Through The Gap

Picture and story by

Bruce Adams

WE flew through almost dense cloud and all we could see were tower ing peaks above and surrounding mountains of central New Guinea, one of the most rugged countries in the world to fly through.

I was flying in a RAAF Caribou from Wewak to Port Moresby, a distance of roughly 460 statute miles.

At present the RAAF has two Caribou transport aircraft based in Papua-New Guinea. These two are detached from 38 Transport Squadron, Richmond. Their main job is to operate with the Pacific Islands Regi ment, transporting troops and materials throughout the territory.

Early one Sunday morning we took off from Wewak, the sky per fectly clear. The pilot, Flt.-Lt. Noel Bellamy, told me his main concern was not the weather at Wewak, but the cloud formation which could build up over the Owen Stanley Ranges. This had solved my question as to why we had to leave so early.

These build-ups usually occur late in the morning and most of the flying is then done “visual”.

There is a pilots’ saying in the territory: “Anyone flying through the cloud over the Owen Stanley Ranges has suicidal tendencies.”

I definitely didn’t have any suicidal tendencies!

Our cargo consisted of 30 mem bers of the Pacific Islands Regiment.

The other Caribou, piloted by Flt.- Lt. Jan Vandersteege and Pilot Officer Stuart Cooper, also had the same cargo.

Both aircraft took off and for some time we were flying over the thick jungle which covers the Sepik River.

The towering peaks of the Wahgi- Sepik Divide Ranges came into sight with practically no cloud over them.

We flew through valleys, looked up at towering mountain peaks, through small cloud patches—the pilots of both aircraft flying “visual” all the time. On our port wing we could see the tallest mountain in New Guinea, Mount Wilhelm, 14,793 ft high.

Mountain memorial

There is a tall cross erected on the peak, a memorial to the crew members of an American flying fortress who were killed outright when their aircraft crashed into the mountain at 13,000 ft during World War 11. Missionaries from nearby Keglsugl Mission erected the cross after they had made the arduous journey up the mountain to recover the bodies.

It didn’t make me feel any easier!

We were heading for one of the several gaps which cut through the range on the Central Highlands; this one was near Goroka.

As it came into sight, small patches of cloud were gathering around the area. We dived in and out of cloud, and at all times our eyes were on the sides of the mountains. If the cloud had built up any more it would make flying impossible. We would not have been able to enter the “Gap”.

Sometimes small towns, rivers and airfields have been misnlaced in map markings by up to 15 to 20 miles,

and then it’s easy for pilots to waste fuel looking for them, and get into trouble. Fuel dumps are few and far between, and there are not many safe places where you can set an aircraft down.

I saw wrecks of aircraft on mountain sides. I know that other areas are strewn with old aircraft wreckage. Proof enough of the con ditions in which civil and military pilots have to fly.

Our next job was to find the Gap near Kokoda, across the Owen Stanley Ranges, and this was more difficult to find than the one we had flown through at Goroka.

I looked back and could see tall cloud formations building up. We didn’t have much time; then we saw the Gap. There was a tight cloud level above it. We nosed around underneath to see if we could fly through at a lower altitude.

Towering peaks

Luck was with us—it was clear below. Once again we passed through towering peaks on both sides. It didn’t help to remember that this Kokoda Gap had claimed more than one aircraft. I took the unusual photograph opposite as we crossed the Owen Stanleys.

We were now less than 100 miles from Port Moresby. We had flown clear across New Guinea to the other side of Papua.

The flight had taken approximately three hours—three hours of gruelling, exacting “visual” flying, watching every small river, mountain range and peaks for map references.

Looking back it was great fun . . . especially if you are suicidally minded.