A frightfully long post. On this day : 13th August 1973 – 0730 : We depart from ANZUK Naval Base. Next destination, Hong Kong, in company with HMS Tiger and RFAs Tidereach, Tidesurge and Regent. PM : We commence Gun Director Tracking, NGS (nighttime) and FPB exercises and assume a 2-Watch Defence System. 1330 : GDX begins. 1420 (approx) : While at the Gun Director’s Position (GDP) we heard one of the 993 Radar (Target Acquisition Radar) plotters reporting four unidentified aircraft skirting within the 200-150mile sector. Minutes later the 993 plotter reported ‘contacts lost’. About four minutes later three contacts reappeared on the radar screen in the same 200-150mile sector and fast approaching the 150mile ring-marker. At about the same time three more contacts appeared at the 200mile ring-marker then vanished from the radar screen seconds later. The three contacts that were entering the 150-100mile sector were then seen on the plot to be returning to the outer 200-150mile sector and vanishing from the screen. Then all was quiet over the gunnery intercom while those of us on the GDP maintained visual lookout. Gunnery Officer-2, Sub-Lt Askham aka Baby Guns, was in charge. From the time the radar contacts were lost the MRS-3 system could not be deployed since there were no designated targets assigned by 993 Radar to track and engage in tandem with the 4.5 turret. The turret was thus only able to follow the signals input from the GDP Visual Sight. Several minutes later, while Baby Guns was scanning the horizon with the GDP’s Sight we suddenly heard a high-pitched whining coming from behind the ship’s main mast which very quickly became a loud whooshing noise immediately followed by an ear-shattering scream of jet engines as six Hawker Hunters roared and thundered over us in quick succession from aft to fore. Baby Guns froze in shock as those of us on the GDP followed the Hunters visually as they flew ahead, banked left and continued in a wide sweeping arc to port side as if celebrating in sheer triumph. And as our eyes followed the path of the Hunters in flight a calm voice was heard clearly over the gunnery intercom, “Dagga .. dagga .. dagga .. dagga …”. Except for Baby Guns, everyone on the GDP and the 4.5 turret’s crew hooted in laughter. Badly rattled, Baby Guns was not amused, and seconds later over the intercom we heard, “GO-2 report to Ops”. Nobody knew who the smart alec was. When Baby Guns returned to the GDP later, we were told that the six RAAF Hunters had successfully escaped radar detection by executing a low-level attack, flying close to sea level and approaching the ship from aft. Technically, most of us on the GDP and the upper decks were deemed to have been casualties of the strike! The ‘Last Post’ for some!! Awesome! And a brilliant show of professionalism put up by the Aussie fighter pilots. Later in the afternoon (we have re-spawned!) two Phantoms launched an attack followed by the Hunters soon after. All aircraft were detected, identified through IFF and successfully tracked these other times. We were in no mood to be blasted to pieces a second time or any other time! Neither was Sub-Lt Askham. :D 1600 : We RAS stores with RFA Regent. 1900 : HMS Tiger detached for Singapore to facilitate checks on one of her two helicopters. 2000 : Naval Gunfire Support Exercise began with night illumination firing off the Malaysian island of Pulau Aur. 2100 : We commence FPBX with two Malaysian Navy FPBs …… to keep everybody on their toes throughout the night. That’s for entertainment enroute to Hong Kong. Part 1 !
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 14:29:12 +0000
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