The rest of the month soon passed.Two convoy escorts in the Wonsan area.two more Fox greens and one refuelling group for Task force 77 off the east coast and four Tsushima Straits patrols.All Anti-Sub and shipping patrols.
We returned to Seletar via Kai Tak. Oh it was great to be warm again and fly in shorts! Carried out my first anti-Pirate patrol in the Mallacca Straits,visited Glugor,Mallacca,then to China Bay for ASR for ten days. On return,air test,loop swing Off to North Borneo,Labuan,Kudat Anti -Pirate patrols off N.Borneo for several days and return to Seletar.
My next trip was to be my first "Firedog" operating against the insurgents in Malaysia.
Its not my intention to relate all the history of the insurgency,suffice to add that a terrorist band having been located,or suspected to be operating in a area from strikes on villages/rubber plantations/intelligence.The area would be ringed with troops.First in would be either Lincolns or Brigands from Tengah to drop some heavy stuff to wake them up.We then followed and did our stuff for the next two hours.Hoping to drive them out into the troops.
If you have ever flown over primary jungle,you will know,its as featureless as a one colour carpet. we were given coordinates and where the troops were.Usually there was some evidence of the previous strike,but not always,the jungle can absorb a lot.We would establish a datum.Road/river.high ground,something we could perform timed runs from.The last thing we wanted to do was bomb our own chaps! We were loaded with a bomb room full of crated 20lb fragmentation bombs,four to a box. Armourers had loaded and crutched eight either side on the bomb racks.These were dropped on the first run by the Nav.from the nose.Thereafter our lords and masters at FEAF HQ. thought we should bring the bomb racks in,load and crutch attach nose pin lanyard and run out ready for the next run.with the bomb room stacked high with boxes it would have taken all day!! Old Hairy's knew a better way. open a load of boxes,remove pin stack vertical eight to a box either side. Nav in nose does timed run,now,now now,crewmember in galley on intercom,gives the signal .two members in bomb room throw bombs out of hatch ,one by one.Works perfectly! Now there can be the odd diversion!! these boxes were stored in open sheds.it quite common to open the lid and find a red ants nest! in which case,heavo,entire box and contents thro the hatch. The odd nonchalant throw,bomb hits cill, bounces back into bomb room!! First time I saw this,I nearly S**t a brick...casual smile by old hairy,picked up thrown out. The bombs had a spin off nose cap,which had to be removed before it became armed.
Having continued in this fashion for about an hour ,we would,tidy up close bomb doors and man the guns.Down to just above treetops, and again with timed runs open up.Usually with no specific target in sight,just keep the buggers running hopefully.The pilots could not join in with the fixed nose guns,trajectory too flat.Time over target usually around 1.30. Then what was known as a "Flag Wag" We would return very low level roaring over villages to let them see we were about and perhaps scattering a few chickens and water buffaloes in the paddy fields.
I did 24 of these,nearly reached the total of 100 Ops. Many of the chaps did,not that it ment anything, but its a nice round figure!