AF 115: BUTTERWORTH AIR BASE: ITS HISTORY

CATATAN SEJARAH PANGKALAN UDARA BUTTERWORTH

Pangkalan Udara Butterworth, sebelum ini dipanggil TUDM Butterworth, dan sebelum itu adalah RAAF Base Butterworth.

Sepanjang perkhidmatanku dalam TUDM, sejak tahun 1981, aku tidak pernah berkhidmat di Pangkalan ini. Kali pertama aku menjejak kaki ke Pangkalan ini ialah dalam tahun 1983, untuk lawatan sambil belajar semasa aku mengikuti kursus Asas Pengurusan Pegawai Logistik (Apr 1983- Okt 1981).

Pintu Utama Pangkalan Udara Butterworth


Pesawat F5E: Mercu Tanda PU Butterworth

Pangkalan Udara Butterworth (IATA: BWH, ICAO: WMKB) adalah sebuah pangkalan udara utama milik Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia. Pangkalan ini terletak di bahagian utara bandar Butterworth. Di kalangan penduduk tempatan ia dipanggil sebagai “Matang Kucing” iaitu singkatan daripada nama Permatang Kucing, nama tempat asal sebelum dibangunkan pangkalan udara dan juga kadangkala dipanggil “Padang RAAF”.

Pangkalan Udara TUDM Butterworth kini menempatkan:

1.    No 3 Skuadron: Nuri S61A (melaksanakan fungsi Pusat Latihahn Taktikal dan Teknikal (PLTT) Helikopter.

2.    No 12 Skuadron: F5E/F5F/RF5E dibubarkan

3.    No 15 Skuadron: Hawk Mk208

4.    No 18 Skuadron: Pesawat Multi-role Combat Aircraft F/A-18D

5.    Skn 310 (Kawal dan Lapor)

6.    Terminal Peluru 2

7.    Institut Teknologi Senjata dan Bahan Letupan (ITSBL)

8.    Pusat Simulator Pesawat Pejuang

  

  

Di PU Butterworth juga menempatkan Markas atau Ibu Pejabat Integrated Air Defence System (IADS) di bawah Program Perjanjian Pertahanan Lima Negara atau Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA) yang terdiri dari Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Singapura dan Malaysia.

Sejarah

Sejarah Pangkalan Udara Butterworth bermula dalam tahun 1941 apabila Tentera Udara Diraja British (RAF) membuka sebuah pangkalan pembaikan pesawat. Tentera Udara Diraja Australia (RAAF) kemudian menggunakan pangkalan pembaikan ini sebagai penempatan pesawat peninjau menggunakan pesawat Brewster Buffalo.

Pada 7 Disember 1941, pangkalan ini digunakan oleh pasukan Berikat untuk menempatkan pesawat pengebom Blenheim milik RAF dan pesawat Brewster Buffalo milik RAAF. Dua hari kemudian, 9 Disember 1941 pangkalan ini diserang oleh pesawat udara Jepun. Kesemua pesawat pengebom jenis Bleinheim musnah. Pangkalan Udara Butterworth sendiri rosak teruk. Beberapa pesawat Brewster Buffalo dapat berlepas untuk memberikan tentangan tetapi tidak dapat bersaing dengan keupayaan pesawat juang tentera laut jenis Mitsubishi A6M Zero dan pesawat juang tentera darat Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa. Selepas ditawan Jepun, sebuah landasan dibina di arah timur-barat untuk kegunaan tentera udara Jepun. Landasan ini masih ada sekarang dan digunakan untuk memarkir kapal terbang.

Setelah Jepun menyerah diri, pangkalan Butterworth kembali digunakan oleh Tentera Udara Diraja British untuk mengisi minyak pesawat untuk perjalanan Singapura ke Sri Lanka. Semasa darurat, pangkalan udara Butterworth digunakan oleh 33 Skuadron RAF (dilengkapkan dengan Hawker Tempest) untuk menjalankan misi pengeboman dan serangan roket ke atas kubu dan kedudukan pengganas komunis. Operasi ini berterusan sehingga tahun 1955. Pesawat pengebom jenis Avro Lincoln milik RAAF juga ditempatkan di Butterworth bagi menjalankan misi pengeboman.

  

  

  

Pada tahun 1955, RAF menyerahkan pangkalan udara Butterworth kepada RAAF. Pangkalan Udara Butterworth dibina semula dengan belanja A$10 juta. Sebuah landasan dengan panjang 3,000 meter dibina dengan arah utara-selatan (landasan yang ada sekarang). Walaupun milik RAF, RAAF menggunakan Pangkalan Udara Butterworth untuk menempatkan 78 Fighter Wing terdiri dari 3 Skuadron dan 77 Skuadron dengan pesawat F-86 Sabre dan 2 Skuadron dengan pesawat pengebom English Electric Canberra. Semasa Konfrontasi Indonesia 1963-1966, pesawat Sabre dari 77 Skuadron RAAF selalu memintas pencerobohan oleh pesawat Mig-21 milik TNI-AU Indonesi

TUDM Butterworth

Pangkalan Udara Butterworth diserahkan kepada Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia pada 31 Mac 1970 sebagai memenuhi Persetujuan Dudley 1955. Oleh kerana TUDM masih belum mempunyai keupayaan tempur, Tentera Udara Diraja Australia masih diberikan tanggungjawab untuk memberikan perlindungan pertahanan udara. Oleh itu, 2 buah skuadron Dassault Mirage III RAAF ditempatkan di Butterworth.

TUDM Butterworth juga dijadikan ibu pejabat Sistem Pertahanan Kawasan Bersepadu (IADS) di bawah Perjanjian Pertahanan Lima Negara (FPDA) melibatkan Malaysia, Australia, Singapura, New Zealand dan United Kingdom.

Dalam tahun 1969, 11 Skuadron TUDM ditubuhkan menggunakan 12 pesawat F86 Avon Sabre yang didermakan Australia. Pada 1 Januari 1971, Pusat Pertahanan Udara TUDM menempatkan radar Marconi A600 di Butterworth, menggantikan unit radar RAF di Pulau Pinang. 3 Skuadron TUDM dengan helikopter S-61 Nuri juga ditempatkan di TUDM Butterworth.

Pada 31 Mei 1975, 12 Skuadron TUDM ditubuhkan dengan kelengkapan 16 buah pesawat pejuang supersonik jenis Northrop F5E. 11 Skuadron F86 (Sabre) dibubarkan dan ditubuhkan semula dalam tahun 1983 dengan pesawat peninjau RF-5E Tigereye. Dalam tahun 1986, 18 Skuadron TUDM ditubuhkan di Butterworth dengan 8 buah pesawat F-18D Hornet.

Kini TUDM Butterworth menjadi pangkalan udara utama untuk TUDM. Tetapi RAAF masih menempatkan satu skuadron sokongan untuk membolehkan penempatan pesawat-pesawat terbang dari RAAF untuk beroperasi di TUDM Butterworth. RAAF selalu menempatkan satu detasmen pesawat P-3C Orion di TUDM Butterworth. Pesawat F/A-18 Hornet RAAF juga selalu digilirkan penempatan di Butterworth.

Rujukan

Wikipedia.org



More Than an Air Force Station

Louise Goss-Custard

March, 2017

http://penangmonthly.com/article.aspx?pageid=1201&name=more_than_an_air_force_station

 

Flight line in the early 1960s at RAAF Butterworth

The RAAF base in Butterworth spawned a colourful community whose influences can still be felt today.

It was Australia’s biggest single engagement with Asia.

At one point in the 1970s there were thousands of Australians in Penang, but few here now know why they came in the first place, and what the handful of remaining Australians from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) are still doing here.

There are currently around 130 Australian service personnel stationed at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Butterworth. This base was officially opened in October 1941 as a Royal (British) Air Force (RAF) base – part of a belated attempt to defend Malaya from the Japanese during World War II.

The base then played an important role during the post-war Emergency period. RAF aircraft flew the jungle fort route from Butterworth to Kroh and Grik to help quell communist insurgents, and broadcast surrender terms to them. From the 1950s onwards, RAAF forces and forces from New Zealand became actively involved, and even as the Emergency waned, the perceived threat of a Communist resurgence elsewhere in South-East Asia prompted the British government to hand over the base at Butterworth to the RAAF on free loan in 1955.

From then onwards the work of patrolling and guarding the New Villages (designed to isolate rural residents from being influenced by the guerrillas), was largely undertaken by Australian troops. In addition, an Australian Airfield Construction Squadron was deployed that year to refurbish the facilities and prepare the base for jet operations. By May 1958 the runway, taxiways and fighter and bomber hardstands were all ready for operational use.

When the RAAF formally took control of the base at Butterworth on June 30, 1958 it became their first permanent major air base outside Australia. It also cemented a period of prosperity and vibrancy for Butterworth, as the RAAF personnel would come out to shop and spend at local businesses on their payday every fortnight. The troops affected the local community in many social and cultural ways When the RAAF formally took control of the base at Butterworth on June 30, 1958 it became their first permanent major air base outside Australia. It also cemented a period of prosperity and vibrancy for Butterworth, as the RAAF personnel would come out to shop and spend at local businesses on their payday every fortnight. The troops affected the local community in many social and cultural ways too: in 1958 their Theatre Club performed an Agatha Christie play; and in 1959, a wedding was reported between one of the service personnel and Penangite Miss Chong.

 

Guiding the jets.

The RAAF “adopted” a village called Bagan Belat, a few miles from their base, and in 1959 raised funds to repair a Malay widow’s dilapidated house. At Christmas the same year, airmen distributed gifts to 173 children of fishermen in the village; the residents of the adopted village in turn invited 20 RAAF airmen and their wives to a Hari Raya tea party in 1960.

But perhaps the broadest impact came with the launching of Radio RAAF Butterworth, which went on air for the first time on July 31, 1960. “This is Radio R double A FB!” was a well-known radio jingle to Penangites growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, who would look forward especially to Saturday nights when their song dedications might be played live on air. The announcers were all amateurs – mostly family members of the Australian servicemen – and the presentation could be amateurish, but the music repertoire was always bang up to date and exposed Penangites to international music and culture.

Life in Paradise

There were in fact two Australian communities in Penang: the one in Butterworth and another on the island in Tanjung Bungah; Australian-style houses were built for families here, and the service personnel commuted to Butterworth by ferry every day. It was in Tanjung Bungah that the first dedicated school for 600 children of RAAF personnel was opened in 1962 at Jalan Azyze at Hillside, on what had been a rubber plantation. Previously, children had been educated at leased buildings on Jalan Residensi, but with the burgeoning growth of the community, a purpose-built building had become essential.

The school was expanded several times, and in 1977 had reached a high point of 1,100 students and 50 teachers. It was unique – the only school for Australian children outside Australia, and the only international RAAF school in existence. And because RAAF personnel moved on every two to three years, the school suffered a regular 1005 turnover of its student body. The school would also enter pupils into local sporting competitions, and occasionally this resulted in young Australians winning national competitions.

Also in 1962, the RAAF Club was founded at 10, Jalan Tanjong Tokong, on premises that had previously served the British army. It provided 72 rooms available for accommodation for newly arrived families awaiting housing, and recreational, sporting and general meeting facilities. It housed a health centre, staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week; the chaplain’s office; a post office; shops including a milk bar, hairdresser, barber, dressmaker, gift shop and travel agent; a pay telephone; and a library. The main auditorium was used almost daily for events such as films, conferences, dances, dinners, parties and theatre group productions. Rooms were available for hobby groups such as macrame, handicrafts, weight watchers and keep-fit classes. Of course there were also bars, a restaurant and a wide range of facilities for sports such as badminton, tennis, basketball, boxing, volleyball, table tennis, darts and carpet bowls.

Butterworth Air Base.

Meanwhile at the base in Butterworth, people would congregate at the swimming pool, squash courts and the golf club. Butterworth also housed the main RAAF hospital, which local residents also had access to, and which at one point was delivering as many as 150 babies per year.

Unsurprisingly, personnel who came for their two- to three-year postings loved their time in Penang, and just about everyone wanted to be posted here. It was a job of course, but then when you went home at the end of the day it was like being on holiday. People didn’t want to leave, and in 1965 an unusually high 805 of servicemen at the base were married, because so many had got married just so they could take their fiancées or girlfriends with them to Penang.

Their standard of living was remarkably luxurious compared to back home. As one serviceman remarked of his stay in the 1960s: “I was 25 and a Flying Officer and we were put up in the Eastern and Oriental Hotel waiting for a married quarter, and then we were given a married quarter on the island, a huge two-storey place with about five or six bedrooms. Then of course we then went out and hired a cook and an amah.” Whether it was the exotic foreign location, the climate, the people, the different cultures or the shared sense of experience, everyone posted in Penang went home with great memories.

RAAF school

Call of Duty

In the 1960s the Butterworth base provided aircraft and maintenance personnel in support of deployments in Thailand, along with medical and transport support facilities during the Vietnam War. The RAAF No. 2 Squadron, based at Butterworth since 1958, joined the other Australian forces on active duty in Vietnam from 1967. But the base became especially crucial between 1963 and 1966 for both defensive and offensive operations during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation that stemmed from Indonesia’s opposition to the creation of Malaysia.

After the end of the Confrontation, the British government announced plans for the withdrawal of its forces from the east of Suez. In line with an earlier Anglo-Malayan agreement, ownership of the Butterworth base was transferred to the Malaysian government in 1970, but the RAAF was immediately given joint control over the base as part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), in which Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia agreed that in the event of any form of external armed attack or threat against Malaysia or Singapore they would consult each other about the response.

In 1971 the Headquarters of the Integrated Air Defence System (IADS) was formed at Butterworth with Australia providing its Commander. IADS assumed operational responsibility for the air defence of Malaysia and Singapore. It was intended to be a transitional arrangement, but was re-designated in 2001 as Headquarters Integrated "Area" Defence System. It now has personnel from all three branches of the armed services, and still co-ordinates the annual five-power naval and air exercises. The FPDA is the longest standing multilateral security arrangement in South-East Asia today.

Radio RAAF Butterworth

Fading Memories

The base reached its peak strength during the late 1970s, with 1,200 personnel, 3,500 dependents and 1,000 Malay, Indian and Chinese employees, but the Australian contingent was reduced considerably after June 30, 1988, when the airfield was handed over to the RMAF and renamed RMAF Station Butterworth. The school was closed, with remaining pupils sent to Uplands and St Christopher’s international schools, and the buildings at Hillside became the RMAF training facility and administration centre. The RAAF Club was also closed, and a new, much smaller RAAF Centre was established to cater for the reduced number of families. The former RAAF Club building was knocked down and today’s Precinct 10 shopping mall was built in its place.

With the number of Australians at a fraction of its previous level, there are few signs that Penang once welcomed those thousands of RAAF airmen and their families, with the exception of one of their favourite old haunts, the Hong Kong Bar on Lebuh Chulia. This bar proudly exhibits its past, with framed pictures of RAAF personnel and their families, and other RAAF plaques and mementos on the walls.

Sources

Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The Forgotten History of RAAF Butterworth Base, Malaysia. August 26, 2015. www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/overnights/theforgotten-history-of-raaf-butterworth-basemalaysia/7725114.

Australian High Commission Malaysia. “History of the Australia-Malaysia Defence Relationship.” Accessed December 19, 2016. Relationship.pdf Mok, Opalyn. “How the Royal Australian Air Force Transformed Butterworth Through Music.” Malay Mail Online. May 23, 2015. www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/how-the-royal-australian-air-force-transformed-butterworth-through-music “New Radio Station.” The Singapore Free Press. August 2, 1960.

Office of Air Force History. “Air Base Butterworth, Malaysia.” Oral History Program. Accessed December 21, 2016. http://airpower.airforce.gov.au/UploadedFiles/General/Snippet_9_LoRes.pdf

RAAF School Penang. Accessed December 20, 2016. http://www.raafschoolpenang.com. Various articles. The Straits Times. August 13, 1958, November 28, 1959, August 4, 1959, December 16, 1959, March 16, 1960, May 9, 1962, April 20, 1967, August 8, 1971.

....terima kasih Mej Roger Chia (Bersara), facebook EX RMAF, 31 Mac 2018.

How the Royal Australian Air Force Transformed Butterworth Through Music

BY OPALYN MOK

Saturday May 23, 2015

05:11 PM GMT+8

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/how-the-royal-australian-air-force-transformed-butterworth-through-music

  

  

The RAAF Butterworth Base Entrance (1960s -1970s)

“This is Radio R double A FB!” Now, that brings back memories… to Penangites who grew up in the 1970s.

In particular, they would look forward to Saturday nights when their song dedications were played throughout the night on Radio RAAF Butterworth.

The Australians took over the air base from the British in 1958 but the 1970s were really its golden years as its personnel and dependants grew to almost 5,000 people, all living around the state in Butterworth and also on the island.

Today, the RAAF base is the Royal Malaysia Air Force (RMAF) Butterworth base and the RAAF’s presence has dwindled to only about 150 personnel here.

According to RAAF Commanding Officer Paul Webb, many people, including younger Penangites, do not know about the history of the RAAF base.

“I believe those who are born after 1975 or after 1980 will not remember the significance of the RAAF base in Butterworth,” Webb said at a Penang Story talk on the brief history of the RAAF in Penang recently.

Soon the memory of the RAAF and its popular radio show will be but a distant memory of the older generation.

“There are no monuments, plaques or any signs that we were here and perhaps, in 20 years’ time… will people still remember that we were even here?” he asked.

The RAAF Butterworth was RAAF’s first permanent major air base outside of Australia at that time when it took control of the base on June 30, 1958.

The base provided aircraft and maintenance personnel in support of deployments and also provided medical and transport support facilities during the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

RAAF Air Vice Marshal William Henman said the base was also on alert to respond to any intrusions into Malaysian airspace and they carried out combat patrols near the border with Kalimantan, during a period of confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia (1963-1966).

“The RAAF base definitely had a very strong impact on Butterworth in the 1950s, it was probably the mover and shaker of the economy of Penang,” he said.

The base, located at Bagan Ajam in Butterworth, served to boost the local economy, giving rise to traders and shops that enjoyed the patronage of the RAAF personnel, said a historian and local resident Khor Sim Ee.

Khor, who lived in Bagan Ajam during that period, remembered clearly how vibrant the area was and how the RAAF personnel would come out to shop and spend on their payday every fortnight.

“My family used to have a shop here and we served many of the RAAF people at that time so I could say they left a huge impact on the community here and contributed immensely to the economy,” she said.

The RAAF base also had a hospital that helped many local residents while providing job opportunities to others.

The presence of the RAAF here in Penang was not only felt in Butterworth but also on the island, particularly in Tanjung Bungah, Tanjung Tokong and Batu Ferringhi where most of the RAAF airmen and their families lived.

Where the Radio RAAF Butterworth exposed Penangites to international music and culture, the Australian community living amongst Penangites also exposed them to a different culture.

Henman believed that there should be a lobby to document the impact of the RAAF on Butterworth and Penang at that time.

“It would be a good idea to have some sort of a museum on the RAAF base here and we would gladly co-operate with anyone who wants to undertake such a project with us,” he said.

Currently, there are no other signs that Penang used to have thousands of RAAF airmen and their families living here except for their old favourite haunt, Hong Kong Bar, along Chulia Street in George Town.

“Hong Kong Bar was a very popular spot so it was almost like a rite of passage for anyone newly posted here to visit the bar,” Webb said.

The bar still exists today and it is the only bar with framed pictures of RAAF airmen, personnel and their families along with various RAAF plaques and mementos.

The talk, jointly organised by Think City Sdn Bhd and Penang Heritage Trust, is part of the Penang Story lectures that will now focus on the history of the mainland side of Penang.

A History of Butterworth Airbase, Malaysia: 3 Squadron’s Home from the 1950s to the 80s

As described by Squadron Leader Tony Fairbairn 

(in his book "ACTION STATIONS")

http://www.3squadron.org.au/subpages/butterworth.htm

3 Squadron Sabres on the taxi-way at Butterworth, late 1950s

In December 1941, British airfields in Northern Malaya came under heavy Japanese air attack and the situation was becoming desperate.  By the 8th of December, the airfields of Singora and Patani, just over the border in Thailand, were in enemy hands and an Allied attack on them was essential if the Japanese raids originating from them were to be stemmed. 

Accordingly, on 9 December, the remaining machines from two badly-depleted Blenheim squadrons, No.s 34 and 62, attempted two counter-attacks.  The first mission was successful, but just before the second could be launched, Japanese bombers arrived overhead as the Blenheims were preparing to take off.  Only one Blenheim, piloted by Flight Lieutenant A. S. K. Scarf, was able to leave the ground.

Undaunted by the vulnerability of his solitary aircraft, Scarf headed for his target, the airfield at Singora.  There, despite being attacked by fighters, he dropped his bombs, but was hit in the back and left arm and mortally wounded.  Struggling to maintain consciousness, he turned back to the Malayan border and although now very weak from loss of blood, he managed to put the Blenheim down in a padi-field near Alor Star.  His navigator was unhurt but Scarf himself died that night from his wounds.  His actions were recognized five years later in the award of the Victoria Cross, Malaya's first.

The airfield from which Scarf had struggled into the air was Butterworth, situated at the northern end of Malaya's west coast.  Opening in October 1941, the Station was still under "Care and Maintenance" when Japanese air raids began unexpectedly in December.   It was to this somewhat inadequate environment that a number of flying units were sent to consolidate during December, including No.s 27, 34 and 62 Sqns (all Blenheims), together with the Brewster Buffalo fighters of 21 Sqn, RAAF.  Later in the day of Scarf's fateful mission, the Station suffered yet another low-level attack, in which aircraft on the ground were picked off one by one.  Some RAAF Buffaloes were in the air and tried to intercept, but they were an inadequate match for the Japanese fighters and two were shot down, other Buffaloes were destroyed or disabled by Japanese ground-strafing.  So bad was the destruction that 62 Sqn, with only two serviceable Blenheims, was withdrawn to Taiping while RAAF 21 Sqn's six remaining marginally-effective Buffaloes retreated to Ipoh.  No.27 Sqn, a Blenheim night-fighter unit, had no machines to send anywhere.

 

Wrecked Brewster Buffaloes

After the war in the Pacific, the Station re-formed in January 1946 and for six months was the HQ for 231 Air Sea Rescue Unit, whose motor-launches carried out anti-smuggling patrols in local waters.  Another arrival at the beginning of the year was 47 Sqn whose period of tenure, with Mosquito FBVIs, was even shorter.  Later in the year it was announced that the future role of the Station, which was already handling transiting Yorks, Expediters, Mosquitoes, Spitfires, Beaufighters, Mitchells and Dakotas, would be that of a permanent staging post and heavy bomber airfield. Accordingly, a York of 511 Sqn from the UK arrived in October to carry out take-off tests.  By the end of 1946, No.1300 Meteorological Flight was established for daily PAMPA weather sorties.  Lack of wood for repairs grounded the Mosquitoes for a long time, and training sorties in the Flight's Harvard were all that could be managed.

By March 1947 some civilian traffic was being handled; an Airspeed Consul of Malayan Airways made several visits while surveying proposed air routes, and other callers included South Eastern Airways and Orient Airways Vickers Viking G-AJJN, passed through on a test flight to New Zealand in April, while in May, RN Seafires and Fireflies disembarked from HMS Theseus for local flying.  Equipped with Beaufighters and Harvards, No.27 Armament Practice Camp was established here in early 1949 as a training facility for FEAF's front- line squadrons.

Although the Malayan Emergency had begun in mid-1948, Butterworth did not become heavily involved until the spring of 1950, when it began hosting detachments of fighters and light bombers needed to provide air support in Northern Malaya.  One of the first such units to be taken on strength was 33 Sqn (in May) with Tempest F2s, which carried out rocket attacks on bandit positions.  By early 1951 the poor serviceability of the Tempests, the last in RAF service, led to their replacement by De Havilland Hornets.  During the first week of Operation Sword (which lasted from July 1953 to March 1954), the Hornets took part in attacks on known terrorist camps in Malaya.  Since Butterworth was only 30 miles away, 33 Sqn was able to put its Hornets over the target area continually during daylight.  In 1954, as part of Operation Eclipse, the Hornets struck at targets pinpointed by Austers.  In addition to Beaufighters, Brigands and Vampires, the Station also handled Yorks, Dakotas, Austers, and the occasional Lincoln from Singapore.  Operating alongside these regular forces was the Penang Squadron of the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force which, with Tiger Moths, Harvards and later Chipmunks, mounted low-level reconnaissance sorties over a seven-year period beginning in 1950.

The succession of detachments reached a milestone in February 1955 with the arrival of four Canberra B6s of No.101 Sqn from the UK, the first RAF jet bomber squadron to fly on war operations.  No.101 was succeeded by Canberra detachments from No.617, 12, and 9 Sqns, which in effect replaced the earlier Lincoln detachments at Tengah.

On the last day of March 1955, 33 Sqn amalgamated with another Far East Hornet squadron, No 45 at Tengah, under the latter's numberplate and based at Butterworth.  However, the Squadron soon began retraining on the jet Vampire prior to re-equipping with Venoms in October, when it also moved to Hong Kong.  The Hornets were flown to Seletar for scrapping, but sadly not before two had collided and crashed into a padi-field within sight of Butterworth.

In a changing political and military scene, Butterworth was handed over on 1 July 1958 to the RAAF which had plans to use it as the base for a fighter and bomber Wing under the build-up of the Commonwealth Strategic Reserve in Malaya.  No.2 and No.3 Sqns (Canberras and Sabres respectively) of the RAAF arrived in November, joining small, periodic detachments of RAF Bomber Command Valiants.  A further RAAF Sabre squadron, No.77, was added in 1959, intended but not needed for the Firedog [anti-insurgency] campaign, which was drawing to a close.  

Although the airfield was now under RAAF ownership, RAF units continued to be based here.  No.110 Sqn with Sycamore and Whirlwind helicopters moved in during September 1959, tasked with resupplying forward positions and casualty evacuation, finally departing for Seletar in 1964, while in 1960 it became home for 52 Sqn's Valettas, which remained until April 1966.  The late 1950s and 1960s also saw many Bomber Command Vulcan detachments from the UK mounted in response to both Firedog (Vulcan B Is) and the later Indonesian Confrontation (Vulcan B2s).  Later still it was used by the RAAF's No.3 and 75 Sqns on Mirage IIIs in the fighter/ground attack role, together with Dakotas of 38 Sqn on search and rescue and utility work.

Rock n’ Roll and the first Radio RAAF Butterworth

09 December 2009 by Pen Roberts

 https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/rock-n-roll-and-the-first-radio-raaf-butterworth-malaysia

“’Rock Around the Clock’ took the place by storm,” recalls Doug Lewin. “People in Butterworth and Penang loved it.”

This was 1956 and the global hit by “Bill Haley and the Comets” was broadcast through a small radio station set up by the men of RAAF No. 2 Construction Squadron at Butterworth in Malaysia. The squadron was there to construct an airfield strip in Butterworth for the British during the Malayan Emergency. They were housed in a camp of Attap huts next to the construction site, and rock was sourced from a quarry about 5 miles away.

Corporal Doug Lewin in the No. 2 Construction Squadron workshop in Butterworth. Next to him is a D7 tractor, that he was repairing. (Photo courtesy of D Lewin.)Left: the Attap huts. Right: Inside shot of one of the huts with Corporal Doug Lewin leaning on a table. (Photos courtesy of D Lewin.)

Corporal Doug Lewin was working as an engineer with the Squadron. At the time the American Forces Radio network was broadcasting contemporary music from Guam, but this was restricted to short wave radio and not everyone had this. The idea to broadcast music for the unit came about through a discussion on recreational pursuits to break up the regime of work and sleep.

“We were in the canteen one night and we agreed that background music would be a good idea. As there were 14 sleeping huts each with 6 rooms, we were faced with a potential situation of many different types of music competing from the different huts. After careful consideration and several more beers it was agreed that the Tannoy system would be the best way to provide background music for the Unit.”

The Tannoy system was an internal loudspeaker system working throughout the RAF and RAAF bases at Butterworth, controlled by the British security radio network. When the men linked their turntables and amplifiers into the system, they had no idea they were broadcasting to the whole network. British security tracked down the music and demanded that they cease, but by then the 24 hour music had become a hit.

“Our music broadcasting had become so popular that even the locals came to the security fence to listen. When the music ceased, loud were the complaints from both within and outside the Base and surrounds. Such was the discontent that it was decided to build a low powered radio station and continue with the 24 hour music. This was done and Radio RAAF Butterworth (RRB) was born.”

Anyone not on a work shift could help with the broadcasting.  Jazz was also popular. A range of music was played although a classical programme did not last long. The first records were those donated by the unit personnel.

“Our records came from Australia. We asked the local Penang record store, and they made enquiries through Singapore for us. The latest music from America started coming into Penang and it wasn’t just the Australians buying it. The locals bought the music as well.”

As the work of the squadron continued, RRB acquired a new listener. This was a tiger that wandered into the unit’s quarry site one night and disrupted proceedings. Although his visit was short, the broadcast music obviously proved irresistible and his footprints were occasionally detected in the nearby dust.

Although the latest music was becoming popular with the locals, their community leaders still considered it “decadent western stuff”, and the Australian authorities didn’t want to offend them given the fragile political situation. RRB functioned unofficially. And this probably explains why most histories give a date of around 1960 for the first broadcasts of the station. By then Independence had been declared and the Malaysian government was forming a new relationship with the Australian government. The other reason could be that people have just forgotten this early RRB history.

Back in 1958, No. 2 Construction Squadron completed the airstrip 2 years ahead of time and well under budget to the amazement of the British government.  With their work finished, the unit returned to Australia, and Lewin remembers the smooth sounds of Sinatra then filling the RRB airwaves.

Those old 33 1/3 records bought in Penang are now stored on a farm in the Lismore area together with tractor equipment.

We would like to thank Doug for sharing this history with us. If you have any memories of RAAF Radio Butterworth in the 1950s we would like to hear from you.

RAAF Base at Butterworth’s Historic and Supportive Role

Ben Morais: April 7, 2017 

https://benmorais.wordpress.com/2017/04/07/raaf-base-at-butterworths-historic-and-supportive-role/

Lest We Easily Forget

Many young Malaysians may be unaware of the important and defining role played by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and its gallant airmen in Malaya, and later, Malaysia. When we progress as a nation and a people, it is always ever so crucial to know who were there to support and defend us when danger loomed on the horizon. In that respect, Malaysians should never forget the valuable services and sacrifices of the RAAF and its brave airmen.

What is the background to the involvement of the RAAF in this part of the world?

Only One Permanent Base Overseas

It is most interesting to know that the RAAF had an association stretching back to 1941! The RAAF Base in Butterworth was then used for care and maintenance purposes. The RAAF at some point during that period was the fourth largest air force in the world. Although the RAAF had some units based overseas, it had only one permanent base outside of Australia.

Butterworth in North Seberang Perai ( formerly known as Province Wellesley ) and within the state of Penang was chosen as the site for the RAAF Base. Although it was initially under the British, it was handed over to the Australians who managed the base. Later on, after we gained independence as a nation in 1957, it was technically jointly managed by both the RAAF and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).

Butterworth had a population of some 11,000 residents in 1910, and a century later, its population swelled to some 800,000 plus residents.

Commonwealth Strategic Reserve

In the mid-1950s, Britain, Australia and New Zealand agreed to set up a Commonwealth Strategic Reserve in Malaya. The primary purpose of this Strategic Reserve was for countering a growing and menacing Communist threat in South East Asia. The prevailing theory pedalled at that time was the Domino Effect.  It was the assumption, for instance, that if Thailand fell, then soon Malaysia and Singapore too would fall to the Communists.

Initially, the RAAF Base in Butterworth had two squadrons of Sabre jet fighters, a squadron of Canberra tactical bombers and reconnaissance aircraft and a flight of Dakota transport aircraft. The RAAF Base commenced operations in June 1958.

At its peak strength during the 1970s, it had 1200 Australian personnel together with their families living on the island of Penang as well as in Butterworth. The RAAF Base, in addition, also employed another 1000 local Malay, Chinese and Indian support staff.

Extended Support during the Vietnam War

Unknown to most Malaysians at that time, the RAAF Base in Butterworth played a behind the scenes role in supporting a squadron that was deployed to Ubon, Thailand. The squadron played a pivotal role there along with medical and transport facilities during the Vietnam War.

Some senior citizens may well remember Harold Holt, the Australian prime minister at that time. Harold Holt gave tremendous, unstinting support to Lyndon Baines Johnson during the Vietnam War. Lyndon Johnson was then president of the United States.  What was Harold Holt’s infamous quote: ‘ All the way with LBJ ‘. Harold Holt later disappeared mysteriously when he went for a routine swim at a beach. His body was never found.

Crucial Role in Defending Malaysia

When Malaysia was formed with the merger of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak, the then fiery Indonesian president, made his displeasure and opposition to the idea publicly known. President Sukarno announced a Crush Malaysia campaign and proclaimed a period of Confrontation.

It was certainly a tense period for the new nation and things got much worse when over 100 plus Indonesian paratroopers were dropped into the state of Johor at the southern tip of peninsula Malaya. Thankfully, they were quickly rounded up.

The base, as such, was especially crucial between 1963 and 1966 during the period of Confrontation. The RAAF Base in Butterworth became the headquarters of the Integrated Air Defence System under the Five Power Defence Agreement. Its main role was to provide air defence for Singapore and Malaysia.

Australia’s Single Biggest Engagement with Asia

The RAAF Base in Butterworth was, without doubt, Australia’s single biggest engagement with Asia. Most young Malaysians may not know about this chapter in our infancy as a nation. But they should know and appreciate it because it is easy to gloss over, pretend otherwise and forget such matters.

The RAAF Base in Butterworth existed from 1955 to 1988. During that thirty-three year period over 50,000 Australians were based there together with their families.

It was Australia’s single biggest engagement with Asia.

Integrated Well with the Local Population

To their credit, the Australian airmen and their families integrated very well with Malaysians of all walks of life. I remember meeting a few of them in the mid-sixties mainly at social gatherings in Penang while I was training to be a certified teacher at St Joseph’s Training College ( STJC ), a La Salle institution in Pulau Tikus, Penang.

They were humble, friendly, socially adept and helpful. In that process, these Australians contributed to the rich, local social fabric of Penang society at that time.  To add to that unique cultural melting pot, we also had a steady infusion of lovely, young and fashionable Thai lasses from Bangkok and Phuket who trooped to Penang for classes in typewriting, stenography and secretarial studies.

George Town, Penang and Adelaide, South Australia: Sister Cities

Australia became increasingly connected to Asia and particularly to Penang and Malaysia I believe, to a great measure, because of their presence and contribution through the RAAF for over those thirty-three years.

It is still quite common to see many Australian families holidaying in Penang. For some, it is like a yearly pilgrimage to Shangri La, both literally and otherwise. For good measure, there are three well-known high-class Shangri-La hotel properties in Penang, two in Batu Feringgi and one in George Town.

In February 1973, the city of Adelaide, on the advice of the charismatic and forward thinking Don Dunstan (then premier of South Australia) proposed the establishment of a sister city (or twin cities) relationship with George Town, Penang.  Don Dunstan, you may be interested to know, actually married a Malaysian journalist named Adele Koh who hailed from Penang.

In December the same year, Dr Lim Chong Eu, a long-serving chief minister of Penang signed a sealed scroll attesting to this sister city arrangement. The sister city relationship has resulted in many enjoyable yearly programmes being hosted in both cities much to the satisfaction of the citizens.

Social History of RAAF Butterworth Base:

Kampong Australia

by Dr. Mathew Radcliffe recently completed a fascinating social history of the RAAF Butterworth Base.

I am no historian but if what little I have shared has whetted your appetite for more on this unique history and contribution, do get his book, ‘Kampong Australia‘ which was published recently. (Read the Sydney Morning Herald review of the book).

Mathew was incidentally born at the RAAF Base in Butterworth and served in the RAAF for seven years.

He later went to university and completed a BA majoring in history before earning a Ph.D from Macquarie University.

About The Book

The Royal Australian Air Force base at Butterworth was Australia's largest and most enduring overseas military garrison in post-war Southeast Asia.

Home to the majority of Australian airpower for over three decades, Butterworth was also home to a vibrant Australian community. From 1955 until 1988, spanning the end of the British Empire and the start of the Cold War through to real engagement with Asia, more than 50,000 Australian servicemen and their families rotated through the Penang region of Malaysia for two-year tours of duty. These men, women and children lived full lives during their deployment, a bastion of Australianness in the midst of Malays, Chinese and Indians.

Kampong Australia explores the complex political genesis of the RAAF presence at Butterworth and shows what everyday life on and around the base was like. It charts the official policies and practices that framed the Australian encounter with the people and places of Penang, drawing on the recollections of those who were there.

This evocative and - at times personal - book shines a light on the complex, uneven and dynamic history of the Australian military presence in northern Malaysia and shows what it was like to be there.

About the Author

Mathew Radcliffe was born at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base at Butterworth in northern Malaysia. After serving in the RAAF for seven years as an Engineering Officer, he completed a BA at UNSW majoring in history and a PhD at Macquarie University before writing this history of the social and cultural history of the RAAF at Butterworth. This is his first book.