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lauriebe

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May 14, 2009 at 12:48 pm in reply to: Twin Engined bomber on Norfolk beach? #1172893

lauriebe
Participant

same as usual it seems my posts are being deliberately deleted, I am communicating with the Webmaster over this as we speak, I would have thought a little advice to all to hold back from attacking was more in order.

JC, yours is not the only post to disappear. Far from being “off-topic” I thought the deleted posts were very relevant.

I will be very interested to see the outcome of your discussions with the webbie.

May 14, 2009 at 12:21 pm in reply to: Twin Engined bomber on Norfolk beach? #1172917

lauriebe
Participant

I think a little humility by others is required as well as a level headed approach to handling things, common sense, courtesy,

Yes a slight over reaction, that could be put down to a misunderstanding and some guidance would be helpful unlike the rod of iron approach.

Another farce from nothing, as you can tell my recent experiences have soured my opinions of this forum, cue deletion !

Well said.

Along with Junk Collector and Ben, I think a little more help to a first time poster was more in order than the responses that followed.

May 3, 2009 at 3:46 am in reply to: A Helicopter thread #486254

lauriebe
Participant

Some of my shots taken at the Langkawi Aerospace & Maritime Exhibition (LIMA 07) on 8 Dec 07:

May 1, 2009 at 8:50 am in reply to: Penang International (PEN). #467585

lauriebe
Participant

Thanks for the comments, guys. Wannabe, see my PM.

I was up at the airport again last Tuesday. Sat for an hour and a half just off the approach centreline and not a thing stirred!! Just as I was moving off along came two. Missed the first as I had to quickly stop the car and get out. The second was another Firefly ATR72.

Different camera/lens combo this time: 450D/Tamron 18 – 270mm VC lens.

April 30, 2009 at 8:55 am in reply to: Penang International (PEN). #467613

lauriebe
Participant

Thanks, Steve. I’m still trying to sort out file sizes at the moment.

April 28, 2009 at 7:27 am in reply to: Spitfires of Singapore AF #1191508

lauriebe
Participant

Mark, the location might, and I stress might, be Kuala Lumpur (KL). It certainly doesn’t appear to be Butterworth, Tengah or Sembawang. No idea which airframe though. As you know, I have had ‘feelers’ out for shots of TP205 for some time.

If it is KL, two possibilities for you. Firstly, 28 Sqn’s TP428 on 8 Oct 48 and 60 Sqn’s SM975 on 4 May 50. Both taken from Jim Halley’s ‘Broken Wings’.

A little background on the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force (MAAF). It was promulgated in mid-1950 with the intention of recruiting 4 auxiliary fighter squadrons to augment the front line units in FEAF. Those units were to be located in Singapore (which at that time was considered as part of Malaya), KL and Penang. Each was also to have its own associated Fighter Control Unit. The initial equipment issued to each of the squadrons was 4 Tiger Moths, supplemented by 4 Harvards during 1951/52. Malcolm Postgate, in his book “Operation Firedog’, states that at the end of 1953 there were only 16 pilots and 170 tradesmen left in the MAAF and the strengths remained pretty static after that.

I can only find a record of the Singapore squadron being issued with 3 Spits towards the end of 1951. Can find nothing on the other squadrons. After a period on Spits, all the squadrons were scheduled to convert to jets, Vampires. However, that did not happen. A second squadron was also proposed for Singapore but not proceeded with.

In November 1958, just over a year after independence, the KL and Penang units were disbanded and their aircraft and spares were absorbed into the newly formed RMAF.

April 18, 2009 at 2:44 am in reply to: Confrontation – Know your enemy, was it Soekarno ? #1202209

lauriebe
Participant

RPM..

Those are the best photos of Nanga Gaat that I have yet seen. Thanks for posting. More details of the RN involvement and a photo of the Memorial here:

http://albiefield.co.uk/Sarawak/nangagaat/nangagaat.html#Memorial

April 16, 2009 at 10:48 am in reply to: Confrontation – Know your enemy, was it Soekarno ? #1204483

lauriebe
Participant

RPM..

You can use the “Attach Files” option in the ‘Reply’ area to put photos on the thread. This will display thumbnails as per those in WL745’s post, #3, in this thread.

If you want larger images such as those posted by David or myself, you will need first of all to have an account on a site like Photobucket. The images will need to be uploaded to that first and then you can place a direct link to them within a post.

If you have a problem, PM me and I will try to assist.

Laurie.

April 16, 2009 at 7:29 am in reply to: Confrontation – Know your enemy, was it Soekarno ? #1204601

lauriebe
Participant

WV-903, IIRC, the Jav sqn on Cyprus was 29.

You also asked if there might be any surviving FEAF Javs. Unfortunately, I think not. There seem to be 5 surviving Jav 9/9Rs and, although one, XH892, did serve with 64, I think that was before they deployed to the Far East. It finished its days on 29. Could have been one of those you saw at Valley.

I was an SAC radar operator and did not get out to the Far East, Butterworth, until the beginning of May 66. By that time, most of the action was over. However, working on an air defence radar unit, we were still on a war footing. The QRA aircraft, normally 4 Sabres by day and 2 Javs at night, were ready to launch if anything unidentified showed itself. There was only one actual launch while I was there.

In Feb 67, I was posted to work on the mobile radar, a UPS 1, that had been setup during the conflict to plug a radar gap along the mid section of the Malay peninsular at Terandak Camp, Malacca. The unit was still operating although ‘Konfrontasi’ was officially over. It disbanded on 1 Apr 68.

April 16, 2009 at 6:27 am in reply to: Confrontation – Know your enemy, was it Soekarno ? #1204619

lauriebe
Participant

RPM …

A Whirlwind outclimbing a tropical storm? That I would truly like to see; but not from onboard!!

Re the day-glo panels. I have seen several photos, supposedly of 110 Sqn aircraft, including XP303 & XR456, wearing panels just like those in DT’s photo of XR480. The photos were taken in Borneo but I am not sure of the dates or locations. Visual aid in a crash, yes, in some circumstances. However, the jungle canopy soon closed again after anything had penetrated it. So not really much use there unless the aircraft came down in relatively open countryside. Those photos, IIRC, were posted in the Day-glo thread on here somewhile ago.

Perhaps these panels were removed when the shooting started. They would certainly have drawn attention to any aircraft sporting them.

April 15, 2009 at 9:04 am in reply to: Confrontation – Know your enemy, was it Soekarno ? #1205714

lauriebe
Participant

RPM, my records at the moment are pretty basic and by no means exhaustive.

What I find useful for this period are two books:

Lost to Service by Colin Cummings, &

Broken Wings by Jim Halley.

There are also some useful sources available on the internet. I normally start with a search on aircraft type and serial, refining from there.

It seems that your XP358, far from being “a deceased Whirlwind”, was recovered, repaired and returned to service. There is mention of it in January 72 as being coded ‘S’ on 28 Sqn in Hong Kong. See the left hand side of the bottom of page 4 on this link:

http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/ABN%201972-1.pdf

The UK Serials website shows it as finishing its days on BDRT at Gutersloh. No date given though. That site is here:

http://www.ukserials.com/

Hope that helps.

April 15, 2009 at 2:27 am in reply to: Confrontation – Know your enemy, was it Soekarno ? #1205874

lauriebe
Participant

David’s photo of Whirlwind XR480 and RPM, FF, TGT’s comments on an aircraft shot down prompted me to check my records. It was, in fact, this aircraft that suffered that unfortunate fate.

XR480 seems to have served only on 103 Sqn and, on 17 Dec 65, was flying close to the border with Indonesia and strayed across, being brought down by anti-aircraft fire. There are two fatalities listed:

Flt Lt Albert Raymond Fraser & Gunner F Martin

Re the day-glo panels, were they not there to aid in locating the aircraft if it went down?

April 14, 2009 at 12:29 pm in reply to: Confrontation – Know your enemy, was it Soekarno ? #1206561

lauriebe
Participant

David, you are right. The Malaysian Air Force also got quite a few CA-27s. IIRC, before the Indons got theirs. Also, IIRC, some ex-Malaysian Sabres were given to Indonesia after the RMAF retired them.

I photographed this preserved example of an RMAF Sabre at the Langkawi Air Show on 8 Dec 07.

April 14, 2009 at 12:14 pm in reply to: Confrontation – Know your enemy, was it Soekarno ? #1206579

lauriebe
Participant

.

The very first job I had at C.A.C. was inspecting stainless steel cannon shell ejector shutes for the N.A Sabres…. Years previously I had visited Williamtown AB on a trip from SIN in 1962 and exclaimed that I was not aware that Australia still had Sabres….

RPM, Fuel Flow, TGT…
http://www.electranewbritain.com

This photo should bring back a memory or two then. Taken at the TUDM (RMAF) Museum at Sungai Besi a couple of years ago. They had just sectioned the front end of one of their display CA-27s to show the cannon arrangement.

April 14, 2009 at 9:23 am in reply to: Confrontation – Know your enemy, was it Soekarno ? #1206801

lauriebe
Participant

Thanks for the info BSG-75.

WL745: Ahh the beautiful Aussie Sabres…probably out of date but with Sidewinders they still packed a punch I suppose.

Here A94-988 gets set up for display at the Changi Battle-Of-Britain airshow September 1962.

DT

Strange how things work out isn’t it?

Here we have a thread on Indonesia’s armed confrontation with the newly formed state of Malaysia. Aussie Sabres played a big part in the Commonwealth effort to repel that. David posts a photo of A94-988 which was part of the fighter wing at Butterworth during that confrontation.

But what happened to A94-988 at the end of its days with the RAAF?

It was transferred, along with several other CA-27s, to the Indonesian Air Force!! In March 1973, it became F-8615 of the TNI-AU. Last heard of displayed at the TNI-AU Acadamy at Yogyakarta, marked as TS-8615. See here:

http://f-86.tripod.com/i.html

And, here’s another youtube clip. This time a Javelin “scramble” from Butterworth in 1966:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL0ILSGR8MI&feature=related
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