The venerable SLR

[CINDERS]

Here is a pic of my older brother Barry (Dec) whilst he was doing his RAAF basic training at Wagga Wagga mid to late 60's. He said it was pretty heavy with a full 20 round mag but he really liked shooting it, they did not get to much range time whilst learning to be aero engine fitters.

Also my bro inlaw on his Asian holiday was originally issued an Owen which was then removed and he was re-issued with an F-1 which he said rusted quite well within 24 hours.
He eventually ended up getting rid of the F-1 as a POS and carried an L2A1 for the remainder of his tour.

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[#1oilman]

looks like one long drink of water!

[CINDERS]

Barry was 6' 1" I passed him at 6' 3" myself though being the youngest of five children under the one roof I endured endless pranks and teasing from my elder brother & sisters for years that all changed when I started looking down on them........

Sharing a moment about my brother;

Bit of my brothers history he was in the RAAF for 20 years as an Engine fitter rising to the rank of Flt Sgt (following my Dad with his WWII overseas service as an LAC engine fitter) he tried to get to be a door gunner in a Huey in Vietnam but the RAAF would not release him to go he was rather upset by this.
He did most of his time at Pearce but was posted to various bases which I cannot recall but I know at his second last was at Amberley where he kept tweaking the system to stay there for a fair while which amounted to 8 years, finally his wife gave him the ultimatum to come back to W.A so she could be near her sick parents so my brother came back.
Barry was due to get out of the RAAF and start a job in Perth with Qantas on the maintenance staff as an engine fitter but sadly 5 days before his discharge my brother suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 43 years leaving behind his wife and 2 young daughters

I dug out the pictures the RAAF took of Barry's funeral (Crown Copyright but to heck with that) to show just how much my brother was respected the first B/W picture could be at Pearce airbase as I know we had Macchi's there but not sure about Amberley where he did work on the F-111. (Barry 3rd from left in o/alls leaning against Macchi)
Notice the Caribou in the background think they were called "Gooney Birds" not sure been a while.
At the church there was an honour guard into & from the service then another into Karakatta itself (2nd pic) they the RAAF pall bearers along with a WAAF carrying Barry's hat and service medals on a cushion they carried Barry's casket to the grave site, stood guard as we were putting my brother into the ground a flight of Macchi's passed directly overhead in the missing man formation as a final salute.

I think that is very poignant that happened as I was to believe it was only reserved for high ups and pilots it was so very touching the sad fact also is the Macchi pic of them landing back at Pearce in formation shows No. 40 or 04! leading them in, this Macchi was to be retired from service the same day as my brother was to retire from the RAAF had he lived to see it.
RIP bro.

[mrclark303]

Great pictures Cinders, it's tragic your brother was taken so young, but he was clearly highly respected, and given a great send off, we all thank him for his service.

The Caribou was a superb aircraft, nothing quite like like it and no real replacement either, it could land on a postage stamp sized airstrip in the middle of a small patch of cleared jungle, it was only withdrawn from Australian service a few years ago.

[Gil Boyd]

Cinders, great images there for the family and Barry had a great sendoff too.

The Caribou was a brilliant aircraft to jump out of as well, very smooth just like the Andover in many respects. We are missing a medium service aircraft like that nowadays. All that is left is the trusty old Skyvan

[P246]

Great pictures CINDERS, and although your brother died way too young it was obvious he was very well respected by those close to him. Respect is the one thing we can take with us.

I love the SLR and enjoyed looking that rifle over. I have one 90s Rhodesian kit left, had remnants of baby poop camo on it. Finally got off my butt and ordered a Coonan 1.5 receiver for it which might get here end of week. It is a metric gun but inch kits seem to have died up. I have the paint codes for the two baby poop camo colors and plan to return it to its original glory. When I get it done I'll post pics. Thanks again for sharing.

[mrclark303]

Cinders, great images there for the family and Barry had a great sendoff too.

The Caribou was a brilliant aircraft to jump out of as well, very smooth just like the Andover in many respects. We are missing a medium service aircraft like that nowadays. All that is left is the trusty old Skyvan

Ah, the trusty Andover, going back a few years with that one Gil!

I have fond memories of the Andover's at Brize in the early 1980's.

They were superb aircraft, just the job when a Hercules was overkill.

Got rid of in the endless rounds of defence cuts to "save money" .. what a laugh, after the Andover was axed the RAF was forced to use Hercs to transport just a few pallets of gear (or small number of specialists) around Europe on the sort of short notice missions the Andover was perfect for..

[Gil Boyd]

Sadly we have to move with the times due to serious MOD cuts and more destined for the table in the New Year, but the Shorts SC7 Skyvan does what it says on the "box" literally, albeit they are on long term hire to 1 PTS RAF Brize Norton.
They are very basic boxes on wings, and have a tremendous short take off and landing area, so turn around is very quick with bods instead of carrying cargo which is what they were originally destined for, in the African states.

The tail ramp is the jump platform with no traditional side doors like the C130 or other Parachuting planes. The new lads do however have to complete a night jump as part of their wings course from a C130 fully kitted, so that often comes as a shock

As far as those who say Parachuting has had its day and noone continues to do it anymore is poppycock and this is a timely response:

Parachuting should remain an essential capability in Britain’s defence because dropping troops from fixed wing aircraft gives you strategic options beyond that which can be achieved by helicopter.
General Chief of Staff

[Flying10uk]

According to the last 2015 defence review the U.K. should now keep at least 14 C130Js in service after the arrival of all 22 A400M Transport aircraft which seems like a sensible decision. Having to send a large aircraft such as the A400M for a small lift hardly seems sensible or environmentally friendly.

[mrclark303]

It seems to me, we would be better of buying 14 twin engine C27Js to operate alongside our A400's and C17's.

Too much duplication of capability with C130J and larger A400. Added to this the C130J will require considerable expensive work to guarantee it's service out to the 2030's, i.e wing centre box and outer wing replacement in the relatively near future

Better to trade them against new C27J's, to give us a balanced fleet again when all the A400's have been delivered, hopefully also pick up 8 additional unwanted German and Spanish A400's for a considerable discount and 4 more C17's, secondhand from the Americans.

If we (the UK) are serious about expeditionary warfare in the future, we better have the Tactical and strategic airlift to make such operations viable and sustainable.

Just a personal perspective..