People, Bottom Line, Book & Video Reviews

This is interesting enough, but for me the best parts are those which examine the behind the scenes activities during a time of transition for the RAAF – politics, evolution of tactics, the suitability or otherwise of the aircraft for their intended roles and perhaps most interesting of all, the personalities and influence of 77 Squadron’s various commanding officers during the conflict.

Lion Over Korea does full justice to a part of Australian military history which has often been overlooked by writers and publishers alike. It considerably redresses the balance.

Available for $35 from Banner Books, PO Box 937 Belconnen ACT 2616

Vampire, Macchi & Iroquois in Australian Service:

Stewart Wilson The latest book in Australian Aviation’s popular Australian Airpower series deals with three diverse yet in their own ways very important military aircraft, a trio for the first time that includes a helicopter.

Central to this book, and the success of the series, are the descriptions of types’ development histories, Australian manufacture (where appropriate), their purchase and operation by Australia’s three military services.

The Vampire section looks at how Australia came to operate and build its first jet fighter to enter squadron service, filling first the front line fighter role, and then the all important advanced pilot trainer duties. Of interest is the section dealing with the prob lem’s encountered with the Australian built Vampire’s Rolls-Royce Nene en gine installation.

Not as glamourous as the fighters and bombers it has provided the pilots for, the Macchi has served Australia faithfully for a quarter century, serving first as the RAAF’s and RAN’s advanced trainer, and now in its later life as an air force lead-in fighter. The book’s comprehensive coverage of the elegant Macchi’s stress and fatigue problems is perhaps the best yet lished.

pub The Iroquois section deals with the Australian military history of one of the few aircraft to serve with all three arms of the ADF. Pivotal to this section of the book is the account of its distinguished Vietnam war service, a conflict that the Iroquois or Huey is such an important symbol.

As with all previous books in the series this edition is well illustrated with many never before published photos (some of the Iroquois colour is highly evocative), plus detailed tables of the three types’ service histories.

Available from your newsagent or direct from Australian Aviation, PO Box 3105, Weston Creek, 2611, ph (06) 288 1677, fax (06) 266 2021, for $24. 90 for softback or $34. 90 for hardcover, including postage.

Aircraft Carrier:

Network Aircraft Carrier is one in a number of titles covering naval warfare, and covers the ascendancy of the carrier as the premier naval strike weapon, replacing the battleship.

Most of this informative video focuses on the use of the carrier by the USA and Japan in the war in the Pacific, with the causes and results of a number of profound battles involving aircraft carriers explained, including Pearl Harbour and the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway.

The video focuses not so much on the technical aspects of the aircraft carrier, nor the individual aircraft, but studies the effects the carrier had on the course of the war and naval warfare in general, and as such gives a different yet important perspective.

Later parts of the video briefly look at the use of carrier in the Korean and Vietnam wars, but surprisingly does not mention the Falklands war.

Available from major video retailers at $29. 95 RRP

The Boomerang Story:

Nomad Television Productions This 47 minute video documents the history of Australia’s indigenous Boomerang fighter, plus current and future Boomerang restoration projects.

“The Boomerang Story” includes fascinating historical WW2 footage of the aircraft in service in New Guinea, plus test flights and the production line. Returning to the present day the tape features interviews with Boomerang pilots at an 83 Squadron reunion, aerial footage of the only Boomerang currently flying in Australia, plus a look at two Boomerang restoration projects currently underway.

Available from Nomad Television Productions, PO Box 112, Darling Heights, 4350, ph (076) 30 0408, and fax (076) 30 0787 for $39. 96 inc p&p.

Lockheed Great Planes F-104 Starfighter:

AVI The F-104 Starfighter video is the latest in the successful Great Planes series, and as such covers in interesting detail the development history and service life of the Lockheed’s ‘missile with a man in it”.

This video tells the story of how a high speed interceptor came to also be a fine fighter bomber. A product of the genius Kelly Johnson, the Starfighter was designed in response to demands for speed and more speed, arising out of the Korean War.

As such the F-104 bucked current trends in that it was a relatively small design, and featured a highly controversial small unswept and extremely thin wing. This video details how such an aircraft, amid years of controversy and little acceptance in its home market went on to be western Europe’s multirole fighter of choice, and how it remained in production for almost three decades, an incredible figure by any standard.

As with all these videos and one of the series great strengths is some fascinating early footage of the Starfighter. The educational narrative meanwhile is clearly well researched.

Available direct from Australian Aviation PO Box 3105, Weston Creek, ACT 2611, phone (06) 288 1677, fax (06) 288 2021 for just $29. 95 plus $5. 00 postage.

Great Planes Republic F-105 Thunderchief:

AVI This is the fascinating story of Republic’s ‘Lead Sled’, the largest single engine jet combat aircraft of its day, an aircraft that was plagued with design and political problems, and yet went on to be a highly effective strike. weapon in the skies over Vietnam.

Known affectionately as the Thud’ the F-105 was the first purpose designed tactical attack aircraft for the US Air Force, with Tactical Air Command support helping it survive a range of near crippling design prob- lems in its early development years. This video details these problems and how they were overcome, and tells the story of how the F-105 was used to such devastating and accurate effect in the Vietnam war, where it accounted for three quarters of all attack missions flown in the first five years of USAF involvement.

Highly watchable and informative, if a little lacking in objectivity, this video. gives a good insight into one of the little known members of the USAF’s Century Series of fighters.

Available direct from Australian Aviation PO Box 3105, Weston Creek, ACT 2611, phone (06) 288 1677, fax (06) 288 2021 for just $29. 95 plus $5. 00 postage.

People

Qantas has completed its senior management reshuffle with three new appointments. These are Dick McIlwain, Executive General Manager – National Operations (responsible for domestic operations via State Regional General Managers), who takes over from Gordon Howlett who had earlier been announced to that role, but who now moves to Executive General Manager International Operations, the equivalent international role. Qantas has also appointed John Jansen to. the position of Executive General Manager Purchasing & Supply. Ansett meanwhile has benefited from the Qantas restructure, picking up former QF execs Ron Rosalky, who becomes Commercial Manager Japan, and Alan Loke, who will be involved in the development of Asian services. Anthony Luxton takes up the new position of Inbound Tourism Development Australia for Air New Zealand. Gary Punch is the new Minister for Defence Science & Personnel. Saab recently promoted Peter Greensmith as its Vice President Marketing Aus tralasia/Pacific, heading up a new marketing office opened in Sydney recently.

Bottom Line

Qantas has posted an operating profit of $100. 5m for the half year ended December 31 1993. After tax profit (there were no abnormal times) was $71. 7m, compared with $365. 2m for the previous half year. Lufthansa ended 1993 with a pretax loss of DM50m ($A42m) and expected to record an after tax loss of about DM110m ($A92. 4m) compared to DM373m in 1992. Cathay Pacific has announced a net profit of $HK2293m ($A414m) for the 1993 financial year, down from the previous year’s result of $HK3. 0bn ($A542m). Rolls-Royce’s profit before tax for 1993 was $76m (SA160m) for 1993, compared with a $184m ($A388m) loss in 1992. Fokker’s net after tax result for 1993 was a loss of NLG460m ($A343m), compared to a NLG20m ($A14. 9m) profit in 1992. The result includes a NLG275m (8A205m) provision for low market prices. British Aerospace posted a group pretax loss of $237m ($A499m) for the year ending December 31, despite British Aerospace Defence profits of $345m (SA726m). BAe’s commercial aircraft and property divisions also recorded significant losses. Expect 1994 results however to be dramatically improved by the recent sale of Rover Cars to BMW.