The Quarterly Journal ofthe Fleet Air Arm Association of Australia Inc. Volume 14 Number2 2003 • Publishedby the FleetAir Arm Associationof AustraliaIn c. Editor: JohnArnold - PO Box 662 NOWRANSW 2541 Australia Facsimile(02) 4423 2412- Emailslipstream@shoa l.net.au Print PostApproved - PP201494/00022 ~ ...~ fJ..._ f~-~-AtP 6 T SHELF -0150.124 CW2-C Slipstream - ~ ---------------------- Forewordby RearAdmiral Raydon Gates CSM RAN MaritimeCommander Australia I would like to thank Toz Dadswell, the National Presidentof the Fleet Air Arm Association, for the privilegeof writingthe forewordfor Slipstream.I would also like to commendthe FleetAir Arm Associationon its workin the Christmashamper appeal for embarked Flights (a feature that has made them the envy of everyother department on the ships). As the MaritimeCommander , I have had a very close association with the Fleet Air Arm since assumingcommand in July 2002. However, my • experiencewith the FAA goeswell back. As a young Air InterceptController on HMASMelbourne (CVS21 ), I experiencedup closethe professionalismand fierce prideof Navalaviators. Experiencingthe CAG arrive en massewas a challengefor a juniorSeaman officer, howeverit was nothingcompared to vectoringone of our A4sonto the tail of an unsuspecting'RAAFie'. Since those halcyondays of the Fleet Air Arm I havebeen to sea in frigateswith Squirrels and Seahawks,in peaceand operationsin the Red Sea, and as the CommandingOfficer of HMASAdelaide in the rescueof roundthe world yachtsmenTony Bullimoreand Thierry Dubois, whereaviation played such a vital partin appallingconditions in the GreatSouthern Ocean . The AustralianFleet has beenworking extremely hard over the last few yearsand few couldmatch the hard yardsthat havebeen done by the FleetAir Arm. Apartfrom a heavytraining burden a nd "routine" embarkations, there has been a heavycommitment to operationsin Timar, the SolomonIslands , fisheriespatrols near Heard Island, borderprotection near Christmas Isl and and the PersianGulf , as well as routinelyperforming fire and flood relief. Althoughthis has placedenormous stress on the system, the thingthat has keptit all togetherhas beenthe attitudeand competenceof thosecommitted to Navalaviation . The r~centcampaign in Iraq highlightedthe qualityof our trainingand people. The statistics.on what was achievedby the Seahawksin HMAShips ANZAC and DARWINand KANIMBLA's Sea King-were [mpressive, as • : were the reputations forged with other Navies. While there is always room for equipmentimprovement as technologyadvances (particularly in the field of self-protectionagainst missileo r chemicalatta.ck) our Naval AviationForce performed to their limit, nevershirking from the challenge.Many of the Seahawkcrews were on their second(and some their third)deployment to the PersianGulf, often with a shortturnaround time ·in Australia beforedeploying on a differentship. Yet the Seahawkswere highlyrespected , particularlyfor theirwork in surface surveillanceand "herding"smuggl ing dhows; sometimesherding up to 50 at a time in the dark while controlling sevenRigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBS) for boardings. Theachievements of KANIMBLAFlight speak for themselves; 126hours flown in Mayalone , at the heightof the campaign, mainlyin storestransfers , op&ratingas far northas Basra. In almostfour monthson station the Sea Kingand its single crewmoved over 500 people and morethan 300 ,000 lbs of cargo. Whilesome may hanker for the daysof the carrier, neverlet it be saidthat the menand women of today's Fleet Air Arm are any less capablethan their predecessors. It givesme a greatsense of prideto commandsuch a fine fightingforce and I lookforward to theircontinued professionalism and dedication. I haveevery confidencethat the aviationcommunity will continueto meetthe high demandsplaced on this professionalorganisation throughout the tenureof my commandand beyond. 2 Slipstream RearAdmiral Raydon Gates CSM RAN EDITOR'S MaritimeCommander Australia CORNER Rear AdmiralRaydon Gates is the MaritimeCommander Pleaseaccept my apologiesfor the latenessof Australia.He is responsibleto the Chiefof Navyfor maintenance this edition, but the circumstanceshave been of Fleetstandards within the RoyalAustralian Navy and to the beyondmy control. CommanderAustralian Theatre for the conductof Combined, As yet, I haven'theard anyth ing aboutanother Jointand Maritime Operations editor being appointed.The NationalPresident has assuredme that he will Jet me know as soon as he has sorted out the BIOGRAPHY mountainof job applicationshe has received. Be kindto eachother. Rear Admiral GATES,a WesternAustralian, joined the NAVY'Sspritely RoyalAustralian Naval College in 1972,graduating in 1974. He undertookOperations and Warfare courses in the United additions Kingdom before returning to Australia to serve in HMAS By DamianMcGill STUART where he gained his Bridge Watch Keeping qualificationsin 1976. The controversial Super Seaspritehelicopters will be • Postingsto HMAShips YARRA , STALWART,ATTACK and accepted by the ARDENTpreceded his qualifyingas an Air InterceptController CommonwealthGovernment and subsequentair defence related posting to HMA Ships within the next few weeks MELBOURNEand HOBART. The then LieutenantGATES and the trainingof the Royal returnedto the UnitedKingdom in 1980where he gainedhis Australian Navy pilots will PrincipalWarfare Officer qualification. This was followedby a commencesoon. postingto HMASPERTH as Operationsand DirectionOfficer. The Seasprites, which He then servedon the staff of the RANTactical School , where Commanding Officerof HMAS have so far cost the he was promotedto LieutenantCommander, before a postingto Albatross, CaptainSimon Cullen with Government$800 million will the Directorateof Naval Officers' Postingsin Navy Office, the COof 805 Squadron, be basedat HMASAlbatross Canberra. CommanderPeter Ashworth with the 805SRuadron . A postingas ExecutiveOfficer of HMASSWAN preceded his One Seaspriteis now in the UnitedStates while the otherten promotionto Commanderand subsequentpostings to the Joint are in Australia. ServiceStaff Collegeand servicein HeadquartersAustralian Problemswith contractpayment and computersoftware created DefenceForce, Canberra. He read for a MastersDegree in delayswith the Seasprite's commissioninginto the RAN'sfleet air BusinessAdministration before returning to sea in commandin arm. July1991 . There was a lot of controversysurrounding the age of the He was CommandingOfficer of the guidedmissile frigate airframefor the helicopters. HMASCANBERRA for 21 monthsduring which time the ship CommandingOfficer of the 805 Squadron,Commander Peter participatedin ExerciseRIMPAC 92 on the west coast of the Ashworthsaid the Seaspriteswould be wellworth the wait. UnitedStates and deployedfor OperationDAMASK VI in the "The Seasprites will havethe mostadvanced helicopter/missile northernRed Sea. He was awardedthe ConspicuousService system in the world." CMDR Ashworthsaid that unlike their Medalin the 1994Australia Day Honours list for his commandof Americancounterparts the AustralianSeasprites contain a special CANBERRAduring Operation DAMASK VI. joysticklocated in the cockpitthat acts like a four-waycomputer mouseto accessvarious controls . Service as the Director of ·Surface and Air Warfare in The installationof this technologyis responsiblefor the delayin MaritimeHeadquarters preceded his promotionto Captainin theirarrival in Australia. 1995.Captain GATES returned to sea in commandof HMAS CommanderAsworth said that in the past the Seaspriteshad ADELAIDEand as senior officer afloat in WA in June 1995. receivedsome unwarranted and incorrectmedia reports . During his 23 months in command, ADELAIDEsteamed "Oneof the reportssuggested the Seaspriteswere over budget, extensivelyin SouthEast Asian waters participating in a number butthe project is still underbudget ," CMDRAshworth said. of majormulti-national exercises and was also involvedin the "In regardsto the moneypaid , eventhough the helicoptershave Southern Ocean rescue of the stricken yachtsmen, Tony not beenaccepted yet , it's a bit like builainga house.You haveto Bullimoreand Thierry Dubois. make paymentsalong the way, but you don't make the final He returnedto Canberrain December1997 as th&Director paymentsuntil you are happywith the end product, which is what of NavalOfficers ' Postingsbefore promotion to Commodorein the Governmenthad done. " March 1999 and appointmentas Director General Career He saidthat contraryto reports, the choppers' framewas nearly ManagementPolicy in the DefencePersonnel Executive . He brandnew and only the machine'stail sectionwas old. was promoted to Rear Admiral in January 2001 upon The Seasprites' role wouldbe to supportthe frigateswhich are appointmentas the inauguralCommander of the Australian currentlyin the PersianGulf . DefenceCollege in Canberra. He was appointedMarit ime Articlecourtesy South Coast Register CommanderAustralia on 20 July2002 . ~---=====================; RearAdmiral GATES is marriedto Alison. NEXTDEADLINE -13 OCTOBER2003 3 Slipstream The Netherlandshad a total of 48 aircraft which were DearEd ~1 In a recentedition , there is a commentfrom · designatedFB 50, theirsquadron was No.860. Barry White about operations of the "° . Ian Ferguson JapaneseNaval Air Arm and their penchant DearEd for takingoff over the stern. To avoid any misinterpretationit is worth pointingout that two of the Japanesecarriers at Pearl I am tryingto find an old acquaintancefrom the RoyalNavy FAA , Harbour, namelyAkagi and Hiryu, had islandsfitted on the