THE BATTLE OF SYDNEY: Sabres, Meteors, Sea Furies And Two Blokes With A Bren Gun Battle A Runaway
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- On the morning of the 30th of August, Anthony Thrower of Lavinia Street, Granville was out for a pleasure flight when his Auster Archer decided to make a break for freedom. What followed was a madcap three hour chase involving four jet fighters, two Hawker Sea Furies and two blokes with a Bren Gun.
Given that this incident pre-dated the more famous Battle Of Palmdale by a year, I thought it was interesting to compare how more conventionally armed aircraft fared against a slow, but determined piston-engined intruder. I hope you find it entertaining. I have to admit that as a Brit, I enjoyed poking a little fun at my Australian friends... hopefully they can take it in the spirit it's intended.
Final point of note is to thank Bryanwheeler1608, whose comment put me onto this story in the first place. I hope you think I've done it justice!
I have lived all my life 8kms away from the Naval Air Station Nowra. As a child they had the best air shows, Sea Venom, A4 Skyhawk, Gruman Tracker, Westland Wessex and Sea King. Now all in the excellent museum. As a police officer later in the 90s, we would spend a week each year doing courses and training with Australian, British and American troops - counter terrorism exercises and it was also in the days of the 3RAR parachute training school. I did the free fall course with them and also attended several aircraft crashes and parachute mishaps.
Really ? BTW there was no "3RAR Parachute Training School" , and the ADF has never trained Police officers in basic parachute training, let alone Free Fall training.
This story is right up there with the Emu war's mate 😂
I think you're a bit confused, 3RAR were the Parachute trained Battalion around that time, taking over from D Company 6RAR (Parachute training moved from Williamstown to Nowra in 1986) but it was never the "3RAR parachute training school" it was just "Parachute Training School" now called the "Australian Defence Parachute Training School"
@@iffracem to clarify I did an accelerated free fall course in ‘95 with the 3RAR sports parachute club. It was a few of the parachute training school instructors weekend side hussle. In the green parashack adjacent to the civilian airport side of the base at the time (now a big technology park). The parachute training school RSM Ockar Stevenson was my jump master.
Re Bren as an anti air weapon. A true story.
The first German air raid on the U.K. was against the Rosyth naval base in October 1939. Britain’s first line of defence was my great uncle, an 18 year old private in the Black Watch, who was sat atop a linoleum factory equipped with a Bren gun ….and no ammunition
What was he supposed to do? Swing it at them, or just pose a threatening series of gestures? Dang give the man a fighting chance.
man, that must have been a good joke after the fact, i can imagine just standing there and going pew pew pew you hun B's ^^,
@@JamesThomas-gg6il I mean, if I was in his situation I would've just thrown it at them if they did a low pass. LOL
Maybe they thought having someone up there would lead any informants or observation aircraft to conclude that this miniscule defense is just enough to not bother?
I'd just like to thank your great uncle for his service. Without his spirited defence of the lino factory, my grandad wouldn't of been able to have such a disgusting kitchen floor for so many years.
My father was flying Sea Furies at NAS Nowra (HMAS Albatross) at the time of this event. He has regaled us on many occasions with the story of how the RAAF were unable to defend Sydney from an unarmed pilotless Auster and how the Navy came to the rescue and saved the day. It is my understanding that the ground crew put together some webbing and cut up a bit of sheet metal and made a big scary looking "medal" they named something like "the Auster Cross"and awarded it to the two pilots.
A minor point, you should know that RAAF is pronounced R-double-A-F and RAN is not pronounced as the word ran (past tense of run), but spelled out as R-A-N. (Ex RAN aircrew here...)
As I recall the RAN pilots were experienced fighter pilots, having served in Korea off the carrier, HMS Glory. There names were Bluitt, and McNey.
I live a couple of kilometers from HMAS Albatross at Nowra Hill and when we used to hold airshows there we once had a Sea Fury in the visitor line up (beautiful craft). As the Sea Fury was going through it's paces the show commentator narrated this story and described it as "the glorious swan song for the Furies"
Very good story. Pretty much all militaries are fairly incompetent. What we are really good at is sleeping on the job. And we get away with it, until something actually happens
Only civvies call the RAAF r double a f.
Everyone in the RAAF calls it Raff.
A well told funny story.
Airfix has immortalised this event by including the markings of the victorious Sea Fury in one of their 1:48 Sea Fury kits
SEA FURY, the first, and possibly the only, propeller driven aircraft to have shot down an enemy Jet Fighter. A MiG 15 over Korea.
@@trevorhart545
Others propeller plane shoot down combat jets in real combat.
Capt. Jesse Folmar, VMA-312 in an F4U Corsair shoot down a Mig-15 in Korea, and was shoot down by another Mig-15 moments latter.
In Jun. 20, 1965 four 1-H Skyradier pilots engage two Mig-17 of VPAF in Vietnam and shoot down one.
US Army OV-1 Mohawk twin engine plane pilot Ken Lee was credit in shot down on MiG-17 with Zuni (air to ground) rockets in October, 1967 in Vietnam.
@@trevorhart545 Lots of Me262 were shot down by propeller planes.
Granted, it was in a bit "un-cricket" way, in that Allied Pilots learned to nail them during landing,
but hey-ho, that's war.
Thats awesome.
Hilarious!!
Sea Furies, yay! One of the best looking aircraft ever. 🙂
Definitely
one of the bestsounding aircraft .. saw on crash land near Gymea Miranda Sydney, in 1967/8 could never find a report on it. But my Favorite Navy aircraft was the Gannett. I remember when I was in the RAAF at Wagga one dive bombed/buzzed the base on its way back to Nowra.
One of the Sabre pilots was Peter Aubrey Bolin (deceased) who years later related this event to me at the Singapore Flying Club. The Sabre was too fast for the sighting of and engagement with the slow target. Irrespective, mortified by the loss of face to the 'Navy' the squadrons weekend leave's were cancelled and the pilots were made to stand runway readiness ie full kit in the cockpit for a month.
😊
Teaching few lessons around 😅, got to blame someone
Dad was in the control tower at Albatross that day and tells the story that there was 2 meteors.
Nth sydney was out of range for comunications from nowra but the navy had another aircraft off kiama and for the first time a system of relay communications electronically was used by the navy.
And dad remembers the navy pilots yelling Tallyho as they went into the attack and someone in the tower saying "Bloody Poms"
LOL!
Hilarious! Love it!
😂
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A great story and a last Hurrah for the gorgeous Sea Fury
They did get to shoot down some B-26 bombers as well flown by the CIA but that’s probably a sore subject….
@@robertpatrick3350 Hold up, what shady stuff did that certain alphabet agency do that involved the Sea fury getting a few more kills?
@@legoeasycompany air America
Excellent ! As an Alaskan Bush Pilot (years ago) I flew Taylorcrafts and other small single engine aircraft. I love all the old radials and taildraggers . This is a great story of how such small aircraft aren’t taken seriously . That had to have had a lot of people laughing by the time they read the news accounts. I can picture the two guys with the Bren gun thinking “this will be great sport” . This made me smile ,thanks from the U.S. ( I’ve seen our military do equally silly stuff)
I'm an Aussie who was toddler when this happened, but have never heard the full story until now. I can however add a funny note from our cousins in New Zealand, courtesy of a Kiwi friend of mine who flew Vampire jets there back in the '50s. His squadron leader was such a muppet that he damaged two Vampires by forgetting to lower the gear on landing. Consequently when ever he took off in one, the ground crew would station a van at the end of the runway, which would flash its headlights if Squadron Leader Muppet did not have his gear down.
This story is right up there with the Emu war's mate 😂
thats why people like that go into the airforce and not the navy
This is absolutely fantastic. It has had me in tears of laughter from start to near finish. Only in Australia can you get this level of humour. That proves that they can overcome adversity with humour
I'm a "Yank". My mom told me when I was a kid in the early '50s what great people the Brits were during the war. They never lost their sense of humor, and would not be whipped. I'm sure you could include the Aussies and the Kiwis as well. God knows they all did a great job against Japan in SE Asia and the SW Pacific.
When my ship moored in Wellington in May, '68 during the Vietnam War, to participate in the annual Coral Sea observance, we found the folks in NZ to be sincerely welcoming and generous. The island reminded me very much of my home in Northern California. Such great Allies to have.
It was such a shame all of the Allied nations were so unprepared to meet Axis aggression. Either the war could have been avoided, or it could have been over much sooner.
Fun video.
YeahNah mate..
I'm Australian.. the Former Prison Island has reverted back into its former Prison glory.. only this time it's in hand with the Chinese.
The Australian Government of 2023 is the greatest shame..
Sucking off USA and be doing over for China to F us in the A.
AustFAILURE
That's how they coped with losing the emu war
As a 12 year old, saw the Auster slowly flying over North Sydney.
Never underestimate the Australian ability to turn a very simple task into an international disaster.
At least nobody died... This time
This story is right up there with the Emu war's mate 😂
@@robot336 right down to two blokes with a machine gun
Tongue in cheek aviation history at its best. Well done, mate!
Will you be making a video about the German bloke who flew a rented Cessna Skyhawk, undetected, through Soviet defenses and landed in Red Square, standing around, signing autographs for the curious, until the police finally woke up and took him away.
I think you've swallowed propaganda. That young man, Mathias Rust, was detected before he even entered Soviet airspace and he himself said he saw Soviet aircraft who intercepted him, but given what happened not long before with KAL007 there was extreme reluctance to shoot the aircraft down (and confusion around how to handle the situation) so the order was not given.
I remember that! Hilarious.
Wasn't sure what to expect when I added this to my playlist but very glad I did. 😂 Very entertaining, now subbed.
The Aussies, are really keen on calling the R.A.A.F. The “R double A F.
Just Brilliant and very Funny. Thanks very much from an Old Brit.
Glad you enjoyed it :)
The RAAF had a better chance of completing that mission in the 1950s than the RNZAF has today.
Your not wrong about that
Funny thing is the of RNZAF had a better chance
NH90 with a couple of GPMGs ought to make short work of it.
Send up Eagle One (the Auckland police helicopter), who can get close and match speed (no minimum, which was a complicating factor for the RAAF), and with the AOS on board to lay into it with their M4s or whatever they carry that's a small full-auto, or similar. Being able to match speed and course at close distance should allow for an easier time getting a killing hit on the engine. Don't have to blow it up with a .50 or 20mm, just put a round through the oil pan, and some ancillaries, and it will be coming down.
@@zathrasdotorgof
Wow, amazing how the little aircraft brought out the inefficiencies of the current leadership. Great training moment.
looks like nothing has changed..
As the Kiwis would say, "It's so easy, even an Australian can do it". But not in this case, apparently! Great story and wonderfully presented. Loved it.
Or as an Aussie would say, to hard for a k1w1, we'll get it done..... 😉
Thanks for the memories! My father gained his commercial license with VH-AET and I received my first flight in that Auster a few months before the incident. I recall it was operated by Kingsford-Smith Flying Services.
Brilliant. I fly model planes. We had one fly away and although we did not shoot it down, it flew several kilometers until it ran out of fuel and quietly landed in a ploughed paddock. It was very similar to the Auster. Light and with very large wings. Great story and with a mostly happy ending. Mike in Oz
God I love this channel, it’s literally everything an aviation dweeb like me could ever want
This is a great story that I'd never heard of, although I've lived in Sydney just after 1955. I wonder if the aircraft wreck was ever discovered? Must have sunk not far from the Japanese mini sub.
The irony was the runway was just about out of fuel when it was shot down anyway.
@@arthurthomasware5004 Wreck was never discovered
Never heard of this upside down Palmdale precursor but your presentation was excellent.
It's worth reading about it on Wikipedia, makes the USAF look even more incompetent!
@@brettt8246 im a yank, and believe me the USAF doesnt need help in that aspect.
I had never heard this story, but it reminded me of the US story that you foreshadowed.
Hilarious story and very well presented.
A wonderful telling of an amazing story.
Wonderful! I joined the RAN in 1967, aged 16. I'd tried for the RAAF but my marks were not quite good enough. I'd never heard this story before. RAN 1, RAAF nil.
What about the Fokke-Wulf 190 that landed at RAF Pembrey in West Wales during WW2 by mistake. That is an hilarious story too. The RAE Royal Aircraft Establishment then had a first chance to tear it to bits to see how it ticked.
a great story, but I forlornly hoped for a happy ending for the little innocent runaway. very well told, thanks for sharing.
This plus the Great Emu War make Straya look hilarious.
I heard about this from a past member of a bushfire brigade in the 1980s. This presentation reminded me of him.
"Unable Archer" I got a real good laugh out of that.
Great story of aviation trivia with an excellent amount of humor thrown in.
As a coincidence I just saw a video about the air battle of Los Angeles. 😂 It was just as hilarious as your fine recount of the air battle of Sydney Australia. Thanks for sharing.
I visited Australia on an R&R flight in 1972 when I was in the USN. I enjoyed the hell out of it. I'm a Texican & y'all had some of finest, friendliest, and most welcoming people I've ever met. Ended up leaving my Stetson Shorthorn with one your citizens. This guy & his wife seemed to find me all three evenings I was there & bought food & cold ones until I would have to say "No more." (Loved those roast beef sandwiches with the hot mustard on them. My choice. Missed my spices.) He kept looking at that hat. I could tell he wanted it. Their name was Campbell. His was Bill. Last night there I took a pen from the waitress and scratched out my name & wrote Bill Campbell under the crown & handed it over.
His wife told me was one your combat vets from WWII. I'd studied all that. Somehow y'all get the hard stuff done.
Anyway, your video gave me that memory. Thank you.
I enjoy the way you present your stories. There is always an initial scenario, complete with foreshadowing, and this is followed by expositional background information, which in turn, leads you back to the initial scenario...then the conclusion. Well done. I enjoy what you present.
Another wonder into the stresses of unconventional battles in the air. Thank you. Ro
Dad was home guard . He had a Bren gun mounted above the fire place in his house on Kits Coty, awaiting German parachutists. I used to pick up the used rounds down in the chalk pits as a kid. Very light bullets!
Kits coty that's down the road to me lol
02:00 "Unable Archer" 🤣🤣🤣
It would been a real Chad move by the RAAF to call it that way.
I was in sub-junior, Brisbane State High School that year. I don't recall even hearing about this episode. Makes two 'new to me' items in two months. The other? A Japanese Zero over Brisbane. Cobbled together from damaged aircraft captured in New Guinea. Hugh Lunn, author, newspaper reporter, wrote about it a couple of months ago.
A tip of the hat to the Archer which conducted itself with far greater aplomb without a pilot than most of it's opponents with one.
Very well done narrative on one of the less glamorous examples of Aussie airmanship. Thanks for not sinking the boot in too much on the “old enemy”. btw Nice segue into the Battle of Palmdale…
Im glad ypu brought that up, so im not the only one who sees it coming. I really cant wait on his take of Palmdale.
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OMG this was frickin hilarious. Better than the Battle of Palmdale! Yeah this is definitely something that you will always be reminded of if you're on the screwing up side. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Being a storyteller, I've told this story to dozens of audiences down the years. Of course, I had a little extra here and there to spice it up. Nevertheless, it's a true story. I was a sailor on HMAS Sydney, the aircraft carrier at that time.
I do love these lighthearted tales of peacetime military ineptitude.
And, yes, as your other video confirms in startling detail, the USAF really did top this with the Battle of Palmdale.
First-class work.
As an Australian, I found this very entertaining, if a bit embarrassing. The cliches were funny, light hearted and not at all jarring.
What was very jarring, every time, was the pronunciation of RAAF. In Australia we say "are double ay eff" because it's easier to distinguish from the GBAF and it just sounds better.
Letting you know in case the RAAF comes up in future videos. Otherwise, love your work!
Subbed ❤
Fabulous and humorous brief, BRAVO ZULU, and many thanks.😂🤣👍
Nicely done video of a story I am familiar with, though I had forgotten that the Sea Fury pilots were from the RN. I suspect the two Lieutenants in question would be a little disappointed at being called Lootenants by a Londoner 😁. Keep up the good work, liked and subscribed!
The "lootenant' pronunciation is correct for the Royal Australian Navy.
LEFtenants?Is that better?😀
@@svetovidarkonsky1670it wasn't in my dad's day when he did his National Service in the RAAF, but language is ever evolving as I note when chatting with my cousins in Brisbane 🙂
Either pronunciation was acceptable when I was in the RAN 3 decades ago, though some officers insisted on LEFTenant. There’s one gunnery officer I’m thinking of who may have been more appropriately addressed as twat-tenant…
@@NoName-ds5uq a LooTenant is someone that rents a toilet?
Reminds me of the story of the runaway pilotless MiG-23 Flogger that flew all the way from East Gerrmany before crash-landing (and unfortunately killing a teenager) in Belgium.
The Brave Little Austen! An entertaining and factually detailed presentation of a humorous historical event. Well done!
That was entertaining. Thanks.
Slow moving aerial targets are difficult to shoot down--just ask the crew of the Bismark.
I hadn't heard of this incident before. Mentioning the Battle of Palmdale was a nice touch.
Recently declassified documents show the trainer was being flown by an emu.
A Wirraway downing a Ki-43 Oscar would just about be the equivalent of a Gloster Gladiator downing an Fw-190. Altitude and the element of surprise was EVERYTHING when it came to dogfighting.
Ah, yes, the Archer. A plane of focus, commitment and sheer f*cking will 🧐😄
Wonderfully presented and with a wry sense of humo(u)r. My late mother was born in Grimsby descended from an English adventurer who went to and struck rich in the Australian Gold Fields (and returned home with an Australian bride). She married an American who would land on Normandy beach D Day. I came along after the Korean. Das was an adventuresome as when he returned to the USA after the war, with mom and my oldest sister he had also had his mother in law in tow (she inherited a double helping of Australian DNA). I immediately hit the subscribed button.
We can only thank God that the emus never got wind of this.
Don't mention the war!
@@tacitdionysus3220 I... I'm sorry. 😔
I am very pleased with the gentle and dry humor delivered in this narration.
Sea Fury: now your getting serious. 13:07 beautiful
Chap - have you done an ep on the self-downing of a RAAF Mirage in about 1969 on the RAAF gunnery range north of Sydney? Quite a story.
I read about that incident in a book many years ago
it was I think a RAAF Mirage III with 30 mm cannon in the wing root. on a firing pass several shots ricocheted (I think) and hit the intake flaming out the engine and I think the pilot ended up nursing it back home...I could be wrong on all counts but that's my best recollection of it👍💯
As an Aussie I find it hilarious. I love the piss taking by the pommie narrator, it’s well deserved. 😂
I don't know if this is the type of content you would make. But I think It would be interesting to see you cover the story of Neall Ellis a South African Mi-24 mercenary pilot who with his crew took on the Revolutionary United Front during the Sierra Leone Civil War practically singlehandedly.
What an awesome video, I’ve learnt something and had a good laugh too. Thank you 😂
A comprehensive demonstration of the inherent stability built into light aircraft. I, for one, never knew about this antipodean corollary to the Battle of Palmdale, despite owing the comprehensive BY S WILSON... and by the way, it's Arr DOUBLE aye eff...✌
This just goes to reinforce the old adage that truth is stranger, or in this case, funnier than fiction.
This was great. Thank you.
A good enjoyable retelling of this grand old story. Minor point: the photograph with three trams in it at 3:58 illustrating the "slow news day in Sydney" is actually the Melbourne CBD. Colins Street, from memory, though I haven't lived there for many years and they've knocked most of it down to put skyscrapers up now.
As an Aussie I really enjoyed your telling of this event.
Liked & sub'd 👍
It has MUCH more humorous impact when you already know what the comment at 14:20 refers to.
I bet you the Meteor pilot had a few harsh words with the squadron armorer when he got back. You've got to feel sorry for him. If his guns hadn't jammed that kill would have been his for sure.
What a crazy story, suprised I never heard of it. Thankyou.
What a hilarious story! Great detail and narration! Now subbed also
Wonderful story telling. At least they didn't start ant brush fires like the USAF did during the battle for Palmdale.
This is a fabulous story. 😊 I was born a year before this happened. I never heard of it until now. 🎉
What a great story told with humour.
The most glorious day in the history of the RAAF.
thankfully they didn't participate in the Emus Wars as that would have probably meant a total surrender of the australian military -circus- apparatus and made the Emu Empire that would have then been created a formidable foe for the world! 😏👍
This story is right up there with the Emu war's mate 😂
Awesome story. Seriously wondering why none of them thought to tip the aircraft similar to what RAF pilots did in WW2 with the buzz bombs using the meteor (which was notorious for their guns to jam.)
The Wirraway pilot could definitely have tried that. Stall speed was likely an issue for the Meteor… I grew up on those stories about wingtipping the V1… would have taken some nerve, for sure!
Why risk damaging an expensive fighter aircraft when it wasn't absolutely necessary?
My husband sent me this and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
You are a natural story teller. Wonderful episode.
This is every bit as good as the Emu War in Western Australia, after WWI , returned soldiers were given rural acreage to begin farming, drawn to the promise of easy pickings, "hordes of Emus began to eat the crops which annoyed the new farmers. A company of Infantry was sent to deal with the problem. After approx a month of frustration, the results were dismal, emus have a blistering turn of speed, coupled with an awkward swerving and tumbling gait which made accurate shooting difficult.
To counter this Lewis guns were deployed however after 10,000 rounds were sent hurtling across W.A. the score was 9. The Army retired shamefaced. A W.A. politician suggested the minting of a medal, A NSW politician replied that if it was made it should be given to the emus
Agree completely on the description of the Sea Fury. In addition, it is an absolutely beautiful aircraft.
And yes, this Australian "debacle" pales in comparison to my native Southern California's own Battle of Palmdale.
Great story, and @14:15 I sat up straight as I saw the old Ent Air Force base in Colorado Springs. My father, who was an Army Lt. Colonel was assigned there. These days it's the Olympic Training Center. Very cool to see it again. Thanks! :)
Go Navy! The Air Force must have been pissed off that day, lol. I'm happy TH-cam recommended your channel after I watched another channel doing reenactments of RAAF Meteors in combat in the Korean War. Great stuff, thanks from the USA. Cheers.
This is why I love Australia. There’s such a level of incompetence and informality that’s just so funny
Ever heard about the story of the RAAF Avro Lancaster that flew under their Sydney Harbour Bridge?
That was Peter Isaacson piloting the Lancaster that day.
@@throttlegalsmagazineaustra7361 interesting what’s even crazier is the myth of the two spitfire that supposedly looped the harbour bridge but thx for the info.
What a story. Thanks.
The dutch sea fury! Gave me a warm feeling... such a sexy aircraft
Sea Fury is effectively the final form of the Spitfire with Radial replacing the Merlin. Of course it was the best prop driven fighter of the era. :)
Sorry, nothing of the kind. Hawker made the Sea Fury, and it was a re-engined version of the wartime Hawker Tempest, itself a development of the Typhoon. Nothing at all to do with the Supermarine Spitfire.
@@juneabbey9538 yknow, I don't mind one bit being wrong on this, as I understood it was a Supermarine Sea Fury, but the wind based nomenclature does follow Hawker's traditions.
What was that saying.... Spitfire gets the girls, Typhoon gets the kills.
I've listened to this more often than any of your (excellent) videos. Hilarious every time!
(I'm an Aussie who was in the RAAF for a short time)
Great little story
What a story - and very well told, thanks.
Great story mate - nicely done 👍 Just for future reference, the RAAF is usually referred to as the 'R double A F' here in Aus 😊
Or just pronounced "Raf". Yeah, hearing it spelt out "R-A-A-F" is as weird to an Aussie's ears as saying N-A-S-A would be to...well...everyone. 😉
Wonderful content.
The best laid plans usually go astray.
Like the recent downing of the balloon by a jet fighter.
bloody good one mate
from down under
I'm, quite frankly, not surprised I don't know about this one, the RAAF certainly wouldn't have wanted me to
Great story, and it's nice to see NAS Nowra get some attention.
i read this tale back in the 80s. i couldnt stop 😄
Great story - great story teller
I think I've just discovered a like-minded soul! Great video, tale perfectly told. You have a new subscriber.
I wouldn't fancy being a pommy batsman facing an aussie fast bowler soon after this little incident!
"... and this one's for the RAAF mate!" 😆
Great story, interesting subject, highly amusing! The best part, in my opinion, is your hability to maintain the viewer attention at all time, Subtle humor, never offensive, is another quality.
Amazing story, thank's a lot. It could be scenario for IL-2 sim.
Wow. I have never heard this story before even though I'm an Aussie. 20 years before I was born though, but that's great.