Exercise Triad 76

[Dave Homewood]

As the Exercise Triad 84 thread has resurged (https://rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/10789/exercise-triad-84) and become popular again, I thought it was time to look at the first two of the three Triad exercises. Here is the first, Exercise Triad 76. Who has photos and memories from the 1976 exercise?

Here are some articles from The Press newspaper.

26 FEBRUARY 1976

Drop starts exercise

Exercise Triad, a six-day exercise and the first A.N.Z.U.S.-sponsored manoeuvres to be held in New Zealand will begin on Friday morning with a dawn airborne assault on the Waiouru airfield.

Until then the crews of six United States Air Force Phantom fighter-bombers will train with the Royal New Zealand Air Force at Ohakea and in particular No. 75 (Skyhawk) Squadron.

The six Phantoms, in two formations of three aircraft, arrived at Ohakea on Monday; night after an 8hr 20min. flight direct from the island of Guam, about 1800 miles south-east of Japan. They had flown to Guam from their base on Okinawa. A fleet of 16 tanker aircraft was needed to refuel the Phantoms five times.

[Dave Homewood]

A Royal New Zealand Air Force Skyhawk rolls on to its back before making a steep dive over a target near Mount Ruapehu (background) in the recent A.N.Z.U.S. Exercise Triad.
PRESS, 25 MARCH 1976

[McFly]

"Two No. 75 Squadron Skyhawks and two United States Air Force F4 Phantoms in formation over the Tasman Glacier during Exercise TRIAD 76 - 29/02/1976 - OhG35999-76)"

[machina]

How cool would it be to have our own Mach Loop in the Southern Alps, with our allies coming down to have a go.
Think I’ve read that the RNZAF does fly down there for training but not sure if it’s on the same kind of scale etc as the Loop. Maybe someone here knows?