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Ops Sedar Gubir 1977 . Landing Point Marker Whisky, Sg Baho, Gubir. Troops getting resupplied. A very rare picture. Notice tree trunk, at the nose of the helicopter. The LP is hacked out of virgin jungle using machettes and plastic explosives (bare minimum). The RMAF pilots lived dangerously, landing in tight places like this.
They were a rare breed of men with nerves of steel, supporting the fighting Rangers on the ground, flying sorties to sustain the troops on many operations. Most often not appreciated and forgotten. When they do not land on an LP which was prepared at a short notice, the space not big enough to land with confidence, they flew off. Leaving a trail of curses and expletives spewed forth by angry and hungry soldiers. Well, in this blog they will be and are being remembered.
They were a rare breed of men with nerves of steel, supporting the fighting Rangers on the ground, flying sorties to sustain the troops on many operations. Most often not appreciated and forgotten. When they do not land on an LP which was prepared at a short notice, the space not big enough to land with confidence, they flew off. Leaving a trail of curses and expletives spewed forth by angry and hungry soldiers. Well, in this blog they will be and are being remembered.
It is a real tribute to us the Nuri pilots of those 'adventurous' days. All I can say is..THANK YOU...FOOTSLOGGERS!! I'm sure my colleagues share my sentiments, too.
DEDICATED TO ALL THE NURI AIRCREW OF MY ERA...WHEREVER YOU MAY BE!!
14 ulasan:
Salam. If given a chance, can you still do it now? I mean landing the big bird in that tight LP but ofcourse less the fear of an ambush. Just curious :)
Dear Sazali,
I don't think it's a problem to land the iron bird in LP Whisky...it's a luxury compared to the LP at Gunung Korbu. Please read "A Challenging LP" posted on 16 Oct 2009.
Salam Tuan
Tiada apa yg dapat saya katakan selain amat menghormati jiwa keperwiraan semua anggota tentera di zaman dulu.
Saya pernah menjadi Kadet SUU-UUM tetapi tidak dapat pursue utk berkhidmat dengan TUDM kerana ketentuan-Nya yg telah menetapkan rezeki di dalam bidang lain.
Apa yg dapat saya katakan adalah jiwa anggota tentera sekarang amat berlainan dari dulu yg memerlukan saya memikir 2x utk menghormati mereka.
Terima kasih Tuan kerana mengediakan ruang utk saya mengetahui pelbagai pengalaman pahit manis alam tentera dahulu.
Wassalam...
Saudara Kamal,
Terima kasih kerana menghargai pengorbanan kami terdahulu. Saya bersyukur kepada Allah kerana diberi keupayaan menceritakan pengalaman yang dilalui suatu ketika dulu dengan cara "My Way".
Tuan,
Tidak kelihatan asing juga bagi saya LP ini. Kalau tak silap saya satu LP lagi itu LP Sungai Palas dalam kawasan operasi yang sama.
Saudara Abah,
Memang...bila nampak gambar sebegini menggamik semula kisah di suatu ketika dulu. Nostalgik sungguh!! Hanya orang yang mengalaminya sahaja akan faham apa yang kita lalui. Syukur kepada Ilahi kerana masih dapat menikmati ciptaanNya.
Ini LP Whisky One Bar- Ops Sedar Gubir.
Somewhere along Sungai Bahu. gambar di ambil semasa resupp. troop masa ini dari Platoon 9, C Coy, 9 Rangers. Sungguh nostalgik...
hi guys !
,,,where we could not land we either winch the rations and troops down plus later designed special boxes to be dropped off flying from the chopper too !.
,,,i remember this LP indeed hehehe, its not too bad compared to some others...whereby i landed in the river banks or just low hover to offload the troops.
,,,i even rested the chopper's belly on tree branches while winching/absailing to safe fuel cos. there were just too many sorties in and limited fuel drums to finish the job !. it was just a crazy period and the CTs were always aiming at us. many a times i came back with leaves stuck below the belly hihihi.
,,,those were the days yaaa !! We did it our ways hahaha.
During Selamat Sawadee Ops, I flew in rations for our commando unit at an LP somewhere on the Thai side of the border. As you all know, the hills on the Thai side were almost cleared of vegetation. On arrival at the so-called 'LP', it was just a marker on a steep slope. I contacted the officer, Capt Aziz I think, and he told me that there was no way he could made a 'level' LP as he was on 'hot pursuit'.
And...he and his merry men were running out of rations. We had no nets to winch down the rations and the rations were not in 'special boxes'. Well..with the starboard undercarriage on the slope while the port undercarriage and tail wheel 'hanging', the AQM downloaded the rations. It was even dangerous for the troops to come close to the cargo door.
Luckily, the CTs were on their R&R at Betong. He..he..he. A few days later, I had to winch up a 'medivac', Capt. Aziz, if I'm not mistaken, and flew him to Penang. I wonder where he is now..
Yes...Sharif...Those were the unforgettable crazy flying days!!
Tuan,
Itu pasti LP marker LIMA One Bar kan? Kalau tak silap saya. Banyak operasi kita lalui bersama. Operasi kali itu saya bertindak sebagai Signaller Operator.
Kapt Aziz (Bersara) Lt Kol CO 8 RJR Para.Dia juga merupakan Tp Commander saya semasa Ops Sedar Gubir. Dia sekarang buat Businees Catering. Kalau Tuan nak buat Kenduri-kendara bolehlah panggil dia. Dia sekarang menetap di Melaka. Kampung asal beliau diKSS (Kota sarang semut).
Saudara Anonymous,
Saya tak pasti LP 'Lima One Bar' semasa menghantar ransum ke trup Kapt Aziz. Betul ke beliau yang 'medivac' saya terbangkan ke Hospital Penang? Sekiranya terjumpa beliau, kirimkan salam saya kepada beliau. Saya tidak mengenalinya. Terima kasih.
Tuan,
Insyaallah. Saya masih ingat lagi apa yang dilafazkan oleh beliau kepada Pilot NURI setelah MEDIVAC berjaya dilakukan.
'I appreciate your help'.
Semasa Medivac tsb saya berserta dengan Kapt Fadzil berada dalam kedudukan SH berhampiran dengan Kem PGK dimana berlaku pertempuran PGK vs 14RAMD beberapa hari sebelum itu.
Abah....
kenapa Nickname saya tidak keluar pulak. Yang keluar 'Anon' pulak
Tuan,
Peristiwa ini saya ingat-ingat lupa. Mungkin fakta saya tak berapa tepat.
Rasa saya bukan Kapt Aziz yang medivac, cuma anggota dia seorang Trooper yang mengalami sedikit kecederaan ringan akibat kena tembakan PGK. Nasib anggota tersebut begitu baik memandangkan beliau berhadapan dengan PGK dengan jarak yang dekat, oleh kerana senjata (M16) beliau mengalami 'stopagges'. PGK melepaskan tembakan terlebih dahulu dalam keadaan tergesa-gesa dengan melepaskan tembakan yang tidak tepat dan mengalami mengalami sedikit 'scratch'.
Tak ingat dan tak pasti saya adakah Kapt Aziz ikut serta bersama 'Trooper tsb di Medivac. Timbul persolan saya disini.
Waallahuwaalam
Abah,
Kisah 34 tahun dahulu...apa yang ingat ini pun sudah Alhamdulillah. Syukur kerana saya ada 'Flying Log Book' yang banyak membantu.
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