Ad Astra Aviator Podcasts

Dawn Service Radio Presentation - Gareth McCray OAM

ANZAC Day 2024 Oratory - Gareth McCray OAM ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces became known as ANZACs. Anzac Day is a commemoration of the anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli, Turkey on 25 April in 1915. Gareth provides a moving reminder of the sacrifices made by all Veterans over the years including WW1 and up to the present day.

Air Vice Marshal Glen Braz AM, CSC, DSM, Air Commander Australia, is responsible to the Chief of Air Force for effectively preparing air combat forces. Glen joined the Australian Air Force in 1987 and went on to complete pilot training in 1991. Following lead-in-fighter training, he transferred to Amberley for F-111C conversion and joined No 1 Squadron. In 1997, Glen instructed on the PC-9 advanced trainer and Macchi lead-in-fighter and then in 2001 returned to 1 Squadron where he undertook the inaugural F-111 Fighter Combat Instructor Course and was promoted into the position of Weapons and Reconnaissance Flight Commander. In 2003 he served in the Combined Air Operations Centre in support of Operations FALCONER, Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom. Glen later served as Commanding Officer of No. 1 Squadron, introducing the Super Hornet to Australian Service. Some very interesting postings followed as Director EA-18G Growler Transition, Commander Australian Air Task Group Middle East Region and command of No. 82 Wing at RAAF Base Amberley. On promotion to Air Vice Marshal in July 2020, Glen assumed very senior roles of First Assistant Director-General, Expeditionary and Transnational Intelligence Division, Senior Ranking Australian Defence Force Officer within the Australian Signals Directorate, Deputy Chief of Air Force and now Air Commander Australia.

Air Marshal Ray Funnell, AC is a retired senior commander of the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1987 until 1992. A graduate of RAAF College, he began his career flying Sabre jet fighters in Australia and South East Asia in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1972 to 1975, he commanded No. 6 Squadron, during which time the General Dynamics F-111C swing-wing bomber entered Australian service. He held senior staff posts in the early 1980s. In 1986, he was promoted to Air Marshal and became the inaugural Vice Chief of the Defence Force. Appointed Chief of the Air Staff in July 1987, Ray was closely involved in the development and dissemination of air power doctrine. He retired from the RAAF in October 1992 following his term as Chief, and was founding Principal of the Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies from 1994 to 1998. Since then, he has served on various Federal Government committees on immigration and detention.

Vern Roberts reaches 100 in October! He is possibly the oldest living person who witnessed the signing of the Surrender in Morotai with General Sir Thomas Blamey and the Japanese Generals on September 9th 1945 . He was born 25th October 1924 in Footscray in Melbourne. At 18 he joined the RAAF in November 1942 and reported to Royal Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne for uniforms. Vern, V.F. Roberts RAAF 120410 LAC Fitter, was stationed at East Sale air base only a matter of weeks after it first opened in 1943. He was in a B-24 Liberator Squadron which was attached to 82 Wing of 21, 23 and 24 squadrons. He spent time in Tocumwal, NSW and Darwin NT. The signing of the Instrument of Surrender was carried out on Morotai on September 9th, 1945 where he was present along with many other servicemen. The General in Charge with his other Officers, was General Sir Thomas Blamey. Japanese Generals were brought over to Morotai from the islands for that great occasion. Every ANZAC Day, he walked in the Parade to the Shrine of Remembrance along with a very few remaining gentlemen from his Squadron. At 94, it was the last time he participated in the march and now watches the ANZAC service on television. Since 1994 he was heavily involved in the restoration of a B24 Liberator in Werribee, Victoria. This restoration is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and accredited by the National Trust.

Air Force Association welcomes Mr Greg Hood AO to our Podcast Program. Greg has more than 41 years’ experience in aviation, beginning his career with almost a decade of service with the Royal Australian Air Force. Post his Air Force time, he had a wide range of operational, training and leadership roles across the civil aviation industry. From 2016, Greg served for 5 years as Chief Commissioner and CEO of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Australia’s national transport safety investigation agency. During this tenure, he inherited the search for MH370 producing 530 investigation reports, personally attended a number of tragic multiple fatality accidents including Essendon airport and Renmark, and attended the loss of the fire-fighting C130 near Cooma. Greg holds qualifications as a glider and powered aircraft pilot, and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Freeman in the Honourable Company of Air Pilots, and a Life Member of the Qantas Founders Museum.

Warrant Officer (retired) John McDougall. John had an Air Force engineering and flying career spanning 25 years. John completed three tours on Caribous in Vietnam between August 64 and April 68. Also, John was deployed frequently to the difficult flying environment of Papua New Guinea. He had many other notable deployments over his career including Kashmir, Sumatra, Sacramento and Idaho. He joined the RAAF in 1960 as Apprentice Engine Fitter. Within a very short time after graduation from technical training, he was serving on the first deployment of Caribous with RAAF Transport Flight in Vietnam. John’s stories about the dangers, trials and tribulations of the first few months and then his ongoing deployment for 3 Vietnam tours are fascinating and inspiring. His first 2 tours were as an Engine Fitter and his third tour was as Aircrew performing the very diverse and challenging duties of a Caribou Loadmaster/Engineer. Following this, John became an Instructor for Pilot and Loadmaster / Engineer Conversion courses. John was then posted to 482 Squadron. Amberley. Numerous deployments were made from there including four months in Sacramento doing Cold Proof Load Testing on F111-C aircraft and accepting four ex United States Air Force F-111A model aircraft to replace four that the Australian Air Force had lost. In 1983, John was posted to Number 1 Sqn. as Warrant Officer Engineer. He had numerous deployments from there including Bomb Comp at Mount Home Air Force Base Idaho, then to Eglin Air Force Base Florida for aircraft trials.

Brian Richards, ex Australian Air Force Engine Fitter and Vietnam Veteran Caribou Loadmaster/Flight Engineer. Brian graduated from the RAAF School of Technical Training in 1959. He signed up for 15 years when only 16 years old. By August 1963, Brian had completed 4 years in aircraft maintenance jobs and then signed on as a Loadmaster on DHC4 Caribous. Brian departed for Toronto, Canada in March 1964 for Conversion course and to participate in ferrying the second three Caribous to Australia. The ferry flight took 4 weeks, arriving RAAF Base Richmond, June 1964. In August 1964, Brian was posted for 12 months to RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam as a Loadmaster, Caribous. It was the first deployment of Caribous into Vietnam and the establishment of operations placed the unit under huge pressure where resourcefulness and hard work made what became known as Wallaby Airlines a very successful and renowned unit amongst Aussies and Allies. In September 1965, Brian travelled to Toronto Canada again to ferry another Caribou to Richmond. Brian began another testing adventure in January 1966 when he joined the newly formed RAAF Detachment A, PNG. He then resumed his Air Force career as an Engine Fitter, culminating in March 1971 with a posting to RAAF School Technical Training as a Technical Training instructor. He was back where he started but this time imparting his knowledge. Brian discharged from the RAAF in January 1973 at the end of his 15 years. He then work with Transavia, building the Transavia Air Truck and then became a Cummins Diesel instructor. In 1977, Brian joined the NSW Bush Fire Brigade and is still a member.

Acknowledgement: This account by Mr Neil Lindsay was recorded by AVM Peter Scully (retired) on 5th December 1996. In Part 3 of this series, Neil talks about: His time as a Prisoner of War in Germany His association with the Great Escape His forced march through Germany in bitter weather before his liberation and return home.

This is a 3 part Podcast on the WW2 flying history and prisoner of war history of Flight Lieutenant Robert Neil LINDSAY. Neil flew with Bomber Command and after being shot down was a Prisoner of War in Germany. The story in the recordings by Neil Lindsay in this Podcast were told to Air Vice Marshal Peter Scully (retired) on 5th December 1996. Neil Lindsay was born in 1917 in Melbourne. Joining the RAAF was an enormous change for Neil as, prior to enlisting in December 1940, he had completed an agricultural degree and was working as a Jackeroo on Corona Station, north west of Longreach in Queensland. He completed an Observers Course before embarking for Edmonton in Canada in March 1941. Here he joined other men training under the Empire Training Scheme. He completed various courses as a member of No 2 Air Observers School and left Canada the following September for the United Kingdom. He then had various postings including Number 14 Officer Training Unit and 83 Squadron before he arrived at 106 Lancaster Squadron 8th October 1942. At the time, Guy Gibson was the Commanding Officer. Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar was a distinguished bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. At 1859 hours on the night of 12/13 March 1943, Lancaster R5749 took off from Syerston, in Nottinghamshire, detailed to bomb Essen, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft was shot down in the target area and six of the crew members were killed and Neil was taken prisoner. Neil was listed as an Air Bomber for the mission. After his release on 15 April 1945 Neil gave a statement to authorities who were trying to piece together the experiences of POWs. In part his statement says: “the aircraft exploded at 20,000 feet after the bombing run was completed. It was hit by flak about 5 minutes previously when passing over Dorsten, and there were no outward signs of damage after a quick check by the Engineer and the Pilot. I was the only one hit and that was in the legs. After the bomb run everything seemed alright then there was a bright yellow flash in my face and the next thing I can recall was that I was sailing through the air. I pulled my parachute cord and landed in Essen where I was picked up by the Germans. They told me the others had been killed in the crash.” His records note that he was firstly at St Lambertus Krankenhaus Esson from 12 March to 27th March 1943. It was here he was treated for his injuries. He was subsequently moved to Dulag Frankfurt, Luft Heydekruge, Luft III Sagan and Marlag Milag. Luft III Sagan was famous for escaping activities unlike other camps where escaping was a minority activity. In the 22 months after the camp opened, the Germans logged 262 escape attempts: most had failed. Neil arrived at Stalag Luft III on 18 March 1944 just days before the notorious “Great Escape” on 24 March. He was not part of the escape owing to his relative late arrival at the prison and the continuing effects from the wounds that he suffered when his Lancaster crashed. On the night of 24 March 1944, 76 Allied prisoners of Stalag Luft III German prison camp in Sagan, 100 miles southeast of Berlin, escaped through a tunnel named "Harry." Within days most were recaptured. An outraged Hitler had 50 of them shot, an appalling abrogation of the Geneva Convention, to which Germany was a signatory. Twenty-three were reincarcerated. Only three made it all the way to freedom—a Dutchman and two Norwegians, all flyers with the British Royal Air Force. Five of the murdered prisoners were nominally Australian, although only three wore RAAF uniform. For Neil, Christmas 1944 at Stalag Luft III was bitterly cold: 6 inches of snow fell in the night turning the camp into a white wonderland. The men had been saving tin cans and the like and flattening them to make decorations for the huts. The Messiah was performed b

Introducing Air Commodore Tim Alsop Air Commodore Tim Alsop currently serves as Commander Air Combat Group, based at RAAF Williamtown, near Newcastle, NSW. Air Combat Group is responsible for the development and preparation of Australia’s Air Combat force for operations. It encompasses some 2000 personnel, six aircraft types and a special operations Combat Control capability. Tim joined the RAAF in 1993, after completing a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne. He trained as a pilot and has served at all three operational F/A-18A squadrons, as well as instructing on PC-9/A, Macchi and Hawk 127 training aircraft. He currently flies the F-35A Lightning II. In 2009, he deployed to Afghanistan with the Australian Special Operations Task Group as the Offensive Air Support Planner. Later that year, he moved to the United Kingdom and completed the Advanced Command and Staff Course and a Masters of Arts with Kings College London. As the embedded Director of the 609th Combined Air and Space Operations Centre, in 2018, Tim oversaw the planning and execution of all Coalition air power in the US Central Command area of responsibility, encompassing Syria, Iraq, the Arabian Gulf and Afghanistan. The geostrategic landscape during that period can best be described as ‘quite complex.’ In 2019, he completed another 12 months of study at the Australian War College and became a Fellow of the Defence Strategic Studies Course. AIRCDRE Alsop is the Patron of both the Air Force Nordic Biathlon Association and the Royal Victorian Aero Club’s Young Eagles program – a volunteer organisation that encourages youth to pursue a career in aviation through regular presentations and free introductory flying.

Introducing Brian Lawrence. ex Air Force Warrant Officer Brian joined the Air Force in January 1961 and qualified as an Engine Mechanic and then as an Engine Fitter. He was posted to No 2 Aircraft Depot. In July 1964, Brian was posted to 38 Squadron and then onward to Vietnam. Besides 1ots of paperwork and passports, he was issued with a World War 2 tin hat, pocket knife and lanyard On arrival at Tan Son Nhut Airport, Brian was amazed at the number of aircraft on the ground. In his words “Thousands”. He said “A Caribou was there to take us to Vung Tau. We soon got rid of our old tin hats and were taken to the United States Army store and issued with Yankee tin hats and new M14 rifles with 4 magazine’s”. Work was 7 days a week at first to maintain the aircraft. Later when more troops arrived a night shift was started. After many adventures, trials and tribulations in Vietnam, Brian returned to 38 Squadron in Australia. He was again selected to go back to Vietnam in September 1965 but he then had the opportunity to go to New Guinea instead. On return from New Guinea, he was posted to No 3 Aircraft Depot at Amberley working on Sabre Aircraft. Brian elected discharge in January 1967 and then reenlisted in July 1969. In January 1972, Brian was posted to 482 Squadron Amberley working on Phantom Aircraft. In July 1973, he was attached to McClellan Air Force Base for the acceptance and the second ferry of F111’s to Amberley. He retired as a Warrant Officer Engineer.