Operation Volcano

rS occupants of two Qantas aircraft flying over the Mt. Lamington area, Papua, about 10.40 a.m. on January 11, were eyewitnesses of the -explosion hat devastated the country and killed ,000 people.

One was a Dragon aircraft flown by first Officers Biddulph and Barlogie and arrying Administration personnel to *opendetta from Lae. Prom Popendetta he passengers expected to go by road o Higaturu. As they were taking photo :raphs of the steam and ash which had icen issuing from Mt. Lamington since he previous week, the whole mountain ide blasted out towards them, and pilots ■nd passengers watched while the town hip of Higaturu was enveloped with olcanic ash and pumice dust.

Therefore (we quote from the Qantas eport) . . . “As his trip was for the iiirpose of carrying the passengers for ligaturu to Popendetta and they had all een it just disappear, the passengers re vested Biddulph to return to Lae.”

At the same time—but obscured from hddulph by a layer of stratus cloud— /aptain Arthur Jacobson, commanding a £23, was flying from Port Moresby via he Gap to Rabaul, at 8,000 ft. A remendous explosion occurred below the loud, and volumes of jet black matter ose into the air only 10 miles away. He ook two pictures of it but, as the cloud ■Pproached at terrific force, he dived the >iane away from it at 215 miles an hour, le said that the apex of the explosion cached about 50,000 feet, and blanketed ■n area about 100 miles wide.

In the following days Qantas aircraft Lae flew 20,600 miles in and round the devastated area, and carried ne million pounds of loading.