Continued...
Now
that’s a fine drop
By
LCDR Tony Underwood
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No.
36 Squadron pilots on a paratroop and zodiac drop mission.
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Photo
by LAC Allan Cooper
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Paratroops
take the plunge from a No. 36 Squadron Hercules during an
insertion near Townsville.
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Photo
by ACW Elizabeth Ginn
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Blooms
of parachutes over the Shoalwater Bay Training Area during
a paratroop insertion from a C-130J Hercules.
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Photo
by CPL Ashley Roach
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PROBABLY
the most testing period for Air Lift Group (ALG) during Croc 03
was the Parachute Battalion Group (PBG) insertion.
C-130Hs and C-130Js were involved in the transport of people and
hardware for most of the units involved in the deployment and
redeployment phases of the exercise.
And No. 38 Squadron Caribous worked hard with tactical tasks throughout
the exercise.
But the PBG insertion involved four C-130Hs and four C-130Js in
early morning drops on September 9-10. The total load delivered
over the two days included 373 soldiers and more than 55 tons
of hardware.
More than 290 diggers exited to the DZ Kapyong, to the far north-west
of the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, in the first wave on September
9. The heavy drop for the day included 105mm guns and the biggest
load, a 933 “light” tractor weighing nearly 30,000lb
(13.6 tons) on a 32ft (9.7m) aluminium platform.
Each of the loads was passed from Army to Air Force and checked
jointly before C-130 loadmasters accepted them for despatch.
It’s understood the tractor carried some 1500lb (6.8 tons)
of parachutes which tilted it to the rear of the C-130H , and
the aircrew were pleased to see it disappear from the rear of
the aircraft and, after the six parachutes had deployed, float
safely to the ground.
September 10 brought more parachutists, Landrover and gun drops,
a mass load of water and rations, and DZ bikes and jerrycans.
Vital twin aims of an evolution of this type are to achieve “time
on target” – timely and accurate delivery of the paratroopers
and the cargo. Participants agreed that detailed planning and
the small number of injured indicated these aims had been achieved.
Commander ALG Air Commodore Greg Evans said Croc 03 provided “good
practice”.
“Crocodile 03 was an excellent opportunity to get the Caribou
force exercised in the field with Army again. It was the first
opportunity in a number of years to reconstitute the parachute
battalion group drop, in this instance with the C-130J aircraft.
These were main capability milestones and, of course, the exercise
was conducted with Air Lift Group support of virtually all units
involved,” AIRCDRE Evans said.
He said the C-130Js could now drop paratroopers and light equipment.
There was “every indication” that the C-130Js would
be cleared for all loads within two to three years.
“At that point it will become the preferred means of aerial
delivery with its extra cargo capacity, speed and short field
capability,” he said.
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