Photographs & Stories - Eric Deeks 2
ABOVE: Malaysian Airways System Twin Pioneer at Bareo.
XB291 of 34 Sqn dropping Avtur at Bareo
“The majority of these shots are taken from besides the smoke fire which was located at the end of the runway. The fire was to indicate wind speed and direction to the aircraft, and was made using scrap rope from previous drops and scrap fuel to get it burning, then draping wet sacking (also from previous drops) leaving a small opening at the top. The aiming point was about 150 yards away but most drops overshot a little occasionally by a lot. If the chute opened correctly they rarely reached the fire, but if it failed to open correctly they invariably were long and we had to keep on our toes. The real danger was those loads which fell off the pallet and spread themselves all over the place and very hard to see. Normally the only thing we saw was a floppy chute and had to make ourselves as small a target as possible. I had a few near misses and know of a lot more but can’t recall any direct hits. I do remember seeing (or rather not seeing) a batch if corrugated iron sheets come adrift from its pallet but remaining tied together. All I actually saw was a slack chute and then something land on the opposite side of the runway. After the drop I went to investigate what I saw fall but everybody else (who had been by the main camp) went over to my side of the runway, to look at a hole 3 ft wide 6 ft long and 6 ft deep, at the bottom of which was a pile of crumpled corrugated iron. ”
Webmaster: I was in Labuan in January 1966, so I'm wondering if I was the Air Despatch Crew Commander in XB291. I also remember a CGI (corrugated galvanise iron) load break away from a load when I was at Labuan, when the parachute disconnect let loose rather early. I can't remember the dropping zone though, but we did drop a lot of it at Bareo.
ABOVE LEFT: Running in at 800 feet. ABOVE RIGHT: First of a pair of 1-Ton containers leaving the aircraft.
ABOVE LEFT: Parachute being pulled from its bag. ABOVE RIGHT: Both containers out.
ABOVE LEFT & RIGHT: Parachutes deploying. The De-reefers holding the canopy closed to stabilise the loads.
ABOVE LEFT: De-reefers released and canopies deployed. ABOVE RIGHT: Almost down.
ABOVE LEFT: Coming round again. ABOVE RIGHT: Two more.
ABOVE LEFT & RIGHT: Job done. Coming in for a low run.
ABOVE LEFT: Coming lower. ABOVE RIGHT: Almost overhead.
ABOVE LEFT: Army Scout Helicopter. ABOVE RIGHT: RAF Twin Pioneer landing.