The Quarterly Journal . ofthe Association of Inc.

Volume 13 Number3 2002

Publishedby the FleetAir ArmAssociation of AustraliaInc . Print PostApproved -PP201494/00022 Editor: JohnArnold - PO Box662 NOWRANSW 2541 Australia Phone/Fax (02) 4423 2412- Emailslipstream@sbaal net a11 Slipstream ~ ------

FOREWORD by ViceAdmiral C.A. Ritchie AO RAN Chiefof Navy

First, let me thank the National President,Commodore 'Toz' DadswellAM RAN (Rtd), for his kind invitationto provide the forewordto such a fine journal. Slipstreamprovides not only a wealthof informationto the ex-Navymembers of the FAAAbut also an importantlink to the menand women of today'sNavy. I confess that I havean affinityfor the aviationworld. As the CAGTAS, and a greatjob it wasfor a youngwarfare officer, I servedat ALBATROSS • and embarkedin the "big war canoe", as MELBOURNEwas affectionatelyknown. I havemany fond memoriesof my timeat sea withthe FleetAir Arm.

In my mindNavy's people never 'retire'. OnceNavy is in the blood,it remainsforever. This is veryclear in the way that the FAAAmaintains its links with today's FleetAir Arm. The initiativeof the FAAAin providing 'hampers'last Christmas to the embarkedflights deployed overseas was a clearsign of the strongties of loyalty thatbind the navalaviation community.

Whilequite different in size and shapeto the carrier-basedFleet Air Arm of the past,today's is everybit as essentialto our missiontoday as it was then. Navy's embarkedhelicopters are at the heartof combinedoperations in the MiddleEast and in borderprotection operations to our north. Everythingour aviatorsdo, they do with greatcredit -at everyturn. The professionalismof the peoplethat makeup today's squadronsand embarked flights is quiteoutstanding.

The levelof integrationof aviationassets into surfacecombatants today is impressive; are not just an extensionof the sensorsand weaponsof our fleet -they are integraland vital. Our Seahawksand Sea Kingsare in greatdemand at sea and our aircrewand aviationtechnicians are puUingin moresea timethan ever before. Becauseof the very high operationaldemand we also have the Squirrelembarked in the Hydrographicships for surveillanceduties in the north. As VADMShackleton remarked at the Divisionsthat markedhis departure from the RANin July "theaviators are making a magnificentcontribution to operations".

Thechallenges that lie aheadfor NavalAviation are major,but they are alsocertain to be veryrewarding . I am confidentthat, as always,we will bringnew aircraft systems into serviceand maximisetheir fightingcapability. It is in the spiritand the historyof the FleetAir Armto do so. Puttingaside the unfortunatemedia exploitation of delaysin the project,I am confidentwe will havean excellentweapon system in the SuperSeasprite. We hav~ introduced,ahead of schedule,new ForwardLooking Infra-Red (FLIR) equipment to the Seahawks,which is provingexceptionally effective in currentoperations. System upgrades to the Seahawkand introductionof a Night Vision (NVG)capability to both Seahawkand Sea King, now underway,will boost our operational effectivenessvery significantly.

As I close,I wishall FAAAmembers and past aviators the verybest of fortuneand I knowthat youwill join me in wishingwell the currentmembers of our squadronsas theyserve their countryand their Air Armforebears with pride. I, andthe menand women of today'sFleet Air Arm,greatly value the supportof the Associationand we look forwardto ever-prosperingties betweenthe past, the presentand the future of aviationin the Royal AustralianNavy.

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BIOGRAPHY EDITOR'S - ~ ViceAdmiral Chris Ritchie, AO CORNER !.\ -=~·-·.· . ,• '~ RoyalAustralian Navy . ' ' _,. : . Chiefof Navy Greetingsreaders . Pleaseaccept my apologies for the delay in producingthis edition of - ~) ViceAdmiral Chris Ritchie graduated from the RANCollege in Slipstream,but the circumstanceshave been 1968 and receivedfurther trainingat sea and in the United beyondmy control. Kingdom before undertakinga succession of seagoing This editionhas beenproduced with the financialassistance appointmentsand a staff appointmentat the NATOSchool of of BovisLend Lease and on behalfof all, I thankthem. MaritimeOperations at HMSDRYAD. I alsothank the mysterydonor who sent in the MoneyOrder for the Slipstream account, the gesture was very much His commandshave included HMAS TARAKAN,HMAS appreciated. TORRENS,and HMAS BRISBANE. During his period in Whilstreading through various newsletters, particularly from commandof HMASBRISBANE the shipdeployed to the Arabian the RoyalNavy Associations, I start to feel quiteenvious of the Gulf,where she participatedfor the durationof the GulfWar. In rapportthat exists betweenthe 'old and bold' and the current 1991,as a resultof this service,he was appointeda Memberin servingmembers . Apparentlywhen they leavethe service,the the MilitaryDivision of the Orderof Australia. doordoesn't clang shut behindthem, but remainsslightly ajar for • . the exchangeof news and updatesof the servicethey helped In 1992,Vice AdmiralRitchie attended the Royal Collegeof pioneer.It is a sourceof greatangst to methat the samecourtesy DefenceStudies in the UnitedKingdom. On completionhe was is notextended to ourAssociation by the currentFleet Air Arm. promotedto Commodoreand had appointmentsin NavalPolicy Despitemany attemptsby myself and the previousand and Warfare,and MilitaryStrategy and Concepts.In 1997he currentNational Executive, trying to get informationand updates waspromoted and appointed as MaritimeCommander Australia, is nighon impossible.Most 'news' that youread in thisjournal has returningto Canberrain May 1999to serve brieflyas Deputy to be extractedfrom the localpress, which I can onlypresume is Chiefof Navy beforetaking up the appointmentof Head of indicativeof our positionon the 'birdies'totem pole. CapabilitySystems . As a consequenceof his servicein these Theonly recent exception has been the totallyunsolicited, and appointmentshe was promotedto Officerin the MilitaryDivision very much appreciated, submissionby AndrewWhittaker, the of theOrder of Australiain January2001. CommandingOfficer of 816 Squadron,which appearsin this edition. He is obviously very proud of his Squadron's ViceAdmiral Ritchie was appointedas CommanderAustralian achievementsand· is preparedto sharethat pridewith those who Theatreon 3 August2001. He wasthe first wentbefore . Commanderto havepreviously served as a Component Commander to the To the memberswho requestedupdates following the 723 Headquarters.On 03 July 2002, he was SquadronAnniversary , I apologise. After two requeststo the appointedas Chief of Navy and was squadronthe informationhas notbeen forthcoming. promotedto ViceAdmiral. I supposethat we are regardedas 'boringold farts'by the up andcoming, but restassured, it is a conditionthat catches up with ViceAdmiral Ritchie is marriedto Juliaand everyonein thefullness of time. hastwo adult sons. Be kindto eachother.

ANOTHERTOUGH COMMITTEE MEETING! SOTHIS IS A CANBERRADESK JOB!

FRONTCOVER: SEEARTICLE PAGES 12 AND 13 DEADLINE!FORNEXT EDTION 11 NOVEMBER 2002

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DearEd '64 to '66 and initially usedto fly to Avalonwith Neil (Limpy) Louer The last issueof Slipstreamwas up to the and we billetedat PointCook. Later , JerryO 'Daytook overand usualstandard . I knowfull well the efforton we thenbilleted at Laverton. yourpart to producethe same.My very best As I recall, the aircraftcarried 2 rocketswith dummy heads on L...... Jw....J...Q.,Laa.,:,=:...... i wishesto youfor thefuture . the portwing to counteractthe weightof the blackbo x unit on the The story 'UP and DOWNa UniqueExperience' by Sandy starboardwing. One day , the 'torpedodrop ' wentoff courseand i t Sandbergcertainly stirred some memories. First up let me say a landedin the bushon the westerns ide of the Geelongh ighway. 'BigThank You', Sandy . This is the first timesince the eventthat Theboffins and I jumpedinto two cars andshot straight across all theArmourers have been acknowledged for theireffort. four lanesinto the scrubto recoverthe unit beforeany 'not for youreyes ' spottedit. Luckily,there wasn 't a lot of traffic about but I commencedworking in the EjectionSeat Bay at the RANAS therewere a fewstartled drivers nevertheless . Armouryin August1958 as a Mech1. By the timeof the ejection in June 1960,I would have servicedeach Ejection Seat both Sometimesthe rockets ando ther equipmentwere de liveredto Mk4A's and Mk3B's at leastseven times each , ably assistedby Avalonby the DC3,but on oneoccas ion I drovedown from Nowra my NavalAirman offsider Peter McDonald. The SafetyEquipment with the two rocketson my roof rack, well wrappedin a tarp. I lads wouldattend on an 'as requiredbasis' to servicethe seat often wonderwhat would have been the reactionof the local harnessquick release box . gendarmesif they'd unwrappedit or if I was involvedin an accident. Of moreinterest, however , was the fact that we had not Jong before began to strip and service the Drogue Guns and "Hullo, hullo, wot'sthis then? " BarometricTime ReleaseUnits. Joe Gregoryand myselfhad "Oh,just a couple of old rockets, mate." beensent to RAAFAmberly to learnhow to strip and inspectthe "Andwhy are you carrying them on yourroof rack?" variouscomponents of these units. The RAAF had sent their "Well, I mightfire them at some buggerwho won't let me peopleto the MartinBaker Factory in the UKto learnthe 'ins and pass." outs'of theseitems. We did it thecheap way. I reckonI 'd have beenin the slammerso quick and tryingto The drawingsfor a machineto 'time' boththe DrogueGuns phonethe s quadronCO for explanations! and BarometricTimeRelease Units after servicing,had been Duringone trip the Venom developeda fuel leak from the receivedfrom the UK. Yourstruly was giventhe task of building starboardwing and we hadn't beenable t o find the sourceo f the themachine. leak. We were ready to fly back to Nowra and after some Thefinished product was about two feet six inchesJong , about discussionJerry decidedwe'd go. Whilst at 30,000 feet over fifteeninches wide and six inchesdeep . The top was madeof a Kosciousko, thefuel gauge suddenl y droppedto zero. I remember piece of resin bondedfabric Yz inch thick normallyused in Jerrysay ing that, if the engine stopped, he'd be out like a flash electricalswitchboards. Under the NavalSupply system it was andi f I didn't get a moveon I'd be there on myown . suppliedby the 'Pound weight'. We had no end of trouble We were dressedin shortsand summerfly ing suits, andthe convincingthe 'storesbashers' that we neededa pieceof certain mountainsbelow had a fair bit of snowcover. I thoughtat thetime dimensions. that this could be 'fun', summer clothes, brokenan kles (at least) The heart of the machine was a 78rpm 'handraulic' and no skis! Anyhow,it turnedout to be a faulty gaugeand we gramophonemotor with a turntablemade of solid steelabout Yi reachedNowra okay. The fuel leakwas found to be comingfrom inchthick. It madea greatflywheel! the tankfiller neck seal and was easily fixed . Mountedon the undersideof the top werevarious caged nuts Wewere due to headto Avalon againso Jerrytook the aircraft that allowedany type of droguegun or time releaseun it to be up for a checkfligh t. He cameback fa irly quickly to say that the bolteddown for testing. A circularpiece of paperwas clippedto nosegear wouldn 't retract.The aircraft was jacked up andseveral theturntable with a penattached to the itemunder test. When the retractiontests carried out with no faultse xperienced. Jerrywent unitwas fired the pen scribed a lineon the paper. up againand came back w ith the sameproblem. A seriesof perspextemplates were madeand engravedto Theaircraft was placedon jacksagain and I hada goodthink showthe maximumand minimumtime in whicheach unit should aboutthe problemand realisedthe only thing missingwas the operatein . airflow/pressure. TerryPayne braced himsel f and put bothfeet on The drogueguns were .5 secondplus or minus.1 second, the nosegear fairingand pushedhard . The undercarriage was while the time releaseunits were initially 3 secondsp lus or selected' UP' and there it was no retraction, only a 'clunkand minus. 1 second. The unit for the 0-90 Knotversion of the seat grunkle'and a bit of a twist wasal l. operatedin 1.5 secondplus or minus.1 second. It was a very On closer inspectionI found that the right-handmounting effectivemeans of testingthese units . Thankfullyit all workedvery structurewas badly cracked and the attachmentpanels so wellin thisinstance. distortedthat the guysfrom D-Hat Bankstownhad to comedown I wonderwhat ever did happento thatpiece of equipment? to do a majorrepair . So therewas anotherVenom used at least IanFerguson onceon the project.I neverthought it wasfinger trouble , Jerry. My final bit with lkara-1 was due to leavethe Navyand we DearEd werestuck at Avalonby the badweather. Eventually , Jerryag reed HughWells' note about the Venomat the MareebaMuseum and to get meback to Nowraso off we went. referenceto the lkaratrials brought back some memories . I don't The 'clag' wasset in from600ft to 30,000plus , so we tracked recallthe serial number(s) of the aircraftused though . inboundon EastSales Radar then outbound on the radarhead ing I wasinvolved with the trialswhlist on 724 Squadronfrom late for Nowra. Estimatingthat we were gettingreasonably close to

4 Slipstream baseand still 8/8ths, Jerry said that we mighthave to go to RAAF heavysalt-water contamination in all aircraftfuel tanksrendering Richmondfor a GCAthere. Suddenly we saw a smallhole down the slide valvesalmost inoperable in the Venomfuel system. It to a shorelineand we beltedfull boredown the holefrom 30,000 washilarious watching Jim climb aboard each Venom as it landed, and cameout overthe coastsouth of JervisBay, from therewe still in the wires,armed with a hammerknocking 'seven bells' out wentlow-level to Nowra.. of the fuel controllevers all the timelooking as thoughthis was an 'Sandy'Wilson was part of the crew when we were at everyday occurrence. Lavertonand he alsothinks there were two Venomsused, if only Jim lovedto cultivateTiger Lilies.He had a Tigerin his tank becauseof the above nose-gearproblem. I'm sure otherswill thatday. havea bettermemory. ChasMorris I understandthat 'Sandy'married one of the WAAFShe met whilstwe werethere at Laverton. DearEd Daysof fun. Pleasefind encloseda few snap shots of modelAEW Gannet BarryLister 841 . If you remember, yourselfand 'Windy'Geale provided me with some informationand specificationson the originalaircraft DearEd which enablemy eldest son, Peter,who lives in Tasmania, to An articlein a recentSlipstream that grabbedmy attentionwas completethe model. aboutthe SeaVenom , pilotedby SBLT Dutch,which crashed on As you can see he hasdone a very professionaland detailed thedown-wind approach during a nightlanding. job of it. If you thinkthis may be of interestto yourreaders these • On that particularn ight I was duty at the SalvageSection , are a few facts aboutthe aircraftand who was involvedwith it sittingin the 3-tonInternational and watching the spectacleunfold . duringmy time on 816A Flight in 1965/66. I had the vehicle underwaybefore the parachutesand their occupantshad landed. Aftereveryone had inspectedthe crashsite and decidedthat nothingcould be achievedin the dark,it was decidedthat Bernie Biddleand myselfshould stand securitywatch at the site until relievedthe followingmorning . It wasan extremelycold night and we retrieveda smalltarpaulin from the recoveryvehicle to try and keepwarm. It wasthe mostmiserable night of my life! Dawneventually arrived , and so did the recoveryparty who proceededto carryout their tasks. About three weeks later, I was requestedto front the Commanderwho proceededto questionme at somelength as to The aircraftwas a 'HangarQueen ' and normallyflown by the what I had donewith the Observer's'bone dome' . Apparentlyit CO,LCDR Mike Astbury. had not beenrecovered - and - as I owneda motorbike at that TheAEO was Bert Webster (I think),the ChiefAA in 1965was time- it wasassumed that I had'nicked ' it. Alan Spearpoint, and in 1966, Don James.The maintenance Couldyou imagineanyone silly enoughto ride throughthe crew,and I can't rememberthem all, was CurlyDavenport and maingate wearing a flyinghelmet? DonCundy. Okay!Don't answer that. The aircrafthandlers were , Reg ChiefsBurgoa Bill? In 1965 NevilleCowgill and Don? in 1966. LAAH'sTony Halpinand Bill Koisk (both promotedPOAH on the first cruise1965) George Mills, Mal Fagg , DearEd SlimSutherland and myself. Theremainder I can 't puta nameto , . perhapssome of yourreaders will remember. The saga of Venom807 seemsto go on, but I feel sure the followingmay amuse. NormPickering Thepilot who thought that the forrardBofor was Fly Onewas (if memoryserve s and if not apologies)Col Patterson. As the DearEd articlein Vol 13 No2rightly states , therewas a certainamount of I wouldfirstly like to thankall the goodpeople who respondedto humdrumaround the aircraft. myrecent requests for namesand titles for my upcomingbook . The Admiralwas (againif memoryserves) Arch Harrington. SecondlyI would like to makesome commenton a recent Everyonewas havinga penn'orthof whathad happened,what to letterin Slipstreamby NormanLee . do next, andthe askinginevitable question , 'Whoseto Blame!' Giventhat he hasexperienced several incidents of somenote , Therewas a lull in the noiselevel and a voicebelonging to I wouldfirst pointout that the conditionis PTSD- notPTSS . that greatcharacter, the late ElectricalLieutenant, Bill Cousins, I wouldsay that he hasnever been in the positionof Pension's cameshattering down on the assembledexperts from the goofers, Officer.From that role I am sure he wouldhave a very different "Welldone the CAG!"The , looking rather like Mrs Brown, view of PTSDas thereare a lot of veteransout therethat have wasdefinitely not amused. experiencedfar worsethan he can imagine. Everyonehandles As an aside,the mostmemorable action that I eversaw Jim stressin manydifferent ways - no two personsare the same. Lambperform during our time togetherhappened during a day's 'Tas' Browning operationswith the DefenceMinister on board.There had beena

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DearEd DearEd After readingthe last edition of Slipstream, I feel that I must I have been readingthe 'Brief Biographyof CaptainJ A Gledhill, commenton a letterby NormanLee . I feel that he hasstirred up a DSCRAN (Rtd)' wh ich featuredin the lastedition of Slipstream. hornet'snest and that manycomments will be made. Sublt Gledhill RNZNVR,would have joined 827 NavalAir In the letter he refers to Post TraumaticStress Syndrome Squadronearly in 1943 whilst the squadronwas basedat HMS (PTSS), I presumethat he is referringto Post TraumaticStress Blackcap.At the end of December1942 to March 1943 the .Disorder(PTSD), this beingthe mostcommon disorder cla imedby squadrontook on chargeits complementof Barracuda-1 aircraft the VietnamVeteran community and others. directly off the productionline at the Fairey Aviation site at I can assurethe writerthat it is REALdisorder that has many Ringwayairfield . I was the AircraftArtificer on the squadronand symptoms,it can be treatedbut not cured.It has to be livedwith can recallSublt Gledhill. but requiresconstant care . The biography refers to the squadron having '.. suffered To flippantlysuggest that he couldget 'half a millionbucks' if seriouslosses .. ' , by which,*air crews perishedwhen Barracuda-1 he hasa goodlawyer, would tend to indicatethat it is a subjecton aircraftunaccountably failed to 'pull-outof dive' and plungedin to which he hasn't done his homework.Most recognisedPTSD the sea during navigationalexerc ises. The losses occurredin suffererswind up with only a OVA Gold Card, somethingthat April/July1943 whilst the squadronwas basedat a satellitea irfield manywould forego just to havetheir healthback . to RNASCrail, HMS Jackdaw, undergoing work-up for operational Normanshould get on his kneesand thank the Lordthat he standardand developingtactical deployment of the newlyarrived has no ill effects and is still happily married. I know of many Barracuda. • suffererson their secondand third marriagesbecause of the far­ It may be of interestthat a week or so prior to 817 joining reachingaspects of the disorder.The conditiondoesn 't just disrupt Blackcapin December1942 , at Lee-on-Solen!,HMS Daedalus, all the life of the sufferer, it affectsthe wholefamily around them. ranks excused Sunday Divisionswere cleaning and greasing One of the contributingfactors for the VietnamVeterans was flyingwires of its Fairey Albacoreaircraft. Whilst carry ing out this the social stigma imposedupon them when they returnedfrom chore, a Sublt cameout of the office pronouncinga newsflash - war. Marchingthrough Sydney and beingabused by the populace, the squadronwas to be lead of tbr squadronsin conversionto the and afterwards receiving the many taunts from the 'great Barracuda. Revelry and frolic followed spontaneouslythat unwashed'who should have known better. Something,I might morning. add, that still goes on to this very day in smallerdoses . Thiswas 827 NavalAir Squadronwas the first squadronto be basedat somethingthat didn't occur when the KoreanWar forces made Blackcap,at which time constructionwork was ongoing . All station theirheroic return to theirhomeland . handswere turned-toaround the airfield perimeteras the twelve To correctthe misconceptionthat the writerholds, I wouldlike Albacore's landed, guiding the aircraftto the hardstanding of the to suggesta few books that .may improvehis outlook on the site it wasto occupy. The approachto the site requiredthe aircraft subject. to doubleback off the perimetertrack , the squadronSenior Pil ot spottedwhat could be a short cut across the intervening grass THECARLA EVANS TRILOGY area and cameto a suddenstop as his aircraft suddenly sankt o Trauma,Tears and Time(Anecdotes by ArmyVets.) its axles. The remaininga ircraft, taking their lead from the SP, MostlySailors (Anecdotes by NavyVets.) finishedup .in the samepickle . Wingsof Support(Anecdotes by Air ForceVets) Appletonchurch and ihe Thorn pub were insidethe station Theyare availablefrom the CanberraWar Museum boundary.The latter servingeffect ively as messfor all squadron ., Clinical books put out by the OVA are: PTSD and War personnel, each in their respectivenooks . The publican,w ith RelatedStress - and - a book especiallyfor the wives and familyassistance , including grandmother,going flat-out to cope. childrenentitled, 'I thoughtit wasjust me'.These last two are GeorgeChadwick availablefrom the VietnamVets CounsellingService in Canberra * aircrews... the aircrewswere e xperiencedin that theyhad at: GasIndustry House, 7 - 9 MooreStreet , Canberra,ACT . been embarkedwith the squadronin HMS Indomitableduring If after readingthis materialhe believesthat some veterans raidson Petsamo, Finland(occupied by the Germaninvasion) , the don't have PTSDand are just screwingthe government, then he Indian Oceandur ing the invasionof Madagascar, Pedestalconvoy hasno compassionfor his fellowveterans. operationthrough the WesternMediterranean to Malta, and KW Camm replacement aircrews joining for their first operational appointment. DearEd It seems a pity that NormanLee should choose to sully our DearEd magazinewith a bombasticletter on what could be a very The photoof the RAN Sea King flight in the UK on Page 18 of sensitiveissue to some of our association'smembers and other SlipstreamVol 13, No2,is locatedat RNASCuldrose. The hangar readers.'Ex-birdie PhD' has addressedmore appropriatelywhat markingof B4 locatesit on the Bravosite whichis the NE corner seemsto be the sameor closelyrelated subject. of the airfield. Manyan ex-serviceassociation has allowedissues based on I arrivedat Culdroseiri 1981and the RANflight had left by 'creed', 'culture', 'rank', 'what war', 'we had it harder', etc, to that time. dominatetheir proceedingsand they havesplintered and become RogerEaton lessrelevant. (Ex RN Sea Kingnow RANSea King) RobertRay [Thefollowing letter has additional information. Ed]

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DearEd DearEd Withregard to SlipstreamVol 13,Number 2, page18. It waswith regret that I readof the passingof myold Gannetpilot, The photoof the RAN Sea King Flight,UK was taken at GordonMcPhee, and I sendmy condolences to hisfamily. RNASCuldrose (B Site to be precise)early in 1975 (probably Gordonwas the SeniorPilot of 817 Squadronat Culdrosein February)if my fadingmemory serves . We had takendelivery of 1955- 56 with Gannetaircraft, his aircrafthad Callsign 'B' 435 threeaircraft and were in the finalstages of workingthe flightup with Serial No. WN-458.This aircraftwas deliveredfrom the priorto returnto Australia.The Flight was packed up in Marchand FaireyAviation Company in August 1955. Lt Palmerwas his we all returnedto Oz in April1975 to reformat Nowra. Observerand SLT Bob Whitten was the Tel. I was the LeadingPilot's Mate and Phillip'Bats' Lee was my offsider.The enclosedphotograph of the aircraftwith all the nameson the sideshows why MervWillis nicknamed the aircraft 'TheFlying Muster Board'. It wasthe onlyaircraft on the squadron to havefive nameson the side after the 'Batman'conned 'Prof Edwardsinto adding his nameto the list.

Theaircrew were as follows: Frontrow, left to right:Rodger Cooper, Rocky Stone, John Wilkie,Tony Baker,Pat Arthur, Carl Daley,Andy Craig (SP), EddieBell (CO),Bob Ray (SOBS),Peter Hart (AEO),Peter Ey, PaulFothergill, Alex Wright, John McCaw, 'Susie' Wong. SecondRow, left: Peter Andrew,2nd from right: Bob Tingey,Right: LoftyKimpton RearRight: Bill Hamstra, 2nd from Right: 'Budgie' Parrott The rest of the teamare all very familiarbut I fear the years havetaken a toll of my memory.The Museum could probably fill in someof the blanks. The'Flying Muster Board' AndyCraig andBill Strahan

DearEd I wasnever very keen on flyingand I didn'tfly in 435whilst in FAITH - Faith begins as an experimentand ends as an UK,however, I did go up in the 'flagship'310 (Don James' aircraft) experience.(Dean WR.Inge 1860-1954) with the CO, LTCDR Gledhill.The aircraftdeveloped vibration Thescene is CornwallUK in November1961. The activity is a problemsover Cornwallso it was a short flight - that aircraft wetwinching practice for newlytrained aircrew. becamethe 'hangarqueen' . Dressedin immersionsuits and suitablybriefed, the aircrew Theychanged the Callsign on 435 to 314Y,then 314M whilst were handed Mae Wests from the SE Section and hastily in the UK. The aircraftwas the first RANAS1 Gannetto havea despatchedto the waiting SAR chopper.Three of us were doublestarter change courtesy of BrianGilroy, 'Kanga ' Bounds, droppedindividually 500 metresapart, without dinghies, (3) three GilbertNixon and myself. milesoff thecoast near Predannack. Whilston the first trip 'up top', one of the enginesfailed and The SAR helo crew were 'new boys' and had difficulty ratherthan risk a singleengine landing on board,the aircraftwas recoveringpeople from the water in the prevailingconditions (cold , divertedto Darwin.A crewwas sent ashoreto changethe ECU, wet, windy)After the secondaviator was winchedu~ the helo theylater received a 'verywell done' from Captain Gatacre . approachedme andthe winchmancalled out that the aircraftwas low on fuel and mustreturn to base. I couldn'ttell him that the I 'paidoff ' afterthat cruiseand re-enteredthe servicein 1959 as a singletrade - Engines.By this time 435, 314,WN 458 had MaeWest I had been given was faulty and would not remain become888NW on 725 Squadronand laterthat yearcrashed and inflated,I was therefore dependant on the air in the immersionsuit to keepme afloat. burnedwhilst the pilot was attemptingsingle engine landings on the East / West runwayat Nowra. Unfortunatelythe pilot was Thingsgot worse.My immersionsuit was leaking.... I can't killed in the accident.It was also a sorry end for my favourite explainthe feelingI hadseeing the helicopterdisappearing in the aircraft. failing light and not knowinghow long it would be before it returned. Youwill forgive me if I say I hada 'sinkingfeeling"! Someof my flyingexperiences are still well remembered.In late 1954,just after I receivedmy Pilots' Mate 'Certificateof Bythe time I waswinched up my immersionsuit was full up to Competence'(for whichwe werepaid the princelysum of a half­ my knees.Yes, I hadfaith in my rescuers,but I certainlyalso had pennyan hour - one shillinga day for doing the work of four a betterunderstanding of the expression'pucker up'! trades)I was on 851 Squadron,which was equippedwith fifteen Fromthat day on, you haveno ideahow much time I spentin Fireflyaircraft. checkingall my own safetyequipment before flight. In a later Doug Stone and I were 'bludging'(not Stand Easy).in the incidentoff Newcastle,NSW, it reallypaid off . crewroomwhen the Senior Pilot, Col Wheatley,came 1n. He Newboys take note - thereis a lessonhere. barked,'Strahan, get a parachuteand get in the backof Stone's DonMcLaren (Continued on page 8)

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aircraft(274)' . 'Stone,when we get backyou get a parachuteand Enclosedis a photographof the Station Flight apronat HMS get in Strahan'saircraft (267)' . 8/ackcap,RNAS Stretton in Cheshire,some twenty miles from We took off and wentsouth to Ulladullaand thenover Jervis Manchesterand Liverpool. In the photocan be seenPO Fox with Bay,buzzing up all the beachesalong the way. I was neverso artificersof thefi rst RANFAA Air Artificers' Coursein early 1949. pleasedin my life to eventuallyland and step on to terra firma I was draftedto Strettonfollowing service on 816 NavalA ir onceagain. I believethat DougStone felt the sameas I did when Squadron1946 - 48 aboard HMS Ocean, and assigned1/ C he eventuallyreturned. StationFlight. After the short flight I had experiencedin the Gannetat Entering the officeone morning, I wasmet with a roomfu ll of Culdrose,I eventuallywas gameenough to experiencea launch menin uniformbear ing the AUSTRALIAflash on their sleeves. fromthe shipw ith Phil Rowethe pilot.We flew over Rabauland Straightaway , sectionand messesli venedup . The Stretton some of the islands near New Guinea and it was all very part of Cheshirefeatured the countrysideand leafy lanestha t enjoyable-except for the shotoff the booster. typify an aspectof England. TypicalEnglish country pubs were I didn't fly again until I was draftedto 817 Squadronon alsodotted around and Stationbicycles were avai lablefor trips to Wessexhelicopters and embarkedand disembarkedseveral andfrom them . times. I fell out withthe AEO,or maybeI was'skidded' by another HarryGibson , a giantin statureand role modelof nature, on CPO,and endedup spendinga weekendin Sydneyand on the one occasion, whilst his companions were holdingup the bar, Stalwartat seafor 'familyday' , whichdidn 't do muchfor one. steadiedhimself by applyingone handto the ceiling. Realising Whilston Wessexas MU Chief, I was often askedby the that his sweatypalm had marked the ceiling, he pointedit out to • SeniorPilot if I wantedto go on maintenancetest flightsafter an the publicanand made his apology. The publicanwaved his engineor majorcomponent change. I alwaysr eplied, 'I'll go if you apologiesaside and was being taken by the handprint, had a giveme a directorder' . I nevergot one! circle drawnaround i t. Other publicanshea ring of the featured The lastflight I had wasin the Dakota(N2-43) in 1975. I had handwere quite envious . beento Nowrato learnhow to run the engineswith BobSkinner . Whilstat Stretton, GordonFoale courted and married Wren The Dakotawas to be flown 'Mobi-land' (HMASNirimba) as a JosieStewart of the Captain's Secretary's Office. Don Hanrahan trainingaid for the MOBls.[Naval apprentices were known as the wasa particular friendand all weregood company . Most ObjectionableBastards lmagineable -hence MOBI. Ed] . Two pilots, alongwith LT Robband myselfflew up the coastto SydneyHeads and eventuallylanded on the old airstrip at QuakersH ill. It was a mostpleasant flight compared with myfirst onein theold Firefly. The letter from Jim Parsonsregarding the old Vengeance broughta smile to my face. I served aboard her with 808 Squadronfor a timeand lived?in messdeck102 which was one of thosehe mentioned.I often think of the timeswhen we wouldbe havingbreakfast at the messdecktable when the late arisers, sleepingin hammocksabove us , woulddescend upon the table, oftenin the 'bollocky', and upsetthe routine.It wasn't myfavour ite shipeither, Jim . Finally,Sea VenomWZ904 (898) at Syd Beck's Museumat Mareeba.I am pretty certain that this aircraft was on 724 Squadronin the mid - 1960s. It returnedfrom service at DeHavilandsto Nowraand whenthe undercarriagewas selected to the 'down'position for landing, one wheelfailed to cooperate Whilstserving on HMS Vengeancein late 1951on a much becauseof a rivetingdolly that had beenleft in the wheelwel l. I enjoyed' number', I wasdrafted off whenthe shipwas taken out of had just becomea MechII , and with Peter Hill, had the job of commission for preparation for transferto the RAN. repairingit. We changedthe tip tank, the ECUand a coupleof In early 1952a signalcalled for volunteersfor loan service enginepanels and it was serviceableonce again. Ian Stilton withthe RANand I mademy application. Taking passagein RMS fathomedout how the problemhad originated . Malojain the weekof my 30thbirthday, a singleChief A ir Artificer, I don't thinkanything happened to anyoneat DeHavillands. ableand ready for the coming experience. BillStrahan Five weeksaccommodation in a P and O liner madefor a goodstart, a luxurywith whichthe passageby airline can in no DearEd waymatch. I wastruly honoured to havevoyaged in companyw ith emigrant'Porns '. In the natureof living in the UK at the time, it Mytime whilst on loanto the RANFAA at Nowraincluded but the neededspirit to 'up and off to a farawayland, splitting fam ilies oneChristmastide and the heavyrain was the bogey. whichof the day had knownclose t ies and close-by dwelling, tq I had an invitationfrom Don Hanrahanto spend my one­ pioneerthe immensedevelopments in Australiaof this day week's leaveat Melbourne. HeeGray was travelling there with his Today, fifty years on from preparationto leavethe UK for wife,Jen , andbaby Robert, and offered me a lift in theircar . Australia, I can reflect on an eventful, well-spentcommissio n Crossingthe many creeks on the route and encountering servedwith the RAN. bridgesa foot or so underfast-flowing waters whilst I walked GeorgeChadwick aheadof thecar.

8 Slipstream

DearEd DearEd I am not a memberof yourAssociation, but duringa visitto your A friendof minerecently gave me a coupleof issuesof Slipstream beautifulcountry a friend loaned me a copy of Slipstream and was stunned,to say the least,when a photographvirtually magazine.As a veteran of two conflicts,I thought that the leaptoff the pageat me. It was of suchthree photographs that I followingmight be of interestto yourreaders. have in an old photo album. [Fleet Air Arm Rifle Team on Thisis a Jetterwritten by an Americancitizen and published in Melbourne'sflight deck . Ed] a TampaNewspaper . I am enclosingone of the photographsand hopethat it may 'IMMIGRANTS,NOT AMERICANS,MUST ADAPT - I am bring backsome other memories to other' birdies'. tiredof this nationworrying about whether we are offendingsome individualor theirculture. Since the terroristattacks on September 1954-HMAS VENGEANCE· FAA CHAMPION RIFLE TEAM 11, we haveexperienced a surgein patriotismby the majorityof L-R: 'Sacks'Middleton -'Tex' Millar- Bill Mcfarlane- 'Weed'Smith - Americans. BrianCarroll - 'Rastus'Park - FreddiePhillips - LTCDR Duffy However,the dust from the attackshad barelysettled when the 'politicallycorrect' crowd began complainingabout the possibilitythat our patriotism was offending others. I am not againstimmigration, nor do I holda grudgeagainst anyonewho is seekinga betterl ife by comingto America.Our populationis almost entirely comprisedof descendantsof immigrants. However,there are a few thingsthat thosewho haverecently cometo our country,and apparentlysome born here, need to understand.This idea of Americabeing a multiculturalcommunity hasserved only to diluteour sovereignty and our nationalidentity. As Americans,we haveour ownculture, our ownsociety , our own language,and our own lifestyle.This culture has been developedover centuriesof struggles,trials, and victoriesby 1 have to correct'Weed' Smith on a coupleof points,my millionsof menand women who have sought freedom. ServiceCertificate ind icatesthat I didn'tjoin Vengeanceunt il 1954 - also- in spiteof everyoneand his dog tryingto add eitheran We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, 'S', an 'E',or 'ES'to my surname, it remainsas PARK! Japanese,Russian, or anyother language. Therefore , if youwish to becomepart of oursociety , learnthe language! I can rememberthe earliereditions of Slipstreamwhich were 'In God We Trust' is our nationalmotto. This is not some muchsmaller than the currenteditions. They were aboutpocket Christian,right wing, politicalslogan. We adoptedthis motto size and had about sixteen pages. Amongst a lot of old memorabiliaI still have the draft of an article I wrote for the becauseChristian men and women, on Chri::\tianprinciples, foundedthis nation,and this is clearlydocumented. It is certainly magazinein those days, it was about Skydiving, I can't recall whetherit was ever published.Please send me an application appropriateto displayit on thewalls of our schools.If Godoffends you,then I suggestyou consider another part of the worldas your form to join the Associationand I'll see if I can startcatching up newhome, because God is partof ourculture. withsome big gaps. Gwen, the secretaryof our local VietnamVet's Branch, If Starsand Stripesoffend you, or you don'tlike UncleSam, commentedthat it wasa lovelyname for a servicemagazine . thenyou should seriously consider a moveto anotherpart of this planet.We are happywith our cultureand have no desireto Barry'Rastus' PARK change,and we reallydon't care how you did thingswhere you camefrom. DearEd Thisis OURCOUNTRY, our land,and our lifestyle. Our First PeterCleaver, ex-FAA , sent me these photographsof the RAN Amendmentgives every citizen the right to expresshis opinion Trackersin a verysorry state . andwe will allow you every opportunity to do so. Theyare In a hangarat the WestSale airport. But, once you are done complaining,whining, and griping PeterDoyle aboutour flag, our pledge,our nationalmotto, or our way of life, I highlyencourage you to take advantageof one other great Americanfreedom; THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.' PS:I reckonthe samesentiments apply to Australia! DwightJackson AircraftHandlers Mini Reunion Thereis to be a MiniReunion for 'BirdieHandlers' at the GoodnaRSL (llld) at 11 am Saturday09 NOV02. Don'tforget to bringyour partners along for this luncheon/reunion.All welcome. Fordetails contact, Terry 'Boxer' Banks on (07)4128 0187

9 Slipstream

DearEd b. stressreaction which incapacitates in the shortterm-renders Firstly,I wouldlike to thankNorman Lee for his contributions,not the personunable to functioneffectively in the unitrole for a only for his thoughtsthrough Slipstreamthereby giving an relativelyshort period of time(72 hours); or , enjoyment/pointsto ponderto many old and not so old Navy c. posttrauma reactions -incapac itatingto the extentthat the types, butalso for his deedsover many years . I suspecthe comes personis unableto performnormal unit duties and where the to mind to many of us wheneverthe conversationturns to symptomsare expected to lastbeyond the force operational leadershipby example. His contribution to the FAA,the RANand holdingarea policy , i.e. longterm. Australiaover many years has, like so many other Korean veterans,been underrated and has gone largely unrecognised. Interestingly,studies indicate that there is no correlation I wouldlike to makesome comments about what Norm refers between the observed response category at the time of to (in SlipstreamVol 13 issue 2) as post traumaticshock operationalstress , with symptomsand disabilitiesthat may syndrome,or as others put it, Post TraumaticStress Disorder developlater on in life. In other words there seemsto be no {PTSD).I do so withthe thoughtthat to someof yourreaders may mechanismwhich will allow for the prediction of a disability by notbe familiar with issues of PTSD, and PsychologicalCasualties . categorisinghow an individualreacts at the combatscene . In fact Some peoplehave suggestedto me that these terms are a there have been a numberof well-documentedcases wh ere a pseudomammafor skulking, shirkingor avoidingone's duty. That combatanthas suffered disablement later in life whenhe /shew as is not the case. PTSD is a genuinedisorder, defined as a noted,even decorated , for braveryunder fire . Otherstudies have psychiatriccondition as describedin the Diagnosticand Statistical identifiedindividuals who were categorised as catatonicor Manualof AmericanPsychiatry Associat ion, ICDCode 309 .81 completelyunresponsive but who went on to, become' good • PTSD may developas a result of being a psychological soldiers', or did notsuffer psychological after effects or disabilities, casualtycaused through operationalstress. By operational evenlater in life stress,I meanthe array of effectscaused by the stressorsof Operationalstress is not a modernwarfare affliction. The militaryoperations , and in this context, it refersto a temporaryor incidenceof operationalstress is well documented. In WorldWar lastingpsychological imbalance causing a markedreduction in an 1 it wasknown as ShellShock , laterit wastermed Battle Fatigue . individualsability to functioneffectively . In WorldWar 2, about23 per cent of American Armycasual ties Operationalstress is not all negative.Stress responses are sufferedfrom psychological disorders . In combatunits the figures adaptivein that they enablean individualto concentratethe ir full were much higher, particularly when fighting was intense. For· attentionon a particularthreat, and to mobilisephys ical and examplethe 2°d ArmouredDivision in fighting for 44 days, mental energy in responseto that threat. However,stress reported54 per cent of total casualtieswere combatstress reactionscan become maladaptiveif they are sustainedor casualties. In 1943 US Army psychologicalcasualty discharges inappropriatelyattended to. exceededthe numbersconscripted. An Australianexample is I have heardoperational stress defined as the reactionsof Tobrukwhere the 2/4 Gen. Hospital Neurosis Clinictreated 207 normalpeople to abnormalsituations . Prettymuch common sense casualtiesin 3 months,and in one month half of all hospital I suspect.Most people, particularly those who havee xperienced admissionswere due to self infiictedwounds . Israelipsycholog ical combat, will agreethat importantlessons from historyshow that casualtiesin the 1973 Arab-Israeliwar were estimatedto be operationalstress reactionsare an inevitableconsequence of around30 per cent of total battlecasua lties, althoughof the first militaryoperations, and, all individualsare susceptibleto its 1500 casualties of the war some 900 were psychological effects. By now I suspectmost peopleare alreadyth inkingthat casualties, reflecting the intensityof combatin the first 48 hours. thisis the casewith ~ stressfulincidents in life, andthe exposure After the Vietnamwar some 30 per cent of veteranswere to experiencesin combatare just somethingthat needsto be estimatedto have dysfunctionalpsychological reactions, and dealtwith, then people need to get on withtheir lives. about15 per cent still experiencethose currently. I suspectthat I wholeheartedlyagree . However, I am sure we also agree higher rates of operationalstress casualties are inevitable, but that a particularexperience can affectdifferent people in different much data was hidden due to misreporting, assessmentas ways.RAN Senior Leadership courses are taughtthat operational disciplinecases , or managementwith in the unit. In preparations stressis, by it's very nature,an inevitablepart of operationsand for the GulfWar, UnitedStates forces planned on 25 per cent of it's effectscan manifestfrom none , to acuteor chronicreactions. the force to be operationalstress casualties . The fact that these Operationalstress affects individualsin four broad areas: did not occur does not necessarilyreflect the fact that the war emotionally,physically, mental ability, and behaviour.Responses fighting was less intense than was expected. An obtainable canrange from: objective,a decisivevictory , popularsupport and the resultant high morale, beliefin technologicalmay havecontributed to the a. LowLevel-irritability, fearfulness ; lownumbers of operationalst resscasualties . b. Mild-slowed responsiveness, self medication; to Anothermost important element in the reductionof operational c. SevereCombat Stress Reaction-autism,catatonia , and/or stress casualtiesduring the was the very effective completeunresponsiveness. individual and unit trainingand preparationcombatants ( and supportelements) rece ived.Tra ining is consideredby manyto be Threecategories are identifiedfor the managementof operational the mosteffective and efficientway of reducingoperational stress stress: casualties. Although morale is the foundation, training and leadershipare consideredthe majorelements in givingcombat forceseffectiveness and sustainability . a. transientstress response-adverse stimuli of the operational environment,distressing but not dysfunctional; Althoughunit and individualtraining is highlightedby the RAN and AustralianArmy leadershipcourses as the mainingredient

10 Slipstream whichcan be mosteasily addressed, other elements also come Rehabilitationand CompensationAct 1988. TheseActs are a into play. Increasedindividual risk factors includelow level of complexlegal minefieldand anyoneseeking assistance through education,low motivation,part time/Reservist/ new chum. Another schemes administeredthrough these Acts would need the majorrisk factor which impacts commanders is 'age'-it seemsthe servicesof a legallytrained advocate. The MilitaryCompensation olderyou are,the higherthe risks.This element is mostimportant Act 1994 and VeteransEntitlement Act 1986 presentlyprovide for commanderswhen they assess themselvesfor signs of compensationpackages-including retraining, for our currentADF operationalstress -poor concentration, memory lapses, intrusive personnel. thoughtsand, most importantly, rigid thinking. FrankEyck. PresentAustralian Defence Force leadershipis now very muchaware of the effectthat operational stress can haveon their DearEd unit's effectiveness.Management procedures are in place to Alwaysenjoy readingSlipstream, everything stops until I have ensurethat these challengesare kept to a minimum. Combat readall lettersto the editorand then the rest is digestedin slow leadersare nowmuch more aware of 'preventative'management time(like a fine wine). practises:training and educationissues, continuing care during deployment,and pre returnand post return debriefings and follow I am forwardinga coupleof photographs,the Wessexis from up now takes place.I suspectnot just a tick in the box for the an earlystart of my careerwith NavalAviation . Thesecond is the caring/sharingmodern ADF but skilful managementand Airframesand Enginesinstructional team and somemembers of leadershipof a very valuable,long lead time assets-trained the 'Sea King FlightUK' at WestlandsUK, and the third is a Sea motivatedpersonnel, which must not be squandered. King operatingfrom HMASManoora during First of ClassFlight Trials.[Remainder of photographson Pages18-19. Ed] AlthoughI havementioned the currentthoughts on operational stressmanagement at the operationaland supportlevel, I ask your readersto extrapolatethe effectsand experiencesover the period of many years by those who were unfortunateto experienceoperational stress in less enlightenedtimes . The treatmentof psychologicalcasualties should take placea s soon as possible,preferably at the operationallevel, to minimiseits ; ~ • ...1-:, . detrimentaleffects. The lastingeffects of operationalstress are mostlikely to manifestas PTSDif symptomsare ignored,and/or as the individualaffected gets older.Co-morbidity of depression, 1,,*= substanceabuse, self-medication, and acutestress disorder can \ all add to the massthat finallypushes a veteraninto the PTSD category. Havingpresented some words for the acceptanceof PTSDas a legitimatediagnosable disorder let me go on by statingthe following:I believeindividuals need to play the cards that fate deals them. I believe individualsneed to learn from their experiencesand not allowexperiences to holdthem back. People WESSEXat RANAS needto strivefor theirwell being and should take responsibility for TrevorEppis on the servicingplatform and theirhealth. However, I alsoknow that for all sortsof reasonsit is L-R:Unknown and 'Larry' Kent not in our Nation'sinterest to let those who are permanently impairedby the effectsof combatwhilst in our Armed Forces For the past four years I have been hiding away in the duringthe defenceof Australiaand her interests,should struggle AmphibiousTransport (LPA) Projectas the AviationOperations withthose effects without recognition or help. Officer,responsible for the installationof the aviationfacilities on I do not havean opinionon the prosand cons, or the ethicsof HMASManoora and HMASKanimbla . I am workingwith Adrian large sum cash payoutto veteransmaking claims againstthe Pay, DerrickFrew and a cast of many from the FleetAviation Commonwealthfor PTSD. HoweverI must point out Australian Office,Aircraft Maintenance and Flight Trials Unit and the Director legislation,under the Veterans'Entitlements Act 1986, prevents GeneralTechnical-Rotary Wing 3 (the old Ships Bases and lumpsum payment to veteransclaiming any disabilityas a result FacilitiesSection of DAVENG-N).We have establishedtwo of operational_service.(Within this context,generally, a person amphibiousplatforms capable of takingto sea andoperating four shallbe takento haverendered operational service if that person Blackhawkor threeSea King helicopters. was injured,or contracteda disease,or death occurred,as a My congratulationsto CMDREGoble for a great reunionat resultof enemyaction while the personwas renderingcontinuous Campbelltownand to see, but not talk to, Jim Lee (a busyman). full-timeservice as a memberof the DefenceForces of Australia Jim was my instructoron my NavalAirman's Course, little did I ( WW1 & 2), or allotted for duty (Korea, Malaya,Malaysia, knowwhat great times lay aheadafter completionof that course. Vietnam).) Fireflys,Gannets, Sea Venoms,Vampires, Dakota , Wessexand I expectany lump sum P <")rn entsmade for PTSDto a veteran SeaKing, I got to workon themall. would be as a result of legal proceedingstaken under the Now being involvedwith getting multi-spotships to sea, CommonwealthEmployees Compensation Act 1948, or the althoughnot on an AircraftCarrier, we are headingin the right Compensation(Commonwealth Government Employees) Act direction. I am now preparingto leave the DefenceMaterial 1971or later,the CommonwealthEmployees Rehabilitation and Organisationand head north to warmerpastures CompensationAct 1988 subsequentlyrenamed the Safety, David'Larry' Kent

11 Slipstream

~ 1(6 S>qUJca1dr(Q)rr=u= R(Q)rca1~AUJ~~rca1~~ca1rr=u lNJca1~ 02(0)(0)1 ~ rr=u R®~f(Q)~[P®(C~ 0

816 Squadronis based at Naval Air Station Nowra (HMAS Tactical Coordinator (TACCO) and an ~ ~. -.~ );ft,,.. Albatross)on the New SouthWales south coast, some 100km Aircrewman as the Sensor Operator ~ south of Sydney. It operatesthe S-708-2Seahawk helicopter, (SENSO). Operationsare conducted at low providingthe Navy with a formidableweapon system. The level over water by day and night in most~-----~ Seahawkoperates both autonomouslyand in direct supportof weatherconditions. tactical operationsat sea, which expands the war fighting During 2000, 816 Squadronhad been involvedin force capabilitiesof the parentship well beyondthe horizon.Nowra i s protectionwork in EastT imar, primarily in providingArmy support the principlebase for deep maintenanceactivity and training for the internationalforce in the OeucssiEnclave . Having just (whichalso includes the simulatorsand part task trainers). Shore moved into new hangar and administrationfacil ities, 2001 basedoperation s are also conductedin WesternAustralia from appearedto be an opportunityfor solid trainingof new aircrew. the HelicopterSupport Facility at HMASStirling near Fremantle. The year 2001began with a formation flypastin Sydneyon New Embarkedoperations are conductedfrom both the ADELAIDE Year's Day (FederationDay) and becameprogressive ly busier ClassFFG and ·ANZACClass FFH . from that point. Other early major commitmentsincluded the 816 Squadron has successfullymaintained its training establishment of a new ship's Flight (some 8 monthsearly) , throughputwhile providing widely dispersed operational support to standard Flight deploymentsaround the Indian and Pacific embarkedFlights and detachmentsspread across the Australian Oceans and events in support of Australia'sCentenary of continent,from the ArabianGulf, India, and SE Asia including Federation. Vietnamand HongKong. At its peakthe Squadronwas operating Earlyin January, the Squadronwas told to prepareto deploy sevenaircraft off six ships. two aircraftin an FFGdep loying to the SolomonIs landsin support The total fleet comprises16 airframesof which 816 SON of the InternationalPeace Monitoring Team . Aftera rapidwork-up currentlyoperates 7 aircraftwith 6 operatedby ships Flights/ HMAS NewcastleFlight embarkedwith two Seahawksand. Detachments.The Squadronand Flights are expectedto fly manpowersupplementation from the Squadron. Operationsin the around4000 hours in 2001. This will be achievedwith aircrew Solomon's were to demanda significantpart of the Squadrons manningat 85% for instructorsand 15%for "staff' aircrew, and resourcesfor most of the year with the rotation of ships and maintenancemanning of 70% qualifiedpersonnel. Operational Flights on station. This was associated with extendedworking levelmaintenance is integralto the Squadronand Flights. Flight hours,particu larlyfor the maintenanceteam . manning is at 100% for maintenancepersonnel. Total Duringthe first four monthsof the year, there was barelya maintenancepersonnel manpower is 160men and women which weekendwithout some flying or maintenanceact ivity takingp lace. includestrainees and embarked personnel(10 per Flight). The attitudeof the personnelwas exemplary. (Typical of this was Aircrewnumbers are 53 personnelof which15 are undertraining the nightwatch, who turn-to at 1400; on one occasion werestill at and 24 with embarkedFlights (current complement of 4 aircrew workat 0600the next day whenthe morningwatch arrived . They persingle aircraft Flight with 6 on multiaircraft Flights) . had refusedto go homeunt il the aircraftrequired that day were Theaircraft's primary roles are UnderSea Warfare (USW) and fixed. It has not beenunusual for maintenancepersonnel to turn­ SurfaceWarfare (SUW) . Secondaryroles includeutility, SAR/ to duringthe ir weekendstand down to assistthose who wereon MEDEVACand Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) duty, or voluntarilywork extended hours to ensureaircraft are operations. The typicalcrew is one pilot, an Observeras the available.It reachedthe pointwhere personnel had to be told to ~------, go home because they presented a possible fatigue hazard.) In March

J" - ...... , _,, ,_ - '- '- . -- -· -· - ...,·- --'-

12 Slipstream first day the maintainerswere marshallingand conductingrotors· ExtraBits runningrefuels in the darkand torrential rain, however were keen • In 2000fisheries protection operations were conducted in the to greetthe aircrewas soonas theystepped from the aircraftwith extremesub-Antarctic waters around Heard Island,south a "G'daysir, how'sit goingout there? Are we winning?"During westof Australia. the flood relief operationsthe Seahawksof 816 Squadron conductedpersonnel evacuations, food and medicinedrops, • 816 Squadron and embarked Flight Seahawkshave MEDEVACs,flood reconnaissance and road/bridge surveys. participatedin a large numberof SAR/humanitarianrelief In May the new HMASANZAC Flight embarkedand after operationsincluding fire bombingduring the NSWbush fires conductingwork-up, deployed for the ArabianGulf to conduct of 1994 operationsin supportof UN sanctionsagainst Iraq. The primary Rescuesconducted during the 1998Sydney to Hobartyacht race task for the aircraft was boardingoperations via fast rope and participationin the amazing rescuesof round-the-world insertion. Followingthe terroristattacks in the USA, HMAS sailorsTony Bullimore , ThierryDubois and IsabelleAutissier. ANZAC'sdeployment was extended. The Squadronhas also beenbusy conducting trials. These AndrewWhittaker- CommandingOfficer 816 Squadron haveincluded establishment of nightvision capability for the Royal AustralianNavy, support of FLIRand ESMmodifications for the DefenceHelicopter's Magazine aircraft,and bi-static/multi-staticsacoustic sensors . It has also InternationalHelicopter Squadron of the Year2001 been busy trainingwith a significantthrough put of aircrew, Awardedto 816Squadron, involvingdeployments to Darwinand Perth (each a three day • transit)for exercisesand training asset availability. It hasalso had Part of the citationread by the Editor of DefenceHelicopter a very high public profilein promotingthe AustralianDefence Forceat majorevents throughout Australia (eg . NationalRugby Magazineat the HelipowerConference in Hanoverreads .. . LeagueFinal at StadiumAustralia and ANZACDay celebrations at MelbourneCricket Ground). 'Soyou can see 816 has beenunder particular pressure this In AugustHMAS Melbourne Flight conducted a SARmission year: Training and supportingoperations with a significant in the Solomon'sfor a missinginter islandferry with over 50 throughputof aircrew, all the whileinvolved in cross-continental peopleon board. The ferry had indeedsunk and the survivors and internationaldeployments on operationsand exercises.It werelocated by the Seahawkcrew . Twelvewere pluckedfrom thoroughlydeserves Defence Helicopter's inaugural Squadron of the waterin the first lift anddelivered to land,with a secondlift of the Yearaward.' sevenconducted before the aircrafthad to returnto "mother"with a patientrequiring medical assistance, fuel growingshort and Letterfrom the PrimeMinister nightapproaching. However, the aircraftremained on task untilit hadvectored a rescuevessel to the areato pickup the remaining Dear CommanaerWnittalcer survivors.The crew has been commended for theirclear thinking andprofessionalism in executing the rescue. It gives me great y(easure to congratu(ate you on recently 6eing awaraea the In earlySeptember the Squadronand embarkedFlights were taskedat lessthan 48 hoursnotice to deployin supportof border "Internationa( He(ic'!}'terSquaaron eftfte protectionoperations off Australia'snorth west coast, in additionto Year" 6y .Dg'ence Hdic9rer M':1'uz1'neana othercurrent taskings. Indeed some personnel received less than SfiryfieraPress. 12 hoursnotice to be on a transportaircraft to WesternAustralia I unaerstana your yast year was a a!fficufrone, with to supplementa deployingWest Coast based Flight. Up to three aryfoyments across tfie Austra(ian cpntinent ana overseas aircraft were deployedin support of this operationwith a from tfte Miaa(e East tftrougfi Soutft-East Asia to tfie continuingcommitment of a SquadronDetachment formed from aircrewinstructors and Squadron maintenance personnel. During South Pacific. At oneyoint I unaerstana you ftaa seven the deployment,the Det has had to moveships several times. aircreft '!}'Cratingfrom six Sh!)JSaryfoyea arouna the Whilethis normallytakes severaldays in port, this has been wor(a. Yours were remarlca6reachievements. conductedat sea by VERTREP. The maintenanceteam in Otfter tfian 6eing cftosenfirst among arr ef tfie particularhas beenrecommended for a commendationfor their fiunareas effie(ic'!}'ter squaarons from acrosstfte wor(a, I sterlingefforts. Withouta full embarkedmaintenance kit, they consiaer this awara even more significant 6ecause the deployedat short noticeover land to Darwin,bounced several ships and have continuedto providean outstandinglevel of criteria 6y wfiicfi you were sdectea so strongly rif(ect tfie aircraftavailability and support to operations. Austra(ian pirit. You were cfiosen not for pectacu(ar Followingthe 11 Septemberterrorists attacks in the USA,the inaiviaua( achievement, 6ut insteaafor the way everyone AustralianGovernment invoked the ANZUSTreaty and committed in 816 squaaronyeiformea to an excrytiona( (eve(. unaer forcesfor supportof US led operations. As part of this the a!fficufr conaitionsana (argdy without recognition. Squadronprepared two Flightsfor short notice embarkations. P(easeyass on my congratu(ations to eacfi ana every This involvedthe work up of the aircrewsin Nowrawhile the one efyour men ana women on 6ena!f efa(( Austra(ians. Squadronsupplied maintenance personnel to supplementactivity in WesternAustralia and a maintenancetest flying team. The Your squaaron's achievementsnave maae us affyroua. Squadronis alsoin the processof workingup twoother Flights for Fair winas anafo(fowing seas, rotationalrelief. JoftnHowara

13 Slipstream ~ ------HM A S Albatross Redeve lo pment Project

ALBATROSS TAKES FLIGHT

The HMAS Albatross Stage Two Redevelopment at Nowra in New South Wales reached a major milestone in July with practical completion and handover of the $40 million project. Bov is Lend Lease was Managing Contractor on the project, an upgrade of the naval air station, completed for Department of Defence, Co r porate Services Infrastructure Group (CSIG). ' Stage two included the design and HELICOPTER CORROSIONCON TROL FACILITY construction of a new helicopter corrosion control facility, and helicopter underwater escape trainer. The helicopter underwater escape trainer will simulate a helicopter ditching and rolling over into water , with the occupants being trained in emergency escape drills. The facility will be a valuable additi on to t he base's training facilities. Additionally, the redevelopment included an upgrade of infrastructure at the base, including, security fence, and extension of an existing taxiway pavement. Other projects included the construction of a new aircraft wash facility and visiting hardstand . Design work on stage two commenced in 2000 and construction began in June 200 I. The stage two works bring the total value of ~ the redevelopment to A$ I IO million . To date the project has been widely recognised, with industry awards includ ing category winners in each building class, as well as Project of the Year. The project has increased both the training and operational capability of Naval Air Station Nowra, bringing the facilities in line with the current Australian Defence requirements.

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CarrierAccidents USSORISKANY Two sailorsaboard the USS Oriskanywere restoringaircraft flares off-loadedfrom aircraftreturning from a missionover Vietnamon October26, 1966. One of the sailorsdropped a flare.The armingmechanism had not beenreset to "safe"and somehowthe safetylanyard was pulled.Another sailor picked up the actuatedflare, threw it intoa locker,and closed the door. Therewere 2.75 inchrocket warheads in thelocker! The flare ignited in the locker,and the heat causeda warheadto detonate,spreading the fire. Subsequentwarhead detonationssoon followed. Finally, a liquid oxygen tank exploded,killing 44 sailorsand injuring 156. Two helicopters and fouraircraft were severely damaged .

USSFORESTALL GYMNASIUM Eightmonths after the Oriskanyfire, therewas an accidenton the USSForestall. A ZUNIrocket was firedaccidentally from an aircraftbeing readied for a missionon July 29, 1967.The rocketscreamed across the ,struck another aircraft andignited a fuelfire. The initial fire couldhave been contained, but90 secondsafter the fire starteda bombdetonated, killing or seriouslywounding most of thefire fighters . The detonationruptured the flight deck,and burningfuel spilledinto the lowerlevels of the ship. Bombs,warheads, and rocketmotors exploded with varyingegress of intensityin the fire, killing 134 and wounding161 men. Twenty-oneaircraft weredestroyed After this incident, the Navy establisheda flag level committeeto pursue improvementsto the systemsused to controlf/igh _t deckfuel fires.An ordnancesafety program was alsoinitiated to characterizeflight deck fuel fires and study ways to delaythe "cook-off'times of munitions.As a result;insulation is nowapplied to somebomb casings, delaying "cook-otr times 5 to 10minutes in a fuel fire,but doesnot diminishthe violence of its explosivereaction.

USSENTERPRISE A third accidentoccurred aboard the USS Enterpriseon January15, 1969.The exhaustfrom an aircraft enginestarter unit wasdirected onto a pod containingfour ZUNI rockets. Heat caused a warheadto detonateand fragmentsruptured the aircraft'sfuel tank and ignited a fire. Threemore ZUNI warheads detonated Jess than a minute afterthe first explosion . Theshaped charges blew holes through theflight deck allowing burning fuel to invadethe lower decks. In all, therewere 18 munition'sexplosions and 8 holeswere blownthrough the flight deck. Lossestotalled 15 aircraft,28 dead,and another 344 injured .

USSNIMITZ Anotheraccident involving munitions explosions occurred on May 26, 1981 aboard the USS Nimitz.An EA-6B aircraft attemptingto land at nightstruck a helicopter,then hit another aircraftand tow tractor before coming to rest.A fuelfire erupted. Improvedflight deck fire fightingsystems quickly contained the fire, and once the fire was believedto be out, the orderwas givento startthe cleanup . As sailorsapproached the scene,a SPARROWmissile THIS EDITION OF SLIPSTREAMHAS warheadthat was buried in the debris detonated!The BEEN SPONSOREDBY BOVIS LEND explosionrestarted the fire andthree more warheads detonated C beforethe fire could be extinguished. Fourteensailors were LEASE- ON BEHALFOF THE MEMBERS killed and 39 injured.Three planeswere destroyedand nine Bovis OF THE FLEETAIR ARM ASSOCIATION Letld Lease weredamaged . OFAUSTRALIA, I THANK THEM. ED * * * •

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founderedand a newbuyer came on the scenein 1994. I 1ne F\i9ht of the 'PhoeniY.I Captain Ed Kurdziel, a Boeing 747 pilot with Northwest Airlines, and a former USNnaval aviator , exportedthe projecton DearEd a Russiancargo ship to the USA and had it deliveredto 'QG Yourphotographs on pages7 and 18 of the last edition featuring Aviationof America'at FortColl ins Airportin Colorado. the 'Fireflyon the Stick' at Griffith, NSW, and 'Bill' Baileyw ith The Firefly, also, and more correctly identifiedby the serial 'Windy'Geale stand ing by a Fireflyat Nowra, are in fact one and WB-518, had its maidenpost-restoration flight on 6thApri l 2002, the sameaeroplane . underthe commandof Don Sigourney. Don gainedhis Firefly Firstlythe photoon page 18 depictsFairey ' Firefly' WD-828 experiencein WB-271of the HistoricFlight ; yet whichserved out its time in the RAN as a targett ug (TI-6). I anotherex-RAN aeroplane that saw out its days towing targets pastthe WestHead Gunnery Range near HMAS Cerberus . suspectthat the photowas taken in 1985outside ' C' Hangarat •, Albatross, on the occasionof its first visit to Nowraas a privately By the timethat th is letterappears in Slipstream, Ed Kurdziel's owned'warbird ', followinga protractedrestoration . Fireflywill havebeen flown and displayed at the OshkoshA irshow WD-828was disposed of by the RANin 1966and finished up in Wisconsin, the largest annual gatheringof Warbirdsand in the handsof the AustralianAircraft RestorationGroup , the historicalaircraft anywhere on the planet. Ed is very proudand operatorsof MoorabbinAviation Museum in Victoria.The AARG consciousof his aeroplane'sheritage and that it representsan era commencedrebuild ing the aeroplanefor flight howeverit waslater of greatsignificance to the FleetAir Armof Australia. soldin an unfinishedstate to Mike Wanseyfrom Newcastle NSW Althoughbasically an AS-6version , Ed has rebuiltWB-518 as • whohad the rebuildfinished and test-flown in September1984 . an FR-5 of 817 Squadronserving in HMASSydney during the The aircraftvisited Albatross on severaloccasions including KoreanWar . The accompanyingphotograph was taken during the RAN's75 thAnniversary Airshow in 1986. I can be sureof one that first sequenceof test flights in Coloradoin April, beforethe thing,the photoon page18 was taken prior to December1987 , as finalapplicat ion of serial numbers,side numbers and ship 's code. in that monthWD -828 crash-landedi nto a marketgarden near CamdenAerodrome and sustainedma jor damage. The engine failedafter take-off at about 1000', and the pilot,a formerRAN seniorsailor, together with his engineerpassenger, had no option butto rideit in. It is as a resultof that incidentthat Don Robertswas ableto photographWD-828 at Griffithin Januarythis year.Many visitors to that prosperousRiverina city have seen a 'Fireflyon a stick' ./ theresince 1967,but few realisethat in the early nineties, WD- 828 was swappedfor the aeroplanethat was originally placed thereby the city fathersas a memorialto airmenthree decades earlier. WB518 Ta xiing out At aboutthe sametime that WD-828was sold by the Navy, a group of Griffith citizens were on the lookoutfor a suitable aeroplaneto erectas their memorial, and in the absenceof any Howdo I translatethe soundof that magnificentRolls -Royce availableWW-2 RAAF types, a deal was done for FaireyFirefly GriffonV 12 engineon to paper? WB-518.This was a sister-shipto WD-828,hav ing also been TerryHether ington convertedto TargetTug configuration . The wreckageof MikeWansey 's Firefly, togetherwith all the THEPEOPLE YOU MEET· OSHKOSH AIRSHOW USA 2002 spares and manuals, were sold to a Bankstownwarbird restorationcompany , who set aboutcollecting replacement parts In December1950 Antisubmarine FireflysWB518 and WD828 world-widein the hope of yet again rebuildingWD-828. After were deliveredto the Royal Australian Navy as part of 817 protractednegotiations, that includedhaving to posta substantial Squadronand the 21stCarrier Air Group. Half a worldaway and financialguarantee with the GriffithCity Counciland the local over fifty yearson, major assemblies of both aircrafthave been RSL,the new ownerswere given approvalto removeWB-518 combined to create a 'Grand Champion Warbird' at the fromthe poleand swap it for WD-828. 'ExperimentalAircraft Association's(EAA) AirVenture2002' in The latter'sfuselage was unfitfor flight so the swapi nvolved Oshkosh, Wisconsin. transferringits fuselage centre-section,from firewall to aft This year's EAA AirVenturewas FireflyWB518's first public bulkheadwith that of WB-518. Most of the other major showing after an eight year - 40,000-manhourrestoration . componentssuch as the wings and empennagefrom WB-518 Amongstthe hundredsof thousandsof enthusiastsattending went back on to the display aeroplane, the whole assembly Oshkoshwere a diversegroup of Aussies;not one knownto any receiveda fresh coat of paint and new insigniabefore being of the othersuntil that one week in July. Therewas howevera hoistedaloft again onto its perch outside the Griffith Tourist commonthread , andthis is their story. InformationCentre . Interestingly, and I guess at the Council's Kevin Arditto, a Melbourne-based LAME, was part of the insistence,the aeroplanehas retained the serialWB-518. contractor's maintenancecrew at Avalon in the 1960's who Work progressedin a hangarat Bankstownto restoreand servicedand maintained the Fireflytarget tugs. He hassupported reassemblethe compositeFirefly. A replacementengine was owner Eddie Kurdzielfor most of WB518's rebuild and justly sourcedas were numerousparts from the UK, but the project deservesthe sobriquet'Mr Gizmo'. Noquestion was too toughfor

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Kevin,nor werethose hardto get partsany problem. Duringthe airshowKevin revelled in relating'tales of yore'to anybodywilling to listen. On two consecutivedays in February1966, a youngArthur Johnsonflew as a winch-operatorin a Fireflyfrom Albatrosswhile awaitinghis pilottraining course to begin.That aircraft was WB518, whichwas attachedto 724 squadron.36 years later Kevinand Arthurwere to meet by the restoredWB518 at Oshkosh. To his greatdelight Arthur was invitedto join EddieKurdziel in the back seat of WB518for a combineddisplay ·with scoresof Mustangs, Corsairsand Hellcats. Althoughthey did not get airborne,Eddie laterreported that Arthurwas incredulousthat he was on the other side of the safetybarriers, staring at the 200,000airshow patrons who werestaring at him sittingin an aircraftthat he had flownin manyyears before. Long time RAN Historic Flight memberand former FAM NationalTreasurer Terry Hetheringtonwas also at Oshkosh,and had the great privilegeof flying in WB518with the ownerfrom Oshkoshto Minneapolis,Minnesota. Along the way, a flat tyre in Milwaukee,a formation departure with a P-51Mustang and a 2 hour photosession above the MississippiRiver with anotherMustang, a B-25Mitchell bomber and a Howard'500' executiveairliner, were justsome of the highlights. Geoff Litchfield,one-time RAN Sea Fury pilot, airlinecaptain and latterlyauthor, came along to inspectthe Fireflyand prevailed uponTerry to flog off copiesof his autobiography'Fly Boy'from the displaytable under WB518's wing on the Oshkoshflightline . Yet anothervisitor was West Australian Brian Collingridge , once a NavalAirman and then a FleetAir Armpilot , whonow is an aircraft owner/operatorand dealer from Jandakot. During the show another Aussie visitor approachedthe membersof the Fireflysupport team to proudlyboast that , as a youth,he and his schoolmates would attempt to scalethe Griffith, NSW,plinth that was the Firefly'shome from 1967 to 1991. All theseAussie visitors saw WB518at Oshkoshwith markings,rocket rails, gyro gunsightand 20mmguns, and in pristinecondition. With little imagination one couldeasily visualise it on the deckof HMASSydney being prepared to launch- some50 yearsago. The Warbird judges obviously thought along similar lines. 'OshkoshGrand Champ ion Warbird'is a fitting recognitionof the dreamand determination of a man,and the achievementof a team. At the Warbirds PresentationDinner on 27 July, in an atmospheresimilar to the Oscar Presentations,WB518 was announced'Grand Champion Post WWII'. Those present were left withno doubtAussies can be a boisterouslot andthe Britspresent addedto the din. The localsthen seemedto acceptthat it was perhapstime a non-US manufacturedaircraft won the top award and joined in too; sort of like when the AmericasCup went to Australia. In acceptingthe trophyEd modestlyspoke of the hugeeffort madeby a lot of peopleto ensurethe project'ssuccess. Terry Hetheringtonand KevinArditto were graciouslyinvited to join the rebuildteam, Ray Middletonand TimmyFries, and the aircraft's owneron the podium. Cameraflashes galore; and they all gained their15 minutesof fame.But therewere countless others who also deservedrecognition - the painter,the enginebuilder, the sheet metalworkersand the partssuppliers. Once one starts here - where do youstop? Afterward,there was time to reflecthow the thinnestof threads hadbrought everything together .

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~ MOMENTSIN TIME ,.,

•

LEFT:HMAS MELBOURNE· STORY PLEASE. (Photo AMoF) TOP: APRIL1949 - NavalProbationary Pilots at PointCook prior to postingto UKfor operationaltraining. (Photo AMoF) L-R: JR Hearps-G Eldering-J N Young-NW Knappstein- D P E Small-P R Treneman BOTTOMRIGHT : RANASNOWRA 1952 (Photo Kevin Parks) L-R: Unknown-Ron Salter -'Googie' Withers -Rob Pfennig

The avetage Navy pilot, despite the sometimes swaggering exteriot, is vety much capable of such feelings as love, affection, intimacy and ~ . .. .J caring. These feelings just don't involve anyone else. t _ '. r''. ' 1966· VA-125SQUADRON NAS LEMOORE USA JUNE2002 · OLDFRIENDS MEET UP AT THEMUSEUM ( Photo J Hetherington) Signon the squadronnoticeboard L-R:Don Park inson-Steve Beales - BarryThatcher -John Hetherington

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12 NOVEMBER1975 What'sthe story?

•

Firstof ClassFlight Trials SeaKing operating from HMASManoora (Photocourtesy David Kent)

i 2s ocT 1s1sJ1No1v1K AT JERVISBAY AIR FIELD I

I Storyplease? I I . ' ~ ., ... . NAiiy

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AUSTRALIA'SMUSEUM of FLIGHT 11.t by MarkClayton - Museum Director Thefocus on eventsat the Museumover the last severalweeks now occupiedby the MelbourneGPO . Theflat 4 design wasused has remainedon work associated with the reconfigurationof in the VW Beetleo f courseand in many pistonengine aircraft aircraftdisplays and the suspensionof someof the aircraft. We flyingtoday . havebeen talking about this for a whilenow but althoughit is an Thereis increasing interest amongformer FAA membersto easy idea to conceive, the associatedproblems need careful donatesome of theirmemora bilia to the Museumand t his is to be resolutionespecially in the context of safety. We don't want encouraged.At the momentBob Gealeis settingu p the special aircraftfalling down and haveto take everyprecaution to ensure FAAGallery which w ill featurethe carriershi p models and many thisdoes not happen. of the photographswhich were in the original NavalAvia tion We are just aboutthrough the preliminaryprocess and will Museumwhen a collection of huts, along with other FAA startsuspending aircraft early in August.Meanwhile , designwo rk memorabilia. If you have something in your locker that is is proceedingand the visitorinteractive pods, through which the representativeof someaspec t of Navalaviation and wouldbe of visitorwill be ableto call up the detailof eachof the displays,are generalin terest, hew ouldbe pleasedto hearfrom you . being built.And at last our large blue showcaseswill take on a differentappearance with somevery good graphic work on them. • So towardthe end of this year, the interiorof the Museumw ill havetaken on a differentand much more attractive appearance . We are concernedthat we havenot yet had allocatedto the Museuma Macchiaircraft -the presentarrangement is to 'borrow' one courtesyof the RANHistoric Flight. This arrangementis an interimarrangement only. The reasonfor this is that the Museum is notregarded as a Defencemuseum , neitherwas it whenknown as the AustralianNaval Aviation Museum, and this meansthat in principlewe may have to buy formernaval or Defencea ircraft and bid for them in competitionwith other organizations,which can be very expensive. We have written tci the Minister for Defenceand everyoneelse who mighthave someinfluence on givingthis Museumstatus as a Defence-related museum, which it is, and be allocatedformer naval or defenceaircraft when paid off, as partof the maintenanceof Navy's aviationheritage. Naval aviationwill alwaysbe a powerfultheme in Australia's Museumof Flightand it is obviouslyimportant to be able to maintain a wide rangingand up to datecollection . Onthe noteof 'the powerful(Naval Aviation) theme' , we hada visit by Jeff Watson, whom most might know as an aircraft enthusiasticor betterperhaps as a reporteron Getawaytravel programs. He was taskedby ChannelNine to do a programon Koreanfood but insteadpersuaded the producerthat a program on NavalAviation would be morepalatable. He camedown to the Museumthis week and spent the day with his cameramen shootingVenoms and Gannetsetc ., and the final productwhen aired will be greatpublicity for all of us - the FAAA, Museumand the Navy,as well as of greatinterest to the public. He is a good supporterof the Museumand of Navalaviation . Somevery interestingcollection items have been loanedto the Museumfrom MuseumVictoria . The Wirrawayloan reported in the last edition of Slipstream is now onboardalong with the prototypeAir Tourer,the forerunnerto the 'PlasticParrot' or CT4, WESTLANDWHIRLWIND S55 GOES INTO FULL HOVER plus some early aero engines. One of these, 'MoteurWright Courtesyof !son'scrane and Museum volunteers Ateliers' builtin Paris,was the enginethat poweredthe first flight The first WestlandWh irlwindS55 flew as long ago as November in Australia.Another, a 1910Robbins /Lock engine is a flat 4 and 1949. The Museum acquiredthis helicopterin 1992,courtesy of a was the first air-cooledhorizontal format eng ine to be flown in SeaKing airl ift fromBan kstown, anddona ted by HelimusterP/ Ltd. Australiaand, with a 40hp rating,it was at the time the most {Photo'scourtesy Tom M ac) powerfulto havebeen built in Australia. Its constructionreflects a degree of technologicalskill quite remarkablefor the time, particularlygiven the relative infancy of internal combustion "Thosewho cannot remember the pastare technologies.It was built by twoyoung motor mechanics, Robbins condemnedto repeatit." GeorgeSantayana and Lock,at Dalgety's engineeringshop whichwas on the site

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RAAFBOI. Thisis probablyreasonable as the eventsI described FORYOUR INFORMATION By RickFischer happenedtwenty years ago and Navy'scorporate memory is just not that longespecially given the FAAturmoil of the mideighties. TheF111 Board of Inquiryre: ChemicalInjury to Airmen The reasonthat the F111matters came to prominenceis thatthe workingin F111fuel tanks AND ex· FleetAir Arm Sailors aircraftin questionis still in serviceand the Airmenwere exposed RecentlyI wasdoing some work for NavySystems Command and oversuch a longtime. throughthe Defenceintranet I becameaware of the resultsof the Whetherthe sailorsI mentioned in the Quoteabove were in Boardof Inquiry(BOI) into the injuriesto Airmenresulting from fact affectedby the sameor similar chemicalsto thoseused in the chemicalexposure inside the fueltanks of F111aircraft . F111is a moot point. I usedthe sameor similarchemicals for Theterms of the BOItweaked my curiositybecause of events removingfuel tank sealant, and with my face stuckinside 885's that had occurredback in late 1983 and as a result I sent the wing for months; and as I also said in the quoteabove, similar following messageto the Air Force officer responsiblefor chemicalswere in use in the fuelcell bayat MRSin B Hangar. implementingthe BOIrecommendations . In 1983however, I recall I was moreworried about CSD oil , that swishspecial silicon compound , beingthe only otherfactor Quote:As a NavySenior Sailor on A4s,my colleaguesand I commononly to A4 sailors. wereexposed to the sameor similar chemicalcompounds when The fact is that there were allegationsof problems,whether workingin and aroundresealing of A4 fuel tanks.No protection Pussersactually followed up on the matterI don'tknow. Arguably , from the aromaticswas provided. Indeed, I don't recall any if therehad beensome sort of resultthe FAAmay have made a • "Cautions"in the Navair maintenancepubl ications. submissionto the F111 BOI (but then again lack of corporate In additionthe sailorswho workedon S2 and Seakingrubber memory). fuelcells were exposed to chemicalsidentical to thoseused in the The advice I receivedin replyto the correspondencequoted repairof integraltanks . aboveis as follows: Themain reason for bringthis to your attentionis that on my • the BOI recommendationImplementation team were not the return from Navy Office to Nowra in 1983 as the WO(E)for appropriateauthority to handle the matter as their terms of HS817, someof my previouscolleagues from VC724and VF805 referenceonly extendedfrom after the BOI,that NAVSAFE(i.e raisedthe matterof an allegedleukaemia cluster among young the currentOH&S authority for Navy)has beenmade aware of blokes who had been my sailors on 724, all were almost the matter,and exclusivelyA4 sailors. • all sailorswho might be affected,or mightbe experiencing Thishad occurred while I had beenin Canberrafrom 1980till unexplainedsymptoms will needto be advised,and will needto late 1983. Eitherin late '83 or early '84. I raisedthe matterat a contactthe Departmentof VeteransAffairs . personalinterview with CommodoreDadswe/1, CO of Albatrossat the time. I am not aware of any progress or any further The last dot point, and what for me has becomesome investigationbecause I paid off shortlyafterwards. I assumethat unfinishedbusiness is the reasonfor this article. becauseof the turmoilin the Navy'sFleet Air Arm at the timethis 'Readerswho worked on A4sor in the MRStank bay and mattermay well have fallen down the cracks.Unquote who may havebeen exposed need to be awarethat health Fallendown the cracks?I don'tas yet know. However,I was problemsthey have,or maydevelop, may be directlyrelated advisedthat Navy,the FleetAir Arm madeno submissionto the to thosechemicals used during their FAA service.'

ADVICEFOR SELF FUNDED RETIREES MOREADVICE. .. Beerand the stockmarket Mysister sent these to meso I figureit won't hurtto invest...Watchfor theseconsolidations Summarizedf rom an arlicle in the TorontoSun Sept 5 , 2001. to takeplace and make yourself a bundle! On July 26, 2000, Jim and Johneach got Investmentpredictions: a $1000bonus from their employer. Followingthe Exxon/Mobildeal and the AOUTimeWarner implode, I want to makeyou Jim put the whole $1000 in his awareof the nextexpected mergers employer'sstock. With the transactioncost 1. HaleBusiness Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush and WR.Grace Company of $35, he was able to buy 7 sharesof will mergeand become Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace. Nortelat $123each. 2. PolygramRecords, Warner Bros. and ZestaCrackers join forcesand become... Polly, John usedhis $1000to buy 66 cases WarnerCracker. of beer (1584 bottles of beer). At 15 3. 3Mwill mergewith Goodyear and issue forth as MMMGood. bottlesa week he wouldhave beerfor a 4. ZippoMfg., Audi MotorCar, Dofascoand DakotaMining will mergeto become, of year. course,ZipAudiDoDa .. In the summerof 2001,both Jim and 5. FederalExpress is expectedto join its majorcompetitor, UPS ,and consolidateas John were laid off. Jim sold his 7 Nortel FedUP. shares at $12 each and after the $35 6. FairchildElectronics and Honeywell Computers will becomeFairwell Honeychild. transactionfee was leftwith $49. 7. KnottsBerry Farm and the NationalOrganisation of Womenwill becomeKnott NOW! Johnfinished the lastbeer and cashed in his emptiesfor $158.40. * * * *

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beginningthe trek, perhapsthrough two or three Fromthe 'GtOODOLD DAY'b' feetof snowdrifts. By BobHarrison USN Vet. Insidethe outhouse, you have to undress partially,lower yourself to an ice-cold, sometimes wet or icy seat, do your very best to hurrythe ££!. :!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~ Fromtime to time, I have read articlesconcerning two topics process, keepingin mind that you don't EVER aboutwhich I wouldlike to write. One of these topicswas the wantto do this again, at leasttonight. Finally, your job is finished, 'goodold days',the otherwas about how 'rough'the duty was youcomplete the necessarycleanup details, redress yourself , and aboarda submarine,especially a dieseljob. scamperback to the house. Backin bed,you suddenlydiscover Oneor two individualsmentioned the conceptthat the 'good that you are numbfrom the waistdown to yourknees. In an hour old days'were knownby that namebecause our mindstend to or so, this too shallpass away. I onceheard of a guywho had to rememberonly the goodtimes while the badtimes are relegated 'go' when it was 35 belowzero. The poor guy froze his most to theback corners of our memories. prized appendageand while they were preparinghim for a My slant on this is muchdifferent. I think that most of you thawing out procedure at the local hospital, the doctor youngwhippersnappers wouldn't know rough duty or badtimes if inadvertentlyhit it andit snappedlike a candycane . theyhit youon the head.You think that livingin closequarters for So muchfor the wintertime.How about summer, you may ask . weeksat a time, smellingother unwashedbodies, inhaling the And well, you might, becausethose hot , muggy, hazy,lazy days obnoxiousfumes of dieselengines, stale food, bad breaths,of of summerthat the song writerssing aboutwere not muchfun going without baths for long periods, of having to live in either. • confinementobeying' the ordersof superiorswhom you deemed On an afternoonin August, you stroll downthe pathto the not halfas intelligentas yourselves, andof crawlingthrough filthy bathand placeyourself over the hole.Down below , the flies,the bilgesconstituted rough duty. To this I say, BALDERDASH!You bees, and the spidersare havingtheir annualpicnic. If you have guys don't know what roughduty and bad times are. Let me neverexperienced a swarmof flies buzzingaround your nether elucidate. extremities,you don't knowwhat hardtimes are . And whenyou In the daysbefore WWII, we livedat varioustimes either on hearthe whine of an angry, distraughthoney bee or an occasional farmsor in small rural communities. We did not have modern bumblebeerunning amok coming in for the kill, yousoon learn the conveniencessuch as refrigerators,electric dishwashers,or meaningof fear. Raw,unadu lteratedfear. This is wherethe men indoorplumbing. Our trips to the 'bathroom'were down a pathto are separatedfrom the boys.The men stay put and sufferthe theouthouse. slingsand arrowsof MotherNature while the boysrun screaming An outhousewas also knownas a toiletor privy. Sometimes fromthe privywith their pants still down around their knees . theywere a simplewooden structure whose basic concept was to So, I askyou to re-examine yourpremises about the goodold hideyou fromthe viewof the outsideworld while you performed days and hard times. Re-think your positionabout how 'rough' yournecessary body functions. Some were more elaborate, being submarineduty was. Thankyour luckystars that all you had to constructedwith an arbour coveredwith morningglory vines undergowas an occasionaldepth charge attackfrom a few leadingto the innersanctum. They could vary in sizefrom a one­ Japanesetin cans and that you were never subjectedto the seaterto a four-seater. I neversaw one largerthan a four-seater agoniesof the oldcountry outhouse . and I must also confessthat I neversaw anyonesharing the occupancyof an outhouseso I am at a lossto knowwhy they built multipleholes . Perhapsfor show, to brag to the worldthat WE To the 'MODERNDAYS' HAVEA FOURSEATER. Fromearliest infancy we learnedto scheduleour trips to the Truestory ... ? Thisactually happened which is whyit is so funny. outhouse.Soon after potty training it became evident that I left Brisbaneheading toward Maryborough, when I decided schedulingwas of the utmostimportance. One trip to that far off to stopat a comfortstation . Thefirst stall was occup ied,so I went oasisat 2:00 in the morningon a cold winter'snight whenthe intothe secondone . I was no soonerseated than I hearda voice temperaturewas hoveringin the 20 degreesbelow zero range fromthe next stall:"Hi, how are you doing?" was enoughto etch into one's brain foreverthe necessityfor scheduling. Well, I am not the type to chat with strangersin highway comfortstations , and I reallydon 't knowquite what possessed Richpeople had inside plumbing. We hadno insideplumbing . me ... butanyway, I answered-alittle embarrassed , "Notbad." Moderatelyrich peoplehad chamberpots . We had no chamber pots. Ouronly recourse was the outhouse . Thenthe strangerasked, "And, what are you up to?" For thoseof you who do not get the picture,let me explain. Talkabout dumb questions! I was really beginning to thinkthis Assumethat you awakeat 3:00 a.m. with a sudden, demanding wastoo weird!But I said, "Well,just likeyou I'mdriving east." urgeto 'go'(It seemsthat you are a poorscheduler .) If youare not Then,I heardthe stranger,sounding very upset, said,"Look, sick, (Dad'sstanding rule was that you were not sick if your I'll call you back. There'ssome idiot in the nextstall answering all temperaturewas less than 104 degrees and our thermometer was the questionsI am askingyou." your standardoutdoor instrument about two incheswide which couldbe usedas a rectalthermometer when needed, a procedure "Well,"snarled the tough old NavyChief to thebewildered Seaman . whichwe almostalways waived when we recalledthe jagged "I supposeafter you get dischargedfrom the Navy,you'll just be metaledges of the thermometer),then you wentto the outhouse. waitingfor meto dieso youcan come and dance on mygrave." Thisrequired getting fully dressed,including pants , socks,boots, "Notme, Chief!" the Seamanreplied . "OnceI getout of theNavy , sweaters,and an overcoat(remember, it is 20 belowoutside) and I'mnever going to standin lineagain! "

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NightLaunch 88-year-old'wing walks' to record At sea,the moonless,mantled night Fromcorrespondents in London August 21 , 2002 Is blackerthan a hundredmidnights Deepin the mawof a cypressswamp , An 88-year-oldWorld War II herowith an artificialleg has becomethe oldestperson Andthe Carrier'srunning lights to 'wing-walk'atop a biplaneat speedsof 160kph.Les'Dizzy' Seales, from Shoreham Are hoodedand dimly impotent. in Sussex,southern England, clinched the worldrecord - previouslyheld by an 87- Sixtyfeet abovethe sea's foamingcurl year-oldSouth African woman - when he stood for a total of 75 minutesatop a Sleekswept-winged birds are unchained 1940s-eraBoeing Stearman . Froma graysteel slab--the flight deck . Whiningand howling engines contain "I wouldnot haveminded staying up for longerbut my pilot Mikesaid we had Theturgid power to sustainflight , alreadybeen up for a longtime ," Sealessaid when he wasback on the ground. Theinky blackness is punctuated "I planto comeback every year until I am 100,but I am verylaid back about the Bydirector's glowing amber wands, record. Likesyncopated fireflies "It is just anothercross in mydiary ." Beaconingsignals with practiced hands , Nostranger to stunts, Sealesfirst climbed out of a planein mid-airin WorldWar II Guidingblind craft to thecatapult. when,as an gunnerin a two-manDefiant fighter, he wenton to the wingto saveits Themovement is a symphony pilotwho was trapped in thecockpit. Of frantic,chaotic precision Laterin the war, as a memberof the RoyalAir Forceair-sea rescue squadron, • Thatreaches a shudderingcrescendo Sealeshelped to rescuearound 100 allied airmen from the EnglishChannel. Witheach taut, measured decision Seales- who brokethe recordwith help from Europe'sonly professionalwing­ To unleashthe catapult'sawesome might. walking team, the 'Utterly Butterlys' - has wing-walkedseveral times before , despite Eachcockp it is an instrumented an artificial leg. Wombof palered profusion, Eerily silhouettingmask and helmet Hislimb was amputated after an accidentinvolving a Londonbus 15 years ago . Donnedby younglions--their calm tension AgenceFrance-Presse Mountingas the criticalmoment nears . Firsta redwand circles , stabsthe gloom, Navyhelicopter on ChristmasIsland to boostborder protection Urgingthe throttleforward to ignite Thered afterburning tongue of flame Searingthe fragileveil of the night. The DefenceMinister, Robert Hill , recentlyannounced that a RoyalAustralian Navy Thetethered bird shr ieksand stra ins to soar. helicopterand crew will be basedat ChristmasIsland to boostAustralia's border Thenthe greenwand--all is right-­ protection. Signalsin a graceful, swingingarc. "One Sea King helicopterand 20 crew will be detachedfrom 817 NavalAir Powerfulsca lding,steam is unleashed Squadronto conductsurve illanceof the approachesto ChristmasIsland," Senator To hurlthe bird intothe milkydark, Hill said. "Theywill also providea shore-basedresponse capability for searchand Joltingthe pilotwith blurring force. rescue." SenatorHill said the deploymentof the Sea King is anotherfacet of the Andthe loud,sweaty ballet goes on importantborder protection operations being undertaken by the AustralianDefence As eachwinged chariot, one by one, Force. A range of Navy vessels includingfrigates and patrol boats, maritime Is giventhe wrenchinggift of flight, surveillanceaircraft and intelligencecapabilities are engagedin the day-to-day Untilthe lastis awayand gone , monitoringand patrollingof our maritimeapproaches aga inst encroachmentfrom Engines' thunderfading in the night. externalthreats . The ADF was given an extra $22.3 millionin the last Budgetto -JohnNewlin - 1988 continueoperations to deterunauthorised boat arrivals . "The Navy'shelicopter squadrons are workingat the highesttempo they have OURGROUND CREW seensince the Vietnamconflict ," SenatorHill said. "Theircontinued hard work and dedicationhas been successfulin deterring Here'sto the menwith greasy hands - unauthorisedboat arrivals ." Whofuel our planeswhen we comein to land Whofix the flak damageand stopthe leaks A temporaryhangar for the Sea Kingis currentlybeing erected at the Christmas Whochange the tiresand stopthe squeaks Islandairfield by the RMF 395 ExpeditionaryCombat Support Wing to provide Tendto the controlsto makethem fly straight facilitiesfor the detachment.The Squadronis lookingforward to continuingNavy's Waitfor the planeswhen the pilotsare late closeties withthe peopleof ChristmasIsland , workingwith the localcommunity and contributingto borderprotect ion operations," SenatorHill said . Whosmooth the scratchesand rivet the panels "In addition,the ChristmasIsland Administrator has written to meto welcomethe Check, "Loudand Clear"on the radiochannels Whoread the write-upsand makethe repairs detachmenton behalfof the localcommunity ." Checkthe linesfor chaffingand tears Whopull the chocksand check the wings US MilitaryAircraft Anddo a million otherthings Onsome air basesthe Air Forceis on oneside of thefield and c ivilianair craft usethe other s ideo f the field,with the control tower in them iddle. Thatmake an aircraftsafe and readyto fly. Oneday the tower rece iveda callfrom an aircraftasking, "What time is it?"The tower responded , So -Here'sa saluteto thosehard working guys , "Whois calling?"The aircraft replied, "What difference does it make?"The tower replied, "It makes a Froma groupof flierswho too seldomponder lot of difference. If it is an AmericanAirlines Flight , it is 3 o'clock.If it is anAir Force, it is 1500hours. If Aboutthe menwho keepus up in the wild blue it is a Navya ircraft, it is 6 bells.If it is an Armyaircraft, the big handis on the 12 andthe littlehand is yonder. on the3 . If it is a Marine Corpsaircraft, it's Thursdayafternoon .'

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thinkswe're going to hangabout, wae just ten stupidbullets each, A fflilcl S@JtS@ tae take on the whole of bluidyCyprus; well he can just think c:,.\fPcouc again". "Ah cannaesay that." "Dae it!" "Hello Three-two,this is By Cpl.Joe Frame - 1stBattalion The Royal Highland Fusiliers Three-two-Charlie.Request back-up, A.SA BloodyP, over." "Three-two.OK, OK, the reservesection's already on theway; Thesun rose, blood red andlooming, topping the minaretson the until they arrive,just keep your headsdown, and try and keep skylinewith a rosyglow . AtopEpiskopi Hill, some ten milesto the trackof anyconcentration of shotsor movement.Out." · westof Limassol,huddled two of Scotland'sfinest. How can you keep your head down, and be up there Outsidethe roofedentrenchment, Rab was hunchedover the observingat the sametime? Easy!Rest the old binoson top of wirelessset checkingcalibrations; dials and gaugesbeing easily the sandbags,and stretchup just enoughto peepthrough. Whit readthrough the windows,already losing their luminosityin the arethey shootin' fur anyway?Why spoil a perfectSunday morning rapidlylightening dawn. In side, I hadbeen no lessbusy. with all that racket?Anyway, we're supposed to be the referees, "Brew'sup." I handedRab his mug, acceptingthe fag and the goodold UnitedNations, and we'vegot the sky bluebunnets lighterin return."Right. We'll finish these fags, then check in; just tae proveit. Maybethat's the problem;maybe they're all colour in casethey think we're lost." blind.Now don't be daft, Joe. Just cool it. Take it easy."Here Lordsof all we surveyed,our orderswere clear: 'Set up, check comethe cavalry,Joe." in everyhour. Other than that, well, just keepyour eyes open, and Sureenough, tearing up the track in his customisedformula • call in if anythinghappens'. That's one thing about our sergeant- one Landrover,gallant platoon commander hanging on for grim explicit.Every detail plannedto minutiaby a brain honedto death, comesthe fanciful Fusilier Fangio. As the scourgeof perfectionon Haig'sDimple! Silverstonescreeches to a tyre-burninghalt, SecondLieutenant "RightRab, better check in." "HelloThree-two, this is Three­ Supermanleaps out andover the sandbagslike a speedingbullet. two-Charlie,radio check over." "Three-two, OK, out." "Rightchaps. What's the problem, then?" Timeto relax.What'II we havefor breakfast?BANG! "Whit the "Just a couplahundred fuzzie-wuzzies ready tae attackus. Hell was that?" "Soundedlike a shot." "I know that, but from Sur."That's oor Rab. Quickas a flashwith the tongue;though the where?" brainsometimes takes a weewhile to catchup! "Over there I think." Quick, grab binoculars,follow Rab's "Sir."The Landroverspoke. "Company Commander 's on the outstretchedarm. Aye, puff of smokeabout a mileaway - maybe. line." Whoosh. Leapingtall sandbagsin a single bound.Two Grabthe mapgrid. Grid seven,seven, one; no, bettermake that minuteslater - crunch; Krypton'sfavourite son was back. two. "Getback on that set." Seven,seven, two, five, nine, one. "OK chaps,you can relax now."Arms akimbo,legs apart- Right."Right Rab, phone that in. At least it'll let ttiem see that ActionMan on one of his betterdays . "Seemslike there's been a we'reno' sleepin'up here.""Hello Three-two , this is Three-two­ bit of a muddle."Pregnant pause. "It wouldappear that this is the Charlie;shotrep, over." "Three-two,send grid, over." startof the localshooting season ." "I thoughtthey hadthat all the "Three-two-Charlie.Shots at grid seven, seven, two, five, yearround sir ; usingeach other for targets." niner,one; over ." GoodGod, no' anotherwan. Seven, six . "Hell's "Ha-ha. Goodone that. Mustremember it for the Mess."Oh Bells,there's about a dozenof themnoo! They're gaun daft doon God,thinks I. NowI'm script writer for the Officers'Mess comic! there." "Unfortunately,Bn HQ forgotto passthe messagedown the "Hello Three-two,this is Three-two-Charlie.Report more line.Bloody typical. Still you did the rightthing. Good show. Soon shots,about a dozen.Impossible to givespecific grids, but they're as yourmessage came through we crashedthe battalionnet, and all roughlyin the same area as the first one. Aw naw! There's then the balloonwent up. We all thoughtit was the real thing." mair,scattered all overthe bloodymap by thesounds o' it." ThankGod it wasn't, thinksI, else we'd be up to our arm pits in "Three-two-Charlie,keep your headdown, don't panic;we're Sandhurstaction men by now. "Wellthen. Anything else? Good. on theother net to BattalionHQ, things'II soon be moving.Ask Joe Be off then.Well done. Gladto see you'reon yourtoes. Keep it if he can make out whetherthey are Turks or Greeks,over." up." Whoosh,crunch, thump , grind,screech. I honestlyexpected Howthe blazesam I supposedto knowthe differencefrom up to hear a 'High-hoSilver' coming from the Landroveras it sped here?It's all Greekto me. Heh-heh,some joke, eh? And he says backdown the track. no'tae panic!"Tell him that General Custer hasnae a bloodyclue, "Well Rab. That'sthe excitementover for the day. Get the andyou can tell himthat he'dbetter get someof the boysup here burneron , yourturn for thetea ." A.SAP. It soundslike a war'sbreaking oot doonthere, and if he

Thisis a truelife anecdote about Albert Einstein, and his theory of relativity. Afterhaving propounded his famous theory , AlbertEinstein would tour the various Universities in the Unite?States, d .eliveringlectures wherever he went. Hewas always accompanied by his faithfulchauffer, Harry, who would attend each of theselectures while seated in the backrow! One fine day,after Eh..,:einhad finished a lectureand was coming out of theauditorium into his vehicle, Harry addresses him and says , "ProfessorEinstein , I'veheard your lectureon Relativityso manytimes, that if I wereever given the opportunity , I wouldbe ableto deliverit to perfectionmyself!" . . , "Verywell," replied Einstein, "I'm going to Dartmouthnext week . Theydon 't knowme there. You can deliverthe lectureas Einstein,and 111take your placeas Harry!" Andso it wentto be.. . Harrydelivered the lectureto perfection, withouta wordout of place,while Einstein sat in the backrow playing"chauffer", and enjoyinga snoozefor a change...... Justas Harrywas des~ending from the podium,howeve~, one of the re~earchass1stan_ts intercepted. him, ~nd began to ask~1m a q~est!onon t~etheory of relativity.... onethat involved a lot of complexcalculations and equations. Harry replied to the assistantThe answerto thisquestion 1s very simple! In fact,it's so simple,that I'm going to let mychauffer answer it!"

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NATIONALPRESIDENT'S TASMANIANDIVISION REPORT Onceagain , not muchto reportfrom 'Tassy'. It has been a busy periodfor the national Our last meetingwas held in the 'Fiftiesand executivebut in generalthings seem to be Over Club' at Ravenswood. You wouldn't fallinginto place . The bigtest will comewhen believe it, there was no power supply, we delegatesmeet for the Annual General couldget in, but nothingwas operating.So we Meetingscheduled to be held in Nowraon L..___L..e.-L______. had a quick meetingand then proceededto Saturday5th October . I do hopethe delegateswill come armed the CountryClub Casinofor lunch.Our next meetingwill be the with constructiveproposals for the way ahead. Anyonecan sit AGMand members will be advisedof the date. backand say, "Why did youdo this.Why didn 't you do that". What we needis for peopleto say, "Let's do this and here'sa planof On a sad note,our oldestmember , MaxMackrill , passedaway howit canbe accomplished".The challenge is there. at the age of 82. Max servedon the originalHMAS Albatross seaplanecarrier in the 1930s, passagingto England for the Life in Canberrahas beencold and hectic.Cold because that deliveryof HMASAdelaide to Australia. He then saw servicein is what Canberrais at this time of the year and hecticbecause several ships during WWII, later serving in Japan with the Gwenand I soldour housewithout buying a replacement.Tent life occupationforces . On completionof his service, he droveta xis in is rough. To escapethe cold we headednorth for an extended Launcestonuntil his retirement. holiday.The replacement home will haveto wait. • The2003 Reunion Committee has metwith the Commanding OfficerHMAS ALBATROSS and representativesof the Museum of Flightand is now ableto confirmthat the NationalReunion will be held in Nowra from Thursday2nd to Monday6th October 2003.The2003 will not be as grandas the 50thAnniversary held in 1998 and the emphasiswill be on peoplerelated events . The themewill be "GettingTogether Again". Please note the datesin yourdiary now. We have had a very good responseto the appeal for paperbacknovel and now have a goodselection for the embarked Flightsto choosefrom. My sincere thanks to all thosedonors . We also intendto repeatthe XmasHamper Project that was so successfulin 2001.If you haveany suggestionson itemsthat might be included,or thoughtson Companiesthat could be approachedfor contributions, I wouldbe most interestedto hear fromyou . 'Toz' Dadswe/1 Anotherold stalwartat our functions,Wesley Lowe, the older brotherof Bill Loweex-POAH has also passedaway. Wesalso NATIONALSECRETARY'S servedin HMASAdelaide during WWII. Karen,Wes's daughter REPORT passedaway not longago .

TheMinutes of the NationalExecutive meeting held on 12 July have been sent to all Divisional Secretary's together with the

Agendafor the NationalAGM which will be L--- ~ --~ heldin the AMoFon Saturday5th October 2002 at 0930. Also pleasenote that our Reunionwill take placein October 2003to coincidewith the Centenaryof Flight,the Scheduleis: 2ndOctober 2003 · Registrationsat BomaderryRSL. FridayJrd October2003 - LateRegistrations . Toursof HMAS Albatross/Sports/ Cocktail Party . Saturday4 1h October2003 AGM /Barbecue/ Dolphin Tours/ BranchReunions/ NSW Anniversary Dinner. Sunday5th October 2003 - Air Day. Whilstthis Reunionis some 12 monthsaway, our overseas membersmay like to start planning. I can be contactedby Email Our Anzac Day paradewas held in Launceston, the local on [email protected] by phoneor mail shouldfurther membersof the FAAmarched with the SouthLaunceston Branch informationbe required. Thanksto everyone who havesupplied of the NavalAssociation , yourstruly carriedthe FAAAflag. All in the booksto buildup our libraryfor the Flightsaway. all, a goodday was had by all. MikeHeneghan Maff'Jake ' Jacobs

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- .~,~\ manyveterans to inwardlycringe at the realityof this Hollywood­ VICTORIANDIVISION likeextravaganza, as onlythe Americanscould produce . ~ ,, ·-I ,, If you havenot been,and you are an aviationenthusiast, don't Attentionon theflight deck! . ::.:•, miss it! But makesure you take a Stetsonand strongwalking Caught with my pants down, absent shoes!The temperaturealmost daily was 96 degreesFahrenheit withoutleave at Oshkoshwhen the deadline (35degrees centigrade). passedme by unnoticed,to the chagrinof our Oh! Congratulationsto Terry Hetheringtonand otherswho esteemedEditor. helpedrestore the one attending,and flying Firefly,owned by a A glance in the letterboxrevealed the '"~Delta Captain. Parts of the Fireflyonce perchedon a pole at usualvacuum of offeringsfor this column,so whatelse can I do Griffithwere usedin the restoration. This aircraft,with light blue buttell youwhat little I knowof to tell. spinnera la 817Squadron, was adornedwith RoyalNavy insignia Ourannual dinner at Hastingson the eveningof Saturday24th on the fuselage(WH-518) . It won the awardfor best postWWII Augusthas attractedabout one-thirdof our membership,yet aircraftat the show,and attracteda lot of admiringand quizzical promisesto be the successfulgathering it hasproven to be in the attentionespecially during wing-folding demonstrations. past.We look forwardto welcomingthe Welcomes(pardon the Sadly,Murray Douglas lost his battlewith lungcancer . Whilst pun)from New Zealand -Robert, from Henderson, Auckland, who he was in palliativecare at the BroadmeadowsHealth Centre I recentlyjoined our Division,and wife Marie. visitedhim quite regularly . Hewill be sorelymissed . Arrangementsfor the memorialservice at St. Mark'schapel, Till the nexttime . • HMAS Cerberus appeared in some disarray when Carryon! correspondencerelating to security arrangementstemporarily GeoffLitchfield . 'went astray', but persistenceovercame staff shortagesand [NOTE: With referenceto Geoffs book, 'Fly Boy', following changes,and Nick Sparkes assures me that all is nowin order. professionaladvice the RRPis $36.00plus GST.There is a 25% ·No news is good news so they say, but it does give the discountto FAA members. Packingand postageis $7.15within impressionI am,not doing a goodjob. Australia. Ed] Meetingsof KindredOrganisations and Unit Associations seemto have straightenedout a few local contentiousissues. Pastenemies will NOTbe allowedto marchon AnzacDay; the A.C.T.DIVISION marchwill not be shortened,unit groupingshave been agreed uponand the rotationof orderof unitsagreed to. We aimto retain Hi everyone-as you are awareI have taken theright to maintainour independencewith one banner only at our over from Brian Treloar as ACT Division head. Secretary-and whatbig shoesI haveto fill. I r We lookforward to havingAlan and BerylClark amongst us amsure that you all agreewith me when I saya againafter an uncustomaryabsence due to healthhiccups. big thankyou to Brianfor all thoseyears in the ~----~ Oshkoshwas a mind-bogglingexperience. A total of 21 P51 job. Pleasebear with me as I muddlethrough! Mustangsattended, opening the first dayby taxiingpast in review. I was Captain's Secretary/Stenographerat HMAS Shuttingdown in a herringbonepark on the taxiwayfacing the ALBATROSSduring the 1950'sand workedwith CaptainPeter crowd,supremely disciplined behind obstacle cones, the Masterof Fanshaweand then CaptainVAT Smith, until July 1959.I have Ceremoniesbroadcast details of the dedicationof the 2002 fond memoriesof a very busy navalair stationduring that time Airshowto the courageof Ted Beamer.Accredited leader of the withall the squadronsworking at full capacity. assaultupon terrorists who were apparentlyintent on crashing My father was the WardroomMess Treasurer and we had their hijackedaircraft into the White House,his last overheard wonderfultimes at variousballs etc. I alsoran the Browniepack in command"Let's Roll" became the theme for Oshkosh2002 . marriedquarters and playedthe organfor churchservices in the Assembledattendants, national and international,joined gymhall each Sunday. togetherin shouting"Pilots, man your aircaft!"as privateowners Sincethe last Slipstream,some of our membersattended the boardedtheir immaculateP-51 s. An orchestratedcountdown get-togetherat Campbelltownand enjoyedcatching up with old resultedin the preciseignition of all assembledMustang engines , mates.A few droveup and stayedover, but our President,Brian the Merlinserupting into a pulsatingthrob of reverberatingpower Courtier,drove a minibus up andreturned the same day. whichpermeated Witman field and raised 'goose pimples' on most enthusiasts. Someold membersof 723squadron attended a greatreunion in Nowraon 29 June and enjoyeda dinnerdance at Worrigee Massformations of 50 Harvards,30 Mentorsand Trojans, Houseon the Saturdaynight. Brian Courtiertook a carloadof Mustangs,B-17s, B-25s, Corsairs,Sea Fury and Firefly to paperbacksup with him for the embarkedFAAA Squadron's mentionjust a few, constantlyoverflew the airfieldin opposite libraryand I believehe onlyjust hadenough room for his luggage! directions,some trailing smoke. The rumbleof multitudesof variousengines combined with the eeriewail of an air-raidsiren Thingsare prettyquiet in Canberraat the moment,but being as B-17sand B-25sat lowerlevels, accompanied by escortsof the beautifulplace . that it is we can overlookthe cold. So comeon paired Mustangs,made dummyattacks on Witmanfield, the down,as theysay, and join us anytime- we wouldmake you very staccato of pyrotechnicssimulating machine guns whilst welcome. enormouseruptions of wallsof flamehundreds of feet highshot Well,I hopethis finds you all happyand in goodhealth and I send skyward. So intense,the blast, that a wave of heat assailed mybest wishes to youall. observers300 metresdistant, the total effect no doubtcausing BerylGreen - Secretary

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emptypole as you come acrossthe bridgewhere once sat the NSWDIVISION Iroquoishelicopter. At presentit has been removedbecause of the treatmenthanded out to it by localvandals and just whereit Due to the presidentbeing a bit off colourI will be repositionedis up in the air (literally).The polewill haveto findmyself detailed off to coverhis briefin this be alteredand then, depending on the council,a newhome for it edition of Slipstream. Not being all that is to be established. At presentthe helo is in residenceat brilliantas a scribe,I will attemptto fill the Albatrossawaiting a decision,and probablysome restoration, space. beforebeing returned . Thesocial get togetherat Campbelltown this year was not as We will be conductinganother raffle over the ensuingmonths gooda turnout as wasexpected due to manyreasons, not leastof and,as soonas our artistand committeedecide on the offering, all medical complicationsthat seemed to jump out of the we will let everyoneknow the details.The prizeswill probablybe woodwork. alongthe linesof last year.The mix of paintingscovering Naval and'civilian' themes were very well receivedby the membersand Fromthe Nowraarea we startedwith about40 and finished the generalpublic. with20 so we werewell down on our commitment.Never the less, it wasonce again a chancefor comradesto greeteach other and GregWise - VicePresident as usualthere were reunions that bridged a lot of years. {Whenthe helo wasremoved from the pole,the debrisleft behind Newmembers continue to arrivefrom these get-togethers and by the 'visitors',indicated that it was being used as the local old friendshipsare renewed,this aloneis a goodreason to have yokels' Mile-HighClub. Ed] them.Many thanks go to our Patron,John Goble, and the others whoput in a lot of effortarranging the dayout. Our thanks are also WESTERNAUSTRALIAN extendedto the CampbelltownRSL for providingus with such a DIVISION goodvenue. We havefound the needfor a fittingsympathy / condolence Hello Australia! A warm welcome to all, cardso in conjunctionwith John Downtown, who was kindenough particularlythose that follow our Association's to do a paintingof a suitablesubject for us,we havehad two cards activitiesthroughout the world. commerciallyproduced. We in the West are gettingexcited about One card depictsa vase of red roses, it has two inserts our forthcomingMini Reunionto be held November1 to 4. included(one a bereavementand the othera sympathy-get well Thereare quite a numberof membersfrom the East making message)which are containedwith a ribbon-you usewhichever theirway acrossthe Nullabourand we havearranged a variety is appropriateat thetime. of activitiesto suit all tastes,including a visitto FleetBase West , Theother card is a general-purposecard with a FleetAir Arm the mostmodem Naval facility in the world.With the Two-Ocean backgroundand depictsthe Melbourneat flying stationswith a policynow in effect,half of our Navyis basedh'ere. Sea Kingin the foreground(this is also a paintingby the same The homeof the SubmarineFleet and trainingfacilities are artistthat was used on the cover of Slipstreama few editions opento AlliedForces, a goodmoney earner for Australia. Fleet back.This card was madebecause of quite a few requestsfor BaseWest is situatedon GardenIsland, a forty minutedrive somethingof this naturethat couldbe usedfor manyoccasions from PerthCBD. The Base is servicedby the nearbyCity of fromgreetings to Xmas.Both of the cardsare encapsulatedin a Rockingham,a vibrant city with a populationof 70,000and plasticcover to protectthem and haveincluded an envelopeand growing. It is a touristparadise with shopping for the ladiesGolf, the costto any FleetAir Armpersonnel is $2.50 each.We are not Sailingand all AquaticSports . out to make a deal of money out of them rather to provide Thethousand acres Kings Park overlooking the Cityof Perth somethingthat is recognisedthroughout our movementas a is mustfor tourists, as is the expansiveSwan River. Kings Park uniqueoffering of comradeship. is the site of our War Memorialand the Anzac Day Dawn The cards should be availablefrom the secretaryof all Service. It is also hometo the BotanicalGardens and, as the Divisions.Don't forget to includepostage to coverreturn mail if Wildflowerseason starts in October,our visitingshipmates will youwish to purchaseany of these. reallyhave something to remember. TheAnnual Dinner for thisyear will be heldin the samevenue Another place not to be missed is the RAAF Aviation as last year (BomaderryBowling Club) on Fridaythe 11 th of Museum.It is the most comprehensiveAviation Museum in Octoberand will runon the samelines as lastyear -hot, seated, 3 Australiawith Spitfires,Macchis, Lancaster Bomber and a host coursemeal and $1 drinks.Come along and have a convivial of earlyaircraft that contributed to ourAviation History . evening- the guestspeaker is yet to be announced. Bookingsfor Perth is the jewel for to tourists, a pristinecity, great this can be madethrough the Secretary(written), or ring Greg beachesand fourteen sailing clubs on the SwanRiver. Wiseon (02)44471602 or by emailto gregwise@,shoal.net.au Fremantleis a thirty-minutedrive from Perth and the Our memorialrose garden at the museumhas had a bit of a Gatewayto the West. It was also the homeof the Americas face-lift.Hopefully we havestopped the annualburst of westerlies Cup. It is a friendlyplace with the mostcomplete group of 19th depletingthe groundcover and top dressingthe playingfields centurybuildings that havebeen restored to reflectthe historyof nearby.A gooddistribution of crushedterra cotta has given it a lift our State. in colourand shouldhoid everything in place.A selectionof new varietiesof roseshas beenplanted and it will ensurea pleasant Followingthe last Anzac Day march a numberof our greetingto thevisitors attending the museum. memberswere very impressedwith the caps worn by the Anyonearriving in Nowrafrom the northwill be greetedby an (Continued on poge 28)

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VietnamArmy Veterans who were positioned alongside us on the Unit1/7 Prinsep Road , ATIADALEWA 6156 Esplanade. We madeenquiries about their headgearwith the Phone:(08) 9330 7386 ArmyVets and, after a lively discussionat the TattersallsClub followingthe march,it wasdecided to proceedwith a designand Committee-Jack Suriano productionof a peakedcap that wouldenhance our appearance POBox 26, MAYLANDSWA 6051 as a groupat latermarches and gatherings. Caps will be available Phone:(08) 9335 3566 at ournext meeting. Mobile: 0414699 626 This cap couldbe the 'StandardCap' for the FleetAir Arm, eachtailored with the StateAssociation Badge. See your Division Secretaryfor furtherinformation . SOUTHAUSTRALIAN We in the Westwish you all well and mayyour God be with you.Best Wishes. DIVISION JohnGreen- I am beingdrowned in paper.The old saying, Unit117 Prinsep road Attadale WA 6156 'youshould not havejoined if you can't take a Phone(08) 9330 7386 -Mobile 0422 943 488 joke' is becomingreal onceagain. I am of the Email:johngreen@iorimus .com.au vintagethat took time out to quicklyexamine 'daily orders' and then move into an WA Mini-ReunionProgramme uneducatedworld . • I am aboutto write an answer to Guy Griffiths that the SA lot Friday01 November2002 does want to come under the Naval Associationumbrella for Registrationcommences at 1000at the RockinghamNavalmans ' futurepeace of mind. The Clarkereport is also growingbut we Club(Nibblies/drinks and BBQ packs will be availableat the club.) havedecided to adopta watchand wait policy . Howeverit wasgood to allowa waveof nostalgiaengulf us as Saturday02 November2002 we readSlipstream . Mostof the SA Divisioncomment and wa it for RiverCruise the nextedition . It is very popular.I did somesentimental surfing Tourof HMASStirling Naval Base especiallywhen I wasreminded by FredWessel of a ratherfateful Bustour of FremantleI Perth and Kings Park day ashorein Maltawhen 'Muscles' Vinen changed the furniture Bowls(Venue to be determined) configuration. Fred and I tasted goat on that day. I have not Golf(Venue to be determined) touchedit since. (Forthe above , thetimes are to be determineddependant upon numbers] NormanLee also wrote that he wasa goodcandidate for post BullcreekAviation Museum traumaticshock treatment and quoteda few instancesto bolster SwanValley vineyards his claim. Heforgot to mentionthe occasion wheni n a Fireflywith 1900-Pre-Dinner drinks me in the backseat he beatup one of the shipsof the fleet after 1930-Formal Reunion Dinner (Minimum dress Lounge suit somevague exercise and came much closer to the superstructure Miniaturemedals may be worn) than was normal. The Slipstreamis our lifeline eventhough we Sunday03 November2002 arenow on linewith the Internet. BullcreekAviation Museum On the subjectof the Internet!Paul Sh iels submitteda report ChurchService at HMASStirling Chapel of progressto our last meetingand basicallystated that to date 1230Banyan at RockinghamRSL Club thosewho haveaccess to the variouspages have been reluctant to inserti temsof newspertinent to theird ivision.I havefound the Monday04 November2002 methodof gaining entry simple and worth while and would Freeday for individualgroup gatherings. encourageothers to make use of the site. A reminderof the addressis www.faaaa.asn.auand it is assuredthat this new Thecontact list for the reunionis as follows: innovationwill be further developedand fine-tuned. Paul has advisedme that there have been 12 on lineapplications to joint he President-Bevan Daws Associationmainly in NSWand OLD. Two haveapplied in SA. I 46 BerryDrive, MAIDA VALE WA 6057 am surethere will be growthdue to the web.I noticethat the web Phone:(08) 9454 7228 site is on the agendafor the FederalCouncil Meeting in October Mobile:0411 831 609 so somedecisions should emerge from that assemblage . Secretary-Peter Welsh For someyears (I do not knowhow many)The SA Division 42 SaddlebackCircle , MAIDAVALE WA 6057 haveplanned to placea FAAplaque in the DawPark Repatriation Phone:(08) 9454 6045 HospitalChapel and I am pleasedto announcethat on Tuesday Fax:(08) 9225 2097 23rdJuly 2002 at 1430th is actuallyhappened . A plaqueis nowin Email:[email protected] .au placeand suitablyded icatedto all that haveserved in the RAN Fleet Air Arm from 1948. CMDRJohn Siebert(SA President) Treasurer-Brian 'Jo' Jost pledgedthe dedicationand madespecial mention of thosewho 11Wade Square, STRATTON WA 6056 served in Korea, The Malay Emergency, Indonesian Phone:(08) 9250 7441 Confrontation,Vietnam, the GulfWar, Timor, and the presentwar againstTerrorism . The ReverendPeter Miller who is the Chaplain Committee-John Green of Daw Park conductedthe service. CPOJack Kreiggave 'The

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Odeof Remembrance' with muchfeeling and sincerityand CPO The tireless Jack Kreig representedus at the ceremony MusicianAndrew Staple ton from the SA NavyBand r enderedthe celebratingthe cessationof hostilities in Koreaon Sunday29 1h, Last Post and Reveille perfectly. It was a touchingmoment July 2002and laid booksthat go to the children'shospital. In the causinga few moisteyes . Teaand refreshments were taken after. pastwreaths have been laid butthe committeehave decided to be Manyturned up includingL TCDR Tracey McKeith,Deputy more practical.Jack tells me that all retired to the RSL Sub­ SNOof SA, and the StatePresiden t of the RSL, Mr John Bailey branchat Henleyto enjoydrinks etc. Thank you Jack . OAM.I thoughtthat CPOGrant Jesser looked most i mpressivein These days I am constantlypreoccupied with the fearful uniformand it puzzlesme how peopleli ke him can still appearat thoughtof total kneereplacement. Many have been involved with the ready. the processof reaching this point, but specialthanks must go to John Berry,Dinsley and Junice Cooperand Jack Kreig. At Jong lastwe havecompleted the job. Finally I wish to expressthanks to thosewho supportedLee and myselfat the sad Joss of our daughterMandy (aged 45) who had for the past 7 years fought a brave battle againstbreast cancer. We probablydid not get aroundto formallythanking all and I take this opportunityto let all knowthat we did appreciate the kindsupport that was offered . Barry Lord- Secretary .. QUEENSLANDDIVISION

Sittingdown to write seemseasier than trying to playgolf lately.However, it's beenpleasant to be out in the 'winter' sunshine and frighteningthe 'rooswith some erratic shots . Thingshave been fair ly quietup heresince ~-- -- ~ the last newsletter. We had a good day at ChelmerBowls C lub on 21 July,though our attendancewas down on the usual numbers. It was about 24C in the sun and Roy Hathawayhad put plentyof tableand chairsout for us andthere was plentyof shadei f needed. Roy cookedup a heapof onions on the BBQfor all to partakewith theirmeals . Ray Murrellran the raffle-Trevor Tile wasaway at a Christening-and did a greatjob. Bob McBride, who now lives near me, had donateda copy of Geoff Litchfield's book, 'Fly Boy', whichwas won by Jan(Junior) Henderson.Tad Fotek'sw ife won a nicepen and Garry Reid won a towe~set. Many thanks for your donation, Bob. I'm looking forwardto reading yourbook, Geoff . Severalof us had a go at lawn bowls, but Mick Blairtook a while to realise that he wasn'tten-pin bowling and threw a few googlies at first. It was goodfun and the cold beerafterward was enjoyed. ShirleyNielsen came with Ian and FlorenceHenderson and we were pleasedto see her. 'Shorty'was in respitecare for the weekendto give her a break. Shirleysays that Frankis not realgood , but holdingon. Thanks,Roy for arrangingthe venue- It's pity thereweren't more there . Tad Fotekand Don Spencerare goingto WA for the reunion, as is GordonWalter. I reckonBill Strahan will be overthere too. Earlierthis year,we put a submissionto the RevueCommittee on behalfof our Division. They helda publicmeeting in Brisbane in Junewhich Mick, myself, Re x Dayand RoyceKimlin attended .. I had a call earlierto suggestthat we mightlike to havea private meetingwith them after lunchat the Vet.Affairs Office. Mick and I went along and met with two membersof the Committee. We enjoyedan in-depthdiscussion with them over a wholerange of mattersand felt tha\lsomethingpositive could come from them , at least in their recommendationsto Governmentby November. Thenit's up to the Government.

FAAPlaque (Top Left) in the DawPark Repatriation Hospital Chapel (Continued on page 30)

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We'redelighted to welcomenew members, Peter Greig, David NEGATNE PEOPLE Caseyand Rob Hingston and lookforward to meetingthem in the nearfuture. Tfiis is sometfiin9 to tfiinlc aGout wfien I was pleasedto see Beryl Green comingonto the ACT ne9ativeye'!f'(e are loin!) tfieir Gest to rain Committee. Berylphoned a coupleof yearsago but I was away on your yarad'e. So rememGer tfiis tfie next andmy brothertook the phonenumber down incorrectly. I will be time someone wfio Knows notfiin9 and' cares in contactsoon, Beryl. (esstries to malceyour (jfe miseraMe... Johnand Ros Crawleywere in Brisbaneon the weekendof A New Yorlc woman was at fier fiaird'resser'son Parle 51 the 21 andcame up for lunchwith us, it wasgood to touchbase Avenue 9ettin9 fier fiair sty(ed'yrior to a trp to Rome witfi withthem again. fier Go!Jfriend'.Sfie mentioned' tfie trp to tfie fiaird'resser,wfio I thoughtthe VikingHelmet and '29 July'tag on JohnGreen's resyond'ed',"Rome?" Wfiy wou(d' anyone want to 90 tfiere?It's headlooked better than the datestamped on myforehead! crawled' and' lirty and'ju(( efIta{ians. You're crazy to 90 to [YoucanY please some people . How do you like the headerthis time? Ed] Rome. So, now are you 9ettin9 tfiere?" Incidentally,I have a newsflash for the readers: "We're talcin9 Continenta{," was tfie r'J'(y. "We 9ot a '.AnAmerican decided to writea bookabout famous churches 9reat rate!" aroundthe world.For his first chapterhe decidedto writeabout "Continenta(?"exc(aimed' tfie fiaird'resser. "Tfiat's a terriG(e Australianchurches. So he boughta planeticket and took a trip to air(ine. Tfieiry(anes are o(d', tfieirj(i9fit attend'ants are ug(y, Hobart,thinking that he wouldwork his way acrossthe country and' tfiey're a(ways (ate. So, wfiere are you stayin9 in Rome?" fromSouth to North. "We'(( Ge at tfiis exc(usive {itt(ey(ace over on Rome's (eft On his first day he was insidea churchtaking photographs Ganieca((ed'Teste .. . " whenhe noticeda goldent,e/ephone mounted on the wall with a sign that read "$10,000per call". The writer,being intrigued, "Don't 90 any jurtfier. I Know tfiat y(ace. EveryGoly askeda priestwho was strolling by whatthe telephonewas used tfiinlcs its 9onna Ge sometfiin9 syecia( and' exc(usive,Gut it's for. Thepriest replied that it wasa directline to heavenand that rea((y a d'umy, tfie worst note( in tfie city! Tfie rooms are for $10,000you couldtalk to God. Thewriter thanked the priest sma({, tfie service is sur(y and' tfiey're overyriced'.So, wfiatcfia andwent along his way. loin!) wfien you 9et tfiere?" The next stop was in Melbourne.There, at a very large "We're 9oin9 to 90 to see tfie Vatican and' we H'!f'e to see cathedral,he sawthe samegolden telephone with the samesign underit . He wonderedif this wasthe samekind of telephonehe tfie P'!J'e," sawin Hobartand he askeda nearbynun whatits purposewas. "Tfiat's ricfi," (au9fied'tfie fiaird'resser."You and' a mimon She told him that it was a direct line to heavenand that for otfierye'!f'(e tryin9 to see fiim. He'(( foolctfie size efan ant. $10,000he couldtalk to God."O.K., thank you," said the writer. Boy, 9001 (uclc on tfiis fousy trp efyours. You're 9oin9 to He then travelledto Sydney,Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, need'it." Darwin,and Alice Springs.In every churchhe saw the same A montfi (ater, tfie woman a9ain came in for a fiaird'o goldentelephone with the same "$10,000 per call"sign under it. and' tfie fiaird'resseras/eel fier a Gout fier trp to Rome. The American,upon leavingAlice Springssaw a sign for Queenslandand decidedto see if Queens/andershad the same "It was wond'eifu[."ery(ained' tfie woman, "not on(y were telephone. we on time in one efContinentafs Grand'new y(anes, Gut it He arrivedin Brisbane,and again, there was the same golden was overGoolced'and' tfiey Gunped' us uy tofirst dass. telephone,but this timethe sign underit read "10cents per call." Tfie fool and' wine were wond'eifu[, and' I fiad' a Thewriter was surprised so he askedthe priestabout the sign. fiand'some28-year-o(d' steward' wfio waited' on me fiand' and' "Father,I've travelledall overAustralia and I've seen this same oot. And' tfie fiotd - it was 9reat! Tfiey'd'just finisfied' a $5 goldentelephone in manychurches. I'm told thatit is a directline to Heaven,but in everystate the price was $10,000 per call. Why mimon remolemn9 joG and' now it's a jewe[. tfiefinest fiotd is it so cheaphere?" in tlie city. Tfiey, too, were overGoolced',so tfiey "!.Pofo9ised' Thepriest smiled and answered,"You're in Queenslandnow and'9ave us tfieir owner's suite at no extra cfiar9e!" son,it's a localcall." ' "We((." muttered' tfie fiaird'resser,"tfiat's a(( we(( am( 9001, That'sit for now.Best regards to all. Gut I Knowyou d'id'n't9et to see tfie P'!J'e," BarryLister - President ''Actuarry, we were quite (uclcy, Gecauseas we toured' tfie Vatican, a Swiss Guard' t"!.Pyed'me on tfie sfiou(d'er and' ery(ained' tfiat tfie P'!f'e (ifcesto meet some eftfie visitors and' THE SENILITY PRAYER !f I'd' Geso Kini as to st'J' into fiisyrivate room and' wait, tfie God grant me the senilityto for get the P'!f'e wou(d'yersonarry 9reet me." Sure enou9fi,five minutes peopleI neverliked anywqy, the good (ater, tfie P'!f'e wa(lced'tfirou9fi tfie d'oorand' sfioolcmy fiand'! I lcnefrlawn and' fie syolcea Jew word'sto me." fortune to run into the onesI do, and the "Oft, rearry... Wfiat'd' fie say? eyesightto tell the difference. "He sail, "Wfiere'd'you 9et tfiat fousy fiaird'o?"

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A truestory from a Texancontributor

Hello.Before you readthis, I haveto say that it is quitelong, but door in front of me acrossthe bulkhead,was slammingviolently thereis a lot to tell here.I begyour patience. None of this is scary, backand forth at a veryhigh rate of speed.I staredin disbelieffor just weird. severalseconds, and then I said,"Hello?" It immediatelystopped. I wasthe first assistantto the curatorfor a NavalMuseum that I askedagain "Hello?" Nothing! was on boarda decommissionedAircraft Carrier that had been Thisunnerved me a bit dueto surprise,so I ran no morethan turnedinto a tourist attraction/museumon the coast of Texas, 20 feet to the ladderto the quarterdeckand grabbeda DC guy USA.It was an artefactfrom WWII as the last operatingEssex­ (damagecontrol, kind of like a securityguard) and told himthere classcarrier, and was still used by the U.S. Navyas a training wassomeone in this spaceand could he checkit out? carrieruntil 1992. I wasn'tgone for morethan one minutebefore I returnedwith Duringthe war,it hadmany deaths due to a Kamikazehit, and him.He wentdown into this space(an old radio-controlroom that twotorpedoes. It hadsome service in Koreaalso. There were also wentdown two decksand had only the one metaldoor) with his a few planecrashes on the flight deck duringtraining exercises. flashlight, and of course,no one was there.Neither could they • Not only that, but as any seamanwould know,ships are really havegone down the passagewayto anotherladder in thatamount dangerouscraft in their own way, and many non-battledeaths of timeand not be seen. It wasvery strange . Everybodywanted to occureven in peacetimefrom all sortsof accidents.And after a 50 give me randomdrug testing after that day,but I got the lastlaugh year careerof activeduty, there is no telling how manypeople whenmonths later, all the scepticsstarted turning white as sheets mighthave lost their lives aboard this ship.I was hiredon several andtelling even stranger tales. monthsbefore we evenopened up to the publicas a museum. Anothertime I wastold to bringdown a tablefrom the aft crew Anyway,I was neverin the Navy, and had neverbeen on a quartersto put in one of the Gun Galleriesfor an outside shipbefore I wasemployed there. This thing is amazing,910' long 'employeelounge' table. Sincethat half of the ship had not had on the flightdeck, and 16 decksfrom the islandto the holdsat the powerrun to it yet, it was pitch-blackwhere I wastrying to get this bottom.Housed up to 2,500 personneland had close to 1100 tablefrom. Well, everything on a ship is bolteddown pretty much, compartmentsof various forms throughout. A tribute to and with the aid of a good flashlight, I am unboltingand shipbuildingindeed for it's day. Now it is consideredminuscule disassemblingthis thing when I hear the familiarfootsteps of comparedwith the modernones! someone in hard-heeled military shoes walking up the AlthoughI havehad very strange experiences in my life, I had passagewayright next to me. nevermet a ghostbefore I gotthere. I froze, and listened. What was really unusual,(and this A lot of verystrange things were always happening to me and happenedall the timeto us),was that whoever was walking, never manyothers that workedthere. It was a given amongus that broketheir cadencewhen they reachedthe coamingof a hatch, things like that happened. Unlikeothers, my job took me to all but soundedjust like they walkedthrough it. A hatchis abovethe parts of the ship, and at all hoursof the day and night. I was floor by about18 inches,and you haveto pauseever so slightlyto single,had nothingbetter to do, and just alwaysstayed on the step over the coaming(or sill I guess)on your way downthe ship to escapethe crummyplace that I lived at on the beach. I passageway. This personnever did, and didn'thave a flashlight, was thereway too muchactually . But was allowedto do so, as I but walked a long ways down the passagewaytill the sound hada lot of dutiesand responsibilities there. faded. To prefacesome of this, I wouldlike to tell you that on any Noone could have walked in absolutedarkness like that for so navalship that is static,in mothballs,and deadbasically, there is long withoutrunning into something!On top of that, what was NOwind below decks. Only ventilation from the internalsystems, stunningto me, was the fact that the air movedfrom this person and we mostly did not have that for the first two years of walkingpast the openhatch I was nextto. I couldfeel it verywell . operations. They definitelycreak and groanfrom the expansion Waveyour hand in frontof yourface . Feelthe air?It wasjust as if andcontraction from the metalduring day andnight, but this does it was a physicalperson , but they neverresponded to my hellos, notadequately explain very many things . just walkedin the dark withouta flashlight,and did not stepover the coamings. A fewof thethings that happenedto me: Thisphenomenon happened quite frequently , I wouldbe alone Thefirst strange thing that I noticedwas that I dreamedof this and hear someonewith hard heeledshoes walk past the door, placeevery single night for a year and a half. I remembermy andof course,no onewould be there,and every one above decks dreamswell, and this shipwas always in them,and I still get these woulddeny that they evenwere down there. Plus,all of us wore crazydreams about it fromtime to time. soft soledtennis shoes to work as they were betteron the slick 12:00 noon on some Saturday,I was the ONLYemployee steelfloors on dewydays. anywherebelow decks. I happenedto be workingin my officeon I had anotherwitness to one of theseincidents, and it scared the deck belowthe hangardeck {wherethey store the aircraft), her so bad that she would never again work after hours. We and left to go down the passagewayto the quarterdeck(our comparednotes as neither of us believedourselves. But this receptionarea kind of, andeven with the hangardeck). Suddenly I turnedout to be morecommon than even I realisedlater. hear a tremendousrattling, and finally noticed, after looking around,that whatwas happeningwas that a heavysliding metal (Continued on page 32)

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Thespace that we madeinto an office for the accountantand therewhen we put in screwson the backsideof the doorsto the had the photocopierand fax machineand was adjacentto my captain'sgalley. He {the captain)didn't eat in the officer'smess , office. It also had severalold, rolling militaryoffice chairs in it. but had his own cook,and we securedthis kitchenon the 02 or Well,like clockwork, as soonas the accountantand her assistant GalleryDeck very well with screws . We alsodisabled the lockas it left for the day, me and the womanacross the hall could hear wason the tour routeand we didn'twant people getting in there. I themcreaking as if peoplewere sitting down, and then getting up did the doorsmyself and it waswell sealed from anyone! often,and rollingacross the floor but with weightin them. It's a Well, lo andbehold, two weekslater we get a massivestream distinctivenoise, and it happenedtoo oftento not mistakeit. of water comingonto the hangardeck wherethey store all the I was neverbrave enough to walk in there while they were aircraftbelow, and we traceit backto this galley. I hadsecured it doing this, but theyalways did it aftereveryone had left. I worked so wellthat we hadto kick in the door, only to find that a tap for a manya Saturdayand Sundaythere and they wouldthen do it in service sink had been opened up and ran over and flooded the daytimeas well. everything,and wen t to the lowestgravity po int. I was evictedfrom my horrible little apartmenton the beach Well, it wasn'trunn ing when I sealedthe doors, but whenwe oneday, and had no whereelse to go, and no moneyor time to got up thereit tooka pipe wrenchto shuti t off! Salt-waterair tends get anotherplace or a hotelroom so I askedthe assistantXO if I to rust things, and after a few years of neglectthis tap was couldlive on the shipfor awhile.He said sure! I putsome things in corrodedentirely . It wouldhave beenjust as difficultto turn the storagesomewhere, and they gave me the "Air Boss's"Cabin . handle'on' as it was to turn it 'of'f with a sturdypipe-wrench ! Or The air boss was the person who directedall the flight that'smy opinion anyway . • operationson the ship. Man, it was crude, but betterthan where I So, there were many other things that happenedto me for camefrom , and sinceit was only 30 feet awayfrom my office I quitea whileafter I movedoff of thereand I got frustrated. So one was neverlate for work! It was also a palacecompared to the night I went to 'D.C. Central' which is in the very bottomof the enlistedmen's quarters , or eventhe FlightLieutenants '. It had a ship. It was like a very protectedcommunications centre exactly bathroomwith a showerand a decentbunk , and I had a pretty mid-shipand at about15th deck . I went downthere one morning decentsleeping bag . I got alongfamously. at about1 : 00 am. I figuredat the time that somethingwould be I didn'thave cooking facilities, so I ate out on the beach, or hangingout aroundthe re as it was the nervecentre of the ship, coldfood out of cans, but I got alongwell. All I did was work at and it's guardianplace for communications. Anyway,I was all whateverI neededto do duringthe day, wanderaround in the aloneand spoke aloud to 'whatever'that I wishedto be left alone eveningand then go to sleepi n my cabin. I livedthere for about and, althoughthey were not maliciousbut onlyamusing, I still had threeweeks until I couldrent another place . other problemsin my life at the time to contendwith and would Rememberthat I was absolutelythe only living personon theyplease leave me alone? boardthis hugeaircraft carrier . At nightwe had a securityguard Well, guesswhat? I was therefor anotherfull year, andnever on the quarterdeckwhich led to the pier, lockedgates after hours experiencedano therthing since. So , I truly believethey were both and an electronicsecurity system at the entry way, whichwas intelligent and courteous.I never did any harm to anythingor high-techfor the time. anyonewhile I was there,and I think that they realised that and Thisis thefun part! just wantedme to be awareof their presence. Theywere most kind really. I could have just droppeddead from fright had I Sincethe veryfirst nightI was there,I lockedthe doorof my experiencedwhat some others did . cabinand didn't come out until workingtime in the morning. It didn'tbother me whenI didn'tlive there,but now I had reasonto All that I havesaid herei s honestand sincere.Thank you so wonderabout things . muchfo r reading. Once again, like clockwork,I would be woken in the wee [The aircraftcarrier referred to in the abovestory is the USS hoursof the morningto armouredhatches dropping from deep Lexington. It is nowknown as the 'USSLe xingtonMuseum on the insidethe shipsomewhere. Next morning, none of the (overhead) Bay'at CorpusChristi , Texas, USA.Ed] hatcheswere closed anywhereon the ship, becauseI went everywherethat I knewof. Thesethings we igh closeto 800lbs , or SpeedingHumor morein somecases, and winches are usedto lift them.But they A fellow boughta newMe rcedesand was out on an interstate roadfor a suremake a soundwhen they drop!That happenedevery night, niceeven ing drive. andit wouldwake me up. The Securityguards would never hear The top was down,the breezewas blowingthrough his hair and he themso I guessthat it wasjust me. decidedto speedher up. As the needlejumped up to 80mphhe suddenly sawa flashingred andblue li ght behind him. Theother thing that wouldhappen was that I wouldhear two "There ain't no way they can catch a Mercedes," he thoughtto men havinga loud discussionjust downthe passagewayevery himselfand sped up faster. The needlehit 90, 100 110 and finally 120 morningat about 4:10 am. Every morning! I could never withthe lightsstill behindhim. understandthem, but could definitelyhear them. It didn't sound "Whatin hellam I doing?"he thought andpu lled over. angry, just loud and animated.I wish I would have been brave The cop came up to him, took his licensew ithout a word and enoughto step out of the cabinto hear better,but I neverdid. I examinedit andthe car. just wentback to sleepwhen I could,and waited for the nextn ight "I've had a toughshift and this is my last pull over. I don't feel like whenthe same thing would happen. Ha! I would alwayshear morepaperwork so if you can give me an excusefor your drivingthat I these indistinct voices a way off yelling something from haven'theard before you can go!" somewhere,but neveridentified where from . "Lastweek my wife ran off with a cop," the man said, "and I was When I wasn't busy with somethingelse, I would give afraidyou were trying to give her back!" assistanceto the ship's mechanic/locksmith. I personallywas "Havea nicen ight",said the officer.

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THISIS YOURLAST CHANCE TOGO DOWNIN HISTORY

With regardsto the Gannetbook ; it is on track and I hopeto have the full draft completedthis yearto be presentedto the FAAAssociation . It is now in its fourthyear and the time has cometo 'bitethe bullet'and haveone last call for 'papers' from as many ex- 'birdies' as possible. A simple recollection, experiences, humour, photo's,anything that may further enhancethe historyof the FaireyGannet in RANservice would be appreciated. I am lackinginformation on the Gannetin servicewith 724 and 725 Squadrons, so if there is anyonewho can help, it will fill in what is at presenta very slim chapter.Another L::'.:~'.::...:.~~:.::.::2~~===-_..:~':..:....:~'::..:.:~:...=::::::.::c::_...::::':=::::~~~~~ • lean sectionis post 1966to decommissioningin 1968. I did wantto includea chapteron the Sycamoreplane guard helicopter, this will dependon what responseI receive. It wouldcertainly make a great additionto the book,especially stories from the aircrew,maintenance personnel and those involved with rescueoperations. To all thosewho havealready contributed, a big thankyou. Each one will be receivingin the nearfuture a limitededition pr int of the paintingdepicting 'Toz'Dadswell's Gannet as displayedat the FAM reunion at Campbelltown, (seeabove) the sameapplies for all newcontributors. Onceagain , I wouldlike to stressthat this is not a privateventure. The finished book will be offeredas a fundraiser for the FAM, butmore importantly , to recordthe servicelife of a sadlyneglected chapter in the historyof the Fleet Air Arm, especiallythat of the personnelinvolved. Regardingphotographs , pleasesend copies or sendoriginals by registeredmail. They will be promptlyscanned and returnedwithin a fewdays also via registeredmail. BenPatynowski -16 CowperSt FairyMeadow NSW 2519 - Ph (02)42841801 - E-mail [email protected]

Topthree photographs taken at the VictoriaDivision Memorial Serviceat HMASCerberus.

PeterMcLaren - KevinCamm - NevilleCowgill Bill Callanand Bill Kerr TonyHorton - CharlesGrose - DonMcLaren

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OBITUARY Pattissonlived mostof his life on the Hampshireand Dorset Lieutenant-CommanderKen Pattisson,who hasdied aged 85, coasts,and his greatpassion was sailing.He taughthis children was the Swordfishpilot whose torpedowas believedto have to sail, one of whom,Rodney, became an Olympicgold medal fatallycrippled the Germanpocket battleship Bismarck. winner. In the first attack,launched from the carrierArk Royalon May After the RoyalNavy, he took over his father'sbusiness in 26 1940,Pattisson was mistakenly led downon the Britishcruiser London,running exhibitions. He was HonoraryLifeboat Secretary Sheffield,which was shadowing Bismarck. But he recognisedher in Poole, 1976-86, and an active memberof the RoyalNaval silhouetteand withheldhis fire, unlikehis 14 colleagueswhose SailingAssociation . torpedoesfortunately detonated in the heavyseas before reaching Pattisson,who died on July 13, marriedMargaret Collett i n her;when Sheffield saw the next attackof Swordfisharriving she 1939.She predeceased him , andthey had four children. calmlysignaled that the enemywas 15 milesnorth . After rearmingwith torpedoes,now equippedwith impact OBITUARY detonatorsand set to run shallower,810 Squadronwas launched Ian GregoryLARSEN againin worseningweather. Climbing to 9,000ft PattissonJost 1947- 2002 contactin a snowsquall with everyonebut his leader,'Feather' Godfrey-Fausset!who led himinto an attackingdive. The familyand friendsof Ian 'Swede'Larsen Shrapnelstarted to tear awaythe flimsycanvas covering his wish to advise his fellow shipmatesof his ~;&11111,.::; woodenairframe. Breaking through the cloudat 900 ft, Pattisson suddenand untimelydeath on the 17th of foundhimself alone as he sawBismarck on hisstarboard side. August,2002. Althoughconscious that his lumbering'stringbag' made an Janjoined the RANas an AircraftArtificer at HMASNIRIMBA easytarget for Bismarck'sgunners as he flew straightand level in July 1963and quickly became popular for his easygoingnature towardsher, Pattisson waited until he was900 yardsoff and90 ft and cheery personality.Arriving at ALBATROSSin 1967 he abovethe wavesbefore firing. He then startedto jink wildlyfrom quicklyrose through the ranksgaining a reputationas a reliable, sideto sideto putthe Germansoff theiraim. enthusiasticleader , who attracted strong loyalty from his Later,he modestlyadmitted that it was 'highlyprobable' that subordinatesand respectfrom all those he encounteredin the his torpedohit Bismarck'sstern and jammed her rudders,though workforce. At the sametime his fame as a rugbyplayer spread others,who saw a largecolumn of waterrise up on her starboard quicklythroughout the RAN. sideright aft, were more certain. He experiencedservice on HMAS MELBOURNEthrough Bismarcksteered in circlesthroughout the night beforethe severaldeployments, with a highlight as the CAA on HS817 HomeFleet caught up with her.At dawnnext day, 810 Squadron Squadronin the late1970s . waslaunched again, but was toldto holdoff whileKing George V Swede was 'commissioned'in 1979 and among his andRodney pounded her. Pattissonthen watched from the air as appointmentsserved as HC723AEO during 1982/3, overseeing Bismarckcapsized, leaving the heads of the survivors,he hectic deploymentsin support of Bass Strait surveillance recalled,'bobbing like turnips in a field'. operationsout of EastSale . He wasawarded a DSCfor his part in the operation. A piece Swede representedat RAN and Australian Combined of shrapnelwhich had lodgedin his aircraftbecame a prized ServicesRugby and he wasa strongachiever as captain/coachof souvenir;but while returningto Britain as a passengerin RANRUin 1981. He was highlysuccessful as captain/coachin Springbankin ConvoyHG73, he Jostall his possessionswhen she ShoalhavenRugby in the early1980s . was sunk by U-boats.Jumping from her on to the deck of the Janleft the RAN in 1984 returningto his nativeBundaberg corvetteJasmine, Pattisson broke three ribs, though this was his wherehe establisheda successfulrestaurant business and later onlyinjury, bar one high landing, in 20 years'service . createda buildingand construction enterprise in the area. KennethStuart Pattissonwas born in North Londonon Hewill be Jongremembered for his honesty, integrity,unfailing December12 1916,and educatedat NewportGrammar School loyaltyto hisfamily and friends and a wonderfulsense of fun. on the Isleof Wightbefore responding to an advertisementto join the FleetAir Arm.As partof ForceH, his squadronbombed Italy, Jan is survivedby wife, Jennifer,daughter , Peta and son which was out of range of RAF bombers, and escorted Nathan. Mediterraneanconvoys. After Ark Royal,Pattison flew in several trainingand trials squadrons. VALE As commandingofficer of 815, basedin Scotland,he once Arthur'Pop' KELSO droveto wherea Barracuda,which had sufferedengine failure, hadlanded in a smallfield. After repair, he taxiedto the endof the field,tied the tail of the aircraftto a tree,and told the localfarmer ArthurKelso, who was an armourerwho served in thefifties , sadly to cut the ropeswhen the enginereached full throttle;he just passedaway in late June/Julyof this year. At 22 yearsof age, clearedthe hedgeat the oppositeside of the field. Arthurwas 'significantly' older than his intakecohorts and was thuschristened 'Pop'. Pattissonserved in the carrierColossus with the BritishPacific Fleet in 1945. He was also commandingofficer of his old Heonly served one engagement , paidoff , andlike so manyof squadron,now flyingFireflies in the carrier Theseus,during the that perioddisappeared over the radar horizonsof 'birdy-land', KoreanWar when he wasmentioned in dispatches.Later, several onlyto reappearin oddcircumstances quite recently. desk-boundjobs did not suit Pattisson,and he retiredfrom the 'Pop' had been marriedbut at the time of his passingwas Navyin 1958. divorcedand living alone .

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GOODBYETO A FORMERNAVY CHIEF In 1977, he joined HMAS MELBOURNEas OIC Air EngineeringDepartment. He was postedto VF805as SeniorAir 1940· 2002 Engineerin 1978 and then as Senior Air Engineerof VC724 squadronin 1980. In 1982, he was posted to the HMAS The Royal Australian Navy is ALBATROSSAi r Trainingdepartment as Courselm~lementation remembering the tremendous Officer. serviceand seamanship of former 'Baz 'was promotedto LieutenantCommander in 1985and Chief of Navy, postedto the Directorateof NavyTra ining.In 1987he wasposted RodneyGraham Taylor , whodied backto Nowraas SeniorA ir EngineerOfficer HS 817 squadron. on Sunday,01 September2002. The followingyear he was postedas CommanderEng ineering VADMTaylor joined the RAN Production NAS NOWRA.He was postedto MHQas FleetAir in 1954as a JuniorEntry Cadet Engineeroffi cer in 1991. Retiringfrom the Navyin 1997after 40 Midshipmanand graduatedfrom * yearsof naval service. the Royal Australian Naval He will always be rememberedfor his loyaltyto his 'troops', Collegein 1957. He went on to , his depth of knowledge and his couragewhen standingup for serveboth at homeand abroad . . l ....__..- -~ whathe believed in. In addition to serving in a ~-.:;;;.-.-.,_~!.-lllil• numberof RAN ships, he also OBITUARY • servedin Her Majesty's YachtBRITANNIA and later qualified as a PeterGOLDRICK sub-specialistnavigator. VADM Taylor saw active service in Vietnam and was Peter, passedaway on 2 Augustafter a long illnessand was mentionedin despatchesdur ing the first deploymentof the guided buriedat the WaverleyCemetery on 07 August2002 . missiledestroyer, HMAS BRISBANE . Peterwas the only RANaircrew flying from an RANcarrier to Other significant career highlights included service as be woundedin action. Three805 Squadronpilots were killedin CommandingOfficer HMASVAMPIRE (1979-80), Commander Koreaand Peter,of 808 Squadron, waswounded in his rightarm Third AustralianDestroyer Squadron and CommandingOfficer by smallarms ground fire whileflying a SeaFury. HMASTORRENS (1983-85) , DeputyFleet Commander and Chief Ironically, one of the first administrativemeasures that of Staff(1987-88), and the inauguralCommodore Flotillas (1989). followedhis wounding, later rescinded, was stoppageof flying In 1990 he was promotedto Rear Admiral and held the pay. appointmentsof AssistantCh ief of DefenceForce - Operations (1990-91)and DeputyChief of Naval Staff (1991-94). RADM Taylorwas made an Officerin the Orderof Australiain 1992. RESTIN PEACE Promotionto the rank of Vice Admiralfollowed , along with MurrayDOUGLAS appointmentas Chiefof NavalStaff in March1994 . VADMTaylor servedin this role with great distinction.During his command, It is with the deepestregret that I haveto informyou that our old VADMTaylor oversaw considerable development and changein mate, MurrayDouglas, slipped h is mooringson 03 September the Navy. In this time the first of the Anzacclass frigatesand 2002after a longbattle with emphysema and cancer . Collinsclass submarines entered service. It was a peacefuldeparture , havingbeen in a comafor the Feelingstrong commitment to Navy'speople, he continuously pastfour days. stressedthe importanceof preservingNavy's values , tradition, ethos and professionalismdur ing the defenceefficiency rev iew and the subsequentdefence reform program . In February1997 , VADMTaylor's title becameChief of Navy.

OBITUARY

LCDRBarry David GARRATT 1942- 2002

'Baz' Garrattserved in the RoyalNavy from 1958to 1972.During this time he saw three yearsactive service in the junglesof Borneo~---~ fightingthe communistIndonesian forces . He spentthree years on loanto the BritishArmy in the RhineArmy Air Corps(Detmold )and also served on 805,727, 814, 815, 845 Squadrons andin HMSALBION. In 1973,Barry joined the RoyalAustralian Navy as a Chief PettyOfficer . In 1976,he was promotedto SBLT and postedto HMSMANADON and HMS DAEDELUS for promotioncourses.

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FAAASSOCIATION ST ATE CONTACTS A blondedecides to , try horsebackriding, NATIONALEXECUTIVE • eventhough she has r~ NEWwusnt• had no lessons or lJs President:CDRE AT DadswellAM RAN(Rid) The FAAAof Australiaweb site is nowon lineat 21/1Wilkins Street ; MAWSONACT 2607 priorexperience. • http://www.faaaa.asn.au Phone/Fax (02) 6286 2013 She mounts the Secretary:Mr MikeHeneghan • PO BOX 7115, NAVALPO , NOWRA2540 horse, unassisted and the horse Thewebmaster, Paul Shiels , hasrequested Phone/Fax(02) 4441 2901 immediatelysprings into motion . constructiveinput from the membersregarding the Qr- 16Ibis Place , SUSSEXINLET , NSW2540 It gallopsalong at a steadyand site. Hecan be contactedat: [email protected] Phone/Fax: (02)44223979 , rhythmic pace, but the blonde or throughthe SA DivisionSecretary . AUSTRALIANCAPITAL TERRITORY DIVISION beginsto slipfrom the saddle. In terror, she grabs for the Member'sE-mail Directory# 10 President:Mr BrianCourtier If youwish your E-ma il addresspublished, please contact 61/15John Cleland Close , FLOREY, ACT2615 horse's mane, but cannotseem to .. . the Editor. · Phone:(02) 6259 7736-Mobile: 04 08166741 get a firm grip. She tries to throw. Secretary:Beryl Green her arms aroundthe horse'sneck, AmbroseBoulter POBO X 3652, WESTONCREEK, ACT 2611 but she slidesdown the sideof the · [email protected] Phone: (02)6258 9891 horseanyway .. . Fax/Tel(08) 8364 62°27 WESTERNAUSTRALIA DIVISION The horse gallops along, PeterBarnes seeminglyimpervious to its slipping President::Mr BevanDaws (Changeof address)ranfaa@primus .com.au 46 BerryDrive, MAIDA VALE WA 6057 rider.Finally, giving up herfrail grip, ~hone:(08) 9454 7228 - Mobile0411 831 609 the blondeattempts to leap away Secretary:Mr PeterWelsh from the horseand throw herself to 42 SaddlebackCircle - MaidaVale WA 6057 safety. A LASTFAR EWELL Phone: H (08)9454 6045 - W (08)9411 7781 Fax: W (08)9411 2860 Unfortunately, her foot has ff fie ll66o.ciation ~ will',. ~ tfie Email: [email protected] becomeentangled in the stirrup, de.atl,,., o-f-tfie fcll,otuitUJtnem&M, 6fiipmaro., she is now at the mercy of the and {.ltiend:,: SOUTHAUSTRALIA DIVISION horse's poundinghooves as her President:CMDR John SiebertRAN head is struck againstthe ground MaximilliamMackrill overand over. PO BOX 177, MITCHAM, SA5062 1920 - 2002 Phone: (08)8299 0445 As her head is batteredagainst Secretary:Mr Barry Lord the ground, she is mere moments 65 WhitmoreSquare, ADELAIDE SA 5062 Wesley Lowe Email: [email protected] away from unconsciousnesswhen to hergreat fortune ...... 1923-2002 + VICTORIADIVISION Frank, the Co/es New World Manager, ~ees her and unplugsthe horse. Barry David Garratt President:Mr RonChristie 15Bianca Court, ROWVILLE VIC 3178 01 June 2002 Phone: (03)9764 5542 - Fax:(03) 9755 5417 Onevery astute old guy! Secretary: Mr GeoffLitchfield An elderlycouple had been datingfor MichaelThomas 9 StringybarkRoad, EL THAM SOUTH , VIC3095 ,~ome time and decided it was finally Phone/Fax:(03) 9439 9736 'timeto marry.Before the wedding, they 2002 Email:geoff805@tpg .com.au had a long conversationregarding NEWSOUTH WALES DIVISION arrangementsand so on. Finallythe old Arthur 'Pop' Kelso mandecided it was time to broachthe 2002 President:Mr NevilleNewbold subjectof theirphysical relationsh ip. 61 QueenStreet , BERRY, NSW2535 "How do you feel about sex?" he Phone:(02) 4464 1734 Fax : (02)4464 1593 asked, ratherhopefully. NormanFarquhar Secretary:Mr MikeHeneghan 2002 PO BOX28, NOWRANSW 2541 "Well, I'd have to say I like it Phone/Fax: (02)4441 2901 infrequently,"she responded. The old guy paused .... then he Peter Goldrick TASMANIADIVISION asked,"Was that one word or two?" 02 August 2002

President:Mr John Nobes DISCLAIMER 8 ElizabethStreet, SOMERSET, TASMANIA 7322 Slipstreamis publishedby TheFleet Air Ian Gregory Larsen Secretary: AlanAndrews ArmAssociation of AustraliaIncorporated. Alf · 17 August 2002 POBOX 88 EXETERSTON, TASMANIA7275 rights reserved. Reproductionin part or whole is forbidden without the express QUEENSLANDDIVISION permissionof the Editorin writing. VADMRodney Graham Taylor AO RANRtd Alf care will be taken with materialbut 01 September2002 President:Mr BarryLister no responsibilityis acceptedor assumedby 3 RoyalClose, Regatta Park, WURTULLA QLD 4575 the publisher or editorial staff for loss or Phone: (07)5493 4386 damage. The viewsand opinionsexpressed Murray Douglas E-mail:[email protected] in this publicationdo not necessarilyreflect 03 September2002 Secretary:Mr Trevor Tile the viewsand opinionsof the Associationor 37 MilesStreet , CABOOLTURE QLD 4510 Committeeof Management. Phone:(07) 5499 3809 :r SHELF ======~======~~~~.0150.171 36 Typesetby JohnArnold - Printedby KlimptonPress , Cnr. AngusAvenue and Flinders Road, South Nowra - CW2-C