Radschool Association Newsletter

Radschool Association Newsletter - Vol 8

28 Feb 2001

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Indestructible

The recent Defence White Paper (which can be viewed in full at www.defence.gov.au/whitepaper) says:-

"A new light tactical airlift capability (LTAC) will be sought to replace the Caribou from 2010 and a life of type extension program will be conducted to keep the Caribou flying until a replacement is acquired."

The Caribou was first delivered to the RAAF back in March 1964, and between then and May 1971, a total of 29 aircraft were delivered, and if they last through to 2010 as planned, the type will have been in continuous service for 46 years. That’s equivalent to the Army still using FJ Holdens as staff cars. The old Caribou has been painted just about every colour there is, has carried just about everything, has been just about everywhere, and there’s not much it hasn’t done, and by the time it’s had its final after-flight this old piston-engined relic will have outlasted a bunch of much other more sophisticated aircraft.

A4-208 was taken delivery of by the RAAF in Nov 1964, and while being ferried out to Australia was instead diverted to Vietnam. In January, 1969, while on the ground at Katum, a US Special Forces camp near the Cambodian border, it was hit by shrapnel from 3 mortar rounds which exploded a short distance from the aircraft. Pilot at the time was "Tommy" Thompson with "Rocky" McGregor in the right hand seat, and Barry Gracie down the back. With both pilots injured, the hydraulics damaged, tyres flat, flaps and brakes not working, the aircraft was quickly unloaded and flown back to Bien Hoa. Photo above was taken in October 2000 and shows it in a paddock next to the Oakey Army base in Queensland (near Toowoomba) where it has been used as a training aid.

There are plans to take the aircraft into Moreton Bay, courtesy of Chinook Airlines and sink it on the Curtin artificial reef where it will become a home for fish and a haven for scuba divers. It is currently being "environmentally" cleaned and stripped of all snags to facilitate free movement inside while in the water. It was interesting to see those wielding the hack saws, chisels and damn big hammers at Oakey getting the aircraft ready for its last flight included "Pud" Passmore and "Frosty" Williams, both ex WO’s.

I wish I was a glow worm, A glow worm's never glum.
'Cos how can you be grumpy when the sun shines out your bum.

Ted McEvoy

US Army Caribou. A lot of the Yankee versions had weather radar which completely changed the "look" of the aeroplane. In Vietnam, at Christmas time, the Yanks would deck out one aircraft by painting the nose section white and the radome a bright red. This aircraft, filled with heaps of toys, then became "Santa’s sleigh" and made a lot of little Vietnamese kids very happy.

For those interested in the tech bits, the Caribou is powered by two Pratt and Whitney 18 cylinder radials, each developing 2,000 horse-power. It is 22.5 metres long, 9.6 metres high (seems higher when you’re up there in a swaying basket attached to a fork lift trying to fix an HF antenna), and has a wing span of 29 metres. All up weight is 12,900 kg, with a payload of 3,180 kg and can carry a total of 100 empty 44 gal drums if you really cram them in-a record set by Stew Bonnett back in 1968/69 at either Pink Lilly or was it Leigh Creek??

Over the years an awful lot of blokes have either flown them, flown in them, or worked on them, and all remember the old girl with fond memories. It must have been a fantastic aeroplane back in 1964 because it’s still pretty good today.

If you’re interested, Darren Crick maintains a web site http://www.derwood.com/adf/3a4.htm which lists all 29 aircraft, and sets out when they were delivered, what’s happened to them since, and also where they are now.

One of the few Caribous on the civilian register. This one was operated by Ansett Airlines in Papua New Guinea and is shown here at Chimbu airport in the Wahgi valley, not far from Goroka, in 1968.

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