New life for history-making RAAF Caribou A4-179 aircraft
The Caribou A4-179, which was the first Australian aircraft to enter the Vietnam War in August 1964 and the last to leave in February 1972, is now the centrepiece of the new Rivertown attraction at the Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld.
Built in Canada by Hawker De Havilland, A4-179 was among a fleet of Caribou ordered by the RAAF, the first of which left Toronto for RAAF Richmond in August 1964.
Caribou are twin-engine short take-off and landing (STOL) battlefield cargo aircraft, designed to US Army specifications for landing on rough dirt runways or roads near battle frontlines, to be able to quickly resupply troops and evacuate the wounded. The very first one was built in 1958.
Fit for purpose
The Caribou can take off and land within about 220 metres. It can carry 32 fully armed troops, 22 stretcher cases, or up to about four tonnes of supplies and munitions. Its large rear access ramp, which allows easy unloading and loading, can also be opened in-flight to drop cargo or allow paratroopers to jump out.
Australia became the second most prolific user of the aircraft (after the US Army) after the RAAF ordered its first Caribou in 1963 to replace Dakota transport aircraft. Ultimately, 29 were acquired but by the time of the fleet’s retirement from service in 2009 only 13 were still operational.
A4-179, along with two others bound for Australia, was diverted on its delivery flight, being halted at RAAF Butterworth, Australia’s air base in Malaysia, and sent with new crews to the port of Vung Tau in Vietnam.
Three more aircraft followed, assigned to RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam (renamed 35 Squadron two years later). Known as Wallaby Airlines, it was the first RAAF unit to serve in Vietnam and the last to withdraw.
“The name Wallaby Airlines was made up and used by the squadron when the Americans couldn’t pronounce the original call sign,” recalls retired airman Robert St. John, who was aboard the second delivery flight. “That led to the saying ‘if you want something done, call a wallaby!’ because we would go anywhere.”
The RAAF Caribous were attached to the United States Air Force 315th air commando squadron and operated from Vung Tau, Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Nha Trang and Da Nang.
During seven-and-a-half years of operation in Vietnam, the RAAF’s Caribou command of seven aircraft flew more than 79,700 sorties and carried 700,000 passengers and 41,300 tonnes of freight and mail, logging 47,000 flying hours.
Performance anxieties
A4-179 has not been without its share of dramas, including an incident in August 1964, at Phan Thiet airfield in Vietnam, when it experienced hydraulics failure. Squadron Leader Christopher Sugden, the commanding officer, managed to fly it on one engine and land safely.
In June 1980, the plane lost one engine on a routine flight between the Indonesian islands of Tual and Ambon, with five passengers and three crew on board. The aircraft was supporting Operation Pattimura, a three-year project conducted by the Australian Army under Australia’s Defence Cooperation Program, to provide maps of Indonesia’s Maluku Province (also known as the Moluccas or Spice Islands).
While still 75km from its destination one engine failed and, despite full power being applied to the remaining engine, the Caribou dropped 4000 feet in altitude.
The descent was stabilised at 450 feet above the Banda Sea, with the crew’s quick thinking enabling it to narrowly escape ditching. This was achieved by jettisoning its full cargo load into the ocean – all except the essentials that the RAAF medical officer on board assessed would be needed if forced to ditch.
After service in Vietnam, the Caribous returned to join 38 Squadron at RAAF Base Richmond in New South Wales before the squadron later moved to RAAF Base Amberley near Brisbane and to RAAF Base Townsville.
New roles
In 1990 A4-179 was used during flood relief operations in western New South Wales, after the Bogan River rose above five metres at Nyngan, breaching the town’s levee and inundating almost every home and business.
This was just one example of the vital role the Caribou aircraft played in many flood relief operations, earning it a reputation as a hardy workhorse and symbol of endurance.
Caribous were used in the 1999–2000 United Nations intervention in East Timor, flew peacekeeping missions in Pakistan and the Solomon Islands, and were used for humanitarian relief efforts including delivering aid after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and food supplies to drought-stricken Papua New Guinea.
Known affectionately by air crews as ‘the bou’, the Caribous were also dubbed the ‘grand dames of the skies’ in tribute to their valued service.
After retirement of the Caribou fleet, A4-179 was used as a battle damage training aid in Oakey, Queensland, and as a training aid in AMTDU RAAF Richmond.
In September 2014, its fuselage – minus the engines, tail section and wings – was acquired by the HARS Aviation Museum at Shellharbour Airport in New South Wales.
The aircraft’s impressive structure, standing at 9.7m high and 22m in length, has been enhanced by the addition of newly constructed wings and tail.
Dreamworld senior project manager, Shane Boys, says the inclusion of the Caribou at the theme park will give visitors a chance to see an important piece of Australian aviation history.
