, all as naked as the day we were born! We each had a small tag with our name and service number on it. We gradually filed past two Nursing Sisters who asked us some general medical history questions prior to standing in front of the Doctor himself. Then the Doctor carried out his examination, including pulse, blood pressure, ear nose and throat, deep breathing and the usual holding the privates with one hand and saying “Cough”! I can’t remember anyone complaining about the conditions, several humorous comments, a few, including myself somewhat embarrassed, but I think we all just took it. 2.1 Apprentice Days Service Tales and Other War Stories Division of Tasks in First Year First Year was a mixture of Administration, Drill, basic fitting, lathe work in the machine shop, welding and blacksmiths, sheet metal work, carpentry, technical drawing, and a few lessons of Mathematics, English and Physics. Early in the year, they had selected some 20 to 25 apprentices who had excelled at their academic studies in their last years at school.