Mountain ridge gun position
 

Hi NutherA2,
It was interesting to read about the loss of an Indonesian C130 in Borneo and the intention to neutralize a mountain ridge gun position.
I was number 2 on that gun and can remember being attacked by a rather strong force, rumor had it that there was over 300 of the buggers against 28 of us. We repelled them and followed them down the ridge with 105 howitzer gun fire. On another occasion, they opened up on us from the opposite ridge with a 76mm gun, unfortunately for them, the sun was rising behind the mountain they were firing from. We could see their mussel flash and ranged in. They managed to get 7 rounds off at us before I hit them with our 4th. Another 6 HE finished the job, overturning their gun and killing many.
We must have really been a thorn in their side.
Did any of you guys fly us up there from Bario, would like to get in touch.

stan747, your mention of 105mm rings a few bells. We routinely dropped food and POL from our Hastings as we worked our way around the many DZ's, but when everything on board was 105 ammo and all for one DZ then we knew it was in contact and whatever the weather had to be resupplied. Good to know what good use was made of it! :ok:

"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."


If I recall the S55s that the US were using (and retired) were piston powered S55s and we (225 and 110) were flying Gnome powered Whirlwinds that had (far) more power.
Mind you, the drivers (reputedly) would have traded them for Hueys.
:}

At its height, the RAF operated four Whirlwind 10 sqns in Borneo: 103, 110 both based at Seletar with detachments in Borneo and 225 and 230. The former was based at Kuching and the latter at Labuan.

225 was disbanded on 1 Nov 65 and its aircraft distributed amongst 103 and 110. 230 Sqn went back to UK in the autumn of '66 and it took its aircraft with it in the back of several Belfasts.

These RAF Whirlwinds were all jet powered and hence superior to the S55 and also earlier piston powered versions of the Whirlwind (Mk 2 & 4). Many Whirlwinds were re-engined and a number, in the XP, XR and one XS (412) series were new build. The RN used the Mk7 but in the main they had Wessex, first the single engined Mk 1 and later the twin engined Mk 5.

O-D

110 Pilots
 

Other 110 pilots could be F/Ls Badham, Edwards, Bradshaw, F/Os Ramshaw, Kelson, S/Ls Price, and Buckmaster (RNZAF), M/Ps hatton, Leydon,Spinks

Memories
 

Of those 10 names I flew with 8 of them at the beginning of my flying career:)

110 Sqd Pilots
 

Also F/Lsl Toddman and Presly

110 Sqd took over at Nanga Gaat September 1965

I had started a thread asking when did aircrews from the SHF and AAC remember when the first gen NVGs were being used, and I think some1 said that the earliest we had them were early 70s and 103 Sqn in Singapore??

In Vietnam and Laos, the US Army and Air America had the INFANT UH-1M with LLTV, and FLIR and the 'Quiet One' also equipped with LLTV and FLIR and NVG.

Air America's Black Helicopter | Military Aviation | Air & Space Magazine

I'm guessing that anything close to resembling the avionic fits would have been undergoing experimental evaluation at Bedford/Boscombe Down/Farnborough

Though the AAC were quite forward thinking according to FG archive in 68

1968 | 0196 | Flight Archive

Airborne TV, Polaroid recon kit for instant battlefield imaging,

1968 | 0197 | Flight Archive

and Sperry Visual Target Acquisition System

Cheers

Well Post 64 onwards got the old memory buds going.

Some updates:

Eric Leyden, who had been awarded a QC following a partial engine failure in a Sycamore, was commissioned, became a QHI and was then killed at Odiham in a mid air collision between a pair of Wessex.

Geof Bradshaw and Mike Ramshaw are still going strong - the former I saw a month ago and the latter will be at an 'Old Rotors' dinner in June.

John W Price (tail rotor Price) - not to be confused with H T Price or J L (bathroom scales) Price, retired as an AVM but is not very well.

Not sure where Tony Edwards is but his son was in the air force.

Unfortunately, Peter Presley is no longer with us and I was told that neither was John Badham but can't confirm that.

I think George Kelson went back to Canada but not sure.

At the risk of incurring the wrath of the Mods, there is now a book published called: The Borneo Boys. This tome documents the contribution made by - mainly - the guys on the four Whirlwind and one Belvedere squadron, which were in Borneo.

An interesting period in one's life, probably going to do a reunion tour to Borneo next Spring and hopefully rekindle some fond memories!

Old Duffer

Book on Borneo choppers
 

As a flight engineer on 48 Squadron Hastings I was one of the "volunteers" who were sent to Labuan to fly with either 230 or 110 Squadrons as crewman for a short period. I have just bought, through pen-and-sword website a book, again by the 'whistling wheelbarrow' co-pilot Roger Annett, entitled 'Borneo Boys' ISBN # 978 1 78159 010 2 which covers all helicopter operations during Confrontation.

Well worth a read and stirs up a lot of memories.

Nanga Gaat - 110 Sqdn
 

Whilst at NG S/L Price had photo of all the detachment taken, it was at the time the squadron was being presented with it's colour 's at Seletar. I have been trying to obtain a copy, would you by chance know any one who has one.

Best Regards - Graham Nicholson

Found this?

110 Squadron Photo by vinedodger | Photobucket

More

vinedodger's Library | Photobucket

Re the 110 photo - that must have been later 'cause the Prince of Darkness is in the front row!!! JWP was replaced by him in about June/July 1966.

Old Duffer

gandwnich and OD - more names featuring in my logbooks - Bradshaw, Ramshaw, Kelson et al. Slightly odd moment, when working for Virgin, took lunchtime stroll in Crawley and as I passed the P.O., out came a chap, face familiar, brain cells (mine!) disengaged:uhoh: ... said chap disappeared along street and it was some minutes before the cogs re-engaged - if it wasn't GK, he must have a doppelganger!! No further sighting.
Rgds to all of that era. (BC, as was)

Well Cornish Jack,

Bradshaw is still with us and lives not to far from Shawbury and he lunches regularly with Ramshaw. I'm certain George Kelson went home to Canada. I shall try to print the photo and see how many names I can get - watch this space!!!

Old Duffer

Let’s try and sort out the photograph of 110, obviously taken at Seletar and in the days of the PofD and not John Price. This makes it between July 1966 and end of that year.

Front Row: ? but might be Bradshaw, M/P Rowe, Miller, Fermor, Wright, Hadlow sqn cdr, ?,?, Lofty Marshall, Tony Cooper, ?

Middle Row: ?, ?, ?, ?, Skea, Deakin, Dark?, ?, Pressley, Taylor, ?, ?, Griffiths, ?, ?

Back Row: ?, ?, Culverhouse?, Carey, Dudgeon, Kelson, Alcock, Bell, Hockin, Leeming?, ?, Ramshaw, ?, Collinson DFC, ?

Fourth Row: A Whirlwind 10!!!!

The guy next to Cooper could be M/Sig Greg Lovelock but not sure. If true, that means some of the others will be crewmen as well but can't remember who the SengO was.

Old Duffer

Re post 66, would F/L Toddman actually be S/L David Todman DFC who became OC 22 Sqdn at St Mawgan mid sixties?

Wessex? I think you mean Whirlwinds
 

The RBMR acquired three Whirlwinds in 1966. They had three pilots seconded from the RAF.

I was there with the RAF Detachment.

Nec Timeo nec Sperno.
 

gandwnich - your #65 (and others),

I was on 110 (Hyderabad) twenty-two years before. Were they still lugging round the bit of DH9a panel with the tiger's head painted on it in your day ?

Danny.