Cyclone Tracy 1974

[Fris B. Fairing]

I am attempting to compile a listing of all the evacuation flights after the cyclone. Qantas ops are well covered but not so the rest. If you were personally involved I would be most grateful for log book details of date, aircraft type, registration, destination and pax carried. The intention is to include GA and military ops as well. Any input much appreciated.

Rgds

[nitpicker330]

Confirmation to come later but to the best of my memory

First Ansett 727-200 flight out was:
VH-RMX 28th Dec DRW ADL MEL 313 Pax.

[Fris B. Fairing]

Thanks NP330

It's very much a work in progress but the list is now on my website:

Darwin Evacuation Aircraft

Rgds

[nitpicker330]

I'm not sure the entry for QF on the 26th is correct? I Remember it took a couple of days for the Airport to be cleaned and re-opened after Xmas day. Hence the first Ansett Jet out of DRW didn't occur until about the 28th ( i'm checking the date )

Incidentally the First Ansett 727 out of DRW set a record for a 727-200 of 313 pax. ( which I believe may have been beaten by World Airways Danang evac flight March 1975 of 330 on a 727-100 only 3 months later!! )

[gobbledock]

Background

I don’t want to thread drift but thought I would throw in some background info for those who are not familiar with this event. There are a lot of younger generation around today who do not know much about the cyclone, and there are a lot of now nationalised Aussies who likewise don’t know the history of this event. I think this will be an excellent historical thread about an even many of us will not only ever forget, but it was an event that redefines Australia and also saw the complete change in building construction that could have never been foretold.

Fris B Fairing I am sure a number of us will be watching this thread with interest as bits and pieces of information start coming in and jogging our memories.

Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, 1974. It is the most compact cyclone or equivalent-strength hurricane on record in the Australian basin, with gale-force winds extending only 48 kilometers (30 mi) from the center and was the most compact system worldwide until 2008 when TS Marco of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season broke the record, with gale-force winds extending only 19 kilometers (12 mi) from the center . After forming over the Arafura Sea, the cyclone moved southwards and affected the city with Category 4 winds on the Australian cyclone intensity scale, while there is evidence to suggest that it had reached Category 3 on the Saffir – Simpson hurricane scale when it made landfall
Tracy killed 71 people, caused $837 million in damage (1974 AUD) and destroyed more than 70 percent of Darwin's buildings, including 80 percent of houses. Tracy left more than 41,000 out of the 47,000 inhabitants of the city homeless prior to landfall and required the evacuation of over 30,000 people. Most of Darwin's population was evacuated to Adelaide, Whyalla, Alice Springs and Sydney, and many never returned to the city. After the storm passed, the city was rebuilt using more modern materials and updated building techniques. Bruce Stannard of The Age newspaper stated that Cyclone Tracy was a "disaster of the first magnitude ... without parallel in Australian history.

[Fris B. Fairing]

NP330

I'm not sure the entry for QF on the 26th is correct?

I didn't know about this flight until a few days ago and it was this revelation that has prompted me to try to document the operation. I have no doubt that it happened as it comes from a most reliable source and I've seen his log book.

gobbledock

Thanks for the background info.

Rgds

[Stationair8]

Wasn't there a story about the cop giving a kid a hard time about trying to smuggle his puppy on board the evacuation flight, and the QF skipper allowing the kid and puppy on board?

[-438]

Off subject but the youtube of 727 out of Danang is an eye opener.

[Jabawocky]

How do you get 313 people on a B727....every adult carries a child, or a light weight young lady on their lap?

[mmciau]

No luggage!! Sit on lap if necessary

When I left Darwin on the morning of 27 December, my battered pregnant wife was listed for a flght out on a RAAF Hercules.

An American Starlifter also lifted out survivors too.

[nitpicker330]

Jabba:- Let me see, 3 pax ( staff ) in the cockpit. 300+ others down the back squashed in as best we could. Didn't have a pax count until over ASP.

Made for an interesting T/O too

Flight planning done on a Tarmac baggage trolley beside the Aircraft and with 400 people milling around!! No such thing as Security checks!!

[teresa green]

Myself (PIC) and another TAA Skipper landed in DRW at 1100 hrs on the 27th Dec in VH-TFF a F27, with the sole purpose of picking up the Ladies about to give birth from the DRW Hospital. I spoke to the Base Commander, Air Commodore David Hitchins, and got help to clear a path to the aircraft, as the ambulances arrived. We left at 1324 with 40 last stage pregnant ladies (much to our horror) 2CC, 2 Nursing Sisters and one doctor, 2 cats in cages (they belonged to the hospital) and my memories are the total carnage, a DC3 firmly implanted in the Base Commanders house, and the fridge in the water tower (30MTRS up). It was all downhill from there. Two ladies were in labor, so we went straight to Isa, no joy there, they were already packed from those who went by car, so running out of hours and ideas, I called up Mackay, and pleaded (No, threatened) that we needed help, and finally got in there vastly relieved, as the noises up the back were becoming terrifying to say the least. The other pilot and myself staggered to the nearest pub, for fortification, and I of course somehow ended up with the cats, who both lived to a great age and cost a fortune in Vet bills. I never did find the owner. (We refuelled at both Tindall and ISA)

[Ken Borough]

From a very yellowing copy of the January 1975 issue of the Qantas News, I have reproduced verbatim the Qantas rescue effort. Unfortunately, aircrfat regos are not provided. The same can be said for flying by the domestiques. I will rey to post a couple of stories about the airlift later - a scanner would be useful!!



DATE TYPE SECTOR PAX
26-Dec-74 B707 DRW/SYD 266
27-Dec-73 B707 DRW/SYD 271
B707 DRW/SYD 327
28-Dec-74 B747 DRW/SYD 633
B707 DRW/SYD 276
B747 DRW/SYD 673
B707 BNE/SYD 247
B707 SYD/MEL (QF275) 63
B747 SYD/MEL (QF2) 49
29-Dec-74 B747 DRW/SYD 674
B707 DRW/SYD 246
B707 DRW/SYD 226
B747 DRW/SYD 370
30-Dec-74 B707 DRW/SYD 211
1-Jan-75 B707 DRW/SYD 154

(Sorry, but the formatting is stuffed.)

[Dark Knight]

Mt Isa - BNE VH-TBR (B727-200) shuttle after pax had arrived in the Isa 278 pax on board which co-incidently included my brothers wife - they were living in DRW at the time.

Dec 29th VH-TJB (B727-100) BNE-ISA-BNE Shuttle picking up paxbrought to the Isa - number unknown but chockers!

Followed up with two flights Jan 4th & Jan 17th both through Mt ISA both ways (BNE-ISA-DRW-ISA-BNE) (pax numbers unknown) VH-TJB (B727-100) & VH-TBI (B727-200)

I can give you the captains names if required.

[smiling monkey]

nice thread and most interesting .. super like

[Kanga767]

My family and I left on December 30th 1974 pretty much first thing in the morning. I still remember the pre-dawn bus trip around all the schools etc watching the bus driver trying to pick his way in the total blackness around the streets of Nakara. I have a photo of boarding the TAA 727-200. There was also a QF742 and a MMA F28 on tha tarmac. My memory however as a 7 year old is dim. We went DRW-BNE but don't remember a stop in ISA. My Mother tells me it was all adult pax to a seat and everyone nurse a child.

In one of the photos taken as we taxied out there is an F27 parked out front of where the Aero club used to be (Southern side of the airport then). The F27 is wearing a scheme similar to Aircruisings, (but of course they weren't around then). There is also a very sad looking bright yellow C310 that certainly wasn't parked that way up against the side of what was eventually the Lloyd's Hangar.

K

[greybeard]

An MMA/Ansett F-28, at least one in the period, left with over 100 to Kunnunurra, will contact the crew for details of date, rego etc.
I saw the A/C at Derby, never seen so many quiet and stunned people in an aircraft, hope to never again.
I think our Twin Otter did a run as well????

[Fris B. Fairing]

Thanks everyone for the great input. Historical information like this needs to be attributed to a real person so if you don't want to be "outed" it might be best to PM me.

Rgds

[teresa green]

Stationair, that 747 had kittens, puppies, goldfish, rabbits, guinea pigs, and what ever else you could hide. The crew both CC and Tech turned a blind eye, the customs and officials did not, but as the PAX were unloaded on the jet base and not at the airport, most of these pets somehow disappeared. How anyone could take a beloved pet from a traumatised child is beyond me, but as you know there are always the officious arsehole in every exercise.

[Old Fella]

Cyclone Tracy

I operated (F/E) RIC-ISA-DN 27DEC74 (7.1 Hrs Night) C130A A97-212
DN-SYD-RIC 28DEC74 (6.8 Hrs Day) C130A A97-212. RIC-ISA-DN 30DEC74 (4.7 Hrs Day - 3.0 Night) C130A A97-216. DN-SYD-RIC 31DEC74 C130A A97-216 (2.8 Hrs Day - 4.1 Night) RIC-LAV-ASPGS-DN 2JAN75 C130A A97-210 (9.6 Hrs Day) DN-RIC 02JAN75 (6.2 Hrs Night). These flights were all in response to Darwin Cyclone Tracy resupply/evacuation effort. Flt Lt Brian O'Toole was the PIC on these flights. Between 14JAN75 and 20JAN75 I operated another three round trip flights to and from Darwin, all originating at RAAF RICHMOND and in various C130A's. As an aside, A97-212 is still being flown by Earl Cherry of Earl Cherry Aviation in Lousiana USA, currently engaged in trials of air to air refuelling of helicopters for the US Armed Forces. As we used to say "A's are for GO"