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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 17, 2012 23:02:54 GMT 12
Over many decades the Royal New Zealand Air Force has been responsible for rescuing many hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, whether shipwrecked or lost at sea, lost in bush and forest, injured on mountains, and various other scenarios.
No. 3 Squadron's helicopters and No. 5 Squadron's Orions are probably the most prominent types involved in rescues over the years, but I'm sure that other squadrons and types have also been instrumental in rescuing people's lives too, including our transports like the Hercules, Freighter and Andover taking medical supplies and food into areas hit by cyclones, floods, quakes, war and the rest.
I am sure that there must be many people here who have been involved either as aircrew or groundcrew in RNZAF rescues. I thought it would be good to start a thread to see if anyone out there could share stories of RNZAF rescues they were involved in as aircrew or ground parties. It would be good to see the great work that the RNZAF does in this area highlighted.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 18, 2012 0:00:07 GMT 12
The only rescue I was ever involved with was while on Recruit Course in 1989 when we were doing the Dip Flat phase. Part of the course involved the Three Day Tramp, and the second day of that was climbing up to the top of a mountain ridge and scree sliding down again into the valley. We were in a small party of about 14 or so people, with Corporal Wayne Crosswell in charge as our GSI. We had another Cpl there with us, Cpl Steve Patience, a Provost. We were up the Hamilton River valley and left our campsite by the river for this day trek. The weather was great and everyone was having a pretty great time, but I have to admit the final stages of the climb up to the ridge top was for me pretty scary, I don't like heights and back then more than now I suffered from bad vertigo.
Like most of us I had never done a scree slide before, and in fact I had never even heard of scree. When they told us what we were going to do, run down a near cliff face of shingle rocks, I was a bit stunned, but there was no other option so after a couple of guys went first, I went for it.
I guess just past halfway down I got too fast and out of control and next thing - I have no idea how - I went head first and did a full forward somersault, landing on my feet but then crashing down onto my back. The adrenaline obviously masked the pain and although it hurt I felt I was ok. When I was getting up I looked back up the slope from where I'd come and saw others coming down behind me. Someone, and I cant recall who, caught up and asked if i was ok as they'd seen me go arse over kite, and I was. I was about to go again when I noted one of the girls with us, Sue Connolly, really arsed over badly. She totally wiped out.
We watched as we were getting our breath foir a few minites and i think it was Cpl Crosswell who got to Sue first and called for help. We headed back up the moutainside, and everyone converged. It really wasn't good at all. Poor Sue had come down and had cut her shin open so bad you could see the bone. The Cpls did emergency first aid but they realised that she was in a very serious way indeed. We were about two hours walk from camp, and camp was about two or three hours walk from the road in normal conditions, which was in the very remote Rainbow Valley.
Some of the guys went down the bottom of the slope and cut some long branches and brought them back up. We set about building a stretcher - something we as a group had literally only been taught two days before at a field first aid lecture. Everyone worked as a team and there was no panic or anything. Quickly the stretcher was built and we started off down the hill carrying Sue. We took it in turns to carry the stretcher in shifts so everyone got a turn and a break.
I recall that as we trudged along we were all very tired till two of the guys, Fred Keenan and Dorian Crighton began to sing the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic Bad Moon Rising. It's funny, in that black humour way, this song lifted our spirits. We got back to the campsite after about four hours or so of carrying and resting. At the campsite things were no better, our radio wouldn't work in the steep valley and it would soon be dark. Sue was made comfotable and we ate dinner.
The Cpls decided the only thing for it was someone had to go out of the valley towards the road and radio Dip Flat for a chopper. There was meant to be an Iroquois coming into Dip Flat next day from Woodbourne as part of our training anyway so we were going to try to get it in there to take Sue out to hospital.
So Steve Ingrey volunteered to go. He was shown how to use the radio and then went off like a jack rabbit. He always was the fastest runner in our flight and man did he move. In the meantime the rest of us were instructed to clear an area on the river flat for the helicopter so we spent ages moving every bit of driftwood and twig we could to make a clear landing pad.
Steve got back after running for an hour when he finally got signal and radioed base at Dip Flat. he then returned and said that he'd got through, and an Iroquois was to come. We went to bed all knackered and sad that the amazing atmosphere of the night before, when we'd built a damn in the river to make a great little pool that we chilled out in and then sat round the campfire and joked with the Cpls who were for the first time nice to us and calling us by our first names, all that was now gone. It was serious, very serious. And we were back to last name basis with the Cpls who had a lot of responsibility on their shoulders.
When we got up early next morning we discovered that Cpl Crosswell had already gone back down the valley to try and find out what was happening via radio again as the Iroquois had not yet turned up. We packed up the camp and made ready for the Iroquis. Then Crossy returned and said that he'd been told bad weather had stopped the helicopter and we now faced another several hours of walking down the bush track to get Sue to the road where trucks would be waiting. We were told though that all would be ok as base was sending in a relief party to meet us halfway.
Halfway my arse, we would have walked about three to four hours taking turns on the stretcher before we got to the pint we met the relief - twenty minutes from the road. But they were certainly a very welcome sight to see and they took the stretcher the rest of the way. We got to the trucks and some absolute bloody genius had hot cocoa there for us all, it was wonderful. I have no idea where if came from, we were just handed it.
At the end of it all we were all totally knackered and had to endure the ride in the back seat of a bloody Bedfore RL back to Dip Flat, and then soon after back to Woody Valley. But it was an experience we all won't forget and all learned from - putting the rescue and survival techniques we'd learned only that very week into practice and as a result getting a comrade out of a really bad situation was was very rewarding. It was also nice that both Corporals in charge of us said they were pleased and proud at the way we all acted in the situation. None of the other GSTS groups had had a Three Day Camp like ours, when we were reunited with the others they were all bragging about the easy three days they'd had swimming and mucking about. I kind of felt like we'd dome something more, something better, than mucking about.
As for Sue, she was taken to hospital, not sure where. I didn't see her for some time. I was worried for her because I thought it might be the end of her recruit course. Sue was the first recruit I met when I got into the RNZAF on my first day as she and I sat next to each other in the Base Institute. She was a nice girl and though we were in different Flights I had heard she was doing very well up till the accident. Well despite the very nasty gash on her leg Sue was soon back and she finished the course. Not only that but she won the Chirs Black Memorial Trophy at Passing Out Parade - it was really neat seeing her win that. The last I heard she was a Squadron Leader in charge of Admin in Wellington. that was about ten years ago though, I don't know if she's still in now.
That was my only involvement in an Air Force rescue situation and it was one of our own.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 18, 2012 0:03:38 GMT 12
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Post by phil on Oct 19, 2012 19:05:54 GMT 12
Very interesting to see those photos Dave. Wayne Crosswell was a SGT when I went through GSTS a few years later, and went on to gain a commission.
Also interesting is to see photos of Curly Waters, who is now a SQNLDR and MFC 6 SQN.
I've just been looking through your other galleries, plenty of familiar faces there and many of them are still in.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 19, 2012 21:07:26 GMT 12
Thanks Phil.
So no-one has been involved in RNZAF Rescues?
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Post by phil on Oct 19, 2012 21:29:08 GMT 12
6 SQN did one a few months ago. It was from Canterbury on the way back from Raoul Island resupply. The Seasprite winched people off a sinking yacht, just as the yacht disappeared below the waves, but I'm afraid I have no further details I wasn't on board for that trip and only heard about it later on.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 19, 2012 21:53:02 GMT 12
That's a neat story Phil, but the main aim of this thread is first hand accounts. It would be great to hear some of the stories from the guys and girls involved.
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Post by lumpy on Oct 19, 2012 22:48:30 GMT 12
Sorry , also a little off topic , but I think I know the scree slide that you mention in your rescue story Dave . As an ATC cadet I did the Dip flat course ( would have been 1978 ) I think . We split into two groups , one went up the Hamilton river , the other went up the next valley over ( was it 6 mile creek ) ? . The idea being to cross each others paths as we swaped valleys whilst going over the ridge line , then heading back out the next day . First day was the tramp to " base camp " , second day was a " rain day " ( spent all day in a tiny tent with two blokes I'd only just met - whilst keeping a constant look at the river level ) . Next day was the tramp to the ridge line ( the Hamilton scree was on the other side for my group ) . I swear I have never been so exausted in my life , every single step was an effort . We saw the other group come over the ridge , but were nowhere near close enough to talk ( obviously they skirted the slide , rather than go up it ) . The slide seemed to start not far of the ridge line , coming down - (although the wind was so strong that we actually had to crouch down behind our packs for protection from the wind blown rocks on several occasions ). Felt like about 4 hours up , 30 mins down ! That really is a masive shingle slide !
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zolteg
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 82
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Post by zolteg on Oct 20, 2012 14:03:07 GMT 12
Very interesting to see those photos Dave. Wayne Crosswell was a SGT when I went through GSTS a few years later, and went on to gain a commission. Also interesting is to see photos of Curly Waters, who is now a SQNLDR and MFC 6 SQN. I've just been looking through your other galleries, plenty of familiar faces there and many of them are still in. I was same flight on Crossy's recruit course... was surprised when I saw him at GSTS when I was posted to Woodbourne.... |
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Post by davekiwi on Oct 20, 2012 14:36:22 GMT 12
Ok, my minor contributions:
1. Early '80s on 5 SQN it seemed that there was a (good) 'policy' to use "new' avmechs as observers on SAR flights - my one flight as an observer was part of a three (maybe longer) day search for a light aeroplane that was on a flight to Norfolk -- suspected that it ditched somewhere off the coast of Norfolk. it was quite sureal, was only 18 & 'a bit' -- but haven't forgotten it at all (Now am 47 plus :-) ).
2. Second time as an 'observer' was towards the end of my time at NATTS - a location beacon had been triggered --- the flight was some couple of hours, and the beacon was tracked to a hangar in Ludgate (?).
3. Schee slide - hmm, must have been a favourite with the Dip Camp trips, remember our party being dropped off by an Iroquoi near the top of the ridge line and we made our way up and over and down the schee slide --- by the sounds of it the same dam one. Was fun until I happened to look down to my right hand, a big slash across the base of my thumb -- was quite deep and just missed the tendons. No real big dramas (well there was some, but Chris Black was the GSI and he had it under control) but it did mean that i ended up as a 'door opener' on my graduation parade.
I still have the scar - looking at it now seems there was 6 to 8 stitches used to hold it together -- also seem to remember some "dead flesh" getting cut off at Woodburne Base hospital.
A very long time ago - just on thirty years. :-)
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 20, 2012 16:25:12 GMT 12
I wonder if the compulsory scree slide of old is still part of the Recruit Course nowadays with all the molly coddling and H&S stuff of today?
A few days after returning to Woodbourne after mine I had a sore back and went to the medical section. The nurse lifted my shirt and gasped as there was a huge bruise, the size of a saucer, and purple and black. She asked what I had done and I seriously couldn't recall. It puzzled me but I finallyrealised later in the day it had to be from my impromtu somersault, which had been completely forgotten till that point by the emergency and verything else that had happened in between. No wonder my back was damned sore. I thought it was from lugging the stretcher!
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Post by lumpy on Oct 20, 2012 20:42:07 GMT 12
I wonder if the compulsory scree slide of old is still part of the Recruit Course nowadays with all the molly coddling and H&S stuff of today? Dont know , but I do recall the climb up from the other side of the ridge was REALLY steep near the top ! We were using hands and feet to climb with ! Given that we were well above the bush line , any slip ( we were carring packs with all our gear , tents , food , etc ) , could easily have been a serious problem . |
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