The Quarterly Journal ofthe Association of I c.

Volume 14 Number 1 2003

'IMITATETHE ACTION OF THE TIGER' -816 Squadron mascot checks the hardware Photographyby RANASPhotographic Section - Courtesyof the RoyalAustralian Navy

Publishedby the FleetAir ArmAssociation of AustraliaInc . Print PostApproved - PP201494/00022 Editor:John Arnold - PO Box 662 NOWRANSW 2541 Australia Phone/Fax (02)4423 2412 - [email protected] SHELF J -0150.123 CW2-C Slipstream ~ ------

FOREWORD by CaptainSimon T CullenRAN CommandingOfficer HMAS Albatross

2002was a very busy year for HMASALBATROSS and culminatedin two significantevents for the Baseand the localcommunity.

Extensiverestoration of the Navy Gravessection of NowraGeneral Cemetery was completedin November. Earthmovements since the site was establishedin 1950 had caused considerable damage to gravestones. Paintwork had peeled from headstonesand gravel pathwaysencroached onto the graves. The restoration work, which commencedin May 2002 included the replacementof the existing gravestoneswith polished granite headstones,cleaning and polishingof plaques, linking of gravestoneswith concretesupports and the installationof a pathwayand turf. ChaplainTed Brooker, RANrededicated the NavyGraves site on 18 November.

Decembersaw the returnof the Iroquois894 to its site at the gatewayto the town of Nowra.The helicopterwas removedfrom this site earlier in the year, havingbeen severelydamaged by vandals.Navy volunteers, some of whom were involved in undertaking the extensive restorationwork, carried out the re-positioningof the .Both civilianand militarypersonnel, based at HMAS Albatross,participated in the restorationeffort . This Iroquoisis a lastingreminder to those enteringthe townof Nowraof the longand proudassociation between Navyand the Shoalhavencommunity.

Navypersonnel from HMASALBATROSS contributed to fire fighting efforts from November to February. Bushfiresaffected the Shoalhavenregion from November to December,during which time airfield and refuelling serviceswere provided in supportof the fire fighters

The fire fighting services at HMAS ALBATROSS workedin conjunctionwith RFScrews to battleblazes in the NowraHill area and to put out spotfires on the base. Helicoptersfrom 816, 723 and 817 Squadronsprovided waterbombing, fire spottingand transportsupport during the Shoalhaven, ACT and Victorian bushfires, and refuellingtankers were deployedto providerefuelling for civilianaircraft.

I havecommenced my term as CommandingOfficer of HMAS ALBATROSSand I am looking forward to maintainingthe strong relationshipthat exists between ALBATROSSand the Fleetair ArmAssociation.

IROQUOIS894 BACKON THE POLE - Photo courtesyJ im Hill

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BIOGRAPHY EDITOR'S Captain Cullen was CORNER born in the United The next editionof Slipstreamwill probablybe Kingdomin 1959.After my lastas editor. migratingto Australia, For over a year I havebeen in and out of he completedprimary .;,. the hangarin an endeavourto correctproblems and secondary · · broughton by heavy landingsand overloadingto the airframe schooling in Western duringmy time in the Service.The resultso far has resultedin a Australia. jury rig to supportthe Starboardoleo. The AEO has suggested Captain Cullen joined ® that I needa breakfor somelengthy rehab. If anothereditor is not the Royal Australian ~ forthcoming,I may reconsider at a laterdate. · Navy in 1977 as a ~ In closing,I must apologiseto NormanFarquhar and his SeamanOfficer. After / family,for includinghis name in the Last Farewellsection two initial officer training'------'------_.._J issuesago. Be kindto eachother. both at sea and ashore,Captain Cullen gained his Primary • Qualificationin HMASBRISBANE in 1979. Australia'sNavy turns 102 CaptainCullen's initial career postings were to HMAships The AustralianNavy has reachedanother milestone as it SWIPE, BOMBARDand PARRAMATTA. In 1984 he celebratesits officialbirthday. It was formed102 years ago on undertooka postingto HMASSTIRLING in WesternAustralia 1 March1901 with the transferat Federationof NavalForces from as the Assistant OperationsOfficer before commencing the six independentStates to the Federal Government. WarfareOfficer training in the UnitedKingdom, specialising in Thetitle 'Royal'was not granteduntil 10 yearslater in July1911. Anti-SubmarineWarfare. Since its inceptionthe Navy has served the people of Australiain peace and war with honour,integrity, loyalty and On completionof his training,Captain Cullen returned to courage.These are the characteristicsthat its men and women Australiato take up duties in HMAS SYDNEY. This was continueto strivefor 102years later. followedby a postingto HMASWATSON in Sydney,as an While a dynamicand often-changingorganisation that is Instructoron theAustralian Warfare Officers course (following determinedto represent the community it serves it has repatriationof the course to Australia from the United neverthelessmaintained its strong traditionsand values in a Kingdom). challengingworld to becomea naval force that is respected CaptainCullen was selectedto undertakean exchange world-wide. postingwith the RoyalNavy in 1987,where he servedin HM ships BRAZENand PENELOPEand on the staff of Flag Officer Sea Training. Returningto Australia in 1990, he ANZACDAY MARCH completedthe RoyalAustralian Navy's Staff Coursebefore SYDNEY undertakinga postingas a StaffOfficer in the WarfareBranch of NavyOffice in Canberra.This was followed by postingsas Those members of the OperationsOfficer to CommodoreFlotilla's and Executive Association who will be Officerof HMASDERWENT. participating in the Sydney Onpromotion to Commanderin 1994,Captain Cullen was Anzac Day activitiesare advised postedashore to undertakeduties as CommanderOperations that due to the closure of the Hilton Hotel and Westat HMASSTIRLING. In 1987Captain Cullen returned to Marble Bar, arrangementshave been made for Canberra as the Deputy Director of Sailors' Career the HMASMELBOURNE and FM Associations Management. to gather for refreshmentsand small eats at the VERANDAHHOTEL, 60 Castlereagh Street, CaptainCullen commanded HMAS SYDNEYfrom April after the march. 1999until November 2000, during which time the shipplayed an activerole supporting INTERFET in East Timar. Entry can also be made from Elizabeth Street, opposite the NSW Leagues Club. For On completionof his postingto HMASSYDNEY, Captain Cullenwas promoted to his currentrank and was postedto those attending the Dawn Service, bacon and Canberra,where amongst other duties, he wasthe Directorof egg roll breakfasts will be available at the NavalCommunications. Captain Cullen assumed command of VerandahHotel after the service. HMASALBATROSS in lateDecember 2002. Marchers should rendezvousat the usual CaptainCullen has a passionfor watchingcricket and spot in CastlereaghStreet by 0900. rugby,enjoys bush walking, playing social sport and is an avid reader.Captain Cullen resides in NorthNowra. lb- NEXTDEADLINE -23 JUNE 2003

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DearEd DearEd ~. I ' Frank Eyck, (SlipstreamVol 13 No 3) · My wife and I passedthrough Broome in earlyAugust 2002 and presentswhat I believeto be an irrefutable l. . cameacross Roger Colless , ex-AEOof 724and 805 Squadronsin case for the acceptanceof PTSD as 'a the 1970's, and who would be rememberedby many of legitimatediagnosable disorder' . KW Cammand RobertRay also Slipstream'sreaders. Roger, and wife June,own and operatethe raised valid points. They all seem to have failed to notice, hovercraftfrom the baseclose to the DeepWater Port area south however, that NormLee was referring not to PTSDarising from of the city. combat service, but was commentingon the awarding of The uniquecapabilities of the hovercraftallow tourists to visit compensationto people who merely witness non-operational coastalsites inaccessible to othermodes of transport, suchas the traumaticevents . As Frank Eyck points out, veteransclaiming wreckageof flying boats sunk by the Japanesein WWII and disabilityas a resultof operationalservice are preventedby law dinosaurfootprints in rocks at a beach landingat Red Cliffs. fromreceiving lump sum compensation. Sunsetflights includehors d'oeuvresand non-alcoholiccocktails Further,the subjectof compensationwas not raisedby Norm on the beach.(Bring your own alcohol) . Lee, but by John Dacostain the previousissue of Slipstream. If anyoneis planning a visit to JohnDacosta seemed somewhat bemused that an ex-sailorwho Broome, considertaking a trip on had witnesseda fatal aircraftaccident in which he (John)was the Spirit of BroomeHovercraft or involvedhad receiveda large sum in compensation, while he enjoy the best cup of coffee in himselfhad not. That remarkmust have 'struck a bell'with a lot of Broomein the base'scoffee shop. people,including me. We certainly enjoyed the PJRlT OF BROOME IIJ(lt&Hf llllllf Apart from the well-knownSydney Harbour episode , I was experience. involvedin severalrather traumatic incidents . I saw Voyagersink. Rogercan be contactedas follows: I saw Evanssink. I was on the sceneimmediately after two fatal Email:broomacv@wn .com.au aircraftaccidents. On one occasionafter an enginefailure in a (civil)helicopter I spentthirty minutesor more swimmingamong Website:http:/www .broomehovercraft.com the whitepointers in the GreatAustralian Bight. I was involvedin JohnSelby severalhelicopter rescues , and a coupleof very hazardousbut failed rescue attempts.Failed rescue attempts are for more DearEd traumaticthan successful ones . On oneoccasion after a mountain I enjoyedreading the articleby Terry Hetheringtonin 13(3)*and rescue the victim died in my aeroplane. I rescued some the subsequentletter by NobbyClark in 13(4)*concerningthe shipwreckedsailors from a beachon whichtwo of their number restorationof FaireyFirefly WB518 from the originalcomponents haddied. Rats had been eating the headsof the corpses. I'm sure of bothWB518 and WD828 . The restoration is also nicelywritten that I too could collecta coupleof milliondollars from various up in Flightpath14(2) * followingits successat Oshkoshearlier in authoritiesif onlyI wasa drunk!But howwould money help? the year. I would support Franck Eyck's argumentthat a particular This aircraft is one I flew 20 times while Senior Pilot and experiencewill affect different people in different ways. For CommandingOfficer of 816Squadron RAN in 1951-53.My flights example, one fortunatelyfine calm morningI experiencedan in it werefrom RANASNowra, off the HMASSydney and off the enginefailure in a float-fittedhelicopter , andput it downin the sea, HMAS Vengeanceand they rangedfrom anti-submarinepatrols , about 20 miles offshore.My eight passengers, all oil industry tactical reconnaissanceand rocket-firingdetails to air displays technicians,and I were rescuedby anotherfloat-fitted machine, featuringaerobatics and rocket-assistedtake-offs . whichwas able to landon the waternearby , enabling us to paddle The originalaircraft was a Mark 6 and, unlikethe restored over to it, with their baggage,in our own aircraft's life-rafts. version, it carried no cannons. Significantlyin relationto the Nobodyeven got their feet wet. We arrivedback on shorejust at article by Terry Hetherington,although the numberingon the lunchtime,and their employertook my passengers to lunch. The restoredversion is that of 817 Squadron,most of the aircraft's dollarrules in the oil industry-I was invitedalong to reassure early operationalcareer was with 816 (which,unlike 817 , arrived them, and after lunch I flew them out to their oil platform in Korean waters too late to see action). Nonetheless,the destinationin anotheraircraft of the sametype, all but onethat is. restorationis clearlya magnificentone and I congratulatethose Oneman who had said not a word from the time of the incident whocontributed to it. refusedto go, and resignedon the spot. Two or threeothers did Bill Herbert-LCDRRAN Rtd not lookvery happy, but they went. I am quitesure that thereare manygenuine cases of PTSD. * Hetherington, Terry,''The flight of the Phoenix",Slipsteam 13(3): Furthermore,as Rob Ray says, it is a very sensitiveissue , and 16-17. there are probablythose who feel that they have a case who neverthelessmake no claim becausethey do not wish to be * Clarke,M.A. (Nobby) , "DearEd.", Slipstream 13(4): 4 . regardedas bludgers,or do not wish to spend years in court * ''Taleof Two Fireflys", Flightpath,14(2) : 10-12,November 2002- attemptingto provethat they are psychologicallyunstable . But at January2003. the sametime, we live in an increasinglylitigious society, and I suspectthat thereis a positivecorrelation between the incidence DearEd of PTSD among the witnessesto traumatic events and the If anyoneknows the whereaboutsof John' Mitch' Miller,who went availabilityof compensationfor PTSD.After all, ambulancedrivers to live in UnitedStates after he paid off, pleasecontact me on and policemenwho daily attend horrific accidents are not [email protected] (07) 32638390. compensated.Albert Riley 'Burrie'Arnell

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DearEd The Skyhawkwas the obviouslythe most versatile aircraftin the RAN. It's a wonderthe Japaneselost the war,their FAA was obviouslyadvanced as they could take off over the stern. Picturesfrom the MotionPicture 'Pearl Harbour'. BarryWhite

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DearEd DearEd A numberof ex-RANFAA personnel are attemptingto compilea On paradewith FriendsReunited. registerof thoseinvolved with the PhotographicBranch. We have Top reunionwebsite FriendsReunited is going into action with an incompletelist from 1992 which has not been updated.I a new serviceto get peopleback in touchwith their old military believethe Branchwas formedin the late 1940'sand, although comrades.The site carrieslistings of currentmilitary unit names small,at timeshad up to thirtyofficers and sailorsin it. and basesfor army,navy and air force.Site members can add in · Duringmy time (1964-1973),sailors were selectedfor the the names of older units that may have been renamed, Branchafter spendinga year as an 'Ord NA various'on the reorganisedor amalgamated. Melbourne.They then did their BasicCourse at NASNowra and All you haveto do is enteryourself against your own postings becameNaval Airman (Phots) and part of the FAA.I understand andcheck them for yourold comrades. thatthis system was altered, and that sailors'change over' similar Morenew facilities on FriendsReunited to the waythe Regulatingand PTI Brancheswere maintainedin Australiawww.friendsreunited.com/au/ help peoplefind their thosetimes. old civilianworkmates and fellow membersof clubs and sports PhotographicOfficers, during this period, were usually teams.The Australiansite has gainednearly 30,000 members in Observersor SDAV. just a few months.FriendsReunited's original UK site has 8 million We are seekingthe assistanceof FAM Membersand members including 150,000 Australianswith English roots. Slipstreamreaders to compilethis register.I would appreciate FriendsReunitedbegan with a basic servicethat has allowed beingcontacted at the addressesbelow by anyonewho was a millionsof peopleto find their lostfriends of childhood,school and member,or associatedwith the Branch,or who knowsanyone university.But newways to get backin touchare beingadded all whowas. the time. Once a comprehensivelist has been compiled,we have a The service often brings more than renewedfriendship. viewto lookat the possibilityof arranginga reunionin late2004. Parentshave found lost children,couples have got backtogether DeanGedling andfinally married after anything up to 50 years. Phone:041101551 -Email: [email protected] EddieCastellan - FriendsReunitedAustralia Postal:79Campbellfield Ave. Bradbury NSW 2560 http://www.friendsreunited.com/au/ DearEd , ...... • CANTHE FAAA MEMBERS HELP ME? : It's on again!The 2nd AnnualAircraft Handlers Reunion is to Background:A lady in Arbroath,Scotland, carried out some be held at the PrinceAlfred Hotel, BrisbaneRd. Booval(near researchfor meand, during the passageof mail,she revealedthat Ipswich,Old.) on SaturdayNovember 1, 2003at 11.00am.The shehad on an occasionattended the weddingof her closefriend, hotelhas provideda roomthat holdsat least 150,bar facilities MargaretMcNiven, who marriedan Australiansailor (don't know if and 'pokies'for thosewho wish to indulge,along with excellent he wasan officeror maintenancecrew). foodat veryreasonable prices. They were marriedin FriockhiemChurch which is about 7 Boovalis on the mainrailway line to Ipswichand the pub is milesaway from RNASCondor in Arbroath.My contacthasn't only 400 metresfrom the stationso you can leaveyour cars at seenher friendsince that day and as a favourI wouldlike to get homeand have an extraale or two. Pleasecontact one of the themback together again. Do you knowthis person? • followingas soon as you can to advise of your intentionto DennisCharlton : attend,this will enablecatering arrangements to be made. Phone:(03) 9750 5245 • GlenHartig (07) 3299 6336 -or [email protected] Address:8 WeigelaCourt, Frankston Vic. 3199 Email:[email protected] DougMurray (07) 3281 3428 or BoxerBanks (07) 4123 6164 ~ .•..•...... •.....••••••...... •••••••...... 5 Slipstream ~ ------

DearEd than readyto samplethe 'delights'ashore up-top. The big day Everytime I receivea copy of SlipstreamI am amazedat the arriveswhen we are to 'postout' of Albatross,pack your kit bag, numberof articlessent in by the earlyblokes of the FleetAir Arm returnbedding, return 'short leave' card to the guardhouseand get (Koreaetc), and the lackof articlesfrom around my era of 1960's, on the pusser's bus for the trip to Sydney. Embark HMAS ?O'sand 80's or basicallythe end of the Sea Venom,Vampire, Melbourneto 'post in', get bedding,'short leave' card, anti-flash and Gannetand heraldingin the newera of 'Wessex','Skyhawk' gear,respirator and be givenyour leavingship, and emergency/ and 'Tracker'.The last part in the historyof HMASMelbourne collisionstations. (Voyagerwas still prevalentin everyone'smind). (R21)and the fixed wing element of the FleetAir Arm Nothingbetter than being new to a ship,getting there just after I enlistedwith the Navyin Brisbane,in May 1963,and joined dark,after scran was over,and find yourselfin '4 Sierra'section, other recruitsfor that dreadedeconomy class train trip from with kit bag over shoulderlooking for '4 Charlie'starboard mess. Brisbaneto Melbourne,via the lay overin Sydney,to be met,after 'Bloody'birdie' OD's', was heard,as we finallyheaded in the right gettingoff the pussersbus at Cerberus,with those prophetic directionthrough other mess decks). Stepping through hatchways, words'you'll be sorree',by all the other recruits,hanging out of rememberingto double dog or single dog or leave open the theircabin windows, who had already started their training. hatchesas you proceededthrough the ship. Findingout where HMASCerberus, the onlyplace in the worldI knowwhere you your locker'slocated and then realisingwhy your kit was folded can get four seasonsin one day,and the fog can be still around the way it was. It was becausethere was no spacefor anything 'till lunchtime'. else, fortunately in those days you were only allowedto wear uniformashore. The new lingo 'scran', 'fighting gear', 'dhobeying','irish pendants','donga', 'steppingashore', 'Johnnies'(Royal Naval One also had to learn very quicklyto listen to the 'piping House)and of course'chooks' to namebut a few. Recruittraining system'as this is your only way of knowingwhat was goingon was,to saythe least,trying, for a youngfella freshout of school. throughoutthe ship at any one time. (Albatrosshad the 'piping Marchingaround all day doingparade drill, then with the old .303 system'throughout the depot,even in the hangars,it was still no doingrifle drill, we couldnever seem to do it right,no matterhow excuseif you missedhearing being piped to the guardhousejust hard we tried, but finally, we did and 'passed out'. Then - becauseyou were on the flight line or there was an aircraft categorisation.Of course not all brancheswere in need of runningup and you didn'thear the pipe).'Crushers' never had a numbersso we had to take what was on offer, some,who had senseof fair playor humour. joinedto be MechanicalEngineers, (misnomer for stokers),ended I rememberleaving the 'Wets'one nightand marchingup to up beingstewards or cooks(what a happythought). Some were the guardhousewith severalother sailorswith a birthdaycake lucky, Kev Stevensonand myself were categorisedfor the they had mad~to presentto LeadingPatrolman 'R' (a well liked ElectricalBranch but the runsashore took theirtoll and we found walloper).I was assuredthat it containedthe 'best'of ingredients ourselvesre-categorised to the FleetAir Arm. for his consumption. Kev endedup trainingas an Armourerand I ended up as Thosewere the days of DougMossman. 'Nugget' Williams, Airframes/Engines. 'Slim' Sutherland,Alfie Diver, 'Pop' Stark, Col Callow, Vince I can still rememberPO ButchJenkins (of inter-servicerifle Nolan, Basil Sheather,'Slack' Grattan, Brian Lambert, Nick fame),not understandingwhy the differencebetween bolts and Roberts,'Kipper' Britten, Kev Doyle, Keith Staff, 'Skinhead' Kelson washerswith different markings was not on my agendaas one of to namejust a few. the mostimp ortantthings to know,to mea boltwas a boltetc.etc. I digress,memories, are madeof this. Sheerstrength and dissimilarmetal corrosion were not in any A coupleof daysalongside, sampling the well knowndelights way relatedto aircraftservicing, to me, at that time, anyway.I of KingsCross, the Bognor,Rockers, and HarryDe Wheelsbefore finally learnedenough to be 'passed'and was postedto 725 movingout to the buoyto ammunitionship and then depart for the Squadron,to workon Wessex. trip up top, Procedure'Alpha'. Shortlyafter this postingHMAS Melbourne had the collision The ship left Sydneyharbour and proceededto JervisBay to with HMASVoyager (Feb 1964)and I can still rememberLS Col loadthe aircraftstores via helicopterfrom Albatrossand then the Callowrunning in to the Wet Canteenyelling for all squadron fixedwing aircraft embarked. After the aircraftwere embarked, we personnelto reportfor duty.For me, that nightwas a blur as the wereon ourway. 'Wets'cleared and only us recruitswere leftto museon whatwas Therewere plenty of drillsto keepus on ourtoes, such as, 'all happeningand wishing that we couldbe involvedsomehow. handsto leavingship stations',all handsto emergencystations, • 'J' hangarwas where725 and 817 Squadronswere billeted, etc, etc. Whatfun it wastrying to rememberwhich ladders you go (youcouldn't get any further from the 'scranhall' - a good1 o to 15 up or downor whichdeck you go forwardor aft, all very necessary minutewalk), 817 packedin their 12 aircrafton one side of the butconfusing for a youngfella. hangar,blades folded, and 725Squadron had their6 aircraft,with Enclosedis the 'Far East Cruise1965' trip sheet,that was bladesspread, on the otherside of the hangar. drawnby AB (H) Tug Crichton,an aircrafthandler, who sold this It was probablythe Navy'sway of getting us used to the copy,black and whitefor a 'quid'and a colouredone for a 'fiver'. congestionof shiplife for maintenance. This was done in conjunctionwith the ship's photographic After spendingsome monthstraining and workingon 725, I department.[See next page] wasposted to 817,in otherwords, move toolbox from one sideof (We weren't told that CommunistChina was a significant the hangarto the other, with lashingattached. 'Curly' Adams, threatto the peaceand stabilityof the Inda China-Malayregion 'Pearl'Wilson, 'Slug' Wilson and otherswere postedoff and we wherewe wereheading, and that the Far EastStrategic Reserve tooktheir places for the 1965Far EastCruise 'up top'. The stories was set up to defend this region, as well as counteringthe 'Pearl'and 'Curly' told whettedthe appetitefor youngblokes more Communistterrorists active in Malayaat the time. Nor did we

6 Slipstream knowthat there wereRules of Engagementfor our shipsin the For the moresedate there was alwaysthe ChinaFleet Club eventthat the CommunistChinese attacked friendly shipping and that ranTombola and to watchthe Chinesebuying sheets, not just weneeded to respond.We were just sailorsgoing where we were a coupleof tickets, but a row, and they wouldwhiz throughthe told, doingwhat we weretold and that wasthat. - (FromMemories numbersand not missa beat.The callerwas quickbut prefaced of 'UpTop', by RussAmes, The White Ensign, Summer 2002.) everynumber with wordsto the effect' 5 and 9 the Brightonline', I oftenwondered why we had the Sea Venomparked in Fly 'legs eleven', 'on its own numberone ' etc., so therewas a bit of Oneloaded with rockets etc. timeif youknew the cadence. Whilstat sea,the aftercafe on the ship wasthe placewhere the ChiefWriter ran the Tombola.(Bob Bryce,the ChiefWr iter, on the '65 trip, endedup runningthe dry canteenat Albatrossas a civilian.) During this period, I had someone take the following photographof 'us' youngnaval airmen beside one of our Wessex. L-R: FrankSwinfield , Don Parkinson,Brian Simpson and 'Woofa' Walker,who was obviouslynot happywith BruceBurns, the SU PO,when we weregiven some ' wellliked' item of servicingto do. •

It wasn'tmuch fun doingexternal oils , withK48 , in the hangar, afterthat daysflying, once the forwardand after lifts were up the hangarbecame a saunaand askingthe flightdeck party and the hangarparty to put the safetyfence up and have the lifts half ,the delightsof 'BoogieStreet', 'Change Alley', The down,for ventilation,was like trying to pullteeth. CoffeeStalls ', the bars in Sembawang,Nee Soonand placesin Internaloils weren't muchfun either usingthe old pump-up between,the only trouble was that a young fella never had Regasprayers filled with PX110.In this day and age l am sure enoughmoney . Howcan a blokehave a goodtime and still buy Work Place Health and Safety would have us in fully self­ 'rabbits'? containedbreathing apparatus. We didn'tknow any betternor did Afterthe SEATOexercise had finished, we weretaken ashore our supervisors;even earmuffs were a luxuryin thosedays. in the workboats for a 'banyan',on the rockyand coralcovered Rememberthe old asbestosblankets we used to have to shoresof Lankawaiisland, (I thinkthat is howyou spell it), which throw over the tailplanesof the Venomsand Vampiresin case is nowa resortisland of somenote. How times have changed. theyhad a 'wet'start, asbestos fibres can't hurt you , canthey? After we had spentsome time playinggames with the RAF Duringthat cruisewe had 12 Wessexaircraft (817 Sqdn) on 'Hunters'out of Singaporeand exercisingwith the Brits during board along with 4 Sea Venoms(816 'B' flight) and 6 Fairey SEATO,we leftthe sunnyshores of Malaysiaand headed to Hong Gannets(816 Sqdn). What fun and gamesthe HangarParty had Kong,where we mooredalongside the destroyerwharf for two when stowingthese aircraftin the hangar-and what fun and weekswhilst Jenny 's SideParty chipped and paintedthe ship. gameswe had trippingover the lashingswhilst trying to get from Whilstalongside, we had underwaterlighting strung around 'A' hangarto 'C' hangar,it was easierto go out on to the weather the ship, and one of the more pleasant(?) dutiesfor the duty decksto go forwardor aft. watch,was to patrolthe lookingfor diversthat may Timing, it was always about 'tirl'!ing',or being on time or wantto say hello,along the linesof AsamaBin Laden.Trying to earlier.Some days if you were a little late to get to 'scran'you walkaround the deckwith the Gannetsand Venoms lashed down wouldfind thatthe endof the queuefor lunchwould be out on the wasa painfultask. There were many tales of skin beingremoved weatherdecks. To get a brewat 'standeasy' you hadto be quick and bruising whilst carrying out this task. Probablythrough to beatthe 'dib dabs',all they seemedto do all day was practice inattentionwhilst lookingwith longingat the lights of Wanchai, the drawof their marlinspike from the tool belt and swanaround Victoriaand Kowloon and mus ing on the delightsof beingashore. the messdecks, splashing on or chippingpaint, polishing brass or Thenames of KeithStaff and 'Kipper'Britten spring to mindas practicetying knots. theyused to runa crownand anchor game in oneof the bars,just for fun like,no profitintended! (Co11ti11ued011 page 8)

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It wasthe samefor the beer issueat 1900, you startedlining In 1966,I was postedback to 725 Squadronto workwith the up at 1830or otherwisethe queuewould wind back through4 likesof 'Lofty'Blakemore and NeilJefferson . I was workingwith deckfor whatseemed like forever.And then have to standand these guys on the Wessexrun-up base when the first RAAF watchthe Chiefsand PO'sswan down at 1900,jump the queue Cariboutried to do a shortfield landingon runway26 . (Thiswas and take awaytheir 'unopened'cans back to their mess, ah well beforethey extendedthe thresholdsome 200 metresto alleviate RHIPI suppose.But when you'vebeen standingin the queue the 'downdraught'problems that were notorious when the since1830, or before,and haveto wait whilstthe hierarchyare westerlieswere blowing). It was a shortfield landingalright, he served, wasjust another thing to 'pissyou off ' aboutthe Navy. never madeit past the concreteapron of the runway,with the The forwardcafe was for the beer issue where you were undercarriagespiralling through the air and, as a last gasp,the issuedone can per man per day (perhaps),a good sized can hightailplane gave a decidedlurch towards the runwayas if to say though, 26 ounceseither VB or Fostersfor 2 bob (20cents) . I giveup. The only way you couldget extrawas to convincethe non­ Thataircraft was cut up outside'J ' Hangar'and manya sailor drinkersto standin linefor you andso get their ration.(Not many camedown to get someof the AVGASto put in their cars.The peopledid that though ha-ha!) youngFlight Lieutenant who was pilotingthe aircraftat the time I didn'tknow it at the time, but this US NavySkyhawk [see spentsome time sittingup againstthe Stop Buttscontemplating photo],was the promiseof a new era for the FleetAir Arm and the restof his career. longerlife for the HMASMelbourne (R21 ). The pilotof this aircraft I still have a mental picture of 'Lofty' Blakemorerunning musthave done at leasthalf a dozenpasses before attempting to towardsthat aircraftwith a 21bCO2 extinguisher in hand,ready to landon, as he calledit, "Thatpostage stamp you guyscall a flight fightany fire that mayoccur. Sailors are like that though,they act deck".I am sure he would have had a story to tell about the and thensuffer the consequences. If the aircrafthad caughtfire , catapultlaunch also, as the Americanswere not usedto sucha the AVGASwould have explodedand NO 21bCO2 extinguisher shortshot from the Melbourne'ssteam driven catapult. wouldhave had any effect.But as I say, sailorsare like that, act first, think later,and then drownit undera few too manybeers. NOcounselling in thosedays, just geton withit as thoughnothing happened. The same scenariooccurred some years later when 816 Squadron(Trackers) were loading the port side PMBR with practicebombs between ' H' and 'J' hangars,John Trood had securedall , _or so he thought,when one fell from the rack, exploded,and tooka chunkout of John's lowerleg. LS Armourer Jim 'ocker' O'Connorand myselfwere outside 'J ' Hangaras this happened, he ran to attendto Johnand I wentto run out the fire hose. In hindsight, what if the rest had fallenand taken him out too. I am sureJohn Trood was gratefulfor the assistanceas he wasin shockand losing a lot of blood. The outcomeof the investigationinto that PMBRmalfunction, is not knownto me,I hadknown John Trood for sometime prior to that incident and he was NOT one to make mistakes.All Thisaircraft was from the USSBennington but I am not sure armourerswere awareof the dire circumstancesif you madea whatpart of the trip that we took her on board,I wouldassume mistakewhen servicing ammunition or ammunitioncarriers. that we mayhave been somewhere off the Philippinesas we did Runway26 also claimedthe life of one of our Sea Venom dockin Subicbay and anchoredoff Manila.(Work boats ashore pilotswho came in too low and too slowand crashed and burned. again,lovely for blokesdressed in ?A's). Manya 'rig' was thrown Poorbastard, there was evena 'crashtender ' on pointduty but overboardafter a runashore in Olongopocity , outsidethe gatesof they were unableto put the fire out beforethe pilot perished. SubicBay Naval base. (Thereis a saddertale to be told regardingthis incidentbut it is Wewere on our wayhome when we weretold overthe piping betterto let sleepingdogs lie.) systemthat we were to meet up with HMASSydney and escort BrianSimpson her, the first lot of Australiantroops and vehicles,to Vietnam. Manya groanwas heardfrom the 'NowraNatives ', but it didn't DearEd extendthe trip too long and it was,after all, whatwe werebeing Slipstream, Vol. 13, No. 4, (Christmas2002 Edition), page11has paidfor. a photo submittedby Claude Matthewsshowing the HMAS After leaving HMAS Sydneyin the capablehands of the MelbournePay Office Writers 1962. In the centre row is an Americansand their air coveroff Vietnam,we headedhome. unidentifiedSBL T. He is in fact Peter Newcomb(with whom I It is a wonderfulsight, North and South Head bathed in becameacquainted in NavyOff ice Canberrain the late 60's and sunlightas the ship broke throughthe fog off the heads that who finishedhis navalcareer in the SupplyBranch with the rank morning.Just enoughtime to seethat sightbefore heading to the of Commander). lockerto get dressedin No.2 's, ProcedureAlpha, into your home I forwardthis informationfor the benefitof ClaudeMatthews port.This happened a few timesover the years,but the first time whomay wish to fill in oneof the blankson his photo. has left an indeliblememory of thosesunlit headlands of Sydney JohnSelby Harbour.

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DearEd 2002. All pilot applicants,including in-service personnel, are I am seekingassistance with photographsof RANFAA stations to selectedfor the Flight ScreeningProgramme (FSP) from the help complete my research into Nowra, Jervis • Bay, and ADFPSA. Schofields. The Flight ScreeningProgramme is conductedby the ADF I was givena photocopyof an articledetailing the historyof BasicFlying Training School (BFTS) at the BAESystems training Nowra from its original civil aerodrometo becomingHMAS academyat Tamworthin Rural NSW. This course is NOT Albatross,it appearsto be from your publication,parts 1 & 2 designedto teachaspiring pilots to fly, insteadthe two-weekflying January and April 1999. Could I please have permissionto programmeis thereto assessthe applicantssuitability for further reproduceparts of (or all of) this piece within my web based flyingtraining. The courseuses the CT4Band CAP1O aircraft and historyof the Mobileairfields of the RoyalNavy? will see the applicantsflying 10 flights(15 hours)plus two trips in an InstrumentFlying simulator. As you will see by visiting my site (currently under reconstructionbut still fully functional)I havecarried out extensive researchinto the Australianairfields loaned to the RN during 1944-46but I am still short of some key elementsto completea balancedpicture for severalairfields. I have no overheadairfield photosof Nowra, but plentyof JervisBay . Canyou help? I would also be most interestedin hearingfrom any of the • AFAAAwho may have servedwith the units in my web site. Do you have anyonewho may be willingto contributephotographs, memorabiliaand their memories for inclusionin my project? I do havea numberof reminiscencepieces relating to Mobile OperationalNaval Air Bases(MONABs) in Australia,but would liketo acquiremore, after all , everyone had differentexperiences andremembers things differently. Thankyou. TonyDrury, R.N. Air Historian,Brighton, UK [email protected] To ensurethere is no bias towardpeople with previousflying http://members.madasafish.com/-monabhistory/ training,the programmehas two discretecategories; the Basic Programmefor those with little or no experienceand the AdvancedProgramme, that caters for those who have flown DearEd previously. I once heard that there are very few aircraft accidentsand Eachprogramme has predeterminedscore norms and scores incidents-just the sameold oneshappening to differentpeople in are awardedon a per sequencebasis for a numberof sortie differentplaces with differentaircraft. It was thereforewith a profilesand an applicant'sfinal score is derivedat the end of the senseof dejavu that I readof Bill Strahan'sand John DaCosta's FSP. experienceswith riveting dollies left in a aircraft by Hawker Pilotand Officerassessments are linkedinto one by an Officer DeHavillandat Bankstown(Slipstream Vol 13 Nos3 and 4). SelectionBoard held on the last day of the FSP. Receivean In the mid 1970'sas a Trackerpilot on 816 squadronwe were unsuitableassessment from the FSP and you will not be able to workingup priorto embarkingon Melbourne.Toward the end of applyagain. oneof the numeroussessions of FieldCarrier Landing Practice or Applicantsare askedto indicatetheir servicepreference. The FCLP(MADDLs / ADDLSto earliergenerations), I sensed that the successfulapplicant will be madean offerby a service,be it Army, aileronswere heavierand less responsivethan normal. They RAN, RAAF based upon the Officer Selection Board were not jammedbut just bindingslightly. After landingI placed recommendations. the aircraft unserviceablefor the ailerons. Subsequent investigationfound (you guessed it) a rivetingdolly left in the wing This may not be the applicant'sfirst preferenceand it will be by HdH. Thisaircraft had at the timebeing doing arrests and cats up to themto accept,or to wait in the poolin the hopeof receiving on MELBOURNE. a 'first preference'offer. I am just left to wonderif therewas an individualat Bankstown Afterall thatthe aspiringNaval Aviator is off to OfficerTraining whokept losing riveting dollies!!! and then backto Tamworthto start FlyingTraining. If you have any relative applying for flying training, suggest a visit to OwenNicholls www.defence.qov.au/raaf/psa/index.htm DearEd ToddGlynn I enjoyedreading John Brown'sarticle on pilot trainingwith the USNand thoughtthe readersmight like to knowhow selection for DISCLAIMER Slipstreamis publishedby The Fleet Air Arm Associationof Australia Pilotscourse has changed.Whilst the RAAFconduct our "wings" Incorporated.All rights reserved.Reproduction in part or whole is course,as it has for a long periodof time, the biggestchange is forbiddenwithout the expresspermission of the Editorin writing.All care howa personis selectedto attendPilot's course. will be takenwith materialbut r.o responsibilityis acceptedor assumed In the past,the RANhas competedwith the otherservices for by the publisherfor lossor damage.The views and opinions expressed in applicants. The servicessaw this as counter productiveand this publicationdo not necessarilyreflect the viewsand opinionsof the establishedthe ADFPSA(ADF Pilot Selection Agency) in January Associationor Committeeof Management.

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DearEd The 8 tonne anchorhas sat at the entranceof the Naval Pleasefind attacheda photographof a ChristmasDay 'get­ AviationMuseum, now Australia's Museum of Flight(AmoF), since together'in Cairnsthat you maylike top usein Slipstream. I and a groupfrom the thensheet metal workshop mounted it on a standin the late70,s . It is the anchorfrom the 3rd HMAS Sydney,The ,and in my opinionit is an Australianhistorical treasure that must remainin the custodyof the home of the Fleet Air Arm HMASAlbatross. The historicalimportance of this artefactis that it was on a shipthat servedAustralia in moresignificant events and conflicts than any othership to date.Australia's first purposebuilt aircraft carrierwas there for: 1.The 2. TheNuclear Testing at MonteBello 3. TheMalayan Emergency 4. TheFar EastStrategic Reserve • From left to right: Terry Ford (ex-TrackerPilot), Graham 5. The VungTau Ferry The ship that carriedour diggersback Winlerflood(ex-Skyhawk and WessexPilot), Paul Shiels(ex-Air andforth to Vietnam TrafficController) and Larry Mills (ex-Tracker and HS748 Pilot). 6. Alsoit wasthe training ship that launched thousands of PaulShiels navalcareers over its 25 yearsplus of serviceto Australia

DearEd I don't knowfor sure what is left of the Sydneybut I would Furtherto our phoneconversation, enclosed is the photoof the expectthat thereis not muchwith our previousapathy to history. Gannetin question(ex-816) probably late 1966-67judging by the When I put the anchoron its stand all that time ago it had an styleof thecode number '847'. unveilingby AdmiralRobertson who was the instigatingforce behindthe NavalAviation Museum. I recallhim sayingwords to the effectthat the daysof discardingour historyhad cometo an end and that we had a duty to preserveour heritagefor future generations The anchor actually belongs to SpectacleIsland Naval Museumin Sydneyharbour. It was on permanentloan to HMAS Albatrossand the Museum.We as Vietnam Veteranswould have wanted this anchorinstead of the one from the HMAS Melbournewhich now resides in Walsh park Bomaderrydue to its significancewith Vietnamand in fact its variedhistory. This was not acceptableat the time. It is amazing how the importanceof things changewhen it does not suit a particularindividual. I also wonderwhy the timingof this movecame to passafter the deadline for the Fleet Air Arm AssociationNewsletter , Could anyone help with the Slipstream. Thereis a lot of dissentwith the AMoFfrom members · significanceof the BATsymbol on of the associationand the onlyvoice that they haveis throughthe the horizontalstab iliserfin . newsletter. BenPatynowski I havebeen told that the Sydneyanchor is headedfor RAAF base WaggaWagga. It will sit in front of the airman's messthe L------'---'--'----'--":::__:=-:..:J [Repliesto the editorp lease.] rationalebeing that it wasa joint messwhere sailors also frequent DearEd whiletraining at Wagga.I can see that thosesailors would like to Enclosedis a letter I have sent to our Federal Memberof set their mark but why the Sydneyanchor when as you know Parliamentregarding a matterthat is causingsome angst among thereare manyavailable and nowherenear as largeand awkward theveteran community. as this 8 tonnemonster. Is therea not so hiddenagenda in all of this? JimHill The Sydneyanchor came to my attentionwhen I sawit on the MrsJoanna Gash - FederalMember for Gilmore backof an Air Forcetruck I actuallystopped the truckas part of DearMrs Gash, my dutiesas an NSWRTA Inspector.The truck was incorrectly Withregard to our conversationon the VietnamVeterans cruise loaded.I directedthe driverto a weighbridgethen backto HMAS on Saturday30/12/02 . I wouldlike to bringto yourattention what Albatrossto correctthe situation is a blatantdisregard of our Navaland Australianheritage, the so I and othersstarted to take an interestin the early 1970's, calledloan of the HMASSydney (the Aircraftcarrier) anchor to buildingthe AustralianNaval Aviation Museum from nothingbut RAAFBase Wagga an old discardedaircraft on a slab of concretethe samesize as

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the Sydney'sflight deckThe concretehad been usedas a skid panfor driverinstruction and was covered in oil that we hadto get rid of beforewe coulddo anything.It wasa heckof a job.

• MrsGash, I imploreyou to pleaseask whatis goingon at the AMoF,this is one of manyitems to be discardedfrom our naval heritage.If we slowlyerode away our Navyhistory at Nowraand fill the Museumwith insignificantgeneral aviation light aircraft and foreignMig 's, wherecan anyonewith an interestin NavalAviation go to? Canwe getour anchorback? Thankyou for yourtime and concern .

DearEd Theenclosed prints came into my handsvia an ex-RAAFfriend at the retirementvillage where we now live.The originalscreed that camewith them claimedthat the aircraftwere Seafires- I was ableto putthat right. I am not awareof any similarincident occurring in the RAN, butit wouldbe an easymistake for eagerpilots. I thoughtthat they may be of interestto anyonewho flew or workedon or aroundSea Furies. Theaccompanying script is as it washanded to me. BryanDunne 'FURYat SEA'

In 1951,a Dutchsquadron of Sea Furyaircraft were practising deck landing and take-off with the British carrier HMS INDOMITABLE.One pilot attemptingto land thoughthe'd missed thearrestor wire and gunned his motorto take-offagain. ·' Hisplane HAD caught the wire!The Sea Fury'stail wasripped off andfell intothe ocean. Theaircraft's nose ploughed into the deckand it tippedto the left, rollingover and catchingon the side of the carrierand then burstinginto flames. The fire crew rushedto put out the flamesand rescuethe pilot,but he hadalready freed himself from the cockpit and canbe seencrawling along the fuselage. Thepictures in thiscolumn are What could have ended in tragedy was averted,the pilot takenfrom copies of copiesof saved,the aircraft lost and the carrier repaired. veryold printsand cannot be Congratulationsgo to the photographerwho capturedthis improvedfor the printer.Ed. event. Theoriginal photographs were supplied by ArchFurmidge, ex­ Being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance RAN,from Western Australia. of being drowned. Samuel Johnson {1709-1784)

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DearEd Thecrew of three,pilot LEUTPhil Pinniger, air crewmanPOA I haveenclosed a coupleof itemssent to me by an old shipmate Bob Cousinsand SAR diver ABATA RichardStanford , all of in England.We bothjoined the servicein January1946 at HMS Nowra, were rescued uninjured from the water by HMAS RoyalArthur, Skegness (Butlin's Holiday Camp). The last time I BRISBANE,which was at thescene. saw him was in Decemberof------~ Oncein the waterthe flotationbags attachedto the wheels the same year when I was inflated. draftedto HMS Theseus,the In the fresh windand moderateseas, the aircraftrolled over flagship of Rear but remainedsuspended by the flotationbags, just below the Creasey(Pacific Fleet). surface. Afternot hearingof him for MELBOURNE'sdiving team led by LCDRIan Wegener,was 54 years,we havesince been quickly in the water and attached lines to the submerged in touch and for the last two 1--.....;;.;.,....;:...-1..:• helicopterwhich was lifted onto the flightdeckby the ship'scrane. years have corresponded The extensivelydamaged helicopter was examinedby engineers monthly.Apparently he was onboardthe carrierand theirfindings will be presentedto a Board draftedto MaltaRNAS. of Inquiryto be convenedto establishthe cause of theaccident. I came to Australia on On completionof the salvageoperations, MELBOURNE and Theseuswhen she did the BRISBANErejoined other forces taking part in 'EXERCISE • Pacific tour with HM Ships HIGHWOOD'. Glory,Cockade and Contest.I believethat this tour was a DearEd sales promotion for the purchase of HMA Ships I wouldlike to request, throughSlipstream, information regarding Sydneyand Melbourneto the memorialsto the three services.If any membershave such a 1--'-""""'"-'=--'~'--'--=...::..~...... c, RoyalAustralian Navy. memorialin their area, would they please tell me about it, especiallyif the servicesthey representare depictedby military GordonCansda/e hardware. As a memberof the Far North Districtbranch of the RSL, I broughtto the attentionof thosepresent that the Armyhad a 251b gun on displayat the cenotaphin AnzacPark, but the othertwo serviceshad nothing.It was resolvedthat an anchor and a propellerbe sourcedand placed alongside the gun.

Thereverse of this NationalFleet Arm Memorial base is inscribed: 'Tothe everlasting memory of all themen and womenfrom the UnitedNations and British Commonwealth and the Allied Nations whohave given their lives whilst serving with the Royal Naval Air Serviceand FleetAir Arm.'

DearEd Thelast Slipstreamseeks details on a photographof Wessex823 beinglifted from the water.The following information is takenfrom the 'Melbourne1977 Spithead Cruise' book and providethe major FARNORTH DISTRICT RSL MEMBERS AT THE LOCAL CENOTAPH detailsof theaccident. 'Roger'Raddatz far left -ErrolWilles ex-RMF far right BruceHamilton Theproposed memorial will be at the sideof thecenotaph. -,r"\\-:lif,~~ ' A Wessexhelicopter, 827, from 1 HS 817 Squadron,embarked in I havespoken to our area councillorregarding permission to HMASMELBOURNE, ditched into erect these extra memorials,he very kindlyoffered to fund the the North AtlanticOcean, east of projectto the sum of $10,000from the local area fund. This the FaroeIslands, on July 13. amountshould enable us to placethe memorialsand plaques etc. PJ!':~• At the time of the accident the anderect a coverover them. aircraft was hovering near the If any of you old shipmatescan helpme withthe suggestions, carrier, acting as SAR helicopter photosor plansto helpto bringthis projectto fruition,it wouldbe for the launchof Skyhawkfighter very much appreciated.Ideas for a suitableinscription for the bombers in 'EXERCISE mainplaque is alsorequired. ~-!2~;.;i- _ HIGHWOOD'. 'Roger'Raddatz- POBox 329, BABINDA OLD 4861

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DearEd Thereare lessonsthat you learn in life, this particularone from Colombo(Sri Lanka)in 1955when Ron Cole (Front)and myself decidedto ridean elephant. The lesson? 'Don't ride elephants when you're wearing Numbersix suits!' PS:I betthat elephant couldn 't lift us now! AlanOHi/1

DearEd Havingmoved back to the coastafter living in Canberrafor the past 12 years, I was havingmy 'post draft'cleanup . (Younever cleanup priorto movingjust in caseyou throw out somethingyou mayneed in yournew abode). Anyway I cameacross an old box of photosand other memorabilia , so I thoughtI wouldshare some It waswith much sadness that I readof the passingof Gordon of the photoswith you and your readers. McPhee. He was my CommandingOfficer when I wasfirst drafted Belowis the 'Waller65' intakeof 'Birdies', April1959. to 723 Squadronfrom SAME in late 1959,he wasa goodCO and a reallynice person. Bill Barlow A letterto MikeHeneghan - FAAANational Secretary ...

Hi Mike,Just a shortnote, sorry I didn'tget a chanceto stop over and havea cuppawith you duringmy last time at home.My ordersto return to workcrept up on me,so hereI am backin the Indonesianarea shifting cargoesmainly of IFO& IDF (Fueloil & diesel)to powerstations around the islandof Java. Tradeis very quiet here now,container traffic in/out of the country greatlyreduced, this is alsoexacerbated by the Longshoremanstrikes in the USand the generaldownturn of the wortdwideeconomies. Oneof my greatpastimes, whilst onboard , is to takethe timeto read the back issuesof Slipstream.I haveoverdosed myself on Issues: 1-3 (2002),they are mostfulfilling and a creditto all thecontributors. The initiativetaken by the Executivein preparingthe Christmas hampersand distribution of paperbacksto the embarkedFlights is a truly forwardstep. This I believewill encouragethe currentserving population to input their stories back into Slipstream,when time and security constraintspermit. RearL-R: Tom Kiiver, Mick Carr, Lyn Ferguson, Jan Schonveld Centre: 'Jessie'James, 'Pedro' Fenwick, Bill Bartow,Rod Venning I was proud to see the article '816 Squadron- RAN 2001 In Front:Col Poulton, 'Tex' Cridge, Don MacIntosh , 'Kipper'Britton , ..Cooper Retrospect'by CMDRAndrew Whittaker (CO 816 Sqdn) it showsus all just howprofessional and efficient our Service personnel remain. It is also The photoof the Gannetwith the 'ornamental'prop bladesis goodto see that recognitionof their effortshave been acknowledged by of a wheels-uplanding in 1964,but I don't knowany details. the PrimeMinister of Australiaand DefenceHelicopter's Magazine award for InternationalHelicopter Squadron of theYear 2001. I have also encloseda photo of L-R: Cal Paine, John GeoffGain Salthouseand 'Alky ' Annanposing in frontof Sycamore849. MasterM T TANDJ UNG A YU

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DearEd For manyyears I carriedaround with me a coupleof shoeboxes with photographsin them.Over the years, manymoves , fire and flood,and the two boxesbecame one until there werevery few photosleft. Havingjust finishedyet anotherrelocation, I found that the enclosedphotos are the only ones that are identifiable-so, I thoughtthat it was about time to send them in and get them printedin Slipstream. I havetried, where possible, to put namesto faces,but I'm afraid after almost forty years the memoryis much dimmed. Perhapsthe readerscan fill in the blanks. BrianLevett- ex-LEMAC [Brian,you don't knowhow reassuringit is to knowthat thereare AIR DEPARTMENTPARTY - NEPTUNEBAR - HONGKONG 1965 otherpeople out there who have trouble remembering things. Ed] RearL-R : FredRubly - BrianLevett - ? - ? - Greenfield- Steve Roper - GavinGreer - BillHilzinger - FredLew is - LionelLeggat - BarryBird - ? Centre:Eddie Lamb - DannyHan igan- BillSonsee (obscured) - ? - ? - BarrySunderland - .... . Blundell- KenPrior - DesCarroll • Front: ? - Bill Shaw- RonMe lville - ColPayne - Bill Davies - RickForbes

816SQDN PARTY - KOWLOONBAR-KOWLOON 1966 Rear: BrianCheers - ? - Nick..... - 0 G Hughes- 'Tiny McLean(at rear)- JackCutler - ? - ? - LionelLegga t - Brian Levett Front:?- ? - KeithDoncon - BarrySunde rland- ? - ..... Blundell- ? - CharlieFishe r - DaveThomas

BANYANLANKAW-1965 L - R: ? - Bill Davies- ? - BarrySunderland (back to camera)- HarryHarkness - BrianSargeson - ? - PeterClark

NOTICE:Any ex-Aircraft Handlers that are not receivingthe NEWAircraft Handlersnews letter, but wouldlike to receivea copyand be placedon the mailinglist , contact, Glen Hartig, 8 ValerieClose, Edens Landing, ArthurRowe Queensland4207 - or contact himby emailat: [email protected]

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DearEd rangthe railway'information service' to get detailsof trains- Justwondered if you thinkSlipstream 'Lacko'at Saratov the womansaid that shecannot do this-use a computeryourself . readerswould be interestedin sometales Well,having a computer,I managedto trackdown all the relevant of dayto day life andtraumas from an ex­ informationbut, whengoing to buythe ticketsthe womancashier FAA member living and studying in said,"Where did you get this outdatedinformation?" I told her I'd 'hostileenemy territory'. tracked it down by computeras advised by the information Thereare so manystories about the service.She then informedme that the computershadn't been waythe localskeep me entertained(and updatedfor over a year and mostof the informationwas wrong. oftenfrustrated) on a dailybasis. She did, however,sell me the requiredtickets. There is no such thingas 'phonebookings' here. IanLockett (Wolfman) The queuingsystem -there are approximately20 'windows'in Ekaterinburgstation in the bookinghall and eachwindow has an NO LONGER A individualqueue. No systemwhereby the nextfree operatorcalls the waitingclient. If you are caught in a slow line - it's your MYSTERIOUS COUNTRY problem!Then, as is quite oftenthe casewherever one queues here,not just at stations-post offices, shops -everywhere, it may Withour Navalbackgrounds many of us have be the time for lunch so the cashierwill simply pull down the had the opportunityto travelfar and wide and shutterand walkout. They also havea tea breakand an unusual experiencewhat life is like in 'strangeforeign third breakcalled a 'technicalbreak'. DON'T try and ask for any land'- and most of us have come back with serviceduring such times if the attendantis still there - you will the realisationthat there is no placelike home . automaticallyget a face full of abuse.Your patiencewill also be For mostof us, Russiawas a countryon the 'otherside' and testedby the 'old babushkas'who seem to thinkthey havea God wasnever visited by our ships,raising thoughts of, "I wonderwhat givenright to bargetheir way to the frontof the queuesand take it is reallylike?" Now having lived and studiedhere for almosttwo offencewhen are told by people(such as yourstruly) to waittheir years (withthree to go) I can pass on some answersto those turn.The cashiersdon't tell themto go the back-they just serve questions. whoeveris firstat the window. Awayfrom the shamfacades of UlitsaTverskaya, and Nevsky Trains • Russiais a huge countrywith a vast networkof Prospect(the main streets of Moscowand SaintPetersburg) and railwaylines all over the countryand it is in only in someof the the Kremlin,most Russiancities (I have visitedfourteen) are a very isolatedareas of the far north and east that one cannot conglomerationof decayingold sovietstyle concretemonoliths, accessby rail.A big plusfor the rail systemis that the trainshave interspersedwith some beautifulold architecturalmasterpieces a good recordof arrivingon time. They mightnot be runningto andsome 'attempts' at tryingto catchup withthe west. scheduleat pointsin between,but with the timetableshaving so Daily life is Russia is putting up with lies, laziness, much scope for delays etc. they do arrive on time. incompetence,theft, alcoholismon a grandscale, filth and just With the countrybeing so big and the trains runningat only plain'nonsense' - particularlyin the retailand serviceindustries. I 'moderate'(approx 70kms per hour)it oftentakes days to travel will writesome more about the nonsenseat anothertime (would betweendestinations. Depending on the service,for example,ten fill a coupleof computerCD's with examples)and if you haven't daysfrom Moscowto Vladivostokin the far east,three days from beenhere and experiencedit first hand,you couldbe excusedfor Ekaterinburg(in the Urals)to Simferopalin the Crimea,five or six thinking'this is a lot of bull -it couldnot be that bad'.Travelling in days from Moscowto Irkutsknear Lake Baikal.The trains are the new 'free and open' Russiais not as easy as one would NOT comfortable, with three classes of travel. Despite expect,bearing in mind it is a superpower, has put peopleinto havingto spendsuch long periods on the trains,showers are non­ spaceand just recentlyhas beenadmitted into the G7 - booking existent.First class or 'Lux'is a cabinexactly the samesize as a tickets(within Russia) is a nightmare-for Russiansand foreigners secondclass cabin with only two berthsinstead of four (upper alike.It involveswaiting in long queues(I waitedfor 3 hourson bunkshave been removed). You mustpay the attendantextra for oneoccasion to buytrain tickets to Samara-and was thentold I your sheets and pillowcaseand threadbaretowel. This price couldn'tbook the return,but to try whenI arrivedin Samara-this varies from train to train and staff to staff - even though it is is despitethe countrybeing on a computerisedbooking system). EXACTLYthe same article - a packagefrom the railwaylinen service.Second class is the four-berthcabin. Third class is an Staffat bookingoffices are quiteoften rudeand if you cannot open area partitionedinto six berth sectionsbut not cabinsas speakthe languagethey will definitelynot try and helpyou. I stood such • and believeme it stinks- I've travelledonly once in this alongsidea womanwho tried (unsuccessfully)to buy a domestic sectionfor a four and a half hourtrip andthat was enoughthank­ planeticket. She was greeted by a face full of abusefrom behind you! At the end of each carriagethere are small toilets with a the counterdemanding the flightnumber and told the unfortunate hand-basin-the onlywashing facility on board,so it meansget up womanto go away and not to botherher until she had all the earlyin the morningsand 'firstin bestdressed'. Often the 'friendly' correctdetails. The 'seller'was just too lazyto lookthe detailsup conductorlocks one of the toiletsfor personaluse. on her computer.On anotheroccasion at the mainbooking office in the stationat Ekaterinburg, the windowwas open for business When bookingtravel, you have no choiceas to who your but no cashier-we waitedfor approximatelyhalf an hourand then travel companionswill be - male or female-there is no such I suggestedto my partnerthat she ask at the administrationas to differentiationhere in Russia-you just take pot luck.The same what'shappening. As it was,the cashierreturned, drunk - it was goes with the errrrr.... well.. cleanliness(or lack of it), state of her birthday,she servedus and two othersfrom the queueand sobriety,stench etc. of yourtravelling companions. thenshe disappeared WITH the administratorto drinksome more! (Continued 011 page 16)

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On someof the longertrips, I will leaveit to your imagination DearEd as to whatcondition they will be in - joininga train halfwayalong It wassaid in the 1950sthat the bestway to get a draftto seawas its journeywhen the otherpassengers in yourcabin have already eitherto buya car or get married. spentthree days without a shower(some not evena wash)in a The first car I had was a Morris8/40 with twin claxonhorns. nonair-conditioned compartment. The secondcar, which I had in my courtingdays , wasa Vanguard On one trip from Moscowto Tallin (Estonia), I travelledLux Estatecar with the registrationADM 027 . My girlfriend's younger and I thought,"You bewdy -no otherperson in my compartment- siblingsused to say, "Here comes AlbatrossDumb Mechanic peace!" Unfortunatelynot so, around midnight a very obese 027". femalestaff member in a stateof sobrietyof at leasttwo bottlesof The girlfriend'sparents had come out from Englandwith vodka,reeking of tobaccoand garlic,simply barged in and said Cortaulds.They livedon the top of WaroongaStreet at Raymond she will be usingthe cabinfor herself-end of story. Absolutely Terrace.When leaving their house,I usedto let the Vanguardroll nothing I could do about it as she was staff. The border downthe hill very quietlyso that her parentswouldn't know what passportand custom'sofficers were well awareof this particular timeI left. womanas theysaid, "We don't worry about her", when it cameto In thosedays my girlfriendused to keepa longhatpin on the checkingdocuments etc - she just continuedher drunkenloud car seat-just in caseI got overamorous. snoring. So muchfor Lux travel. I do believethat there (maybe) somelong distance trains running from Pekingto Moscow,which In September1957 , Margaretand I got engagedand almost may have 'showers'-but I am not sure. Like our long distance immediatelyI was draftedto the Melbournefor a CapitalCity trains in Australiathese Russianones also have a dining car. Cruisewith 817 Squadron and their FaireyGannets. BUT,there is a HUGEdifference in standardof serviceand menu In Januaryof the followingyear we weremarried. I wentaway whencompared with even our worstones in Australia. Manyhave the samemonth aboard Melbourne for a PacificCruise and didn't 'Non-Smoking'signs on display- but that must be just for the returnuntil six monthslater. passengers'benefit as it is 'openslather' if youare staff. I joinedthe AustralianCustoms Service at Newcastlein late A menu is available-albeit not a great range of choice- Decemberof 1958, and stayedwith them for 35 years,retiring 8 probablyarranged to suit the limitedability of the cook.Prices are yearsago. twoand three times what is chargedin cafeson the streets.When All bestwishes to Ray Murrell,Mick Blair, CharlieMorris and the waiter (normallyone rather large, boisterousand rude late all membersof the FAAAssociation. middleaged woman) decides she will comeand serve, on many KevinFrances Foot occasionswhat is writtenon the menusis not availableand you musteat whatthe cookhas decided or felt like preparingfor that day.Meals are not includedin the priceof yourticket. Voyages to Vietnam Whenasking for the bill - CHECKIT! Any way they can they Manyof you haveseen Stephen Lewis ' book"My Vietnam. A will make 'mistakes'and add in what was not ordered and photographiccelebration of Australiansin Vietnam". He is now overcharge-not just on trains, but the restauranttrade here is puttingtogether "Voyages to Vietnam". Photographsby Australian notorious for these 'mistakes' despite everyone having a Navaland MilitaryVeterans of the VietnamConflict' and invites calculator. Computerisedelectronic tills hereare a rarity-but are contributionsof slides,photographs and any othermemorabilia for slowlymaking their way into supermarketsetc. Most bills (called considerationof inclusionin the sistervolume of "MyVietnam". 'shots')are handwritten. A commontrick on the trainsis that they Itemssought are thosewhich show the dailyroutines of those will chargefor sachetsof sauce,mustard , mayonnaiseetc - even who servedin the 19 navalvessels that madethe Vietnamtrips, thoughnot ordered-a small basketwill be providedwith these plus the clearancedivers, members of the helicopterflight , those condimentsin it. The passengeris chargedregardless, and what who loadedthe vesselsin Australia andthe manyother personnel is not usedwill be sold (againand again)to the nextpassengers . whocontr ibutedto our navalinvolvement in Vietnam. Onlyafter a heateddiscussion with one particular'senior waitress ' Contributionswill be receiveduntil 1 September2003 , and it did she removethe cost of these items. It is this substandard is anticipatedthat the book will be availableby late 2003. If you service, overcharging,and limited menu, which sees most can help, or know of someone who can, Stephencan be passengersbring on theirown food . This givesthe restaurantand contactedat 135Gilles Street, Adelaide, SA, 5000, 08 82323404, ' kitchenstaff an easy trip - they don't want to work, so the less [email protected]. passengerswho eat in the dining car the better.They will still receivetheir pay at the end of the fortnightregardless of how many mealsthey provide. Unfortunately, for the foreignerswho Directorateof Honoursand Awards maybe travellingin a cabinwith Russianswho are 'self caterers', I havebeen advised that the Directorateof Honoursand Awards the smellson occasionsare not whatwe are accustomedto. It is will be relocatingfrom the RussellOffices to the Tuggeranong forbiddento takeyour own food into the diningcar. ChurchesCentre on 21 February2003 . I have not painteda very glossy picture of train travel in Thiswill meanthat Headquarters,Policy and threeof the four Russia,but that'sthe way it is. I'm not tryingto enticepeople into Medalssections will finallybe co-located. travellingin another country without being forewarned.It is The Army Medalssection will move up from Melbournelater becauseof the experiencesI have had on the trains that I decided this year.Ed . to 'Cruisethe Volga'on a riverboat ratherthan anotherextended train trip aroundthe countryas I did with fellow 'ex-birdie'(Phil 'Historyis full of peoplewho out of fear, or ignorance,or lust for power Beck)last winter. Compared with trains-a muchbetter and more havedestroyed knowledgeof immeasurablevalue which truly belongs comfortablemeans of travel.Will write about that in a lateredition . to us all. We mustnot let it happenagain .' CarlSagan, 1988

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ADEQUACYOF FLEETAIR ARM KOREAN DISPLAY IN THEAUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL CHALLENGED By NormanLee

Visitors to the AustralianWar Memorial'sBradbury Hall are Australian Visitors to the AWM might reasonablyexpect to see welcomedat the entranceby the followingstatement " This gallery examplesof aircraftflown by Australiancrews on display,rather than looksat the impactof air powerand its development-from the piston- thoseof someother country . The ill-fatedBuffalo and the successful engineaircraft of the SecondWorld War to the jets and helicoptersof BeaufortBomber were certainly flown by Australians,why then is the Korea 1942 -53". A somewhathazy photographicdisplay at the AWM displayinga 'foreign' aircraft,rather than an aircraftflown by entrancedepicts several Brewster Buffalos , a Beaufortbomber , an Australiancrews? One mightwonder what the reactionof the RAAF unidentifiableaircraft, and a Mk I Fireflybeing 'batted on ' to a carrier. mighthave beenif a photographof a MK Ill Mustanghad carelessly Theseare all aircraftfrom WWII,none of which,apart from the MK I beenincluded in the displayof 77 Squadron'sactivities in Korea? Fireflyoperating from HMS Triumph, took part in the KoreanWar. The matterwas first drawnto the attentionof the War Memorial, On enteringthe gallery most will be awed by the sight of a togetherwith a list of errors in the display cards relatingto the magnificentlyrestored Sea Fury FB II in a display which inter alia, squadroncommanders, and other matters,shortly after the Hall was endeavoursto set out the Royal AustralianNavy Fleet Air Arm's opened.A slow protractedprocess has sinceseen most of the errors participationin the KoreanWar some fifty yearsago. Three squadrons corrected(except for the Air GroupCommander's decorations), but the were embarkedin the light fleet carrier HMAS Sydneyas part of curatorialstaff have dug their heels in over the matter of the Australia's contributionto the UN'sresistance to the aggressionof the photographat the entrance. communistNorth when it invadedSouth Korea in 1950. Unfortunatelyin correspondenceto the curatorialstaff it was The combinedair groupknown as the "SydneyCarrier Air Group" mentionedthat someRAN a ircrewhad trained on the MK I Fireflyin the consistedof two Sea Fury squadronsand one Fireflysquadron. All UK. In replyit wasstated that the MK I Fireflywas deliberately chosen three squadronstook part in interdictionof the North's transport for thatvery reason! structure,with the Firefliesbeing tasked with bombingall the rail and In view of the errors in the displaycards, it would stretchthe roadbridges in the areaof operations. Unfortunately, the displaycards credulityof the averageperson to believethat the curatorialstaff in the gallerycovering each aircraft's role are moreto do with their carriedout deepresearch to establishthe fact that RANFAA aircrew peacetimeactivities than what they were tasked to do in Korea.This is trainedon this particularaircraft; they mightas well havechosen the regrettable,as the Koreanconflict was the only occasionin whichthe Seafire, or Barracuda. RAN FAA was involvedin a war, operatingin its true role from an A cynicmight suggest that someoneon the curatorialstaff was told aircraftcarrier. This is particularlyso in the caseof the Fireflyin which to picka photographof a Fireflyout of the archives,and lacking aircraft the displaycards place more emphasison the aircraft's peacetime recognitionskills, chose the MK 1 'landingon' becauseit was a good ASWrole rather than bombing bridges . 'action' picture. 817 squadronthat was selectedto go to Korea,normally flew the A furtherjustification put forwardby the AWMfor not replacingthe MKVIversion of the Fireflywhich was essentiallyan anti-submarine subjectphoto i s that the AWM archiveshave no photographsof the aircraftnot armedwith cannon.It was thereforenecessary to take MK v as flownby 817 squadronin Korea. Howevera photographof a some of its sister squadron's (816 squadron)Mk V's to work-upat MK v aircraftof 817 wearing'invasion stripes ' aboutto landon HMAS Nowrabefore the ship sailedfor Koreanwaters. The squadronwas Sydneydur ing the Koreanwar was recentlyunearthed from the FAA subsequentlyfully equippedw ith RoyalNavy MK V's on arrivalat the archivesat Nowra,and suppliedto the AWM.Nevertheless, despite all Kurenaval base in Japan. .------, the effort that has been expendedin Regrettably there are very few trackingdown the subjectphotograph, examplesof the Fireflyextant and hence the AWM has refusedto changethe reliance has had to be placed on entrance display. Perhaps the real photographs. Howeveras pointedout, the reason, apart from curatorial AWMhas chosento displaya photograph intransigenceis that it could prove of a MarkI Fireflybeing 'batted on' at the expensiveto alterit. entranceto the Hall not, as might be The surviving aircrew of 817 expected,a MarkV versionof the aircraft. squadron are angered at the War While the average visitor to the Memorial'sattitude and believeit is an memorialmight not pickup the fact that the insult to their servicein Korea;this is Fireflymark displayed is not the one flown particularlyso since there is only one by RANcrews, aviation buffs know, and the photographof a Fireflyin the Bradbury accompanyingphotographs clearly show, Hall itself,whereas there are five of the thereare considerabledifferences between ,- Sea Fury,plus the actualaircraft . the two, the main being a chest mounted- -- Finally,apart from the wishto seean radiatorin the MK I, whereasthe MKV has historicallycorrect display of the FAA's its radiatorsmounted in the wing roots. operafionalservice in Korea,I have to Otherdifferences are roundedwing tips in admitto a vestedinterest in seeingthis the MK I, squarein the MK V, and a much matter correctedas I was a young more curvedfin and rudder in the latter Fireflypilot in 817 squadronduring its aircraft.The spinneris blunterin the older deploymentin Korea. aircraftwhich had a three-bladedwooden I would also like to invite membersto airscrew, and it had a flatter canopy. contact the War Memorialto express Although as already mentioned,some theirviews on the matter. mightnot notethe differences,the pointis that 817 squadronflew the MK V not the MKI.

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Photographabove: 1955-SYCAMORE AT GOVERNMENTHOUSE -ADELAIDE Thethree Sycamore photographs to the rightwere taken during a deploymentin Tasmania. Do you havethe full story? Thesephotographs courtesy AMoF

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'I

•

1954• PHOTOGRAPHICSECTION HMAS SYDNEY L-R:Kevin Pavlich - GeorgeWatts - 'Taffy'Roberts and Les Profitt 1950s· TYPICALSCENE OF 'BIRDIES'DRAFT OUT AT FND Photographcourtesy Kevin Pavlich

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AUSTRALIA'SMUSEUM of FLIGHT by MarkClayton - MuseumDirector

•The news of CORERob Partington's tragic death late last year Two homebuiltaircraft were also added to the museum's was receivedwith stunneddisbelief by everyoneassociated with temporarystatic lineuparound Christmas. These includeViking the museum.CORE Partington's commitment to the Museum DragonflyVH-JRJ (formerly displayed at Wangaratta'sAirworld) Foundationand its museumwas unswerving,well pre-datinghis and MY-20 MinicabVH-ANK, the latter being a 1949 French appointmentas a FoundationDirector in February1997. design. As CO NAS(1990-1993) he was instrumental- and effective in securingNavy and corporatesupport for the fledglingMuseum Foundation.Widely respected and liked,he wasas muchat home in the Boardroomas he was, workingalongside other volunteers on theworkshop floor. CORE Rob Partingtonhas bequeathedus many fond memoriesand, with the Museumat HMASAlbatross we havea legacy that will endure as a fitting testamentto man, his commitment,and his passionfor flying. As foreshadowedin the last Slipstream,Wessex N7-221 was suspendedfrom the ceilingof the museumhangar in December, completewith partiallydeployed sonar. N7-221 joins the National MaritimeMuseum's N7-216 as the country'sonly suspended Wessexalthough the latter,we've since learned, is earmarkedto 1949Minicab VH-ANK that is to be usedby our lessee,Aerospace come down some time this year for maintenanceand TrainingServices as a ground-runningtraining aid. repositioning. Anotherrecent arrival has been Mig-17F VH-ALG belonging to Sydneybusinessman Hockey Treloar, who alreadyhas a Mig-15 displayedhere at the Museum.The type was usedoperationally in Vietnamand VH-ALGis the only Mig-17ever to fly in Australia. Both aircraft were restoredto flying conditionand have been madeavailable to the Foundationas long-termloans. And while we'reon the subjectof Migswe can reportthat we'vefinally been ableto find a coveredhome for our 'spare'Lim-2 {Polish built Mig- 15) which departedhere late last year bound for Adelaide's ClassicJets FighterMuseum which has accepted it as a loan.

The Museum'sMig-1 ?F photographedat Bankstownin the 1990s,prior to beingrestored. Photo courtesy R. Wills'Collection

Mucheffort is beingfocused now on preparingthe Lockheed 1O Ansertesfor repositioningnear the entranceto the main hangar.We intendmoving the Lockheed- the full lengthof the hangar- sidewayson castoringtrolleys. Before we can do this we firstly have to removethe upright supportsfor the overhead N7-221SUSPENDED - Blades tips yet to be supportedby guywires mezzaninewalkway - and abouthalf our displayaircraft -before then collapsingthe main undercarriage(using the aircraft's Althoughit neverflew, a replicaof Hargrave's1894 Glider has onboardelectrical retraction system). Everything then has to be alsobeen suspended near the entranceto the mainhangar where reinstalledwhich gives some insight, perhaps,to the huge it willserve as the startingpoint for our newthematic displays. planningand logisticaleffort that still confrontsus.

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A paralleleffort to ready the Macchi,Grunau, Heron and Skyhawkfor suspensionhas continuedwith mostwork centering aroundthe resolutionof engineering(i.e. liability) related issues.

by Kit Sanders

It was Mid March1967, AMERICA and our AIRWING6 were backat sea after a port call in Barcelona. It was late morning, and the launchwas proceedingnormally. My A4C tankerwas spottedfor launchon the outboardwaist catapult,and as the Phantomahead was launched,the jet blast deflectorwas dropped,I beganmy roll to the catapult.A4C's had no nose wheelsteering, we were 'led' aroundby a tiller bar in the nose wheel, anda youngsailor. · For somereason, the F4 on the catapultseemed slow, then I Recentlysuspended sawthe nosepitch down, as the shuttlehit the nosewheel, and the nosebanged on the flightdeck. The catapultbridle had shed the aircraft,and the big jet was rollingdown the catapulttrack in AccompanyingSidney Cotton's Lockeed 12 when it arrived burner,nose firmly plantedon the flight deck. As the aircraft herelast year was a dismantledP&W R-985 engine which, thanks crossedthe deckedge, I sawthe fuel tanksrupture, and the fuel to ourvolunteer, Rick Barnes, is nowready for installation. ignitefrom the flamingafterburner. My tiller bar man, lookedover his shoulderat the fire, and froze in place. In seconds,the flames envelopedmy aircraft. Vainly I tried to eject, using the alternatehandle between my legs, but I had not armedthe RAPECseat, habit beingto only armthe seatwhen crossing the shuttle. Forwhat seemed like an eternity,I wasinside the fireball,the canopywas closed, and nowthe flamesblackened it, and lackof oxygencaused my engineto flame-out.I knewI wasdead. Being burnedalive in a fire, no placeto go, sittingin an A4Ctanker with 10,800pounds of jet fuel,and unableto eject! After a terrifyinglength of time, I couldhear activityoutside the aircraft.Something was beingsprayed on my aircraft,but I couldnot see due to the blackenedand deformed canopy. The Lockheed12 that was owned and operatedby Sidney Cotton's Finally,after all hope was gone,the canopypopped open, company, Aeronauticaland IndustrialCorporation , and which is now and my planecaptain appeared. The launchwas cancelled,my awaitingreassembly before being displayedat the Museumof Flight. birdwas burned up. Australian,Sidney Cotton, served with the RANASduring WW1 and subsequentlycommanded Britain's Secret IntelligenceService during As I exitedthe aircraft,I saw my tiller-barman lyingon the WW11.G-AGWN later served in Australiaas BHP's first corporate flightdeck, burned horribly, only his helmet,belt and boots left on aircraft(A J JacksonCollection) the body. My aircraft tires were burned and blown out, the radomewas burned off andthe canopydeformed and blackened, The Foundationhad plannedto hold a two-dayCentenary of but the two droptanks and the buddystore still wereintact, and FlightAirshow at HMASAlbatross on April 26-27 however,as hadnot explodedor burned. we'vebeen unable to securesufficient ADF input we've decided to Rubberlegs propelledme acrossthe flight deck.Numbly, I return to the usual one-day (i.e. Sunday,April 27th)format. transitedthe kneeknockers and passagewaysback to the safety Planningfor this is well underwayalthough there's a chancethis of my ReadyRoom. mayyet be affectedby eventsin the MiddleEast, in whichcase Uponreaching the ReadyRoom, I was met by the Skipper. we'llplace a noticeon ourweb page: Wordsmay have been exchanged,I don't recallsaying much, www.museum-of-flight.org.au just weaklysat downin a chair and surveyedthe damagefrom Severalinteresting recent acquisitions have been received by the PLATTV. The tapewas runningof the accident.The pilotof the Foundation,including a magnificentoil painting by John the Phantomwas lost, but the PLATTV plainlyshowed the RO Downtondepicting an ArmyBlackhawk in EastTimar. ejecting,the flamesenveloping the deckedge operator, the tiller­ FormerPO ATA John Waskiw has also deliveredus the bar manand my aircraft. perspexcupola from a Martin250 gunturret. These were fitted to I could not watchthe rest, and barelymade it to the head severalAmerican medium and heavybombers, including the 8- whereI emptiedmy stomach. 25, B-26,8-17 and 8-24. Aftera briefmeeting with the Skipper,he askedif I felt good We remainever grateful for thesedemonstrations of continued enoughto try it again,and we mutuallyagreed to scheduleme support. for the nextlaunch. MarkClayton - MuseumDirector Thatone I made!

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THE FIRST HELICOPTERNAVAL RESCUE Once, Viner transferreda submarinecommander from the CourtesySikorsky Archives FDRto the submarineGreenfish which had surfaced nearby -the first time such an aerialtransfer had ever beenmade. When the February9, 1947 FDR left Norfolk,Va., at the start of the cruise,the harbourpilot LieutenantShields reporting aboard, sir. I wish to reportan was flown ashoreby helicopter,completing in a few minutesan accident...... operationusually requiring a coupleof hours. "Whatd'ya mean you're LieutenantShields?" snapped Butthe rescuesmade naval aviation history and drewmost of the flight controlofficer without even botheringto look up. the attention.One flier escapeddeath by a split secondthanks to "Shieldsjust had an accident.His plane was forceddown. swift,skilful handling of the helicopter.It happenedon February He's in the waterright now." Casually,he glancedup-and 18,southeast of Bermuda. then did a 'double take'. For, wonder of wonders,the Vinerand LieutenantJoe Rullo,a navalaviator assigned as bedraggledyoung flier standing there was Lieutenant Robert observeron all the helicopterflights, were whirling along not far aft A. Shields. of the FDR.This was their customaryposition on what is called Buthow had he doneit? Scarcelysix or sevenminutes before 'planeguard'. They were keepinga closewatch on the launching Shieldshad radioedhe wasditching his SB2Cbecause of engine andrecovery of the carrier'splanes. failure.He'd ditched it, too, by the looksof his soakedflying suit. Several SB2C dive-bomberswere landing. Suddenly,one But,here he was, big as life, backaboard his carrier,the Leyte, plane spun out of a turn at low altitude.Even beforethe craft whenby all oddshe shouldhave been bobbing about in a life raft struck the water, Viner nosed the S-51 down and plummeted waitingto be pickedup by a tin can and returnedto the carrier toward the impendingcrash. The SB2C splashed and sank laterin the day, or maybethe nextday . immediately. The flight controlofficer shook his head."Hell," he muttered, Pullingup overthe crashsite, Vinerand Rullosaw no sign of "thisman's navy is gettingtoo fast for me." life. Then the pilot, LieutenantCommander George R. Stablein, The answerto Shields'speedy return was a SikorskyS-51 bobbedto the surface.The crewman,August J. Rinella,perished helicopterflown by D. D. (Jimmy)Viner, chief test pilot for in the accident,either knocked out by the impactor unableto free SikorskyAircraft. Viner, based with Task Fleet2 to demonstrate himselffrom the smashedairplane. the capabilitiesof the rotary-wingedaircraft , had just pickedup Badlyhurt and unableto inflatehis life jacket,Stablein went Shieldsand the latter'screwman, Aviation Radioman Don K. Little. down twice and was sinkinga third time as Viner guided the Thedate was February9 and it wasthe first of four rescuesmade helicopterright downto the water.Rullo lowered his hoist cable by the helicopterduring the fleet'srecently completed manoeuvres directly into -the drowning man's hands. Stablein clutched in the Atlanticand Caribbean. franticallyat the cable,grabbed it andhung on. Operatingfrom the big carrier, FranklinD. Roosevelt, the Viner lifted the S-51 clear of the waves as Rullo used the helicopter,in the eyesof hundredsof officersand seamen,proved hydraulichoist to haul the 230-poundStablein up alongsidethe beyonddoubt its usefulnessto the fleet not only for rescuework helicopter'sopen door. Stablein, too dazedto fastena rescuebelt but for manyother duties which it performedmore speedilyand harness,with whichthe cablewas fitted,still clungby his hands. efficientlythan they had ever been done before. At the top of the hoisthis fingerswere pinched by the pulleywheel On his first day at sea,Viner picked up and deliveredship-to­ and he releasedhis grip. But split-secondteamwork by Rulloand ship correspondence-'guard mail' in navy jargon - coveringa Vinersaved the day. Rullothrew his arm aroundthe falling man dozenvessels in thirty-fiveminutes. Ordinarily, the 'guard mail' and Viner,at that instant,tilted the helicoptersharply to the right. keepsa destroyerbusy from sun-upto sun-down.Carrying the The result:Stablein toppled into the helicopterinstead of backinto mailbecame routine for the helicopteras the cruiseprogressed. the water. A few dayslater Viner flew a fleet'ssenior surgeon over to the Backaboard the FDR,Viner and Rullosuddenly realized how Randolphin time for an emergencyoperation on a young low they'd flown. Water was pouringfrom the helicopter's nose crewman.Countless hours were saved during the manoeuvresby wheelpylon, evidence enough that the nose wheelhad actually ship-to-shipand ship-to-shore helicopter shuttles. The forward gun been under the surface. It was an unbeatableexample of turret of the battleshipMissouri made a perfectly adequate precisionflying and a most convincingdemonstration of the helicopterlanding field. helicopter'srescue capabilities. A few minuteslater, from Vice­ AdmiralWilliam H. P. Blandyaboard the flagshipMissouri, came the rarely-givencommendation, 'Very well done'. In contrast,the helicopter'sthird and fourth rescueswere routineaffairs. Pickedup from their life raft on the morningof March3, LieutenantOg) W. J. Forgyand EnsignR. Felty were safe aboardthe FDRjust sevenminutes after settingtheir SB2C downin the watertwo milesfrom the carrier.The Viner-Rullo team hadclicked again. That noon,Jackson E. Beighle,a SikorskyAircraft pilot, who hadjoined the task fleet February28 at Trinidad,needed only four minutes to carry out the rescue of LieutenantEugene J. Weinbeck,a Hellcatpilot. Uponcompletion of the helicopter'spart in the fleetexercises, both Vinerand Beighle,as well as Sikorskycrew chiefs Stewart

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Hill and Miles Rooseveltwho also madethe cruise aboardthe DimitryD. (Jimmy)Viner FDR,praised the cooperationgiven them by CaptainJohn P. W. Mr. Viner has flown and Vest,and all herofficers and men. demonstrated Sikorsky helicoptersin all parts of the world. During his career he was consideredone of the world's foremost helicopter pilots and a leadingauthority on the problems of engineeringtest flying, Viner had 44 yearsof experiencein aviation. Jimmywas born in 1908in Kiev, Russia.In 1923, when Jimmy Viner was 15 years old, he and his family came to America. He joinedthe originalSikorsky Aero EngineeringCorporation • at Roosevelt,Long Island, in 1923, when the companywas foundedby his uncle,Igor I. Sikorsky.He was Sikorsky's15th and youngestemployee . He startedas an errandboy, stockchaser, sweeperand truck driver.When he requesteda title, his uncle designatedhim 'Sikorsky's Director of Transportation'. Slim,dark-haired Joe Rullowill neverforget the cruise."These He movedto Connecticutwith the companyin 1929,learning last six weekshave providedthe most wonderfulexperiences of to fly fix-wingplanes during the same year. He has been with my life,"he said.Somebody asked why. "BecauseI've been flying Sikorskyever since, with the exceptionof the early40's whenhe withJimmy Viner," he replied. was a flight instructorfor the BridgeportFlying Service at Turner It's naturalto expectenthusiasm for the helicopterfrom such Falls,Mass . air-mindedofficers as CaptainVest and LieutenantRullo. But Jimmy has acquiredmore than 1,500 hours of fixed-wing Rear Admiral John Wilkes, commanderof the Atlantic Fleet aircrafttime and morethan 4,000hours of rotarywing flying. He submarineforce, was every bit as glowingin his estimateof the flew almosteight hours in the VS-300,the first Sikorskyhelicopter rotary-wingedcraft's place in futurenaval operations. andhe wasthe first helicopterpilot to log 1,000hours , in 1947. AdmiralWilkes , who witnessedthe recentexercises as an Otherfirsts for the veteranpilot are: first flightsof the S-51, observeraboard the submarineGreenfish , said the usefulnessof the S-55and the S-58:first helicoptercivilian rescue, in 1945,of and efficiencyof the helicopterwas one of the vitally important two crewmenfrom an oil bargeoff PenfieldReef in Fairfieldduring facts disclosedby the manoeuvres.He said the work of the a storm;first helicoptermail servicein NewYork City; first pilotto helicopterwas astonishing and that the crafthad 'sold itself' to the operatea helicopterin planeguard work from an aircraftcarrier in fleet by the variousand versatileactivities which it performed 1947,this resultedin the first Navalrescue, saving pilots whose throughoutthe exercises. planeswent into the ocean;set a helicopterworld speed record of The helicoptercarried several hundred passengers during the 115MPH in 1946. manoeuvres,among them John N. Brown,assistant secretary of The list of pilots and personswho have receivedhelicopter navyfor air; AdmiralBlandy , Vice-AdmiralA. W. Radford,Rear trainingunder Jimmy reads like an aviation'Who's Who'. He is a AdmiralA. M. Pride, Rear AdmiralJohn H. Cassady,Captain two-timerecipient of the 'Winged-S'Rescue Award of Sikorsky Vest,Captain T. 8. Hill, skipperof the Missouri,Captain John L. Aircraft, is an honorarymember of the AmericanHelicopter Pratt, aide to Mr. Brown,and Sir Errol Dos Santos,governor of Societyand a memberof the Societyof ExperimentalTest pilots. Trinidad. Admiral Blandy was enthusiasticabout the helicopter's Storiesof helicopterrescues increased as the possibilitiesfor servicewith the fleet. Its chiefvalue, he believes, helicoptermatured and Mr. Sikorskystarted liesin rescuework , submarinedetection and reconnaissance, light the tradition of presentingthe 'Winged-S1-===1!!2 Rescue Award' to each aircrew member. pickupand deliveryoperations , and passengerexchange among When asked about these rescue mission unitsat sea. aircrew'sperformance, Sikorsky responded : JimmyViner never saw as muchice creamas he did the day "I personallywould like to expressmy he leftthe FDRto returnto the Sikorskyplant at Bridgeport. It's an deepestrespect and admirationfor thesegallant pilots and helicopter old navycustom to give the crew of a rescueship ten gallonsof crews who perform these flights. Their action, representing ice cream.Having made three rescues, Viner and Rullogot thirty considerableskill and courageequal the most heroic of battlefield gallons.They took one look at this windfalland declaredopen achievements.It would be rightto say thatthe helicopter's rolein saving housein the readyroom. When Viner left, the crew had cracked lives representsone of themost glorious pages in the historyof human openthe lastten gallonsand were still goingstrong. flight.•

'Thehelicopter approaches closer than any other [vehicle] to fulfilmentof mankind'sancient dreams of theflying horse and the magiccarpet.' IgorSikorsky

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NavalAviation Force Element Group TIGERSOVER ULURU (AVNFEG)UPDATE By LCDRTony Johnston PRO 816 Sqdn By CommodoreGA Ledger,RAN Commanderof the AustralianNaval Aviation Group It was a caseof historyrepeating itself in CentralAustralia when three S-70B-2Seahawk from 816 Squadronwere I have settled into my new position as I - COMAUSNAVAIR,and hada chanceto visitthe L.....::,,.=----="--' HS 817 ChristmasIsland detachment with Chief of Navy just beforeChristmas, in fact I arrivedhome in Canberraat midnight on Christmaseve. CaptainVince Di Pietroposted out in Decemberto undertake DefenceStudies at the AustralianDefence College in Canberra and CaptainTim Barrett moved from CO Albatrossinto the positionof ChiefOf Staff{Aviation) in the CANAGHQ. The new CO AlbatrossCaptain Simon Cullen has settled into his new positionand is currentlycalling on local dignitariesintroducing himselfto the communityas wellas visitingthe squadrons. HS 816 squadron has a new commanding officer, CommanderBrad White. Brad led his squadronin severalwater bombingserials in andaround Canberra during the recentterrible bushfires.816 had two Seahawks in the areaand weresupported by two Squirrelhelicopters from HG 723 led by CommanderStu Harwood. Photographby LSPH-1ABrad Fullerton - RANASPhotographic Section Aviatorsfeatured in the Christmaspromotion list. CMDR photographedin formationover Uluru recently. Dowsingcurrently in the US and CMDRJerrett D/DNAPO were both selectedfor provisionalpromotion to Captainfor January Theaircraft were returning to theirhome base at Nowraafter a 2004.CMDR Fealy AE wasacting as Captainand his promotion busy month in Western Australia. Some of the activities wasconfirmed and postedto DGTA at RAAFWilliams in . undertakenincluded support to HMASSTUART's workup , PWO The FAAalso hada goodnumber of LCDR's selectedfor CMDR sea training and Under Sea Warfaretraining against HMAS whichwas a greatresult. DECHAINEAUX.Several successful Mk 46 torpedoattacks were alsoconducted on the UnderWater Tracking Range . The year has startedat the same pace that 2002 finished. Whilstthere is uncertaintyon the worldscene, the squadronsand For the historicallyminded, the photographreprises a well shipsflights continue to provideaviation assets for the Maritime knownscene from anotherera. Thirtyyears ago {almostto the Commanderto embarkon the ships. I am sure the tempo at HMASAlbatross with all the supportagencies will againbe high this year. We againthank the FAA Associationof Australiafor your continuedsupport and encouragementof the men and women who are involved in Naval Aviation operations.

BOB CRONIN ENTITLEMENTS ADVISORY CENTRE For help with Dlsablllty clalms, Pensions and Welfare for Serving and ex-Members of the ADF and their dependants. Located on the alrfleld side of the Australlan Museum of Fllght and manned between - 1.000 - 1.500 Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Phone for appointment on (02) 4424 9067 CMDRAndrew Whittaker, then CO of 816 Squadron,with squadron Address: 489A Albatross Road, Nowra HIii, NSW 2541. membersand Windsor,a sevenmonths old BengalTiger . The occasion NO FEES, NO FRILLS, MANNED BY RETIRED ADF wasthe annualHMAS Albatross divisions. Note the CO'sfirm grip on his VOLUNTEERS sword. Photographby KayeAdams, RANAS Photographic Section

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Adam was hanging around the garden Far away in the tropical waters of the of Eden feeling very lonely. So God asked Caribbean, two prawns were swimming around him, "What's wrong with you?" Adam said in the sea - one called Justin and the other he didn't have anyone to talk to. called Christian. God said that He was going to make The prawns were constantly being Adam a companion and that it would be a harassed and threatened by sharks that woman. patrolled the area . He said, "this pretty lady will gather Finally one day Justin said to Christian, food for you, she will cook for you, and when you discover "I'm bored and frustrated at being a prawn, I wish I was a clothing, she will wash it for you. shark , then I wouldn't have any worries about being eaten" She will always agree with every decision you make and she As Justin had his mind firmly on becoming a predator, a will not nag you and will always be the first to admit she was mysterious cod appears and says, "Your wish is granted", and lo wrong when you've had a disagreement. and behold , Justin turned into a shark. Horrified, Christian She will praise you! She will bear your children and never immediately swam away, afraid of being eaten by his old mate. ask you to get up in the middle of the night to take care of Time went on (as it invariably does ...) and Justin found them. She will never have a headache and will freely give you himself becoming bored and lonely as a shark . love and passion whenever you need it. All his old mates simply swam away whenever he came close Adam asked God, "What will a woman like this cost?" to them. Justin didn 't realise that his new menacing appearance God replied, "An arm and a leg." was the cause of his sad plight. Then Adam asked, "What can I get for a rib?" While out swimming alone one day he sees the mysterious And of course, the rest is history .... cod again and can't believe his luck. Justin figured that the fish could change him back into a prawn. He begs the cod to change him back so, lo and behold, he George Carlin's Views on Aging is turned back into a prawn. Do you realise that the only time in our lives With tears of joy in his tiny little eyes, Justin swam back to when we like to get old is when we're kids? his friends and bought them all a cocktail. · If you're less than 10 years old, you'r e so excited about aging that you think in Looking around the gathering at the reef, he searched for fractions . "How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're his old pal. never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five . "Where's Christian?" he asked. That '·s the key. You get into your teens , now they can't hold "He's at home, distraught that his best friend changed you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. sides to the enemy and became a shark," came the reply . "How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, Eager to put things right again and end the mutual pain and you're gonna be 16! torture, he set off to Christian's house. And then the greatest day of your life - you become 21. As he opened the coral gate the memories came flooding Even the words sound like a ceremony - YOU BECOME 21. .. back. He banged on the door and shouted, "It's me, Justin, your YEARS. But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? old friend, come out and see me again. Makes you sound like bad milk. He TURNED, we had to throw Christian replied "No way man, you'll eat me. You're a shark, him out . There's no fun now, you're just a sour-dumpling. the enemy and I' II not be tricked." What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN Justin cried back "No, I'm not. That was the old me. I've 30, then you' re PUSHING 40 . Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all changed" ... slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 - and your (wait for it) ... dreams are gone. "I've found Cod, I'm a prawn again Christian!" But wait! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKEit to 60. You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime . And it doesn't end there . Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I am JUST 92." Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!" May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!

Afterstopping for drinksat an illegalbar, a Zimbabweanbus driver found that the 20 mentalpatients he was supposedto be transportingfrom Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence,the driverwent to a nearbybus stop and offered everyone in the queuea free ride. He thendelivered the passengersto the mentalhospital, telling staff thatthe patientswere very excitable and prone to bizarrefantasies. 'People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because Thedeception wasn't discovered for 3 days. rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf'- G.Orwe/1

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NATIONAL PRESIDENT'SREPORT

Traditiondictates that I startthis report by wishingyou all a HappyNew Year but so far it has been anythingbut, especiallyhere in Canberra.I am sure '-'--~~L---'----' you will have read aboutthe dreadful bushfiresso I won'tbore you with more graphic descriptions but believeme it was a mostinteresting, and for some,a most devastating, few hours. Our daughterarrived from NewYork on the Fridayand on Saturdayevening she said, "I knewI wouldget a warmwelcome but this is a bit over the top" The old year finishedon a very sad note when Rob Partingtonwas killed in a plane crash in Victoria.Our deepestsympathies go outto Tinaand the children. On a brighternote I can reportthat the XmasHamper projectwas an outstandingsuccess again and all members canfeel a senseof pridein the positivesupport the FAM is givingto the currentband of navalair warriors.Some of those warriorswere flying in the swirlingsmoke and heat aroundCanberra during the bushfireemergency. It was goodto hearthe steadybeat of the rotorsand to knowthat theywere there . Planningfor the 2003 Reunioncontinues apace and a registrationform with programme and costs is includedas a flyer ir:ithis edition. A noticegiving further information will be foundelsewhere in this issue. Due to pressureof work Paul Shielshas resignedas the FAM web-masterand the SouthAustralian Executive is activelyseeking a replacement.The FAM thanksPaul for the time and efforthe put into the successfullaunch of this importantproject. I wishyou the verybest for 2003,it can onlyget better, and lookforward to seeingyou at the OctoberReunion. TozDadswe/1

FLEETAIR ARM ASSOCIATION XMASHAMPER PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHS

Startingfrom top left: 'Lendinga hand' L-R: ABJosh Greenwood and AB BrentonHeath

'FAAAMembers in attendance' L-R: Toz Dadswell- MikeHeneghan -Ian Ferguson -Ray Burt - JohnArnold - DenisMulvihill and Neil Ralph

'Squadronreps ensuring a fairand equitable distribution' L-R: CMDRA Whittaker(816) LCDRD Cooper(723) LCDRGagnon (723) LCDRAshworth (CO 805) LCDRD Jose(XO 816) COREToz Dadswell AM RANRid CAPTAINTim Barrett

'Wearingthe FAAT-shirts included in the hampers' ChristmasIsland-817 Squadron 'C' detachment

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a call from DawnGoodwin to advisethat her husbandJohn ex­ NATIONALSECRET ARV'S AircraftHandler, had suffereda heartattack and pass~daway on REPORT 14thDecember, 2002, at the age of 70. The Goodwinshad recentlycelebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and were living Thankyouto the secretary'sof all Divisionsfor at Strathdale,Bendigo . Recuperatingfrom her own heartattack , assistingme to bring the 'SlipstreamMailing Dawnhas neverthelessexpressed her wish to maintaincontact List'up to date.There are constantalterations ! withold FleetAir Armfriends by becomingan Associatemember. I have offered her sincere condolenceson behalf of the to it with changesof address which come'----=------'--_J throughthe secretariesand Slipstreameditor, [DO NOT send Association. themto the editor,I have nothingto do withthe mailinglist. Ed] It is difficultto find lightand happynews to add to this article plusthe addition of newmembers, who are mostwelcome. followingsuch shockingevents, but life must go on and, having honouredRob, I am sure he wouldexpect that we look forward We will have held a 'Reunion2003' and NationalExecutive with someconfidence to the future,which wish, I am sure,would meetingsby the time you receivethis edition.I will send draft be endorsedby John. copiesas soonas possible. Ian'Tas' Webster, Sea Furypilot during the Koreancampaign , I will be sendingall secretariesa few copiesof a 76 page and forced to ditch his aircraft (wheelsdown!) in the Pacific booklet titled 'Visit Shoalhaven', this book lists all the Oceanwhen his enginefailed due to oil starvation,was recently in accommodationavailable and contact phone numbers and Melbourne.Subsequently, in the 1950's,'Tas' becameone of the informationto answerany memberor visitorsquestions, It is a most respectedbatsmen in HMAS Sydneyprior to leavingthe veryinformative booklet listing all facilitiesavailable in the Shire. RAN to join Qantas,where he rose to the rank of Boeing747 If I can be of any assistanceI can be contactedby Emailat: Captain. [email protected] Phone/Fax (02) 4441 2901. Lessknown was his able navigationduring the returnvoyage Kindregards to all. of HMASVengeance to UK, underthe watchfuleye of the late MikeHeneghan 'Red' Merson.After age retirement,he settled in the northern outskirtsof London,where he nowresides. Expecting to returnfor a visit againnext year, he askedto be rememberedto all thoseof VICTORIANDIVISION his era. LesColeman, brother of Ron,who was lostduring the Korean Attentionon the flightdeck! campaign,was also in touch and keen to contactany FleetAir Expectationsof reportsof happy family Arm personnelwho may have knownRon. Quite a coincidence, reunions over the festive season were since 'Tas' Websterrevealed to me that it was he who was shatteredfor manyat the news of the tragic leadingthe flightover Koreain atrociousweather conditions Ron aircraftaccident near Geelong which took the Colemanon his wing,when Ron disappearedduring a periodof life of our mostrespected shipmate, Commodore Rob Partington severeturbulence at altitudein cloud. Ron'saircraft was never AM RAN(Rtd). found. Therewas standingroom only at the Holy Trinity Anglican DavidBaddams, one-time A4 pilot who electedto transferto Churchat Williamstown,Melbourne , on Friday10th January, 2003, the RoyalNavy when RANfixed wingflying was terminated,has whichindicated to all the high esteemin whichRob was held by also beenin touch.His father,Bob, was an RAAFtrainee pilot on those luckyenough to have 'rubbedshoulders' with him, within 9 Coursewith the writer,recently suffering a severestroke, and andwithout the RAN. presentlyresident in MurrayBridge, South Australia. David flew A movingService of Thanksgivingwas conducted by Principal the Harrierfrom HMS Invincibleenduring many forays ashore in Chaplain,Monsignor Brian RaynerOAM RAN, during which a HongKong in 1992with ex-Navytypes employed by Cathay.He eulogywas presentedby CommanderToby SelbyRAN (Rtd), a commanded800 Squadron,RN, prior to returningto Australia, touchingfamily tribute by proudson, Chris, and daughter,Cassie, w~~re he is presentlyemployed in a supervisorycapacity by movingmany to tears,and a Navytribute by CommodoreGeoff BritishAerospace at the AviationCollege, Tamworth, NSW. I am LedgerRAN, Commander of the AustralianNaval Aviation Group. feelingan urgentneed to terminatethis report,for the longerI linger,so doesthe list of catastrophesgrow . Manyfamiliar faces were amongstthe congregation-Mike Hudson,Neil Ralph, David Farthing,Monsignor Frank 'Tiger' Raging fires in the northeast of our State dwindle to Lyons,John Burns,Graham Bailey (SA Division)and a good insi~nific_anceas tortuousheat and cyclonicwinds encouragea representationfrom the VictorianDivision, to mentiona few. raging fire front to assault the fringe suburbsof our national NationalPresident, Toz Dadswell,had previouslyexpressed his capital,Canberra, torching to destruction400+ homes and taking deepregrets due to the arrivalof overseasvisitors on that day. at leastfour lives.Phone calls revealedthat whilstour respected NationalPresident, Toz Dadswellwas, with his family, staring A formationof aircraftfrom Point Cook pilotedby personal disasterin the face as homesin his vicinitywere burnt to the friends,led by a soleTiger Moth, flew overheadto honourRob, a gro~nd,the Dadswellfamily surviveda similar tragedy.Long, g~ntleman , priorto the service.Traditionally, one of the formating anxiousmoments were endured as Toz and Gwenfought deluges aircraftbroke away to portjust as they approachedoverhead the of blazingembers with a hose until midnight,when conditions church,leaving a spacefor the 'missingairman'. subsided.Their car, loadedto the hilt with valuablecargo (little Ourdeepest sympathy has beenconveyed personally and by room for the pilot!) was on standbyon the ramp, ready for mailto Rob'sdelightful wife, Tina, as wellas to Chrisand Cassie. 'launching'at Wing'scommand ...... sorry!! Got carriedaway a bit, As I was preparingthis contributionfor Slipstream,I received there.

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A reportfrom Rob Earle alerts me to the fact that popular shipmate, Les Profitt, passed awayon 15thJanuary following a heartattack in his sleep.Les had been an active memberof the Victorian Division for the past nineteenyears, having served in the Fleet Air Arm for 15 years from 1948,finishing up as a PO (A) PHOTprior to discharge.He wasa young72 yearsof age. Ten representatives from our Division attendeda serviceheld at Altona MemorialPark, on 22ndJanuary and appropriatemessages of sympathywere conveyedto his familyon behalfof all members. • George Self highlighted the outstanding qualities of our shipmateto attending relatives and friends in the form of a movingeulogy. On a morepleasant note, we VICTORIADIVISION CHRISTMAS BREAK-UP heartily welcome new member, BACKROWS L-R: Margare t Mayer, the late LesPro fitt, RonChris tie, Ian Stanfield, Johnl kin, RichardSerafin, ex-CPO ATA , a GeoffLitch field, RobEarle , 'Hank' Fargher, BryanRoberts , Jim Kalmund, KenPryor , RalphMayer , residentof Wodonga, and hopeto ClemConlan , NormThompson , LesJordan . have the opportunityof soon CENTRE:ShirleyTho mpson, ValdaCh ristie, EnidChamp ion, Beryl Clark, Marion Earle, BettyConlan, makinghis acquaintanceat oneof Jenny Roberts. ourfunctions. FRONT:Di Stanfield, Loris Jordan, Sylvia lkin, Alan Clark. Vietnamveterans' attention is drawnto a recentlyreleased report establishing a possible link betweena variety of latter-day illnesses and the presence of diotoxins in drinking water not eradicated during on-board desalinationprocesses during that campaign.A 78-pagedocument hasbeen received by all Divisions, which is availablefor perusalby Victorian Division members throughthe Secretary. The report can also be downloadedfrom the OVAweb site at: www.dva.qov.au. 'Youexpect me to believethat?' It involvesthe 'examinationof the~--R_ob_E_a_ rl_e_an_d_'H_a_n_k'_F_ar_gh_e_r_ch_e_w_ing_t_h_e_c u_d_~ '------' potential exposure of RAN personnel to polychlorinated dibenzodioxinsand polychlorinateddibenzofurans via drinking SOUTHAUSTRALIAN water'.Studies of AustralianVietnam Veterans have revealed DIVISION greaterthan expected mortality occurring among the RAN. AgentOrange (TCDD) and Agent Blue and organochlorine It is time once again to give a complete, pesticidewere used in Vietnam.TCDD is now knownto have concise,accurate, and short reportabout the manytoxic effects in humans,including carcinogenesis. activitiesin SA. In closing,our thoughts are with those desperately unfortunate We are actually on the lookoutto acquire familieswho have lost all in the recentwidespread fi res. The a secondhand aircraft carrier so that we cando our bit againstthe burdenof facingup to startingfrom scratch is unimaginableto we war on terrorism.There was one goingat the 'flea market' at Port whohave never faced such a disastroussetback. In timesof such Adelaidebut it was a little beyondour financialrecourses. Money desperation,it is extremelygratifying to hearof so manycases of made from the 'sausage sizzle' in Salisbury, although very gratuitousassistance. Perhaps there is hopefor us all, yet! lucrative, fell short of the asking price. Maybeother divisions Carryon! GeoffLitchfield wouldlike to join us. We thoughtthat strategicallypositioning it in the GreekIsles would be a sound idea with once a week anti-

28 Slipstream submarinesortie being flown to ensurethat therewould be plenty servicepeople who transferredto the FAAin the earlydays . He of time for otherduties. We needan Admiraland a Captainbut joinedthe navy in 1946 and was involvedin bringinghome the cansupply Commander 'Air' fromour own ranks.I haveattached 20thCAG in 1948.He cameout of the navyin 1959with the rank a photoof the saidship for yourinspection. of PO.The restof us are OK,sort of, andfeel surethat we will be able to capablyman our dreamtimeaircraft carrier when the time comes. John Berryis complainingthat the BBQis gettingtoo heavy to put on the trailer for our sausagesizzle money making rip off so Dinsleyhas issued him a chitexcusing duty. I receiveda letter from the Marketingand Development Managerof the DawPark Repatriation Hospital. They are issuing RepatCards for veterans.Daw Park is nowa PublicHospital and so that veterans,war widowsand otherentitled patients can get easy accessto the hospitalthese cards is designedto allow priorityover public patients.For those memberswho use Daw Park it wouldbe a good idea to get one of these cards.I have applicationforms so just giveme a call. Our nextmeeting will be on the 21stMarch at the AirportClub , AdelaideAirport and that will be our AnnualGeneral Meeting. This maybe my lastcommunique! BarryLord - Secretary Christmasand the New Year were full of festivity.D insley Cooper, our social secretary, arranged for our Christmas QUEENSLANDDIVISION celebrationat the LinksHotel. About 35 peopleattended and had a greattime. John Saywell won our oncea year raffle.The prize was a $100 voucherto buy goodieslike a leg of hamand other Our best wishesto you all for 2003 and trust things. BecauseI didn'twin I lost interestin the detailbut I thinkit you enjoyedthe festiveseason. The fires at waswell worth winning. Canberrawere dreadful and hard to believe.I Our treasurer,Mike Cain , decidedto be generousand from hopenone df our memberslost homes. ourcoffers bought drinks to keepeveryone happy. I noticedthat a I've spokento Johnand RosCrawley , who.______.______, linebook was passed around and that generatedmuch nostalgia. spent one night at least, puttingout embers It wasa pleasantouting and enjoyed all round. aroundthe house,but , at the time, he hadn'theard of members At the NewYear we got together(Sunday 5th.) in the parkland losingtheir homes. We're very luckyhere generallyin that, apart adjacentto the BotanicGardens in Adelaidefor a BBQ.Those fromthe drought,we 've hada prettygood run . that did not manageto make the date missedout on a very We had a greatday for our Xmasfunction at the BribieIsland pleasantget together. My wifeLee and I turnedup witha bottleof ASL-good weather, plenty of shadeand about70 or so enjoying dietcoke and then proceeded to drinkJack Kriegsexpensive red the day. Therewere somenew (old)faces and plentyof stories SparklingLambrusco in Roger Harrison'schilled wine goblets. gettingabout. It was good to see BarryTurner, Rob Hingston, The cooksproduced excellent chicken and meat portionsto be Barry Andrews, Joe Seib, DavidSmith, Ron Bensleyand Lofty eatenwith salads caringly prepared by someone.Thank you once Davis.Nev Halland his wife calledin brieflyto catchup with Rob again to those responsiblefor such decadence.I am sorry to Hingstonand the rest of us. They were leavingthe next day to admitthat I haveno photosto provethese events took place . begintouring. Nev has sold his businessat RedcliffAirport and The web site is ploddingalong . PaulShiels who did muchto now retired.They donatedsome wine for our raffle,Glen Hartig establishthe site has resignedfrom the webmasterposition . He put in anotherfew bottlesof Vintageport and Don Spencerput hasexplained that on the website. In the meantimeJohn Siebert somewine in he'd broughtback from the West.Thanks to all of has volunteeredto care take until we get someoneto replace you.We hadquite a few prizesand we reckonedthere would be a Paul.That should be resolvedby the timethis articlegoes to print. good chanceof the committeehaving a win at last! TrevorTile The web site has been an initial success and with further and I did as well as Gary Reid and Sharonwho won the Xmas developmentwill in time be an important adjunct to our Hamper.Jan Williamson got the touchLamp and I thinkPaddy got Association.There are manyuseful links to the site. I thoughtthat a bottleof the goodstuff as well the link describedas 'The Gun plot' is a real gem. Manypeople Jock and MargaretCollins looked well and Jock has a big are visitingthe site to makecomment in the guestbook and it is lumpunder his skin-thecomputer that runshis new pacemaker.I notedthat there are steadyapplicants to join from the online reckonhe could put himselfon Internetwith that! Bill Strahan applicationquestionnaire. looksgood after his bypassoperation, and it wasgood to see Bob Whilston the subjectof members...... Ken Adams, who is a Peacockthere fightingthe recoveryroad after a stroke.Bevan farmerat Kapunda,has decidedto rejoin. Ken was a former Mewettgot the BBQunlocked and going-a goodmachine which memberand thought it a goodidea to sign up. Kenserved in 724, got veryhot very quickly. 725,805squadrons from 1956 to '62. He wasa LAM(AE). Alanand MelbaBarlow told us of how they usedto lookafter John Fergusonhas admittedto ill healthso we wish him a the crewof HMASBrisbane in the Gulf-we weretalking about the recoveryand a get well message.John is one of the general (Continued 011 page 30)

29 Slipstream ~------reluctanceof our Governmenthere to takethe shipfor sinkingoff Mooloolaba.Alan gave me a few WW2 flying books.Thanks, Alan.I'm enjoyingthem. Ournext function will be our AGMto be heldat the Currumbin RSLon March16, from 1O am to 12 Noon and thenpicnic/BBQ after. Lookingforward to a good roll up. We have decidedto alternateour AGM's between Currumbinand Bribie RSL's. Anywhereelse wants to chargean armand a legfor usinga room for 2 hours. Rethe increasedcost of Slipstream, DesKelly, Treasurer , did up our budgetfor 2003and we haveagreed that we cancover the extracost without increasing our annualfees. We will checkagain in our2004 budget to assessthe positionthen. We'redelighted to welcomenew members,Barry Turner and DavidSmith and FrankFox hastransferred in fromdown south. I haven'tseen Franksince I left Nowrain '66 and lookforward to meetingup soon(at the AGM,I hope). • We went, with brotherPeter, to Cooroyrecently to have a shortvisit with Maxand NormaWilson. Max is steadilyrecovering fromhis ordealin hospital-lost20 kg andhas regained6 kg so far. Managinga beer,but Max reckonshe's lost the taste for food. Anyhowit wasgood to see himand Normaafter a fair whileand I hopethey'll make the do at Currumbin. Trevorhad 24 capssent over from WA and they are proving very popular.I can see anotherorder coming up soon.Des Kelly tellsme he'sjust got his servicepension after a longstruggle and Aileenis hittingthe golf ball well and using his cart, and I'm waitingfor Aileento let me knowwhen she beatshim. I also hear that GordonWalters is goingvery well after havinga pacemaker and can now drive whenSandra is not playinggolf - if you can figurethat out. These lady golfers are gettingserious! Mick Blair is lookingfor a volunteerto take over our flags, bannerand frameand deliverthem to Brisbanefor AnzacDay. He'sbeen doing the job for 1O or so yearsnow and his garageis gettingworn out-or something.A requesthas gone out in the last newsletter.Good luck, Mick. We'regoing to BulimbaArmy Barracks again after the Anzac day March.Mick and Trevorare arrangingto meetwith the right peopleto try andestablish satisfactory catering arrangements. We mayhave to takeour ownplay lunch! Well,that's it for now.Best wishes from all of us here.Don 't go to visitthe HangingGardens of Babylonfor the nextfew days! BarryLister - President

XMAS'DO' AT BRIBIEISLAND RSL TOPL-R : BobPeacock and Tom Christopher BELOWL-R: Bill Strahanand BarryAndrew All photographsthis page courtesy Mick Blair

XMAS'DO' AT BRIBIEISLAND RSL L-R:Rex Day -Arthur Rowe -Ray Guest -'Jock' Collins -Ray Murrell

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A QIJEENSIANDfAIR.Y STORY WESTERNAUSTRALIAN Cinderella had migrated to Australia many years 4. 't, ago and built a home on the Queensland coast ....the ~. DIVISION story continues... ""-~ Cinderella was now 75 years old. After a Hello!Australia - and a big helloto all fellow fulfilling life with the now dead Prince, she happily sat upon her ex-birdies,in particular, all membersof the rocking chair, watching the world go by from her front porch, FAAAof Australia. with a cat called Alan for companionship. One sunny afternoon, Here we are again facing up to another out of nowhere, appeared the Fairy Godmother. year 2003. MY GOD!I hopethings improve in a hurry,what with "Fairy Godmother, what are you doing here after all these the weatherpatterns (El Nino)facing our country,the bushfires years?" said Cinderella. and the lossof life anddamage caused by thesedisasters. Come The Fairy Godmother replied "Well Cinderella, since you on Aussies,let's lift our shouldersand assistthose unfortunate have lived a good, wholesome life since we last met, I have enoughto face suchcalamities. Perhaps the Nationalbody could decided to grant you three wishes. Is there anything for which makesome donation or offerof assistanceand then perhapsthe your heart still yearns?" Cinderella is taken aback, over joyed otherState bodies may follow suit. and after some thoughtful consideration and almost under her A big 'thankyou' to Toz Dadswelland DonMc Larenfor their breath she uttered her first wish, "I wish I was wealthy beyond comprehension." kindwords in theirreport on our Mini-Reunionlast November. .. Instantly, her rocking chair was turned into solid gold. Cinderella was stunned. Alan, her old and faithful cat, jumped off her lap and scampered to the edge of the porch, quivering with fear. "Oh thank you, Fairy Godmother", said Cinderella. The Fairy Godmother replied, "It is the least I can do. What does your heart desire for your second wish?" Cinderella looked down at her frail body and said, "I wish I was young and full of the beauty of youth again". At once, her wish having been desired, became reality, and her beautiful youthful visage had returned, and the vigour and vitality began to course through her very soul. Then the Fairy Godmother again spoke, "You have one more WA MINI-REUNION - L-R:Keith Doncon -Toz Dadswell-Kerry Sojan wish, what shall you have?" All photo's in this reportcourtesy Greg Kelson Cinderella looked over to the frightened cat in the corner Thanksare also extendedfor all the Emails,Christmas and and said, "I wish you to transform Alan, my old cat into a ThankYou cards from Queensland, New SouthWales, Victoria beautiful and handsome young man". andfrom the far NorthWest of WA Magically, Alan suddenly underwent so fundamental a change Thinkingahead, it is only monthsaway until the National in his biological make-up, that when complete he stood before FAAAReunion at Nowra.Now is the time to start organisingfor her, a boy so beautiful the like of which she nor the world had this event. ever seen, so fair indeed that birds began to foll from the sky Thanksto Ken Staff and committee,Vol. 1 Issue 1 of 'The at his feet. Journal of Naval Aircraft Handlers'inaugural meeting report, • The Fairy Godmother again spoke, "Congratulations, togetherwith pictures,has beenreceived. We lookforward to the Cinderella. Enjoy your new life." And, with a blazing shock of nextedition. ' bright blue light, she was gone. By the time this reportis publishedwe wouldhave had our For a few eerie moments, Alan and Cinderella looked into AGM on February9th . Fortunatelymost of the committeewill each other's eyes . Cinderella sat, breathless, gazing at the most continueto lookafter our Division. stunningly perfect man she had ever seen. Then Alan walked over to Cinderella, who sat transfixed in her rocking chair, and I am sorryto learnthat the followingWA membersare on the held her close in his young muscular arms. He leant in close to Sick List, EddieCook, Keith Murdock, Ron Tate and Jack Griffin. her, and into her ear breathed as much as whispered, blowing We hopethat they soon returnto goodhealth. My apologiesif I her golden hair with his warm breath, 'T bet you're sorry you havemissed any one. had me de-nutted now, you bitchr The followingextract from the West Australiandated 10 December2002, may be of interest... . A.C.T.DIVISION VETERANSFACE PAY-OUT CHECK 'WAR veterans' face checks to ensure they are not double-dippingunder the $2.7 billion-a-yearservice pension Therehas been no reportsof lossesby scheme.The VeteransAffairs Department will exchangedetails ACTmembers in the recentbushfires, with the DefenceForce Superannuation Fund, ComSuper, from but nevertheless,they have all been Tuesday to ensure pensionersare declaringsuperannuation througha ratherterrifying time. income.A pilot data-matchingprogramme last year revealed Wewish them all well.Ed (Continued 011 page 32)

31 Slipstream ~------several hundred service pensioners failing to declare superannuationincome, leading to over paymentsof about NSWDIVISION $ 400,000.The service pension available to, 155000veterans who facedhostile fire in war,is the onlypayment to be means-tested.' With Xmas/NewYear festivitiesnow in the JohnGreen· Unit 117 Prinsep Road, Attadale, WA 6156 past,it is timeto lookahead to anotheryear. Phone(08) 9330 7386 · Mobile1422 943 488 Myarticle in the lastedition mentioned the Email:[email protected],au presenceof widespreadfires on the NSW coastalarea, the coveragein all formsof the '--=-.:....:.. mediain recentdays adequately brings home the scopeto whichthis problemescalated following the Christmas break.At the time of writingthey seemto be comingeven wider spread.Spare a thoughtfor the unfortunatepeople who havehad to contendwith this catastrophe. To date I have not heardof any of our memberswho have beeninvolved - howeverit wouldbe presumptuousto think that we wouldnot have someonewho has been affectedwhen you considerthe vastarea which has been decimated . • Haveyou visited the FAAAWebsite yet? If youhaven't done so, pleasespend a few minutesand havea look.You may even wishto leaveyour notation in the visitor'sbook . Shouldyou have commentor criticismfeel free to utilisemy E-mailaddress and I assureyou it willbe actionedas appropriate. The forthcomingreunion details will be noted on the website.Those wishingto participatein branch get-togethers shouldkeep an eye on the site, as this will be able to be kept currentas contactpersons are identified.Details of functionsetc. will also be displayedas they are organised. Ideasfor this event havebeen invited but it seemsall are contentto be hand-fed.If you have ideas now is the time to make them knownas the organisationis enteringthe 'lock-in'stage of proceedings. As reportedlast edition we welcomedour new social secretary. It didn'ttake longfor himto makehis presencefelt. The final executivemeeting before Xmas was combinedwith a social gettogether over a 'couple'and supper.It waspleasing to seethe supportthis little publicisedget-together attracted . The fact that half of the SafetyEquipment Branch attended was encouraging whenwe thinkof the forthcomingreunion! Your continuedsupport for the annualraffle has once again allowedthe containmentof ever increasingcosts to be controlled withoutresorting to the burdenof increasingannual membership fees. The majori mpostlast year was the need to increasethe Slipstreamcost by $1 per copy- the first suchrise in manyyears, whichwas implemented at the NationalAGM. Results of the latest rafflewere: tst Prize TicketNo. 3170 R. LASCELLES 2JdPrize TicketNo. 2922 E. MARTIN 3rc1Prize TicketNo. 3278 K. HARVEY

Congratulationsto the winners and thanks to all who supportedthis project.The above·draw was conductedat the homeof our WelfareOfficer and our thanksto Rayand PaulaBurt for theirgenerosity in makingtheir home available for thisfunction. Socialsecretary Phil promises further get togethers in thefuture. Don'tforget the NSWDivision AGM on Sunday16th March at 1100. Those who enjoy reading this magazineand wish to continue receiving their copies are remindedthat financial membershipis a prerequisitefor inclusionon the mailinglist. NevilleNewbold· President L-R:Pat Stevens·Ron 'Gabby' Hayes - MarieKempnich - RoseHayes adam.com.au/bsiebert/faaaa and MaureenHill 32 Slipstream

TASMANIANDIVISION Strangethings in Mexico This happenedin a littletown in Mexico, and event houghit soundsli ke an AlfredHitchcock tale , it's absolutelytrue! Nowthat Christmasand NewYear is over,we Thisguy wason the sideof the roadh itch hiking on a verydark night can get downto anotheryear of activitiesthat and in the middleof a storm.The night was rolling and no car went by. probablywon 't be muchdifferent to previous Thestorm was so stronghe couldhardly see a fewfeet aheadof him. years. Suddenly,he saw a car comingtowards h im andthen stop. The guy , Not much to reportfrom Tassie either- withoutthinking about it, got in the car and closedthe door - and only thenrealised that t here'snobody behind the wheel! Alan and Bev Andrewshave been holidayingin the West with familyand haveonly recentlyreturned . Whilstaway, Trevor Tile, The car starts very slowly. The guy looks at the road and sees a curvecoming his way. Scared, he startsto pray, beggingfor his life. of the QueenslandDivision , gave Alan's address and phone numberto Ron Melvillein the NT so that Ron,who is movingto He hasn'tcome out of shockwhen , just beforethe car hitsthe curve, a handappears through the windowand moves the wheel. Tasmania, will be ableto contactAlan and transfer to our Division. The guy, paralysedin terror,watched how the hand appearsevery Youwill be mostwelcome , Ron. time theyare approachinga curve. The guy, gathering strength, getsout At this stagewe mustall sendour thoughtsand sympathyto of the car and runsall the wayto the nearesttown. Wet and in shockhe thosepeople in the mainlandStates, particularly the ACT,for the goes into a cantina,asks for two shots of tequila, and starts telling terribleloss of propertyin the recentbush fires. Thankfully , lossof everybodyabout the horribleexperience he just wentthrough. • lifewas minimal considering the ferocityof the fires. A silenceenveloped everybody when they realise the guyw as crying Tasmaniahas had her lossestoo but not on the samescale. andwasn 't drunk. The SeasonsFestivities must have gone OK as I havehad no About half an hour later two guys walkedin the samecantina a nd one said to the other, "Look, Pepe, that'sthe mongrel whogo t in the car reportsto the contrary,in fact, no reportsat all. If I don't get the whilewe werepushing it. information, I can't tell it. That'sall fromdown here so I'll say cheeriofor now. WARIS A TERRIBLERESPONSIBILITY MattJacobs SaddamHussein was sittingin his officewondering whom to invadene xt whenhis telephonerang . FAAINFORMATION REQUIRED FOR THE HISTORIAN "Hallo, Mr. Hussein!" a heavilyaccented voice said. "This is Paddy downat the HarpPub in CountySl igo, Ireland. I am ringingto inform you thatwe are officiallydecla ring waron you!" Over the years, 'Windy' Geale has compileda "Well,Paddy," Saddam replied , "Thisis indeedimportant news! Ho w diaryof RANAir Stations,Ships and Squadrons . In big is yourarmy?" the case of squadrons, the namesof the aircrew "Right now," said Paddy,after a moment'scalcu lation, "there is are recorded. The exception to this is 816 myself,my cousinSean , my next doorneighbour Seamus , andthe entire Squadron, as all the line booksand other historical ~ dartteam from the pub. Thatmakes eight!" itemswere lost in the 1976arson attack. Saddampaused. "I mustt ell you, Paddy,that I haveone millionme n To enablea completeas possiblerecord to be produced, we in my armywaiting to moveon my command." are now askingyou to put your thinkingcap on and forwardthe "Begorra!"said Paddy."I'll haveto ringyou back!" names of ALL squadronpersonnel you served with in the Sure enough, the next day, Paddycalled again. "Mr. Hussein,. \he squadrons. The informationrequired is Squadron, Year, Rankor waris still on! We havemanaged to acquiresome infantry equipme nt!" Rateand Name. "Andwhat equipment would that be , Paddy?"Saddam asked. 'Well, we have two combines,a bulldozer, and Murphy's farm Thenext Slipstream will havean articleon this matterin it, but tractor.' to getthe ball rollingearly I askyou to spreadthe wordASAP. Saddamsighed . "I musttell you, Paddy, that I have16 ,000tan ks and We havethe duty watchon stand by as it is hopedto have 14,000 armouredpersonnel carriers. Also, I've increasedmy army to CDs and inexpensivehard copiesready for the OctoberFAAA 1-1/2million since we lastspoke." Reunion. 'Saintspreserve us!" said Paddy. "I'll haveto get backto you.' Mypostal address is: 9 CrestAve NthNOWRA NSW 2541 Sureenough , Paddyrang again the nextday . "Mr. Hussein, the war BillKerr is still on! We have managedto get ourselvesairborne! We've mod ified Harrigan'su ltra-light with a coupleof shotgunsin the cockpit, and four boysfrom the ShamrockPub have joined us as well!" TheFAAA of Australiaweb site is on lineat Saddamwas silentfor a minuteand then cleared his throat."I must http://www.faaaa .asn.au tell you, Paddy,that I have 10,000bombers and 20,000 fighterp lanes. My militarycomplex is surroundedby laser-guided,surface -to-airm issile Members'E-mail Directory sites. And since we last spoke, I've inereasedmy army to TWO If youwish your E -mailaddress published, please contact the Editor. MILLION!" GlenHartig "WOW!"said Paddy," I'll haveto ringyou back." [email protected] Sure enough, Paddycalled again the nextday. "Topo ' the mornin', FrankDonnelly Mr Hussein!I am sorryto tell youthat we havehad to call off the war." [email protected] 'I'm sorry to hear that," said Saddam. "Whythe suddenchange o f heart?" Ian Ferguson 'Well," said Paddy,'we've all hada longchat overa buncho f pints, CHANGEOF ADDRESS·[email protected] .au and decided there's no way we can feed two million prisoners!" GodBless the Irish! In NewGuinea a helicopteris called'mixmasta bilong Jesus Christ'

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OBITUARY OBITUARY

COMMODORERobin Nyren PARTINGTON AM RAN (Rtd) LesPROFFIT 'The'Grey Eagle' Lesjoined the RANon 12thApril, 1948 - served In their sub-consciousnaval aviators in HMA Ships Cerberus,Australia, Lonsdale , generallyconsider that , havingsurvived Sydney, Vengeance, Melbourne, the perils of naval aviation,they are Nirimba,Kuttabul, RNAS Culdroseand 817 safefrom the "dangersof the air". The Squadron. fallacyof this beliefwas madeevident Awards:Korea Medal , UN Medaland RAS · when the many friends of Rob badge.He was dischargedon 11thApril, 1963 Partingtonheard that he hadbeen killed with the rankof PO(A) PHOT. in an aircraftaccident in Victoriaon 20th Afterdischarge he becamea cameramanfor theABC and then , December. Not even a careful, becauseof CivilCine duties in Vietnam,became involved with War proficientprofessional pilot, such as a,.ii'E;f!·Bu Correspondentsin later years. Rob,was immune from the "perilsof the _._.""'-__,,-=:.-"--''--' Popularwith his shipmates,he joinedthe VictorianDivision on • sky". 23rdAugust, 1984 and servedas a CommitteeMember with the RobinNyren Partington was born in Melbournein 1940and VictorianDivision in 1991, 1992. joinedthe RANCollege in 1954as a thirteen-year-oldentry. He Leswas 72 yearof ageat the timeof his death. wasaffectionately know as "Parto"for the restof his navalcareer After graduatingin 1957Rob's career path followedthe normal patternfor a juniorofficer until he volunteeredto trainas a pilot in A LASTFAREWELL 1962.As trainingof navalpilots in Australia had beenterminated !Jliell.66ociatum ~ witfi ~ tfie ckat& o/,tfie followingthe 1959 decisionto scrap the Fleet Air Arm, Rob Partington'spilot training took a mostunusual track. He trainedin {,offi,.winffmemlJeJt6, 6/upmale6 and ~: the UK with BristowHelicopters and fromthere was awardedhis wings. William'Mac' MACFARLANE On returnto Australiahe convertedto Gannetsand joined 29 November2002 816Squadron in mid1964 . Hisnatural aptitude and zestfor flying was recognizedand in 1967he completeda QFI courseat East JohnGOODWIN Sale.Postings as SeniorNaval Officer at PointCook and RAAF 14 December2002 Pearcefollowed. After converting to the S2E (Tracker)Rob was first postedas Senior Pilot of VS816 and then becamethe CORERobin Nyren PARTINGTON AM RANRtd CommandingOfficer of the "Flying Tigers". Promoted to 22 March1940 - 20 December2002 Commanderin 1976he servedon the AircraftCarrier Project in NavyOffice and in Londonas the AviationOfficer on the Naval RobertClegg FORGIE Advisersstaff. Robwas promoted to Captainin 1984and served in two postingin NavyOffice before being posted to Darwinas 1917- 2002 Naval Officer CommandingNorth Australia. Promoted to A Civil Engineerwho , at the outbreakof WW II, was secondedto the FederalAllied Works Council to build fighterairstrips at Trangie, Orange Commodorein 1990 Rob then servedas CommodoreHMAS (Milthorpe), andSchofields (Albatross II andthen HMAS Nirimba) ALBATROSSand NavalOfficer Commanding West Australia. He retiredfrom the RANin 1995.Forhis contributionto navalaviation Edgar'Ted' B SILSBY Robwas made a Memberof the Orderof Australiain 1990. 07 January2003 Rob Partingtonwas a man of manyskills. In additionto his exceptionalflying ability, he could easily dismantle, and LesPROFITT reassemblein workingorder , car engines,radios , computers,and 22 January2003 all mannerof electricand electronicappliances. Afterleaving the NavyRob retained a closeinvolvement in all Crewof the spaceshuttle 'Columbia' aspectsof aviation.His flyingskills and his profoundknowledge of aircraft operationsmeant his assistanceand advice was 01 February2003 constantlysought by many.He was a devotedfamily man and sincerecondolences are extendedto his wife Tina and his Colin WHEATLEY childrenCass and Chris. February2003

OBITUARY MichaelBUNN 14 February2003 JohnGOODWIN PeterD 'Kipper' BRITTON JohnGoodwin, ex-Aircraft Handler, passed away at the age of 70 28 February2003 followinga heartattack .

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FLEET AIR ARM ASSOCIATION FAA ASSOCIATIONSTATE CONTACTS 2003 REUNION NATIONALEXECUTIVE President:CDRE TA DadswellAM RAN(Rid) The Reunion Committeeis progressingplanning for the 2003 FAAA 17 JamesPlace , CURTINACT 2605 Phone/ Fax (02)6281 5896 Reunionand final detailsof costs have been decided. The programmeis Secretary:Mr MikeHeneghan aimedat providingpeople with opportunitiesto catchup with old shipmates PO BOX 7115,NAVAL PO , NOWRA2540 andto makenew friendships. The outline programme is: Phone/Fax (02)4422 3633 (Phone Wednesday only) Qr - 16 Ibis Place, SUSSEXINLET , NSW2540 Phone/Fax:(02) 4441 2901 [email protected] Thursday2 nd October Registrationsat BomaderryRSL AUSTRALIANCAPITAL TERRITORY DIVISION

3 rd Friday October LateRegistrations. President:Mr BrianCourtier Toursof HMASALBATROSS 61/15John Cleland Close, FLOREY, ACT 2615 Phone: (02)6259 7736-Mobile: 04 08166741 SportingEvents Secretary:Beryl Green Cocktailparty in "H" Hangar PO BOX 3652,WESTON CREEK , ACT2611 Phone: (02)6258 9891 • Saturday4th October AnnualGeneral Meeting of FAAAof Aust WESTERNAUSTRALIA DIVISION

B-B-Queat Museumof Flight President::Mr BevanDaws ShoalhavenTours 46 BerryDrive, MAIDA VALE WA 6057 Phone: (08)9454 7228 -Mobile 0411 831 609 BranchReunions Secretary:Mr PeterWelsh NSWAnniversary Dinner 42 SaddlebackCircle - MaidaVale WA 6057 Phone: H (08)9454 6045 - W (08)9411 7781 Fax: W (08)9411 2860 Email:[email protected] Sunday5th October Air Dayat ALBATROSS SOUTHAUSTRALIA DIVISION It will be seenfrom the programmethat costsare nowsettled for the CocktailParty, President:CMDR John Siebert RAN the B-B-Queand the NSWDinner. Please complete the detailedapplication form which is PO BOX 177, MITCHAM,SA 5062 enclosedwith this editionof Slipstream, to enableyou to registerfor those eventsyou Phone:(08) 8299 0445 wish to attend.These applicationsforms will also be communicatedby meansof the Secretary:Mr BarryLord 65 WhttmoreSquare, ADELAIDE SA 5062 FAAAweb site . Email: [email protected] It is stressedthat transportto Nowraand accommodationin the Nowraarea is the responsibility of memberswishing to attend the reunion. The ShoalhavenV isitor VICTORIADIVISION InformationCenter has listingof accommodationin the Nowraarea and can be contacted President:Mr Ron Christie on theirweb-site : 15 BiancaCourt, ROWVILLE VIC 3178 Phone: (03)9764 5542 - Fax:(03) 9755 5417 www.shoalhaven.nsw.gov.auor by E-mailon [email protected] Secretary:Mr Geoff Litchfield Forthose not on line, telephonesare: 9 Stringybark Road,EL THAM SOUTH , VIC 3095 Phone/Fax: (03)9439 9736 1800-024-261or 02-4421-0778 Fax: 02-4423-2950 Email: [email protected] The InformationCentre does produce an informationbooklet , copiesof whichwill be NEWSOUTH WALES DIVISION sent to all DivisionalSecretaries. (It would be too expensiveto mail a copy to all members.) President: Mr NevilleNewbold 61 QueenStreet , BERRY, NSW2535 The Committeewelcomes any suggestionson what could be done to enhancethe Phone:(02) 4464 1734Fax : (02)4464 1593 Reunionplans but timeis runningout for any majoralterations . Secretary:Mr Mike Heneghan PO BOX28 , NOWRANSW 2541 Phone/Fax: (02)4441 2901 OBITUARY TASMANIADIVISION EdgarB SILSBY President: Mr John Nobes 8 ElizabethStreet , SOMERSET,TASMANIA 7322 'Ted', as he was knownas , was bornon 27-11-28at WileyPark Sydney. He wasto Secretary:Mr John Nobes eventuallycomplete his educationat CanterburyHigh. He startedwork with the NSW Addressas above Railways,then with AnsettAirways and finally Smith'sWeekly. Due to his interestin QUEENSLANDDIVISION aviation, he hadbeen a memberof the Air League,he eventuallyjoined the FleetAir Arm President:Mr BarryLister in 1949. 3 Royal Close,Regatta Par k, WURTULLAQLD 4575 After recruittraining he was draftedto HMASAlbatross to train as an aircraft Phone: (07)5493 4386 maintenancesailor. On completionof his traininghe joineda Sea FurySquadron (805] E-mail: [email protected] Secretary:Mr Trevor Tile and was to serve in HMASSydney during the Koreanconflict. He gainedthe rank of 37 MilesStreet , CABOOLTUREQLD 4510 PettyOfficer before leaving the servicein 1961. Phone: (07)5499 3809

On leavingthe Navy,Ted returnedto the Sydneyarea and becamea successful SLIPSTREAMEDITOR - SEEFRONT COVER businessman. He marriedhis wife,Bev, some 45 yearsago. [email protected]

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ABOVE:

HMAS MANOORA ALONGSIDEIN SYDNEY

LEFT:

RAN SEAKING HELICOPTER CONDUCTINGREPLENISHMENT OPERATIONSWITH HMAS MANOORA IN THE BACKGROUND

Photographscourtesy of the PhotographicBranch

36 Typesetby JohnArnold - Printedby KlimptonPress cnr Angus Avenue & FlindersRoad South NowraNSW 2541 - Phone(02) 4423 1996