Thread: Fast job?

And the Buffers name was Ray Skinnerton ??

Could have been, I was a stoker at the time. With almost 1500 men on the crew, we were lucky to know all of our department crew.
Got to know the pilots, I was a student pilot in my spare time. That put a few noses out of joint. A lowly other ranker, treated as an equal pilot by the "top guns", some junior officers were a bit funny about that. And to this day, I still have not actually flown off and on to a carrier, except in a helicopter. Even MS Flight Sim defeats me in that.

Shorty.

nice pics shorty,,

but dont they have wires and nets to stop the planes---

About 90% of the time, yes. The rest of time, just run, alright, just run away.
The pilot pulls the trigger, and it goes fffft.

This is called an Air Weapons Hangup.

All gone wrong, but it's Okay, because it will all go right again when the aircraft hits the deck. This is the other 10%. Run for your life. Blurt. That's right, I'm in the rescue team, DAYUM.

I think I have developed a hangup over hangups.

Shorty.

Originally Posted by 84RR

And the Buffers name was Ray Skinnerton ??

May have been before or after the UK trip. No CPO Skinnerton listed in the crew for that deployment.
A Chief Petty Officer Gunnery I. G. James, and a CPO Weapons B. G. Waterman.

These would have been the only 2 men on board qualified for the position.
Out of about 70 to 80 CPO's, and over half of those all Engineering.

When did Ray serve on her? I was on and off Melbourne from 71 to 78.

Shorty.

More photo's, Navy stuff (ups).

On the way across the Indian Ocean going to England. Oil seal blew, and the chopper hit the water at about 90 knots and cartwheeled end over end. We did save the spare tyre. Oh, and the crew.

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/3...ingdownbp4.jpg

In the Med, the write up should say enough about this. My old fire crew chief, Ken Greber is on the right. Yuon on left.

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/7526/srescue1nx6.jpg
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/3...ue2safefk7.jpg

Inside the Arctic Circle, this was a beauty. The destroyer, Brisbane, was ResDes (rescue destroyer). Charge in to the rescue, did not stop in time, and destroyed the Wessex. My first ever flight in any aircraft, was in Wessex 813, now hanging from the ceiling of the National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour.

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/8...sexdownqr7.jpg

On the way back across the Indian Ocean enroute to Singapore

http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/1137/s2edowntz0.jpg

No photo's of the Skyhawk that went down off Singapore. Not a real lot left after being through Melbourne's props and the 50,000 HP that turned them.
The rest are sort of touristy.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/4...braltarxu7.jpg

http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/2554/suezcanalev1.jpg

http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/340...nkasuezhn4.jpg

http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/809...adrevuejk0.jpg

By virtue of the fact that I, have scaled this castle wall. DRUNK AS. It is My Castle.

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/3...icastlezc0.jpg

on the way home

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/4...rdboundny8.jpg

This place.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/4...traighttx2.jpg

Fwd Eng Room, and throttle platform of Melbourne, check the tachygraph revs, then divide by 9, to give approximate speed.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/4395/16knotsba9.jpg

More later,

Shorty.

Interesting stuff, thanks shorty!

GQ

I recognised a few of the faces in the piccies - but I was on Melbourne with 816 squadron a couple of years later, up until her last cruise with aircraft on - two skyhawks over the side on my last trip was enough to kill the old ship off. Also led to me leaving the Fleet Air Arm as I was in Trackers and going back to sea - with hindsight I should have changed to helos but at the time would have meant seakings and they didn't have a good record at the time - they kept crashing. A mate of mine who did change over ended up getting pensioned off as a result of injuries when his seaking crashed up on cape york a few years later.

I will have to do the same as you one day and drag out all the old war photos.

Garry