RAAF Iroquois helicopter, A2-1022, from No 9 Squadron made a forced landing on 11 May 1967, in a ...

RAAF Iroquois helicopter, A2-1022, from No 9 Squadron made a forced landing on 11 May 1967, in a supply point about 500 yards from the squadron's helipad at Vung Tau. The pilot O317046 Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Edward Frederick (Ted) Munday, of Fairlight, NSW, had little control of the aircraft as it plummeted earthwards, but managed to get it down without any injury to the crew. The crew was A32932 Corporal (Cpl) William Rex (Bill) Harrington, of West Ryde, NSW, crewman and gunner; A223382 Leading Aircraftman (LAC) Thomas Barry (Tom) Farr, of Bathurst, NSW, crewman and gunner; Flt Lt Munday, the captain of the aircraft and O310798 Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Philip Kenneth (Phil) Cooke, co-pilot of Watson, ACT. It struck the ground and was extensively damaged when the main rotor struck the tail boom. A closer view of the damaged helicopter. In 1966 A2-1022 had played a major role in the Battle of Long Tan. On 18 August 1966 A2-1022 and A2-1020 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 A2-1022 during the resupply at Long Tan were, pilots O39642 Flight Lieutenant (Fl Lt) Clifford Mitchell (Cliff) Dohle and O43428 Fl Lt Bruce Ivan Lane, and gunners A32932 Corporal William Rex (Bill) Harrington and A56669 Leading Aircraftman Brian Boyd Hill.