JUNGLIES 1962-2012
l A Whirlwind of 846 Squadron over the jungle of South-East Asia in March 1964
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HIS year marks the 50th anniversary of the formation of 846 Naval Air Squadron in the Junglie role – Commando Support, a role which the squadron continues to perform to this day, writes Barry (Baz) Marshall, Secretary 846 Squadron (1962-64) Association.
Back in 1962 the squadron started to form up at RN Air Station Culdrose during the first four months of the year, and was officially commissioned on May 8 – around a month after sister squadron 845 – with six Westland Whirlwind HAS7 aircraft, 13 officers and 50 ratings. That summer and autumn were spent in work-up along with 845 Squadron with their new Westland Wessex HAS1 aircraft, involving exercises with the Royal Marines and some Army units. Both squadrons embarked on HMS Albion, newly converted to a commando carrier, in early November 1962 for a worldwide tour of duty due to last 18 months – but that was soon to change dramatically. The ship’s first port of call was Gibraltar, a customary stoppingoff point for all warships entering the Mediterranean, and then on to Libya for the first exercise with 45 Commando Royal Marines, the embarked unit. In this environment it was now obvious to see why all the squadron aircraft were painted stone or sand colour – they blended in very well! But the real eye-opener for the ground crew was the amount of additional work created by working in desert conditions, when sand gets everywhere. This exercise also enabled the squadron to get accustomed to being on its own, away from all the comforts of the ship – a way of life all were to become very used to. Having passed through the Suez Canal, Albion then entered Aden to officially relieve HMS Bulwark. The two ships were moored offshore in line astern, Albion to the rear. The ship’s company of Bulwark took great delight www.navynews.co.uk
THE Junglies this year celebrate 50 years of supporting the Royal Marines. To mark the anniversary, Navy News looks back to 846 Naval Air Squadron in the early 1960s, and traces the history of 846 and her Commando Helicopter Force sisters, 845, 847 and 848, to the present day in gathering on the flight deck round-down and singing “We’ll be home for Christmas”. History tells us that 1962-63 was a particularly hard winter in the UK – hope they enjoyed it... Whilst in Aden there was some swapping around of units between the two ships and the shore, with Albion departing for Kenya with 40 Cdo RM now on board. Another shore-based exercise was undertaken in the Kenyan hinterland around Malindi – more desert – before calling in to Mombasa. The stay there was prematurely ended and the ship set sail for Singapore at full speed. En route the Captain of Albion addressed the ship’s company and explained to all the reason for this sudden departure. There had been an armed uprising in Brunei and the Sultan had asked for military assistance from Britain; the carrier force was to be that assistance. At that time many had never even heard of Brunei... After a short stay – hours rather than days – in Singapore to take on additional equipment and elements of 42 Cdo RM, the ship
sailed for the coast of Borneo. By December 15 1962 the ship was off Seria where 846 was disembarked to Brunei Airfield. The airfield taxiway became the dispersal and tents were erected on a nearby piece of land which was rumoured to be a ‘dried up’ riverbed. During that first night the monsoon season introduced itself and much of the hours of darkness were spent frantically digging trenches around each individual tent to aid the water run-off and keep it out of the tents. Perhaps this was a riverbed after all... Of course, in those days only aircrew carried arms, so anyone doing guard duty felt somewhat disadvantaged with the standard pickaxe handle, torch and whistle – thank goodness for the perimeter guard provided by the ever-reliable Gurkhas. Operations in Brunei entailed a very fast learning curve with regard to both flying in such a heavily forested area, and maintaining the aircraft without
the benefit of hangar space. The effects of the heavy daily rainfall coupled with daytime heat and constant high humidity meant extra effort was needed to keep all systems serviceable. The aircraft were regularly washed and then covered with WD40 to help combat corrosion, and rotor heads and tail rotors were purged with grease on a daily basis. To provide some protection, covers were fitted to the aircraft when not flying or being serviced. The fitting of covers soon became routine, but a chore no-one enjoyed very much. The wet conditions created some very specific problems. Having no mechanised refuelers, refuelling was from 45-gallon drums using, in those early days, a handmade pump which utilised a double action bilge pump. The drums, despite being sealed, suffered from the ingress of water as they had been stored
outdoors in an upright position. So, prior to use, each one had to be checked for water content using a suitable length of wood with detection paste applied to the end, and the aircraft fuel filters were checked daily for any evidence of water in the fuel system. It was realised early on that storing the fuel drums on their sides helped to prevent any water ingress. The problem with water first manifested itself when one of the aircraft, XN387, was forced to carry out an emergency landing in a jungle clearing shortly after taking off from the dispersal in the penultimate day of 1962. It was caused by engine failure due to water contamination, and the resulting heavy landing caused the rotor blades to sever the tail boom. The helicopter was airlifted to be repaired at Singapore via Brunei airfield and HMS Albion. There was another accident in Brunei; this time one of the aircraft (XN309) had a tail rotor strike whilst landing in a clearing a week before Christmas 1962, caused by a tree stump hidden in long grass. With no other access other than
l Westland Whirlwind HAS7 XN309 of 846 NAS – this aircraft was damaged when its tail rotor hit a tree stump south of Limbang in Graphics: Andy Brady December 1962
by air, the Whirlwind was stripped of as much as was possible and recovered by air to Albion, the squadron’s own aircraft carrying the component parts, including rotor blades, and the aircraft itself being lifted out by a twin-rotor Belvedere of 66 Squadron RAF. The success of moving troops by air across the jungle resulted in a fairly rapid resolution of the uprising and the squadron returned to Albion early one misty morning. The ship had by now earned the nickname ‘The Grey Ghost of the Borneo Coast’, having materialised at several points around the coast, usually overnight, appearing out of the early morning mist. The aircraft were subsequently disembarked to RN Air Station Sembawang (Singapore) to catch up on urgent servicing requirements, but they were soon to be back on board and off to Labuan, an island off Brunei. The stay was short-lived and we re-embarked for passage to Hong Kong. Whilst there a number of exercises were carried out in the New Territories, but when off duty everyone of course got to sample the delights of Hong Kong. The term ‘Junglie Squadron’ became a common tag for both squadrons aboard Albion, and 846 had adopted the palm tree as its emblem. Whilst in Hong Kong the USS Frank E Evans, known to the US Navy as ‘The Palm Ship’, presented the Commanding Officer with a potted palm tree, last seen in the grounds of Admiralty House in Hong Kong. 846 Squadron returned to Brunei to support British and Malaysian forces involved in the war between Malaysia and Indonesia, the latter attempting to invade those states in Borneo which were part of Malaysia. On this deployment we had the luxury of being accommodated in a ‘longhouse’ which had been built on the old campsite. Our stay was once again shortlived though as, following a request for closer helicopter support, it was deemed more practical for us to deploy to Kuching in the state of Sarawak, putting the aircraft JUNE 2012 : S1