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Ah Ha, at Kuantan in 1965, I was issued with an Orlikon 20mm cannon - one of only six deployed on the station (all in a straight line beside the runway).
I was trained on this thing and thought good stuff - come on Indonesian air force - make my day!!!! Then we had an exercise and I was to discover that there were only five 'pans' of ammo and for this exercise my gun and crew weren't 'served'. Old Duffer |
OD, I think if we delved too deeply into the RAF or Army in those days we would have found the tail well and truely docked. We give the RAF respirators and tin hats and a gun each, the whole issh was destined to disappear in a flash of light.
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Originally Posted by AARON O'DICKYDIDO
(Post 9842610)
[QUOTEThey would be expected to join the fight on the ground if necessary (as happened in Gan).
Aaron.[/QUOTE] Read Ed Macey MC's book. |
TS, I presume that was code for (AF)GAN,
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OP, these days landing somewhere you weren't planning to land at can be just a big a headache.
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YellowTom
OP, these days landing somewhere you weren't planning to land at can be just a big a headache. It was ever thus. |
Originally Posted by Trim Stab
(Post 9843123)
What happened at Gan?
Aaron. Read Ed Macey MC's book.[/QUOTE] Ah, not Gan then...... Royal Air Force Gan - Remembered Didn't 'Macey' make an unathorised mod to his L22 (or use it without the front grip as it needed to be removed to get it in the Apache)? |
As indeed their Glider Pilot Regiment forebears did at Arnhem (not sure how many - will look it up) [Edited to add:] Apologies to the GPR - getting my MARKET GARDEN (Arnhem) mixed up with my VARSITY (Rhine crossing) - I really should know better! GPR suffered 90% cas at Arnhem, so 1500 :eek: RAF pilots were drafted in for the Rhine crossing. In that Operation, 60% of the glider aircrew kia were RAF .......... ...... and they did their bit: For example, Squadron Leader Reynolds was flying a Horsa with Flying Officer Bayley as his co-pilot. On his approach to his landing target, Reynolds saw a German four-gun light flack battery shooting at other gliders. He ordered Bayley to take control of the Horsa while he engaged the Germans with a sub-machine gun, firing through the cockpit canopy. He killed or wounded all of the gun crew and took the survivors prisoner after Bayley had landed the glider. Reynolds then came under fire from a nearby four-gun flack battery and he ordered Bayley to attack it with a PIAT, an elementary anti-tank weapon with an effective range of about 50 yards. Bailey crawled off and scored a direct hit killing the gun crew in the position. |
Originally Posted by teeteringhead
(Post 9843792)
GPR suffered 90% cas at Arnhem, so 1500 :eek: RAF pilots were drafted in for the Rhine crossing. In that Operation, 60% of the glider aircrew kia were RAF ..........
...... and they did their bit: The 60% casualty rate on Varsity is directly representative of the percentage of glider pilots taking part who were RAF (one of whom was my late Father). |
I always thought that aircrew pistols were issued so that the downed aircrew could do the decent thing prior to capture, and save the Queen's secrets by a self-applied coup de grace.
A full magazine is supplied because the accuracy of aircrew pistols degrades rapidly with range. |
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