In April 1967, eight
Australian-built MK20s of the No. 2 Squadron arrived at Phan Rang AB South
Vietnam. The Seventh Air Force and No. 2 Squadron agreed that the
RAAF Canberra’s would mount eight sorties a day, seven days a week. The radio
call sign in Vietnam was "MAGPIE", from the squadron's crest.
Initially their assignment was night bombing under radar control from 20,000
feet. Most of the targets assigned to No. 2 Squadron were in the Mekong Delta
and the Australian crews quickly built up a reputation for pinpoint accuracy
using their WW2 vintage precision visual bombing equipment, even against targets
of opportunity. The success of the level bombing technique resulted in the RAAF
flying low altitude bombing missions. The result of these missions was described
as "magnificent". Indeed the troops on the ground appreciated
the Canberra, as it was the only aircraft that could bomb in level flight under
low cloud. Since the Canberra Mk.20
didn't have underwing hardpoints, the wing tip tanks were removed and replaced
with bomb racks to supplement the bomb bay load. Most of the targets weren't far
from Phan Rang AB so the extra fuel in the tip tanks was not needed.
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The RAAF lost
only two Canberras during 11963 sorties. On 14th March 1971, a Canberra
was shot down by a SAM missile, the crew being rescued the following day.
After this, the Seventh Air Force decreed that no aircraft could operate
in the northern part of South Vietnam unless they had adequate ECM
equipment. The first Canberra lost, however, occurred three and a half
years after the Canberras first arrived in theatre. On 3rd November 1970,
whilst on a Combat Sky Spot radar bombing misson near Da Nang, Magpie
91(the aircraft depicted in this article), flown by Flight Officer Michael
Herbert with Pilot Officer Robert Carver as bombardier, crashed after
making the bomb drop at 22 000ft. Pilot Officer Carver had
served for only eight weeks in Vietnam. Flying Officer Herbert, who had
qualified as a pilot at the age of 16, had only two months to go to finish
his tour. An extensive search followed but failed to find the crash site.
It wasn’t until April 2009 after an extensive search by the Army History
Unit that the wreckage was finally found.
No. 2 Squadron flew its last combat mission in Vietnam on 31 May 1971, Within a week the Canberras were refitted with their wing tip tanks and returned to RAAF Amberly via Darwin to become a reconnaissance and target towing squadron that would eventually be disbanded in 1982.
A strong point of agreement among American crews was that the No. 2 Squadron really knew how to party!
This model was built for James Potter who served with No. 2 Squadron during their time in Vietnam.
Mark Doherty
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