Doing It The Aussie Way

The rescure of Wallaby 164 by Wing Commander J. Staaf, Commanding Officer, No. 35 Squadron.

Caribou 164, call sign “Wallaby 164”, crashed during take-off at Eliptamin Airfield Papua New Guinea on October 2 1978.

Prior to the crash, the aircraft had been engaged in a routine exercise with other Caribou and Iroquois of No 35 squadron Townsville. Eliptamin is situated in the rugged Central Ranges 140nm inland from Wewak on the North Coast of the PNG mainland. The engineering assessment revealed that damage to the aircraft structure was indeed quite minimal, so as such, repair of the aircraft was a viable proposition.

However, the remote location of Eliptamin and the nature of the terrain precluded repair of the aircraft in this situation. The salvage operation which was subsequently mounted, turned out to the one of the most difficult undertaken by the RAAF since World War Two. For the operation to be deemed an economic success the aircraft had to reach the overhaul facility 1000 miles to the South with minimum secondary damage.

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