Helicopters In Use Again

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30725, 14 April 1965, Page 17

Helicopters In Use Again

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) CANBERRA, April 13. The Royal Australian Navy’s squadrons of 26 Westland Wessex helicopters were being brought back into service after their recent grounding, a spokesman said today.

A squadron on board the flagship, the carrier, H.M.A.S. Melbourne, now patrolling in South-east Asian waters, is being put back into service there.

Checks ordered by the Royal Navy after recent crashes in Malaysia are being done on board the Melbourne.

The R.A.N.’s helicopter force was grounded on March 26. They were taken out of service as a safety precaution

after the crash of two R.N. Westland Wessexes in exercises off Malaysia. The British flew parts of their machines to England for testing. The checks indicated that, providing certain extra

checks were made on the machine’s' fuel system they could be cleared to resume flying, the spokesman said. The R.A.N. is now lifting its suspension on flying of the Wessexes as the checks are carried out. Most of the helicopters have been grounded at Nowra. Some are already back in the air and several have resumed flying on the Melbourne in South-east Asia. The helicopters were put on the Melbourne in 1963 to boost the carrier’s capacity as an anti-submarine vessel. At the moment the flagship is serving in South-east Asia with other R.A.N. units with the British Commonwealth Strategic Reserve. At the end of this month, the R.A.N. will have about 2300 officers and men at sea in these waters on board nine ships of the Navy’s fleet.