Beverley in Vietnam
David:
"Also, the tail of a Beverley visible behind the Seletar control tower reminds me that these aircraft used to make occasional trips to Vietnam, but I could never determine the purpose, remember this was '66/'67 and there was a war going on.
Care to cast further light into the shadows? Please.
Be lucky
David"
There was no hidden agenda about the Beverley trips to Vietnam during the war. I was a crew member of XL150 of 34 Squadron on the trip in question in August 1967. Our task, as in previous years, was to deliver OXFAM & Catholic Relief Agency supplies from Saigon (Tan Son Nhut) to various destinations incountry. Day 1 started rather badly with a seized donk at Loc Ninh, but after an amazing feat of logistics (for Beverleys, that is), involving a Beverley arriving from Chieng Mai with the engine change team, and another one arriving from Seletar with the new engine, we were able to regain schedule after an engine change in the field. Then, during the following few days, on to Da Nang, Kontum, Pleiku, Dalat and back to Seletar after an action packed week. The whole proceedings would take too long to tell here.
Sadly, XL150 was destroyed, with all on board killed, on 15th December 1967 after crashing into a hill in Malaysia in appalling weather conditions. That's another story.
LXXIV