PETROL DROPPED BY R.A.A.F.

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31321, 17 March 1967, Page 11

PETROL DROPPED BY R.A.A.F.

Helicopters Use Tracer Bullets To Cause Fire (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) VUNG TAU (South Vietnam), March 16. The Royal Australian Air Force entered the bombing war in Vietnam yesterday when a transport Caribou aircraft blasted a Viet Cong concentration with 44-gallon drums of petrol. As the petrol drums bounced into heavy jungle in Phuoc Tuy province, 40 miles south-east of Saigon, the fuel was blasted alight by tracer bullets from R.A.A.F. helicopters hovering 60ft above the treetops. It was the first Australian air strike in Vietnam, an Air Force spokesman said here today.

Air Commodore J. Dowling, deputy commander of the Australian forces in Vietnam. in releasing news of the attack today said: “To my knowledge this type of air strike has never been done before by the R.A.A.F.”

“It is quite a feather in the cap for our transport division. They are getting into real operations.” Caribou transport aircraft, from No. 35 Squadron, have been based in Vietnam for more than two years. Under the commanding officer, Squadron Leader Tony Fookes, the planes regularly service the Australian battalions in Vietnam and also deliver supplies to United States forces. First ‘Bombing’ Although they have been shot at by Viet Cong snipers while attempting to land and take off, this is the first time

they have conducted such a “bombing run.” The commander of the task force in Phuoc Tuy province, Brigadier Stuart Graham, had suggested the Air Force should “burn out” suspected enemy concentrations near the town of Dat Do, south of the Army’s base camp at Nui Dat. Intelligence reports had shown that Viet Cong junks were sailing up the nearby coast during the night, and unloading supplies which were being carried into thick jungle near Dat Do by guerrillas. 880 Gallons The Caribou aircraft, known to many as “a flying sack of potatoes” because of its lumbering antics jn the air, was loaded with 20 44-gallon drums of petrol—a total of 880 gallons.

The Caribou dived on the area from 4500 feet, its back doors open, and in three passes ttimbled the drums into the jungle. Helicopters followed the drums down and with their

i machine-guns pumped tracer bullets into the area as the drums burst. Fire In Minutes Gunners Denis Olsen, of Clayfield, Brisbane, and David Collins, of Canberra, “were bang on target the first time and within a matter of minutes a bushfire was raging,” an Air Force spokesman said. Viet Cong guerrillas hiding in the jungle shot at the helicopters as they hovered above

the tree tops, but there were no Australian casualties. It is not known whether any Viet Cong were killed in the attack. Armoured staff carriers from the task force scoured the area after the attack. They reported that the brushfire lasted several hours, but did not sight any enemy. To Try Again Air Commodore Dowling said “we definitely intend to try this method of attack again. “It seems that this method of setting a brushfire was successful. It was definitely an experimental raid.” An Australian squadron of Canberra bombers is due to arrive in South Vic'nam either late this month or early next month to support Australian ground troops in Phuoc Tuy province.

Lodge To Resign (N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) NASHVILLE (Tennessee), March 16. President Johnson announced yesterday that Mr Henry Cabot Lodge was resigning as Ambassador to South Vietnam and would be replaced by a career diplomat, Ellsworth Bunker.