Sandy Sandberg, Anzac Day, Canberra 2007

An Account by SBLT Brian

Dutch of events of a Night
Sea Venom ejection, from
the book HMAS Albatross
A Collection of Memories

wind strengths this was within the

crosswind limits of the Venom, at the
height of the gusts it exceeded limits.
However, this was to become irrelevant by subsequent events!
As I turned the aircraft downwind
and
lowered the undercarriage, the
During night flying on 15 June 1960 a
aircraft
rolled inverted in a gust of
Sea Venom being flown by SBLT Brian
wind.
As
I was initially in a 60 degree
Dutch With LEUT Dave Sandberg as
banked
turn
and at 400 ft for the
his observer malfunctioned and the
night
circuit
on
those days, I immedicrew carried out the first RAN night
ately
applied
full
aileron and then full
ejection:
rudder
to
roll
the
aircraft level.
In June 1960 at the Naval Air StaWe
pilots
all
knew
that the Venom
tion, Nowra NSW, I was completing my
did
not
roll
around
its
longitudinal
night fighter phase of the Sea Venom
axis, due to its fuselage design, and it
(Operational Flying School) with 724
always dished or barrelled in the rollSquadron.
ing
plane. Well, I had managed to get
There was some pressure to
the
aircraft back to about 30 degrees
complete the course as we were due
to
port
heading the right way when
to embark on HMAS Melbourne, and
there
was
a violent crunch, the windafter two day sorties, I had two sorties
screen
shattered
and became opaque
to complete that night. After the first
and
the
whole
aircraft
began to shake.
night trip I was debriefed and it was
I
assessed
that,
as
I
had
no forward
decided that I needed one more night
visibility,
the
radome
was
probably
sortie to consolidate. Lt E D (Sandy)
shattered
and
the
undercarriage
was
Sandberg, the Senior Observer, and
most
likely
damaged,
we
should
eject!
I climbed into another Sea Venom
Now at that stage the RN Sea
which was found to be unserviceVenoms
had no ejection seat and the
able after 20 minutes airborne. We
RAN
Sea
Venoms had been fitted with
re-turned to Naval Air Station and
the
Martin
Baker Patent Ejector Seat
climbed into a third aircraft and took
MK
4A.
As
there
had not been an ejecoff for the sortie. It was a cold wintion,
there
were
several
myths and
ters night with strong West to North
rumours
about
the
seat,
particularly
West winds which had developed into
as
the
RAAF
Sabre
aircraft
had an
standing waves over the mountains to
American
seat
and
had
had
several
the West of Nowra.
fatal
low
level
ejection.
Well, Sandy and I completed the
Our seats were canted towards
sortie and headed back to Nowra. On
one
another at about 4 degrees which
join-ing the circuit for Runway 26 we
meant
that if both the pilot and obwere advised that the wind was up to
server
ejected
together the seats would
35 degrees off the runway and gusting
collide
above
the
aircraft, so the drill
2550 knots. Although at the lower

was that the observer should eject the

heavy canopy and then immediately
eject himself. The limitation of the
ejector seat, which was powered by 3
cartridges, was 200 knots of forward
speed and 200 feet of height.
I pulled up the nose of the aircraft
to about a 60 degree climb and put on
full power to try to clear the ground. I
remember seeing the altitude indicator
showing a steep climb, the altimeter
was rising and the air speed indicator
(ASI) falling rapidly!
The next 30 seconds or so seemed
to take ages! In good drill fashion I said
to Sandy EJECT, EJECT, EJECT No
reaction. I looked at Sandy who had not
responded. The intercom had obviously
failed. My only option was to change
my right hand from the control column
and pull the canopy ejection myself to
get the message across to Sandy.
As the canopy exploded clear I
remember seeing Sandys eyes like
saucers as he reached for the canopy
and ejected. With Sandy clear, I waited until the ASI was falling through
about 110 knots and ejected myself.
There was a surging acceleration
into the darkness, I felt the seat curving backwards and then a jerk as the
canopy of the parachute deployed and
I was floating downwards. Almost immediately the aircraft exploded on the
ground just below me and I realised
that I was drifting towards the fire.
Once again I recalled my drills and remembered our lectures on controlling
a parachute. I reached up and pulled
the right hand lines. Christ, Im
drifting into the fire faster I thought,
as I quickly changed to the left lines

and landed just clear of the aircraft

fire.
As I landed in a small tree with my
feet in a stream, I could hear shouting and thought that it was Sandy
shouting for help. I methodically undid
my harness release and ran to assist
Sandy. I got about 4 feet before I was
jerked on to my back. I had forgotten
to undo my emergency oxygen tube!
Flushing with embarrassment in the
darkness, I undid the tube and again
ran to assist Sandy. Bang! I ran into
a fence. When I finally got to Sandy
he was OK and said that he had been
shouting at me as he could see me
drifting into the fire and was trying to
warn me!
We could hear the crash siren at
the Air Station and sat in the darkness and waited for help. Sandy pulled
out his cigarettes but he was shaking
with shock so I lit his cigarette for him.
Next a crash tender arrived and
I saw one of the tender crew walking
gingerly around the crashed aircraft.
In the light of the fire, I saw him trip
on the stump of a Black Boy palm
(as we were allowed to call them in
those days). The man fell... I cannot
recall his name so I called out Are
you OK? He replied in a shaky voice
Oh its you, sir. I thought that I had
tripped on your head!!
Then the dear old Sycamore helicopter arrived, flown by Lt Cal Payne
with Doctor Tommy Thompson aboard.
Tommy was winched down to us to
check us out. This was the first night
winching with a Sycamore which was
ill equipped for such work.
We were whisked away to the sick-

bay and although only shaken up, we

were detained for the night for observation. Subsequently it was found that
Sandy had injured his spine. He said
that he thought he would injure his
legs as he landed in the parachute, so
to avoid this he pulled up his legs and
thus landed on his bum!
A Board of Inquiry was convened
and headed up by Captain Ramsay
who was then Captain of HMAS Creswell. In fatherly tones he said to me:
Tell us what happened in your own
words, son.
I proceeded to explain that I had
run upwind. Being a cautious man
he asked which way was that and I
pointed it out on the map. Go on he
said. I explained that I then broke
downwind (turned down wind). YOU
BROKE WHAT? said the Captain in
stentorious tones. Fortunately another
of the Board explained the jargon and
the saga of the Inquiry Board went
on to its conclusion. I resolved at that
stage that the Board should have only
consisted of aviation experts.
It is interesting that immediately
thereafter the circuit height for all
air sorties was raised from 400 ft to
1,000 ft. They had realised that the
terrain rose in the downwind position
and of course was covered with trees,
one of which I had hit. There had
never been a full 400ft of clearance.
Subsequently trees were lopped on
that side of the airfield.
Some time later Sandy and I
received a censure (in mild terms)
from the Naval Board. As an enthusiastic sub-Lieutenant who was known
as The Fanatic in those days, I was

bitterly disappointed and discussed it

with the Captain of NAS, Captain T K
(Tom) Morrison. With great wiseness
he said Dont worry about it, in time
the Board will always remember your
name and will not recall the details.
Therefore they will assume you did
well!
He was right. I went on to earn
a permanent commission and had a
wonderful career with many more adventures and experiences. I also found
that the ejection had proved to me
that in a life threatening situation I
would not freeze up and die, but that
I would act instinctively to save myself.
What wonderful years.

UP AND DOWN AN
UNIQUE EXPERIENCE
By: LCDR E.D. (Sandy) Sandberg
April 2001 From the RAN FAA Association Magazine Slipstream 2005
Sometime ago the Editor of SLIPSTREAM asked me to write the story
of the first night ejection from an
aircraft in Australia. That incident
occurred on the 15th June 1960 at
RAN Air Station Nowra, NSW when a
Sea Venom FAW 53 of 724 Squadron
struck a tree on the downwind leg
of the landing pattern. The Pilot and
Observer ejected safely.
As this happened over 41 years
ago, I obtained a copy of the Board of
Inquiry report to refresh my memory.
I wrote Navy Office, but as the docu-

ments were over 30 years old, they

had sent them to the Australian Archives. I obtained a copy from there.
During this era Naval pilots
gained their wings with the RAAF and
completed OFS at NAS NOWRA in either fighter or anti-submarine specialisation. 724 Squadron was equipped
with Sea Venom & Vampire aircraft to
carry out night fighter pilot training.
The Sea Venom FAW 53 (FAW =
Fighter All Weather) was a side by
side two seater aircraft built by De
Havilland in the United Kingdom and
shipped to Australia in HMAS MELBOURNE in 1956. The aircraft was
fitted with a Ghost 104 engine and
radar that enabled the observer to
locate a target passing in the front
sector of his aircraft. The observers
job was to verbally guide the pilot into
a position where the pilot could see
the target under all weather conditions, day and night. Although, when
all went well, the radar was magic in
its day, I understand that it is pretty
basic compared to todays equipment
whereby pilots pop off a missile at a
blip. We only had 20mm cannon thus
the pilot had to actually see the target
before shooting. The Sea Venom was a
good aircraft.
The characters in the story are
mostly confined to Sub Lieutenant
Brian A. Dutch and Lieutenant E.D.
(Sandy) Sandberg because some of
the other players are no longer with
us. I would like to begin by thanking
all the old 724 Squadron ground crew,
the NAS Nowra Air Traffic Control
staff and particularly all the Armourers and Safety Equipment Branch

sailors, without whose skills, this tale

would not be told by me.
Flying on the evening of 15th June
1960 began with a twilight takeoff for
Air Interception (AI) instruction. It
was the 20th time I had flown with
Brian, so we were pretty well used to
one another. I had a lot of confidence
in him and to my way of thinking in
those days, he was the better pilot on
his particular training course. As the
Senior Observer of the squadron, I
had the choice of pilots on a course
and checked all their logbooks before
selecting him. He was three years my
junior in age; he had been flying for
about 18 months and I for just on nine
years. I have flown with a lot of pilots,
in a lot of aircraft and I still rate Brian
as a good pilot.
This particular AI course was programmed to finish that night, so there
was pressure on us to get the appropriate number of exercises in
I dont recall how many, but something like three or four night interceptions would satisfy the syllabus. In
fact we flew three sorties that night to
get the required runs in.
A Naval Board of Inquiry was convened to determine the cause of the accident and several people on duty that
night gave their version of the event to
the Board but it was the pilot who naturally underwent the most questioning
and his version is the best account of
what actually happened. He informed
the Board that on returning from the
first detail of the night the conditions in
the circuit were slightly turbulent but
didnt worry him at all. The detail as a
whole was successful and the landing

uneventful. After refueling we took off

for the second detail in the same aircraft. But because the radar was unserviceable this time we returned to
change aircraft. We experienced very
severe wind gusts in the circuit area
this time. On one occasion the weather
sent us down 200 feet and then up 400
feet in a very short time. It was not a
very nice night.
Within half an hour we had
changed aircraft and were airborne
again. Shortly after take off Brian had
trouble with his oxygen equipment.
We stayed low until he sorted out the
problem. Fortunately this was not long
and we were soon chasing our target
(a Vampire flown by Lieutenant Rolley Waddell-Wood) all over me sky for
a successful mission. Now it was time
to return to base and have a couple
of beers to celebrate the completion of
yet another night fighter course. Below
3,000 feet near NOWRA the turbulence started again. In the circuit area
the pilot was doing those meaningful
little things that a pilot does when
coming into land. As I said earlier, I
had considerable confidence in Brians
ability as a pilot and I was not concerned in the circuit after all, there
was nothing I could do; flying the
aircraft was his part of ship!
On the run upwind at 900 feet
the turbulence was again quite severe. In fact we gained 100 feet on
the turn downwind and this was not
caused by bad flying. The airspeed
at this time was around 250 knots
decreasing to wheels down speed of
210 knots. I did my usual pre-landing
checks; there werent many but be-

cause of the turbulence my navigation

bag down by my right leg was bouncing around. I bent down to secure it.
While I was doing that I felt the bang.
I bolted upright! The windscreen was
opaque. My radar was on my lap I
pushed it back. Fortunately it stuck in
its cradle otherwise it ejected with me
or I left my legs behind at the kneecaps. I switched on my microphone
and shouted BIRDSTRIKE, EJECT,
EJECT!!
Naturally in a situation like this
nothing works as it should. Of course
the intercom was U/S. It says volumes
for my power of command that the
pilot heard me and responded in the
only way possible by ejecting the
canopy. Normally it was the Observers job to do that little chore but these
were not normal times. I dont know
where Brian got the extra hand from
to release the canopy but he did it. After all at that time he had the control
column back in his stomach getting
height and the throttle full on getting
power. I suppose it comes back to that
old adage If you want something done
in a hurry ask a busy man. As
soon as the canopy went, I went! No
good hanging around at that time. In
its normal flying position the Observers ejection seat is tilted slightly to the
rear. When the canopy is ejected the
seat springs forward to arm the ejection rocket. To fire the gun it is necessary to reach above the head and pull
down the D ring at the top of ne ejection seat. Attached to the D ring is a
felt and canvas hood that covers the
face to prevent injury to the head from
wind blast, flames or other nasties one

may meet on the way out.

I felt nothing of the bang one
would expect to feel in that portion
of the anatomy one would expect to
feel it. My first recollection was being
clear of the aircraft and a recognisable
moment when movement seemingly
stops. I was hanging in the air thinking Is this automatic thing going to
work auto-matically? Then the straps
holding me to the seat fell away. It felt
an eternity until that jolt that stopped
the fall and the parachute straps
uncomfortably tightened on my body. I
was hanging there. But I couldnt see
anything its all so black!
Most people that have been in a
life threatening situation will have
experienced the adrenaline that races
the mind. You think very fast indeed.
I was thinking very fast indeed as
I hung up there in the black but it
wasnt black for long. WHOOMPH!!!
The aircraft hits the ground, seemingly in front of me and explodes. Flames
shoot into the air and again I realised
that I was still airborne but this time
without that comforting shell of the
aircraft around me.
Night become day below me but
in front things are still black. Hell Im
blind! I felt for my eyes and instead
feel my helmet or more correctly, I feel
the D ring from the ejection seat is
still over my head. I throw this off but
its still dark. The visor on my bone
dome is down and the cloth cover is
on it. I push this back and low and behold there was light! Not any old light
though. Light that shows my partner
dangling like me but between me and
the flames from our downed aircraft.

Get out of there you bloody mug I yell

to him. I dont think he heard me but
right now I have more problems of my
own.
I realise I must be getting close to
the deck and I start to wonder about
landing. Like a flash those periods of
dummy parachute drill race out of my
mind. I cant think of a bleeding thing
to do. Do I put my feet to the left, to
the right cross them spread them or
what? I look down again and see Im
going to land in a gully. Whats more
that gully has steep sides and tree
stumps! Oh hell what the heck. Ill
withdraw my feet altogether and stick
them up around my neck somewhere
out of the way. Thus I landed on my
back somehow but at the time all I felt
was the exit of some wind (from the
mouth) and considerable jubilation at
still seemingly being in one piece.
Now to find that stupid pilot. Like
me he was approaching the deck fast
but his immediate concern was his
proximity to the burning aircraft. I
need not have worried because he
must have remembered his safety
equipment drills for he was not hurt
on landing. Before long we were reunited and became very happy indeed.
We were alive! We would fly again!
Meanwhile, back at the station
all hell was breaking loose. The Air
Traffic Control Staff had watched the
whole event, saw us eject and sounded the alarm. The Fire Tender boys
responded and raced to the scene. An
interesting side story here. I understand one of the drivers thought he
was driving a tank and did all sorts
of wonderful things on the way to the

crash site but Ill leave that one to the zon; his bank and turn indicator. He
crew to tell. We all know how dedicat- asked when he did this, when he did
ed these fellows were (and Ill bet, still that. He asked about his power setting
are). The duty chopper was scrambled and his dive brakes. He was quizzed
and the medics prepared for whatever on stalling speeds in certain configuremains they got. Generally everyrations, what G did he pull, how he
thing worked as it should. As soon as
was he flying at the time normal
the ambulance arrived they whipped
or pulling the aircraft in the turn,
us back to the Sick Bay (instead of
how the control surfaces were reactthe Wardroom!), checked we were still ing. Then came the point of impact
whole, put us in bed, shot us full of
questioning. What was your speed
morphine and left. Meanwhile, up
at the time the windshield shattered?
in the Wardroom a party was buildAround 210 Knots. At that time.were
ing up. We missed it but some kindly
you turning or had you straightened
soul did slip us a little, later on in the up? I was taking off bank, still turnevening.
ing. You were straightening up? Yes.
I am sure the reader will appreciSlightly port wing down, slightly nose
ate that most of the trees around NAS down. The crunch questions. Could
NOWRA are not very big for obviyou find the undercarriage lever withous reasons. The one we lopped was
out searching for it? Yes sir. You
33 feet at our point of impact. Relax
were on instruments all the way (in
Greenies, it was already dead before
the turn)? Yes sir. But yet you saw
we hit it.
no increase or loss of height either
The Martin Baker ejection seats
on the altimeter or the vertical speed
fitted to the Sea Venom were the best
indicator? asked Digger. To me, said
available at the time. The use-by label Brian, everything was in order as I
indicated that to work automatically
selected undercarriage down and it
the seat needed to be 200 feet from
was almost at the same instant that
the ground and have a forward motion we hit the gust and the windscreen
of 200 knots. That they worked in our shattered.
situation I thank Mr. Martin and Mr.
The score at this point was slightly
Baker and our squadron maintainers, in favour of the pilot. He had the anespecially the Armourers and Safety
swers. He answered truthfully.
Equipment lads.
The questioning returned to the
Now comes the Board of Inquiry:
instruments. Brian was asked about
Commander R.E. Digger BOURKE
his instrument hours and then about
RAN being the specialist aged aviator, the instruments performance at the
was the main inquisitor and a bloody
time of the turn downwind. What
thorough job he made of it too. He
was your height at this point (again)?
threw questions at Brian at a great
900 feet Did see any alteration
rate of knots. He asked about his airof the altimeter reading during the
speed his altimeter, his artificial hori- turn? No. Did the artificial horizon

indicate the aircraft was descending?

No Was the altimeter reading steady
or oscillating as the ASI was? It was
fairly steady. Was it steady during
the turn Yes sir. Was the needle of
the VSI steady during the turn? No
sir. Fluctuating quite a bit. Did you
read the fall of speed pretty accurately
between 250 and 210 knots? It was
impossible to get an accurate reading
as it was fluctuating over 20 knots.
It got to 210 and jumped to about
230 as I selected the undercarriage
lever. What was the altimeter reading when you selected undercarriage
down? 1,000 feet. After the first
impact you applied power. Did you get
any response from the engine and did
your controls respond satisfactorily to
any movement? The sensation I had
was of driving a car in mud and suddenly coming out onto good road. The
controls seemed to be operating correctly but I was getting a lot of control
changes as I was getting a lot of buffet. She was handling satisfactorily?
Yes. I was getting into the climb with
wings level.
The pressure eased the questions were answered satisfactorily and
the crew are alive. How come? Was it
an exemplary ejection because of the
drill between pilot and observer? Was
it because of briefings between the two
or was it squadron drills?
The pilot answered. We carry out
drills. On this occasion I couldnt contact my observer on the intercom so I
jettisoned the canopy to let him know
I had heard him shouting. So ended
the inquiry.
Firstly FOICEA (RADM George

OLDHAM) was not very amused and

had a few harsh words to threaten our
future with, but DAWOT (Director of
Air Warfare and Operational Training)
in Navy Office had a more moderate
view and, fortunately for Brian and
myself, his view prevailed. Naturally
we both incurred the displeasure of
the Naval Board.
Brian was informed that his actions were below the qualities expected and the Naval Board noted
with concern the lack of knowledge in
elementary parachute drill displayed
by the observer. To that I say Amen.
I was required to carry out dog watch
instruction in elementary parachute
drill for one week.
We were informed of these findings by a somewhat bemused Captain of HMAS ALBATROSS, (Captain
Tommy MORRISON.)
Hells Bells! We were alive and our
thanks still go to all those that made
that possible. Brian learnt to fly better
and I had dog watch instruction in elementary parachute drill. Fortunately I
have not had to use those skills again.
What happened after a short spell of
survivors leave? Well, it was back to
flying. Brian and I finished the course
proper and we continued to fly together until the end of that month. I was
posted (banished?) to 723 Squadron
and Sycamore helicopters on 25 July
1960 then back to Venoms in 1961
while Brian went on to bigger and better things elsewhere.
But that, as they say, is another
story for another day.
E.D. (Sandy) Sandberg