The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

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The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#1 Post by KiwiNedNZ » Sat Sep 05, 2015 10:19 pm

Thought we better get one of these going and make it bigger and better than the "other" place :)

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#2 Post by KiwiNedNZ » Sun Sep 06, 2015 5:42 am

Heli Expo 2015

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#3 Post by KiwiNedNZ » Mon Sep 07, 2015 10:27 pm

Come on everyone add your helo photos to this thread. Gotta make it bigger and better than the other one :)

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#4 Post by John Hill » Mon Sep 14, 2015 9:57 pm

I am sorry but all my helicopter images are in my cranial storage space and I am having increasing difficulty in accessing them. Some of them were pretty good too from the era known as the 'venison wars'.
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#5 Post by stuart » Mon Sep 14, 2015 10:14 pm

I'm not sure what the type is but I took this pic at Mendips Raceway banger meeting in 2009.

4497b681f64d446c8d8899214b408b73.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#6 Post by CharlieOneSix » Fri Sep 18, 2015 3:14 pm

Well ,the ever growing helo photo thread is hardly growing so maybe I can drip feed one or two photos from yesteryear. Having been retired for 16 years I'm afraid I don't have anything modern to post and being all scanned they won't be of a brilliant quality.

I took this photo of Jimmy Savile being flown in to the dais by Station Flight Whirlwind Mk9 to open Culdrose Air Day - it was either 1967 or 68. Pity they didn't use the cable cutter and cut the wire - would have saved some youngsters a lot of grief in the following years. Note even back then he was losing his trousers at the slightest opportunity.

XN309---Jimmy-Savile-CU-Air-Day.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#7 Post by CharlieOneSix » Fri Sep 18, 2015 3:40 pm

Wessex302.jpg


The photo above is of a Fleet Air Arm Wessex HAS Mk1 in the Radfan 1964 - a scan of a dusty 35mm negative found in the back of an old chest of drawers about 5 years ago in Hawick, Scotland.

The Radfan Mountains are located 60 miles north of Aden. In 1964 the new republican government in adjacent Yemen, backed by Egypt's President Nasser, was actively fermenting trouble in the Sultanate of Upper Yafa, which was one of the Western Aden Protectorate states that was refusing to join the Federation of Saudi Arabia.

It became clear that a campaign was being waged against the Federation of Saudi Arabia, mainly by the Yemen and Egyptian-backed Radfan tribesmen. Their main objective was to attempt to close the main road from Aden to Yemen's frontier town of Dhala. However, the campaign mounted by British personnel, with Federation troops, quickly and effectively defeated the tribesmen.

The Wessex in the photo above is '302' XM873 of 815 Naval Air Squadron which with other 815 Wessex left the aircraft carrier HMS Centaur on 22 May 1964 to go on detachment to the Radfan hills north of Aden. The purpose was to undertake the junglie role in support of 45 Commando, 1st Battalion of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, and the East Anglian Regiment. 815 had previously been in the Radfan in January that year in support of a similar task - Operation Nutcracker - and all the antisubmarine role equipment was once again removed from the Wessex to allow transportation of troops.

Based at RAF Khormaksar, the squadron flew daily to Thumier. The normal routine was for RAF Hunters to soften up a rebel stronghold with rocket and cannon fire, followed by a mortar bombardment, and then, when enemy heads seemed to be scarce the Wessex flew in advance troops to secure the site.

The photo of XM873 must have been taken at some point in the 19 days between leaving Centaur and when it was written off in the Radfan on 10 June 1964 when a sudden wind veer just prior to touchdown at an elevation of 5000ft caused it to bounce several times. The tail section parted and the aircraft rolled over 5 times into a 150ft deep gully at Wadi Misrah on the Radfan Plateau. The crew were all OK but four East Anglian Regiment soldiers were injured and one was killed. XM873 was struck off charge on 11 September 1964 having a total of 670.40 flying hours.

A month after they had disembarked, 815 returned to Centaur on 22 June 1964 having flown 300 hours of operational tasks, transported 2500 troops, moved 400,000lbs of stores, and flown 25 casevacs.
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#8 Post by Airborne Aircrew » Fri Sep 18, 2015 5:02 pm

Some working pictures of the Puma in Belize.

1. This was F Coy, (SAS), and some of the aircrew after blowing a new LZ in the jungle

F Coy, LZ Dog July 1986.jpg


2. Parked at Holdfast Camp

holdfast.jpg


3. Parked on Hunting Caye in July 1987

Hunting Caye July 87.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#9 Post by Airborne Aircrew » Fri Sep 18, 2015 5:04 pm

Some more...

1. John Darby with the kids of Dolores village in south western Belize

JD Dolores.jpg


2. Over the Mayan Mountains March 1988

Over the Mayan Mtns March 1988.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#10 Post by Airborne Aircrew » Fri Sep 18, 2015 5:08 pm

Lastly...

1. Parked at Salamanca Camp

Salamanca.jpg


2. It was a really hot day in July 1987 and we were taking brass around Belize and had a photographer with us. It was a very hot day and the brass were "touring" JB's Bar on the Western Highway leaving me and the photographer with the aircraft. He wanted to take a picture of me. I didn't want one taken. I'm glad he did, it's one of my favorite pictures of me anywhere...

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#11 Post by CharlieOneSix » Fri Sep 18, 2015 5:31 pm

AA - what looks like a Nightsun - was that a local mod and in what role was it used?
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#12 Post by Airborne Aircrew » Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:05 pm

C16:

Yep, Nightsun. It was the same mod I came across wherever I used it, (UK or overseas). IIRC we always had one of the 4 airframes fitted with it primarily for night SAR tasks. I do remember we'd sometimes use it to help locate Gallon Jugs, and overgrown airstrip on the north west plateau, because if there was no moon it was almost impossible to find without Nightsun. That was until Barry Burren, (Belize's rich man), bought a mass of land around it and turned it into a huge clear area with a couple of buildings and a hard runway that you could see from about 10 miles away.

I also have a nagging memory that it was Nitesun rather than Nightsun but that might just be old age and addled grey matter...
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#13 Post by Airborne Aircrew » Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:19 pm

To assist the goal of enlarging this thread I can do some Wessex...

1. Me coming off a training trip at Shawbury

Me at RAF Shawbury.jpg


2. Basic Hover training, RAF Shawbury

Hovering a Wessex RAF Shawbury.jpg


3. Refueling at RAF Shawbury

Refuelling a Wessex RAF Shawbury.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#14 Post by Airborne Aircrew » Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:21 pm

Some more Wessex...

1. Pat Connell instructing me on underslung loads

Underslung loads RAF Shawbury Sept 1984.jpg


2. Prior to going to Shawbury I held at SARTU, (Search and Rescue Training Unit), at RAF Valley in Wales. Home of the Yellow Helicopter...

SA.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#15 Post by CharlieOneSix » Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:42 pm

Airborne Aircrew wrote:1. John Darby with the kids of Dolores village in south western Belize


I collected more kids than him....... :)

Rhodesia - Feb 1980

Rhodesia-1.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#16 Post by CharlieOneSix » Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:48 pm

Going back in time and courtesy of his son, this is John Sproule - inventor of the Sproule Net - in a RN Hiller at Gosport in 1953.....
John Sproule 1953 Gosport.jpg

and here flying a Dragonfly demonstrating the Sproule Net .....
SprouleNet.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#17 Post by CharlieOneSix » Fri Sep 18, 2015 10:07 pm

Forward now to 1966 and these are 815 Squadron Wessex HAS Mk1's on the pan at RNAS Sembawang, Singapore in January 1966...
815 Simbang Jan 66 (4).jpg

just prior to this.....
815 Simbang Jan 66 (2).jpg

and right in the middle is '54' which is XS863. This is now at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford in 815 colours but with an earlier side number. I had the pleasure of being reunited with her a few years ago at Duxford.......note the Guinness Harp on each aircraft. These were acquired during the Squadron's time at Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, some years before and remained until 815 decommissioned in October 1966.

XS863-1.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#18 Post by CharlieOneSix » Fri Sep 18, 2015 10:14 pm

I had a model carved in solid wood of XS863 a couple of years ago - fuselage length is about 15 inches (38 cms). It is shown armed with a Mk44 homing torpedo.....
Wessex-HAS1.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#19 Post by Airborne Aircrew » Fri Sep 18, 2015 10:30 pm

That's Navy... It's not a real helicopter... <snigger>
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#20 Post by CharlieOneSix » Fri Sep 18, 2015 10:40 pm

Airborne Aircrew wrote:That's Navy... It's not a real helicopter... <snigger>


Oohhh! (said in the manner of Larry Grayson) :)

I fell foul of the 30 minute editing restriction having forgotten to add this to John Sproule's photos. He also invented this minesweeping modification to a Whirlwind HAR3. Unfortunately I have lost the emails from his son but I think following an engine failure he ditched this helicopter one night in the Solent.....no, don't ask, I have no idea how it worked.....

Whirly3-Minesweeper.jpg
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