Vietnam: New clues to Australian airmen mystery

CANBERRA – As Australia prepares to observe Anzac Day, RAAF investigators in dense forest near the Laotian border have found the wreckage of the Canberra bomber flown by the nation's final two men missing in the Vietnam War.

Flying Officer Michael Herbert and Pilot Officer Robert Carver vanished in bad weather as they flew back to their base at Phan Rang, about 260km northeast of Saigon, after a night-time bombing mission.

No trace was ever found of the aircraft and the cause of the crash remains a mystery.

But last week an Air Force team reached the wreckage of the Australian-built Mk 2 bomber after an investigation that involved historians, computer modelling, interviews with villagers and former enemies, and an exhausting trek through the jungle.

The remains of the airmen have not so far been found, but personal items have been recovered and Defence Science and Personnel Minister Warren Snowdon said the next step would be a thorough archaeological dig at the site.

Herbert had almost finished his tour when he lifted off from the vast United States Air Force base at Phan Rang on the night of November 3, 1970, in Canberra A84-231. Carver, his navigator and bomb-aimer, had been in Vietnam for only two months.

Their unit, No. 2 Squadron, had been at war since April 1967, flying eight missions a day, seven days a week, bombing targets in the northern demilitarised zone, along the border between North and South Vietnam, and in the Mekong Delta.

It had built a formidable reputation, being described as an "elite squadron" by US Vietnam commander General William Westmoreland, and accounting for 16 per cent of the assessed damage wrought by the USAF's 35th tactical fighter wing, to which it was attached - despite flying only 5 per cent of its missions.

Herbert and Carver flew what was known as a sky spot operation, guided by radar to a target north of Da Nang and told when to release their bombs, and were returning when the aircraft vanished from radar screens.

The squadron cancelled all missions the next day and, with American aircraft, vainly searched more than 16,000 sq km in a bid to find the lost bomber.

Speculation about the cause of the crash has ranged from a surface-to-air missile to a possible mishap with the Canberra's own munitions.

Investigators hope they may now be able to recover the airmen's remains and solve the mystery.

Helped by the Army history unit, a surviving voice recording of the crew, and scrutiny of records of radar tracking, wind direction and strength and the bomber's speed and direction, the Defence Science and Technology Organisation used computer models to identify the likely crash area.

The Air Force team spent a week in the remote and rugged jungle of Quang Nam Province before arriving at the site on Wednesday last week.

"Invaluable assistance has been given by a number of former North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers and their commanders as well as many local villagers, and their compassion and commitment is humbling," Snowdon said.

"While no human remains were found, a number of military artefacts have been discovered, including a club badge which was unique to the RAAF's No. 2 Squadron. "These brave airmen gave their lives in the service of the nation, and locating the crash site is an important step in accounting for them."