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Vance Drummond
Vance Drummond, DFC, AFC (22 February 1927 – 17 May 1967) was a New Zealand–born Australian pilot who fought in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He initially saw service in the New Zealand military, but joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1949 and graduated as a sergeant pilot in 1951. Posted to No. 77 Squadron in Korea, he flew Gloster Meteor jet fighters and earned the US Air Medal for his combat skills. He was shot down by a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 in December 1951 and imprisoned for almost two years. After returning to Australia he converted to CAC Sabre jets and in December 1961 became a flight commander with No. 75 Squadron; he subsequently led the squadron's Black Diamonds aerobatic team, and was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1965.
Drummond was promoted to acting wing commander in December 1965 and posted to South Vietnam on staff duties with the United States Air Force. He joined the US Air Force's 19th Tactical Air Support Squadron, operating Cessna Bird Dog aircraft, as a forward air controller in July 1966. That month he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in rescuing a company of soldiers surrounded by Viet Cong forces. In October he was awarded the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star. Drummond took command of No. 3 Squadron, flying Dassault Mirage IIIO supersonic fighters out of Williamtown, New South Wales, in February 1967. His Mirage crashed into the sea during a training exercise on 17 May; neither Drummond nor the plane was found.
The third child of Leonard Henry Vance Drummond and his wife Dorothy Josephine May, née McKnight, Vance Drummond was born on 22 February 1927 in Hamilton, New Zealand. He had three brothers and two sisters. His education, in Hamilton and Te Awamutu, was cut short so he could farm with his father. Drummond enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in May 1944 and trained as a navigator; he graduated in September 1945 and was discharged with the rank of sergeant in October. He joined the New Zealand Military Forces in March 1946 and by July was serving with J Force, New Zealand's contribution to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan.
Returning to New Zealand in October 1948, Drummond tried to transfer to the RNZAF as a trainee pilot but was considered too old; he successfully applied to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and enlisted in August 1949. His brother Frederick Agnew Vance Drummond (1921–1941) had died on active service with the RAAF during World War II.
On 23 October 1950, while a student with No. 1 Flying Training School in Point Cook, Victoria, Drummond ditched his CAC Wirraway into Lake Corangamite during a low-level exercise. He was at an altitude of 200 feet (60 m) when he went to adjust his compass and accidentally knocked his control column forward, causing the Wirraway to dip and strike the water. Drummond remained with the floating plane for two hours before being rescued by boat. The RAAF investigation found that although Drummond was technically at fault, the "glassy" surface of the water and the awkward position of the compass in the Wirraway were the prime causes of his "aquatic adventure". He was considered an above-average student and was not disciplined for his lapse.
After graduating first in his class in February 1951, Drummond was posted to No. 78 (Fighter) Wing as a sergeant pilot. The wing operated North American P-51 Mustangs and De Havilland Vampires out of Williamtown, New South Wales. In August, Drummond was posted to No. 77 Squadron, based at Kimpo, South Korea. The squadron had gone into action a week after the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 and had recently converted from Mustangs to Gloster Meteor jet fighters. North Korea's Chinese allies operated a Russian-built swept-wing jet, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, that outclassed all other fighters in the theatre except the new North American F-86 Sabre. The MiGs were often flown by seasoned Soviet air force pilots, whose deployment was unofficial, and denied at the time by the Soviet Union. In its first months operating the Meteor, No. 77 Squadron conducted offensive sweeps up the Yalu River with USAF Sabres, bomber escort missions, and combat air patrols.
Drummond was recommended for the US Air Medal for "courage, aggressiveness, tactical skill and devotion" in operations from 1 September to 28 October 1951. He was commissioned as a probationary pilot officer on 30 November. On 1 December, he was among a formation of twelve Meteors attacked by a superior force of Soviet-piloted MiGs; three Meteors, including Drummond's, were shot down. He ejected but was captured by the North Koreans and incarcerated in a prisoner-of-war camp. Drummond and four other prisoners broke out of the camp in April 1952 but were recaptured after two days. The North Koreans beat Drummond and another escapee, and put all five on trial; Drummond was sentenced to a month in confinement. He was promoted to flying officer on 30 November. An armistice ended the fighting on 27 July 1953, but prisoner exchange stretched over several weeks. Drummond was released on 1 September and repatriated to Australia shortly afterwards. His award of the US Air Medal was confirmed on 30 October 1953 and promulgated in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 5 November.
After returning to Australia, Drummond undertook No. 8 Advanced Navigation Course. In April 1954 he was one of six navigators who made a graduation flight from East Sale in Victoria—home of the RAAF School of Air Navigation—to New Zealand in Avro Lincoln bombers. He was then posted for flying duties with No. 2 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at Williamtown, where he completed No. 3 Fighter Combat Instructors Course. Drummond was a founding member of the Sabre Trials Flight, established in November 1954 as part of No. 2 OTU under Wing Commander Dick Cresswell, former commanding officer of No. 77 Squadron in Korea. The CAC Sabre was the RAAF's first swept-wing, transonic aircraft; belonging to the Trials Flight was, according to the official history of the post-war RAAF, "the Air Force's ultimate status symbol". Drummond was promoted to flight lieutenant on 30 May 1955. On 9 September, he married Margaret Buckham, a law clerk, in St Peter's Anglican Church, Newcastle; the couple had a son.
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Vance Drummond
Vance Drummond, DFC, AFC (22 February 1927 – 17 May 1967) was a New Zealand–born Australian pilot who fought in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He initially saw service in the New Zealand military, but joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1949 and graduated as a sergeant pilot in 1951. Posted to No. 77 Squadron in Korea, he flew Gloster Meteor jet fighters and earned the US Air Medal for his combat skills. He was shot down by a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 in December 1951 and imprisoned for almost two years. After returning to Australia he converted to CAC Sabre jets and in December 1961 became a flight commander with No. 75 Squadron; he subsequently led the squadron's Black Diamonds aerobatic team, and was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1965.
Drummond was promoted to acting wing commander in December 1965 and posted to South Vietnam on staff duties with the United States Air Force. He joined the US Air Force's 19th Tactical Air Support Squadron, operating Cessna Bird Dog aircraft, as a forward air controller in July 1966. That month he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in rescuing a company of soldiers surrounded by Viet Cong forces. In October he was awarded the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star. Drummond took command of No. 3 Squadron, flying Dassault Mirage IIIO supersonic fighters out of Williamtown, New South Wales, in February 1967. His Mirage crashed into the sea during a training exercise on 17 May; neither Drummond nor the plane was found.
The third child of Leonard Henry Vance Drummond and his wife Dorothy Josephine May, née McKnight, Vance Drummond was born on 22 February 1927 in Hamilton, New Zealand. He had three brothers and two sisters. His education, in Hamilton and Te Awamutu, was cut short so he could farm with his father. Drummond enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in May 1944 and trained as a navigator; he graduated in September 1945 and was discharged with the rank of sergeant in October. He joined the New Zealand Military Forces in March 1946 and by July was serving with J Force, New Zealand's contribution to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan.
Returning to New Zealand in October 1948, Drummond tried to transfer to the RNZAF as a trainee pilot but was considered too old; he successfully applied to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and enlisted in August 1949. His brother Frederick Agnew Vance Drummond (1921–1941) had died on active service with the RAAF during World War II.
On 23 October 1950, while a student with No. 1 Flying Training School in Point Cook, Victoria, Drummond ditched his CAC Wirraway into Lake Corangamite during a low-level exercise. He was at an altitude of 200 feet (60 m) when he went to adjust his compass and accidentally knocked his control column forward, causing the Wirraway to dip and strike the water. Drummond remained with the floating plane for two hours before being rescued by boat. The RAAF investigation found that although Drummond was technically at fault, the "glassy" surface of the water and the awkward position of the compass in the Wirraway were the prime causes of his "aquatic adventure". He was considered an above-average student and was not disciplined for his lapse.
After graduating first in his class in February 1951, Drummond was posted to No. 78 (Fighter) Wing as a sergeant pilot. The wing operated North American P-51 Mustangs and De Havilland Vampires out of Williamtown, New South Wales. In August, Drummond was posted to No. 77 Squadron, based at Kimpo, South Korea. The squadron had gone into action a week after the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 and had recently converted from Mustangs to Gloster Meteor jet fighters. North Korea's Chinese allies operated a Russian-built swept-wing jet, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, that outclassed all other fighters in the theatre except the new North American F-86 Sabre. The MiGs were often flown by seasoned Soviet air force pilots, whose deployment was unofficial, and denied at the time by the Soviet Union. In its first months operating the Meteor, No. 77 Squadron conducted offensive sweeps up the Yalu River with USAF Sabres, bomber escort missions, and combat air patrols.
Drummond was recommended for the US Air Medal for "courage, aggressiveness, tactical skill and devotion" in operations from 1 September to 28 October 1951. He was commissioned as a probationary pilot officer on 30 November. On 1 December, he was among a formation of twelve Meteors attacked by a superior force of Soviet-piloted MiGs; three Meteors, including Drummond's, were shot down. He ejected but was captured by the North Koreans and incarcerated in a prisoner-of-war camp. Drummond and four other prisoners broke out of the camp in April 1952 but were recaptured after two days. The North Koreans beat Drummond and another escapee, and put all five on trial; Drummond was sentenced to a month in confinement. He was promoted to flying officer on 30 November. An armistice ended the fighting on 27 July 1953, but prisoner exchange stretched over several weeks. Drummond was released on 1 September and repatriated to Australia shortly afterwards. His award of the US Air Medal was confirmed on 30 October 1953 and promulgated in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 5 November.
After returning to Australia, Drummond undertook No. 8 Advanced Navigation Course. In April 1954 he was one of six navigators who made a graduation flight from East Sale in Victoria—home of the RAAF School of Air Navigation—to New Zealand in Avro Lincoln bombers. He was then posted for flying duties with No. 2 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at Williamtown, where he completed No. 3 Fighter Combat Instructors Course. Drummond was a founding member of the Sabre Trials Flight, established in November 1954 as part of No. 2 OTU under Wing Commander Dick Cresswell, former commanding officer of No. 77 Squadron in Korea. The CAC Sabre was the RAAF's first swept-wing, transonic aircraft; belonging to the Trials Flight was, according to the official history of the post-war RAAF, "the Air Force's ultimate status symbol". Drummond was promoted to flight lieutenant on 30 May 1955. On 9 September, he married Margaret Buckham, a law clerk, in St Peter's Anglican Church, Newcastle; the couple had a son.