Victors eventually arrive - Tony Cunnane's Life and Times

Main menu

Victors eventually arrive

Far East/Oz 1964-5

. . . . continued from here

I made my decision. The RAAF Base Commander actually stood right alongside me in the Signals Centre that night while I signalled Singapore that the weather would be perfect the following morning. I crossed my fingers very tightly.

I was out on the airfield at Darwin on the following morning when the bombers were due. There was not a cloud in the skies and visibility was, thankfully, unlimited. The bombers arrived exactly on time at roughly one minute intervals. They flew across the main airfield area on full power at about 100 feet, raising clouds of dust, before breaking into the circuit to land. I felt jolly proud to be British!

I heard a couple of hours later that the Victors had not been seen on the new Australian air defence radar because they were too low - but they were heard when they flew over the radar installation at tree top height (not that there were any trees) having homed onto the ground radar signals using their on-board electronic detection equipment.

Those gathered underground in the bunkers watching the glowing radar screens were startled when they heard the sudden tremendous roar as the four bombers flew overhead and I gather the Defence Minister was not too impressed. A couple of RAAF officers berated me afterwards because the bombers, by flying so low, "did not act fairly"! That was 1965; I am certain the RAAF would not use that argument these days.

I think it is safe now to reveal the following story after a gap of 45 years. I had to go from RAAF Darwin to Operational Command HQ in Penrith, near Sydney, to take part in debriefings of the V Bomber exercises we had just concluded. I could have travelled in comfort on Ansett-ANA but a kindly RAAF officer, Group Captain Rose, offered me the spare seat in his Canberra Bomber down to Richmond.

I assumed it was a 3-seat version, but it wasn't! What he had not told me until we were walking out to the aircraft, A84-226, was that I would have to perch on the very narrow space between him and his navigator. They had ejection seats; I didn't even have a parachute!! (The image shows A84-226 in retirement at RAAF Wagga in 2002. Reproduced from the excellent Tribute to the English Electric Canberra website

We first landed somewhere halfway across Australia to refuel but I have no idea where that was! The ground crew's faces when I clambered out first at Richmond were an absolute picture - they thought I was mad. Not sure what they thought of the group captain for authorising the illegal flight. It was, however, a fascinating trip and for the first time I'd begun to realise just how really, really big and empty Australia is. It had also amazed me to discover that Darwin is nearer to Singapore than Sydney.

A few days later, when I'd completed my duties and done a little sight-seeing in Sydney, I prepared to leave Australia. Because I was not acting as a Courier on the return flight to Singapore, the RAF had not been willing to provide me with a First Class ticket. The RAAF, however, insisted on buying me a First Class ticket. I chose to take the whole of my final day going on an internal flight, ANA304, that made stops at Brisbane, Mount Isa and Tennant Creek, before reaching Darwin in the evening. I then transferred to my pre-booked BOAC flight to Singapore, but there was no invitation to the flight deck this time and I didn't consume any alcohol en route.

After debriefing my Boss in HQ Far East Air Force, I left Singapore for UK a couple of days later, without meeting or even hearing from my replacement. By this time all the RAF's Valiant aircrew were being reassigned to other duties as a result of the withdrawal of Valiants from service. Thus I had no job to go back to at Gaydon and I was posted instead to HQ No 3 Group at Mildenhall as a personnel staff officer – and my RAF career was subsequently changed for ever in a way that I could not possibly have foreseen.

Next