DOWN TO EARTH Air Marshal David Evans, AC, DSO, AFC © Commonwealth of Australia 2011 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission. Inquiries should be made to the publisher. Disclaimer The views expressed in this work are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defence, the Royal Australian Air Force or the Government of Australia, or of any other authority referred to in the text. The Commonwealth of Australia will not be legally responsible in contract, tort or otherwise, for any statements made in this document. Release This document is approved for public release. Portions of this document may be quoted or reproduced without permission, provided a standard source credit is included. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Evans, S. D. (Selwyn David), 1925- Title: Down to earth : the autobiography of Air Marshal David Evans, AC, DSO, AFC / David Evans. ISBN: 9781920800598 (hbk.) Subjects: Evans, S. D. (Selwyn David), 1925- Australia. Royal Australian Air Force--Officers--Biography. Marshals--Australia--Biography. Other Authors/Contributors: Australia. Royal Australian Air Force. Air Power Development Centre. Dewey Number: 358.40092 Published and distributed by: Air Power Development Centre Department of Defence PO Box 7935 CANBERRA BC ACT 2610 AUSTRALIA Telephone: + 61 2 6266 1355 Facsimile: + 61 2 6266 1041 Email: [email protected] Website: www.airforce.gov.au/airpower ii Foreword I have had the honour of knowing David Evans for a very long time since the days when he, vastly my senior, led the Royal Australian Air Force as its Chief and I was a lieutenant colonel at Army’s headquarters. You could see David in full rig as an air marshal or in tennis gear and you would know he was a senior military officer—he had that ‘presence’. It might have been natural or, I suspect, the mantle of his very long service, which made him one of the most experienced and eminent aviators of his generation. He was not a ‘desk warrior’ who had his ‘flying ticket punched’ to provide subsequent credibility in the promotion game, but a highly experienced pilot and commander who sat easily in the chair of the RAAF’s professional head. I jumped at the chance to read Down to Earth, knowing his service encompassed some of the most hectic and hazardous experiences and a period of deep reorganisation and challenge for our armed forces in World War II and the decades following. I was not disappointed. His story is told with wisdom and occasional whimsy of a time when our forces went from absolute pre-eminence in the defence of the nation’s interests into a twilight zone of no war, no peace. His pivotal service in the air bridge relief of the Berlin Blockade typifies the mostly unsung work of our armed services after World War II. His rapid rise (which to him and to his indefatigable and ever-charming wife Gail would have seemed anything but) came about because his superiors saw what shines through the pages of this book—his wisdom and balance, coupled with priceless operational experience. He was destined to command but discovered what every very senior commander has to endure—the turbulence of leadership of dynamic organisations tossed about by the fates. iii This is an important story, most attractively told by an eminent Australian warrior. I am honoured to write this foreword and hope you will enjoy the account as much as I have done. I commend the Air Power Development Centre for its work in bringing Air Marshal Evans’ memoir to us all. General Peter Cosgrove, AC, MC Chief of the Defence Force 2002–05 iv Acknowledgements As distinct from the professional author, the amateur needs encouragement to be ‘kept at it’. This was provided to me in abundance by Dr Chris Clark and Wing Commander Ken Llewelyn who skilfully steered me in a different direction to what I had intended. Now that the task is over, I concede that they may have been right. Chris has also done a fine job in editing my work, ably assisted by Wing Commander Keith Brent who got down to the nitty-gritty of correctly spelt names and accuracy in my recall of times and events. Dr Sanu Kainikara, the author of many books on defence and air power, helped by his wideranging views expressed in discussion. I am also indebted to Peter Smith who aided my recall of the project when writing on the Australian-designed trainer aircraft, the Wamira. Group Captain Richard Keir, the Director of the Air Power Development Centre, and all his staff were always helpful and courteous. Finally, I apologise to my patient wife, Gail, for spending so much of my time on ‘that damned book’. I do appreciate her forbearance, and thank her for coming up with the title. More than that, I am deeply grateful for the 36 years of Air Force life we shared, and for the whole 63 years during which her support has been constant. David Evans v Abbreviations and Acronyms ADG Airfield Defence Guard AAC Australian Aircraft Consortium ACTU Australian Council of Trade Unions ADF Australian Defence Force BABS Blind Approach Beam System CAF Citizen Air Force CAFOPS Chief of Air Force Operations CAS Chief of the Air Staff CDF Chief of the Defence Force CDFS Chief of the Defence Force Staff CO Commanding Officer FPDA Five Power Defence Arrangements GCA Ground-Controlled Approach NCO Non-commissioned Officer PAF Permanent Air Force RAAF Royal Australian Air Force RAF Royal Air Force RCDS Royal College of Defence Studies RNZAF Royal New Zealand Air Force WAAAF Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force YMCA Young Men’s Christian Association vi Contents Foreword ................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................v Abbreviations and Acronyms ..............................................................vi 1 A Future Shaped by War ............................................................... 1 2 Sir Robert to the Rescue .............................................................. 15 3 Spreading My Wings .................................................................... 27 4 My Honeymoon Postponed for the Berlin Airlift ................. 43 5 Life as a Flying Instructor ............................................................ 65 6 Pilot to the Governor-General ................................................... 81 7 Staff Officer to the Minister for Air .......................................... 99 8 A Love Affair with an English Lady ........................................117 9 The American Experience .........................................................129 10 Vietnam – Commanding Officer No 2 Squadron .............145 11 RAAF Sabres to the Indonesians ...........................................171 12 Officer Commanding RAAF Base Amberley .....................191 13 Fighting the Civilian Bureaucracy .........................................203 14 A Home-built Training Aircraft for the RAAF ..................227 15 Chief of the Air Staff ................................................................235 16 Reflections ..................................................................................271 vii viii 1 A Future Shaped by War otwithstanding the memorable words of the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain on his return from crisis talks with the German Dictator, ‘peace in our time’, tension Ncontinued to build up throughout the British Empire. The general reaction was to pray for peace whilst glumly accepting that war was inevitable. These were my observations as a 13-year-old schoolboy. With all the wisdom of such a teenager I assessed the odds in regard to winning a shooting war. This was based entirely on longstanding dogma that ‘Britannia rules the waves’. Of course we would win! I had even entered into an exercise book the name of any Royal Navy or Royal Australian Navy ship that came into the news. I think I was inspired by the names—names that signified capability and fighting spirit—HMS Indomitable, HMS Revenge, HMS Majestic. To me, the names were far more expressive than the name of a town or city. However, as most predicted, Australia found itself at war. I well recall the day that Great Britain declared war on Germany—which meant of course that Australia was also at war. Several hours before the announcement by the Australian Prime Minister at 9.30 pm on Sunday 3 September 1939, a special edition of the evening paper was on the streets. I was with my mother as young newsboys called incessantly, ‘War declared! Paper, paper! War declared!’ My mother passed twopence to the boy and, as he passed the four-page paper to her he nodded at me and said, ‘He’ll have to go’. To say my mother was shocked would be a gross understatement; aghast would be a better word. She glared at the boy and said, ‘Don’t be 1 Down to Earth ridiculous, he’s only fourteen’. For my part, I accepted what the boy said as a reasonable possibility—or even probability. World War I went on for five years and many wars throughout history had lasted longer than that. I think the major response within me was one of impatience with my age and hope that it would last long enough for me to take part, which, on reflection, was hardly a commendable attitude. I had no idea whatsoever of what part I would play. The other thought that came immediately to mind was whether my dad would go, as he was only 35 years of age at the time. We went home and immediately turned on the radio to catch the news. In fact, this was the start of a new routine in the Evans’ household and I expect in most other Australian homes. I doubt that we ever listened to the radio news before this defining day in the history of our nation. From that day I doubt that we missed a single radio broadcast when at home. I followed the progress of the war avidly, day by day. I was disappointed rather than distressed that the Maginot Line, the great defensive line erected by the French to parry such an attack, was bypassed by the blitzkrieg and strategic thrust of the German Army.