A2-1020 and other Iroquois helicopters of No 9 Squadron, RAAF, sitting on the helicopter pad at ...

A2-1020 and other Iroquois helicopters of No 9 Squadron, RAAF, sitting on the helicopter pad at the Task Force Headquarters, probably preparing for a troop support mission, probably some time after the Battle of Long Tan. The pilot on the left is O51626 Flight Lieutenant Robert Max Hayes. On 18 August this aircraft and A2-1022 transported Little Pattie and other entertainers from Vung Tau to Nui Dat for a concert and were on standby to fly them back to Vung Tau. During the concert a battle commenced in a rubber plantation near the Village of Long Tan. Little Pattie was evacuated from Nui Dat in another helicopter. A2-1020 and A2-1022 were tasked to drop ammunition to D Company, 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) during the battle which was fought against more than 2 000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops. After fighting in torrential rain for four hours, and almost being overrun, they were supported by accurate artillery fire from the nearby Australian task force base, an ammunition resupply by the two Iroquois helicopters, and the arrival of infantry reinforcements carried by Armoured Personnel Carriers. Eighteen Australians were killed and twenty-four wounded as a result of this engagement, which became known as the Battle of Long Tan. The helicopter crew members on A2-1020 during the resupply at Long Tan were, pilots O216204 Flight Lieutenant (Fl Lt) Francis Patrick (Frank) Riley and O43221 Fl Lt Robert George Grandin, and gunners A55977 Corporal John George Stirling and 221540 Leading Aircraftman David John (Dave) 'Bluey' Collins.