Radiation cloud monitoring

[pjw4118]

Allan George's entry for the sampling flights, his affadvit and newspaper interview

[baz62]

That's sobering reading. His logbook entries show a diverse range of types! The Auster must have felt like it was standing still after the Mustang!

[Dave Homewood]

Alan flew Wellingtons and Lancasters and Mosquitoes and all sorts. A great chap, we had him give a short talk at the Mosquito Veterans Honour Dinner in 2012. He and I used to keep in touch via Skype messages, etc till his death recently. Amazing man. I believe one of the TV3 reporters, I cannot recall who but it was a woman, knew him well and she has recorded hours and hours with him about his Air Force career on camera. From memory Alan was 96 when he passed away, so a great innings.

[nuuumannn]

Heavens. I humbly asketh and the Forum kindly provideth. Straight from the horse's mouth. Thank you Peter; very insightful.

Yes indeed, Dave. A remarkable man. I'm sure he would have had a considerable amount of pressure put on him by the powers-that-be not to reveal what he witnessed. A difficult thing to have to live with knowing that the country you are sworn to serving with is withholding potentially dangerous information such as this from the public.

[margretbs]

As a child of a civilian working for the Civil Air Administration for the NZ Government, based at Faleolo or at Satapuala airports during periods of time from 1956-1959, I remember seeing plane/s arriving at the Faleolo Airport. A image of a plane showed a grapple on it, was in one of the many 8mm films that my father photographed. As children, we were allowed to visit the planes that arrived at Faleolo, we learnt that many had come from either Christmas Island, Johnston Island, or Canton Island, in particular. My brother was photographed in the cockpit of a Canberra at Faleolo.

[Dave Homewood]

Mar 7, 2015 14:15:48 GMT 12 nuuumannn said:

Interesting mention of Whenuapai based aircraft (what type? Dakota? Bristol?) carrying out sampling during the Hurricane test in 1952, does this mean it flew into the cloud as RAAF Lincolns and Canberras did in later tests, I wonder, and if so, what measures for decontaminating the aircraft were taken?

I am currently looking at an interview I filmed with the late F/Lt Ron Wilson-Walker (NZ411959) who was an RNZAF observer. He said in the interview after the war he was posted to Whenuapai as Navigation officer with the Bristol Frieghters, and that his crew escorted an aircraft that was carrying a firing mechanism for an atomic bomb to its island for detonation - he does not mention the island or the year/project name. He said they were back in NZ before the bomb was exploded but afterwards the Freighter crews were tasked with following the nuclear dust cloud to see where it went,and he reckoned it very nearly got as far as the west coast of the USA. He stated the aircraft and crew members had absolutely no protection whatsoever, and the only addition was filters fitted under the wings. Yet he added that he never heard of anyone getting ill afterwards from these flights.

Unfortunately this was just a little aside to our conversation, and as I never had much interest in nuclear tests nor postwar stuff, I never pursued the line of with more questions. I also failed to photograph his postwar section ion his logbook as only the wartime stuff was of interest to me at that time. Stupid! I have learned that lesson. Sadly he died and I have no idea of where his family are, but I assume from what was stated that he had to be with No. 41 Squadron with the Freighters doing this?

[nuuumannn]

Thank you Dave. Very interesting information. Because of the nature of this subject, I fear these memories will be lost for ever. I guess that's the way some would want it.

[Dave Homewood]

It would be interesting which Freighter or Freighters flew after the cloud scooping up samples in the filters.

[Dave Homewood]

Here is another Kiwi pilot, this time in the Royal Air Force, who flew into a radiation cloud.

ATOM TEST TASK FORCE

N.Z. Pilot To Fly Helicopter

(From the London Correspondent to "The Press") LONDON. March 14.

A New Zealander, Flight Lieutenant Charles Verry. R.A.F., formerly of Wellington, is included in the R.A.F. task force which will take part in the forthcoming Monte Bello atom bomb explosion tests. As a helicopter pilot it will be part of his duty to fly over the craters after the explosions, photographing them and the radioactive mushroom clouds.

Flight Lieutenant Verry is already in Australia with the advance party of helicopters and Shackleton aircraft. The remainder of the task force, comprising seven twin-jet Canberra bombers and twin-piston engined Varsity aircraft, leave England this week. The whole force — 24 planes and 500 officers and men — will assemble at Pierce Field, in south-west Australia, on March 27.

This will be the fist time a properly constituted R.A.F. task force has taken part in an atomic explosion, said the commander of the force. Group Captain S. W. B. Menaul, D.F.C.. A.F.C., R.A.F. All the men are volunteers. Many are National Servicemen and four-year engagement men who have extended their service for the opportunity of joining the force.

The Canberras will fly through the mushroom cloud after the explosion with filters that will collect samples for the scientists. Varsity aircraft will fly lower measuring radioactivity and checking the drift of the cloud. All the aircraft coming into contact with radioactivity will be protected against radioactive penetration and ground crews will wear special clothing while decontaminating the airframes and engines.

THE PRESS, 24 MARCH 1956

This was known as Operation Mosaic
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mosaic

[errolmartyn]

Feb 23, 2024 20:10:38 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Here is another Kiwi pilot, this time in the Royal Air Force, who flew into a radiation cloud.

ATOM TEST TASK FORCE

N.Z. Pilot To Fly Helicopter

(From the London Correspondent to "The Press") LONDON. March 14.

A New Zealander, Flight Lieutenant Charles Verry. R.A.F., formerly of Wellington, is included in the R.A.F. task force which will take part in the forthcoming Monte Bello atom bomb explosion tests. As a helicopter pilot it will be part of his duty to fly over the craters after the explosions, photographing them and the radioactive mushroom clouds.

Flight Lieutenant Verry is already in Australia with the advance party of helicopters and Shackleton aircraft. The remainder of the task force, comprising seven twin-jet Canberra bombers and twin-piston engined Varsity aircraft, leave England this week. The whole force — 24 planes and 500 officers and men — will assemble at Pierce Field, in south-west Australia, on March 27.

This will be the fist time a properly constituted R.A.F. task force has taken part in an atomic explosion, said the commander of the force. Group Captain S. W. B. Menaul, D.F.C.. A.F.C., R.A.F. All the men are volunteers. Many are National Servicemen and four-year engagement men who have extended their service for the opportunity of joining the force.

The Canberras will fly through the mushroom cloud after the explosion with filters that will collect samples for the scientists. Varsity aircraft will fly lower measuring radioactivity and checking the drift of the cloud. All the aircraft coming into contact with radioactivity will be protected against radioactive penetration and ground crews will wear special clothing while decontaminating the airframes and engines.

THE PRESS, 24 MARCH 1956

This was known as Operation Mosaic
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mosaic

NZ425806 Charles Cyril Verry, enlisted at Whenuapai as an ACH (ADU) on 30 May 42.

Appointed as a Pilot II in RAF (as 4016210) on 14 Jun 50 - seniority 15 Sep 48; service to count from 8 Aug 47, according to his London Gazette entry.

Errol

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks Errol.

I see he is on the New Zealand Death register as passing away in 1969, aged just 46. I wonder of flying into the radiation cloud was a contributor to his early death.

[Dave Homewood]

More on Charles Verry, from The Press dated 17th of April 1956.

PILOT FOR EARL MOUNTBATTEN

Blenheim Man Flies To Monte Bellos

HELICOPTER FLIGHT TO ATOM TEST SITE

(N.Z Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 10 p.m.) PERTH, April 16.

A young New Zealander who has been the “chauffeur’’ in a Royal Air Force helicopter service for a sultan and two commanders-in-chief in Malaya was the man chosen to fly Earl Mountbatten on his helicopter flight to the Monte Bello Islands yesterday. He is Flight Lieutenant Charles Verry, of Blenheim, officer commanding the Whirlwind helicopter flight of the’ Royal Air Force atomic task force.

In his hands lay the responsibility of taking Britain’s First Sea Lord over nearly 100 miles of shark-infested water between Onslow, on the coast of Western Australia, and the' Monte Bellos.

A World War II bomber pilot, who flew in Lancaster missions over Germany, he has spent most of his three years in helicopters over the jungles of Malaya.

His 10-man flight has two Whirlwind helicopters which operate a delivery and air sea rescue service between Onslow and the Monte Bellos.

When he took off with Lord Mountbatten, his second helicopter took off after him to serve as a safety “watchdog” during the flight. After seeing all that is going on on the islands and having a discussion with Commodore Hugh Martell, the British operational commander and captain of the atomic flagship H.M.S. Narvik, Earl Mountbatten returned to Onslow and later took off from there on the return flight to Britain.