Iroquois crewmen from No 9 Squadron, gather around their Commanding Officer, O33062 Wing ...

Iroquois crewmen from No 9 Squadron, gather around their Commanding Officer, O33062 Wing Commander (Wing Cdr) Roy Stewart Royston (crouching, centre), for a briefing prior to their first airborne assault in the initial stages of Operation Bribie, which was to become the biggest Australian airborne assault in the Vietnam war. In a circle clockwise from left front are: O216204 Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Francis Patrick (Frank) Riley; O214552 Flt Lt William John (Bill) Shepherd (bending over); O310798 Flt Lt Phillip Kenneth (Phil) Cooke (wearing hat); O37553 Flt Lt Geoffrey Alfred Banfield (partially obscured, with sunglasses); A33785 Sergeant James Henry (Jim) Roche (hand on hip); O43428 Flt Lt Bruce Ivan Lane (bending, hand on knee); A223382 Leading Aircraftman (LAC) Thomas Barry Farr (standing behind); A17445 LAC John Alexander Hewson (bending slightly); A315814 LAC Paul Michael Covington; A18781 Corporal Dennis Frederick Olsen; A56669 LAC Brian Boyd Hill (face only); O219176 Flt Lt Leslie Wilfred (Les) Morris (wearing pistol). No 9 Squadron, aided by the United States (US) Army helicopters, inserted men from A and B Company, 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR), into a landing zone east of Hoi My, to establish a blocking position and prevent the withdrawal east of the Viet Cong (VC) D445 Battalion that had unsuccessfully attempted a major ambush on Route 44, between Dat Do and Phuoc Hai the previous night, about eight miles from the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) Headquarters. Five RAAF Iroquois helicopters took part in this operation including the UH-1B Iroquois A2-1019, which is now part of the Australian War Memorial's collection.