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Handley Page Hastings
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Post Handley Page Hastings 
This is slightly off topic I know but it is partly related to The PJM.

Did any of you guys fly in, jump out of, or service Handley Page Hastings aircraft. You might have flown to Changi from Lyneham or did a few drops over Weston-on-the-Green, or drop in on the CTs over Malaya. If you have an interesting story to tell please let me know so that I may include it here on my website http://splashdown2.tripod.com/handleypagehastings/

Thanks in advance


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Post Re: Handley Page Hastings 
John Cooper wrote:
This is slightly off topic I know but it is partly related to The PJM.

Did any of you guys fly in, jump out of, or service Handley Page Hastings aircraft. You might have flown to Changi from Lyneham or did a few drops over Weston-on-the-Green, or drop in on the CTs over Malaya. If you have an interesting story to tell please let me know so that I may include it here on my website http://splashdown2.tripod.com/handleypagehastings/


Willco, John.

I jumped out of Hasting's many times when every exit was, to me, problematic. The aircraft was brilliant for head-bangers (sub-standard exits led to helmeted heads banging down the outside of the fuselage) and 'stroppy' blokes (static line burns round the neck were frequent), but not recommended for any normal person. You once explained why it happened and I'd be interested in hearing the reasons again.

The Hastings encouraged me to move quickly to freefall where the added complications of the static line do not come into the equation.

Barry


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Thanks for that Barry Smile

The hastings had two main doors the one on the Port side was a double door also used for loading/off loading freight and stretchers in the Casevac Role (Extensively used between The Far East and The UK in The Korean War). The port door was the usually door for pax embarking/disembarking but was also the main Parachute Exit door.

There was a similar door on the Starboard side of the fuselage, this was only used for Para dropping and emergency exit. The two doors were offset (ie not in line on opposite sides of the fuselage) to prevent troops becoming entangled when exiting the slipstream of the Hastings.

The head banging well only Paras would know how to do that! Rolling Eyes

The Hastings were used in supply drops 'up country' in Malaya and later in The Confrontasi period in Borneo, Sarawak, etc, all these ops were carried out by Changi based 48 squadron.

I have literally hundreds of photos but can only display those that are my copyright or where I have permission for use from others, a few are shown here http://rides.webshots.com/album/65233255DpgacR?start=0


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Post Helicopter Techie stuff ! 
Did anyone out there fly or fly in an Army Air Corps Scout or Sioux out there ? Tony

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Counting the rivets Barry was usually the result of exiting the aircraft too fast and being blown back into the side of the aircraft by the slipstream.

J

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Flying out of Kuching I once helped chuck suppies out to one of our forward posts just our side of the border in a Hasting,
I,m sorry to say that 3 out of the 5 loads landed in the river.
We could see the Indo AA guns on the other side, I'm glad to say they never opened up on us, but we did stay on our side of the river.

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jireland wrote:
Counting the rivets Barry was usually the result of exiting the aircraft too fast and being blown back into the side of the aircraft by the slipstream.


Yerrrs, John. As an airborbe wallah yourself, you will recall the little fads of those aircraft! My early training exits were epitomised as being jet-propelled ... fuelled by andrenalin - even when weighed down by a container! Anyway, I preferred the boom exit of the Beverley ... it was like sitting in a very comfy armchair and going down a long slide. Almost enjoyable.

But not as enjoyable as climbing out under the wing of a Cessna 172 10,000 ft above Kluang, clinging to the wing strut before giving the gentle push into freefall. I hated static lines, particularly those attached to the Hastings - something else likely to go wrong (the Hastings, I mean!).

Barry


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Post Re: Helicopter Techie stuff ! 
Kentsboro wrote:
Did anyone out there fly or fly in an Army Air Corps Scout or Sioux out there ?


Tony,

I flew in both - courtesy of the Brigade AAC Flight and 7 Air Recce Flight of 28 Commonwealth Inf Bde.

You identified one Scout from 28 Bde - and reported the sad news that it was shot down during the Goose Green/Darwin Battle in the Falklands killing the pilot and causing severe injuries to his gunner (http://www.fight4thepjm.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8370&highlight=xt629#8370. Laurie found confirmation that it was shot down by a Pucara http://math.fce.vutbr.cz/safarik/ACES/aces1/argentina-falkland.html.

We also used the Scout for recreation - http://www.fight4thepjm.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8309&highlight=scout#8309

I often carried a small hand-held camera whenever I travelled in that fish bowl of a Sioux. Some of the piccies I took over Terendak are at http://www.fight4thepjm.org/memories_terendak.htm.

Unhappily, the majority of the photographs/slides I took on ops and from helicopters were stolen.
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