Borneo 1962-66

[chippymick]

Jig Peter

The RAF’s first operational helicopter unit was formed at Seletar in April 1950. ‘The Far East Air Force Casualty Evacuation Flight’ was equipped with Dragonfly Mk 2’s and the original pilots that manned that flight were Flight Lieutenant K Fry, Flight Lieutenant John Dowling and Flying Officer Allan Lee.

In 1953 the RAF started to introduce the Whirlwind into service in Malaya. At precisely the same time the French purchased Whirlwind Mk 2’s from Westland. These aircraft became the first practical helicopters that the French used against the Viet Minh in Indochina. The French used a mix of British and US S-55’s for casualty evacuation, during and after the epic Battle of Dien Bien Phu.

The French handed over 10 surviving S-55’s to the SVN Air Force when they quit Indochina. Some of the S-55’s that the French kept, were further developed into the first ‘Gunships’ The French were using the Whirlwind as a gunship in Algeria by the late 1950’s By 1960 the most experienced and most innovative military helicopter user was the Armee de l’Air.

The US took note of the French experience in Indochina and Algeria in developing the UH-1 Huey. By 1960 the XH-1A Huey was used for grenade launcher, rocket and machine gun tests. In the early 1960’s DARPA were working on several research projects and trialling them under combat conditions in South Vietnam. One of these projects resulted in the M-16 Rifle and another resulted in the Huey Gunship.

The scale of Viet Minh anti-aircraft fire around Dien Bien Phu in 1954 exceeded anything seen since World War Two. The Viet Minh and their successors, the Viet Cong, were adept antiaircraft gunners and were masters of the 12.7mm Machine Gun. The 12.7mm was being used against helicopters in South Vietnam by 1963 and three Helicopters were shot down in a single afternoon in January 1963 during the battle of Ap Bac. AFAIK the Indo’s attempted to set up only one .50 Calibre anti aircraft position along the border during the entire period of confrontation. By contrast the Viet Minh had downed their third Huey, but first from RPG fire by January 1964.

By 1964 the US had learned from and had regained the lead from the French in the operational use of military helicopters. The highpoint of the UK’s Far East forces integration with its SEATO allies also occurred in 1964, just prior to the election of Harold Wilson’s Labour Government in October 1964. It is not surprising that the high point of UK involvement in the Vietnam occurred at this time. In January 1964 one of the RAF’s most experienced helicopter pilots was on board one of DARPA’s experimental Huey gunships when it became the fourth Huey to crash in Vietnam.

Much as the US had learned the techniques of modern helicopter operations from the French, the UK were keen to learn the state of the art from the US. To this end, the by now Wing Commander, Allen Lee, one of the first pilots in the ‘Far East Air Force Casualty Evacuation Flight’ way back in 1950, was attached to the DARPA Gunship program.

Lee’s Huey UH-1B tail number 62-01880 suffered a tail rotor failure after a strafing run on Viet Cong positions in Kien Hoa Province. It is not known whether the cause of the tail rotor failure was due to enemy ground fire in reply or merely a mechanical mishap. 62-01880 crashed into the South China Sea.
Although three of the crew were rescued, conditions were extremely difficult. Both Lee and the US pilot Bryford Metoyer perished. An attempt to rescue both of them was made but Metoyer disappeared and Lee slipped from the grasp of the rescue helicopter crew and, he too disappeared. It is assumed that both were taken by sharks.

Whatever lessons that Lee learnt in Vietnam that might have been useful on the Kalimantan border died with him. By the time the UK committed to Borneo in confrontation, their helicopter airframes and operational art were still firmly entrenched in the 1950’s.

The Director of Borneo Operations seldom had more than two dozen helicopter to support his task. Of the entire helicopter assets assigned to Commonwealth Forces in the Far East the most suitable for the mission in Borneo were the Iroquois of RAAF 5 Squadron based at Butterworth. Why these were not made available to DOPOPs remains yet another RAAF mystery.

The airframes the UK did use in Borneo included the wholly unsuitable Belvedere. Two of the broadly comparable US CH-21 Shawnees had been shot down at Ap Bac back in 1963. The US was using their Shawnees at Ap Bac as assault helicopters. The principal advantage that the Shawnee exhibited over the Belvedere in this role was the fact that a step ladder was not required to disembark from a CH-21.

The Whirlwinds the British were still using in Borneo had by that time been retired from Vietnamese service. The Vietnamese air force was being re-equipped by hand me down US Marine Corps Wessex (S-58.s). UK Helicopter operations in Borneo in every respect were a generation behind what was occurring directly North across the South China Sea from Jesselton.

In my opinion, drawing comparisons between Borneo and Vietnam is extremely vexed.

The motivation of the average Viet Minh/Cong far exceeded that of any Indo insurgent. Old mate, Suparamen was no Superman, his heart wasn’t in it at all.

Think about this; What if the same thing happened in North Vietnam as occurred in Indonesia in 1965? Just say, in September 1965 General Giap in North Vietnam also pulls a Military Counter-Coup that results in half a million members of the Lao Dong party put to the machete.
Perhaps then the outcome for South Vietnam might have been the same as for Malaysia?

The leadership and resolution of the UK in standing up to Soekarno’s nonsense at a time when the UK could least afford it is really admirable. The UK’s record in decolonising Asia is second to none. But when it comes to UK helo ops during Confrontation, it is important not to make more of it than it was.

Cheers

Mick