• RAAF Airman Aircrew ~ Simply The Best ....
  • Boeing Globemaster C17-A ~ 36 Squadron ....
  • Alenia Spartan C-27J ~ 35 Squadron ....
  • Airbus A330 ~ 33 Squadron ....
  • Boeing 707-338C ~ 33 Squadron ....
  • Boeing E-7A Hawkeye ~ 2 Squadron ....
  • Lockheed Hercules C-130J ~ 37 Squadron ....
  • Lockheed Hercules C-130H ~ 36 Squadron ....
  • Lockheed Hercules C-130E ~ 37 Squadron ....
  • Lockheed Hercules C-130A ~ 36 Squadron ....
  • Pacific Aerospace CT4 ~ 1 Flying Training School ....
  • Bombardia Challenger CL604 ~ 34 Squadron ....
  • Beechcraft King Air 350 ~ 32 Squadron ....
  • BAC1-11 ~ 34 Squadron ....
  • Boeing 737 ~ 34 Squadron ....
  • Bell Iroquois UH-1H ~ 9 Squadron ....
  • De Havilland Caribou DHC-4 ~ 38 Squadron ....
  • Boeing Chinook CH-47 ~ 12 Squadron ....
  • Lockheed Orion P3 ~ 11 Squadron ....
  • Sikorski Blackhawk UH-60 ~ 9 Squadron ....
  • Douglas DC3 ~ Aircraft Research and Development Unit ....
  • Pilatus PC9 ~ 2 Flying Training School ....
  • Aermacchi MB-326H ~ Roulettes ....

Vale - Gordon Dudley BUTTRISS GM 'Stinky', A21702, Crewman / Flight Engineer ....


 




Vietnam Service Record.

In 1962, prior to the the RAAF's acquisition of the Iroquois aircraft, Keith Wadling was the first airman to go to the USA for on-the-job training (OJT) with the US Navy and Army, and after his return to Australia, he trained Gordon 'Stinky' Buttriss, Ted Ramsay and Bill Boyd (Deceased).   No 1 Crewman Course was conducted in 1965.

The award of the George Medal to A21702 Sergeant Gordon Dudley Buttriss, of Sefton, NSW, was announced to his comrades in No 9 Squadron, at a parade in the squadron's hangar at Vung Tau airfield, Vietnam.

On 18 October 1966, a No 9 Squadron, Iroquois helicopter, A2-1018, was on a routine Army co-operation task named Operation Queanbeyan, when it crashed in difficult terrain on Nui Thi Vai Mountain, 12 miles north of Vung Tau, South Vietnam.   On impact the Iroquois burst into flames, burning slowly.   On board was 200 pounds of TNT and detonators, four crew members and two Army passengers.   Sergeant Buttriss, found himself unhurt after the crash and he quickly helped the two Army men, who both had broken legs, to safety.   The only other person remaining in the wreckage was the co-pilot, O33192 Flight Lieutenant Peter Montague Middleton DFC, US Air Medal, of Black Rock, Victoria.   The Iroquois had come to rest with a two foot tree between Flight Lieutenant Middleton's knees wedging him to the seat.   In spite of the burning aircraft and the danger of the TNT exploding, Sergeant Buttriss went to the aid of the co-pilot.   Having torn the door of the aircraft off, he was unable to move the seat back to free the co-pilot.   Australian troops had seen the crash and had fought their way through 300 yards of dense jungle to get to the wreckage.   Sergeant Buttriss and the troops tore away the twisted metal and were able to release Flight Lieutenant Middleton and take him to the shelter of nearby boulders.   The wreckage was then engulfed in flames and the fuel tanks exploded, igniting the TNT.

Sergeant Buttriss was awarded the George Medal (GM) on 16 February 1967 for his efforts.   Following the parade (photo above), Sergeant Buttriss (left) is being congratulated by O33113 Group Captain Peter Frank Raw, DFC, AFC, Polish Croix de Vaillants, (later awarded DSO) of Ipswich, Queensland, Officer Commanding RAAF component at Vung Tau (centre), and O33062 Wing Commander Roy Stewart Royston, of Canberra, ACT (right).