Lieutenant Commander Raymond John Godfrey

Edited by John Perryman

Raymond John Godfrey was born to Monica and John Godfrey at Auburn Hospital, NSW, in 1942. He attended North Auburn Convent and Auburn Marist Brothers completing Year 10.

After leaving school he held several jobs before applying to join the NSW Police Force as a Cadet. Rejected for being half-an-inch too short, he applied to join the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as an electrician but on arrival at HMAS Cerberus found that he had been signed on as a Radar Plotter. With no desire to serve in that category, and having raised those concerns with his instructors, he was offered a position as an Underwater Control Rating, an outcome that was to shape his future in the RAN.

Completing his basic Underwater Control (UC) rating training in December 1960, Ray joined the fast anti-submarine frigate HMAS Queenborough in the new year, however, within an hour of joining he was sent to HMAS Rushcutter to undertake a ship’s Compressed Air Breathing Apparatus ship’s diver course. Rejoining the ‘QUEEN Bee’ on completion he spent the next two years deploying variously to SE Asia and New Zealand.

During that time Ray applied to undertake training as a Clearance Diver but he was denied due to shortages of UC ratings. Instead he undertook further UC training before joining the destroyer HMAS Vampire in January 1963. Soon after, volunteers were called for from able and leading rates in the UC category to become aircrew ratings. This precipitated the introduction of new Westland Wessex Mk31 anti-submarine helicopters into the fleet and a requirement to operate dipping sonar. Accepted as a volunteer, Ray soon found himself undertaking No: 2 UC (Air) course and attending No 2 Wessex Operational Flying School (OFS) at Naval Air Station (NAS) Nowra.

Left: Underwater Control Rating 3rd Class RJ Godfrey. Note the Diver 3rd Class 'cuff rate' worn on the lower sleeve denoting Ray as a ship's diver. Right: HMAS Queenborough at speed.

Ray was later to reflect that the UC (Air) course was among the most intense and rewarding that he had experienced up until that time. Not only did course members have to learn how to be aviators, experiencing the excitement and terror of flying in adverse weather conditions and at night, but also how to gel as a close-knit team with the officers who flew the aircraft. Immediately taking to flying, Ray felt privileged to work with some of the best non-pilot aviators in the Fleet Air Arm among whom he counted ‘Slug’ Whitton, ‘Titch’ Gordon and ‘Pancho’ Walter to name but a few.

It was near the end of the OFS course that the Commanding Officer of 725 Squadron, LCDR ‘Benny’ Matthews asked Ray if he might consider becoming a pilot. This led to his successful appearance before a selection board in late 1964 that was to later lead to him commissioning as an officer.

In the meantime, Ray completed the OFS course and was promoted an Acting Leading Seaman UC (Air) before joining 817 Squadron and embarking in the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne in January 1964 for another South East Asian deployment. It was during that cruise that UC (Air) ratings were reclassified Aircrewmen and where Ray broadened his flying experience in the rear seat of Gannet ASW aircraft as well as in the co-pilot seat of Wessex helicopters where he spent many hours, under supervision, at the controls flying the helicopter.

It was also in Melbourne that he was given the nickname ‘Beachball’ - a moniker was to remain with Ray forever more.

I was a member of a Search & Rescue (SAR) crew when during a scramble I lost the heel on my boot. Hobbling down the flight deck in an orange flight suit and red helmet, it was Jim Firth who yelled out to me “come on Beachball!”

In January 1965 Ray joined HMAS Cerberus as a Midshipman to begin his career as an officer. Four weeks later he arrived at RAAF Point Cook to commence basic flying training as a member of No: 57 pilot course. At that time the training aircraft in use were Winjeels which Ray soon mastered. His final instructor there was Lieutenant Bill Callan, RAN, who, Ray recalled:

...had the patience to get me through basic and on to RAAF Pearce for 1AFTS on Vampires.

It was during his time at RAAF Pearce that he was asked by the Senior Naval Officer, Lieutenant Commander Fred Lane, if he wanted to learn to fly helicopters or travel to Canada to train on S2 Tracker anti-submarine aircraft. Influenced by his previous experience in helicopters as an Aircrewman, Ray elected to stay with them, due mainly to a sense of the ‘devil you know’ more than anything else. This was another decision that was to prove significant in his later flying career.

After being awarded his pilot’s ‘wings’ in April 1966 Ray returned to NAS Nowra in May as the first RAN Aircrewman to have progressed to pilot. There he began helicopter conversion training on 723 Squadron’s UH-1B Iroquois. Others on the course included Acting Sub Lieutenant Jeff Dalgliesh, Lieutenant Staff Lowe and Acting Sub Lieutenant Tony Casadio all of whom would later serve with Ray in Vietnam. Those instructing the course included Lieutenant Ben Bathurst, RN, who later became a First Sea Lord in the Royal Navy and Lieutenant Pat Vickers who sadly became the first RAN aviator to be killed in action in Vietnam.

Ray, second from left, will fellow aviators on their helicopter conversion course with 723 Squadron. Right: Ray in the cockpit of an Iroquois helicopter, an aircraft in which he was destined to fly more than 1300 hrs during air mobile operations in Vietnam.

Having successfully completed Iroquois conversion training, Ray joined 725 Squadron to convert to Wessex. He was to later recall that it was during an instrument night dunking flight over Jervis Bay that he and his instructor almost became statistics, falling victim to a notorious Nowra westerly wind that was strong at 1000 feet but showed calm on Jervis Bay’s surface. Not realising that their standard rate of descent was taking them over the rising hill of Beecroft range, his instructor, Lieutenant Commander Bronson, USN, suddenly saw tree tops flashing past their wheels. Quickly pulling pitch; avoiding action was taken and the sortie completed. It was to serve as another reminder of the perils of flying.

Having qualified on Wessex, Ray joined 817 Squadron embarking in Melbourne in 1967 before again deploying to South East Asia.

Wessex helicopters launch from the flight deck of HMAS Melbourne in SE Asian waters.

It was during Melbourne’s visit to Hong Kong in July that Ray and several other aviators were advised that they had been selected as pilots to form and serve in a new flight named the Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Fight Vietnam (RANHFV). The flight was formed in response to a request from the United States at a time when it was finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the demand for trained aircrews and maintainers then serving in the Vietnam War. Australia offered to help and the RAN component was to be fully integrated with the US Army 135th Assault Helicopter Company flying Iroquois helicopters in combat in both the utility (slicks) and gunship configurations.

Excited by the prospect, Ray and his fellow pilots left HMAS Melbourne in Singapore and returned to Australia to re-familiarise themselves on Hueys (Iroquois) and undertake a short work-up with the Australian Army’s Royal Australian Regiment. The preparation training was soon completed and the first contingent of the RANHFV left for Vietnam on 15-16 October flying Qantas First Class to Manila before embarking on a US charter flight into Saigon.

RANHFV South Vietnam

The role of the 135th Assault Helicopter Company was to provide tactical air movement of combat troops, supplies and equipment in air-mobile operations. This included augmentation of army medical services, search and rescue and the provision of a command and control aircraft capability to supported units. During his tour of duty in Vietnam, the then, Sub Lieutenant Godfrey flew ‘slicks’ attaining 1309 hours of combat flying. Fortunately for Ray he led what he termed a ‘charmed life’ and his aircraft was hit only on two occasions. Ray takes up the story:

On one of those occasions a mortar round exploded about six feet in front of the helo but the rice paddy was still wet and the explosion only covered the windscreen in mud. When the mortar hit, I was yelling at my crew chief to cease fire as it was supposed to be a friendly village. We departed the Landing Zone (LZ) so fast that many helos still had South Vietnamese troops on board. They came in handy to secure some of the downed helos after we rescued the crew. All 10 helos took hits, some more than others. Sub Lieutenants Jeff Dalgliesh and Lieutenant Bruce Crawford were lucky to be able to fly out of the ambush.

In February 1969 Ray was made a Section Commander and by late August 1968 he was approached to become a Platoon Commander, a big responsibility for a Lieutenant. However, with only four weeks flying left ‘in-country’, and not wanting to disrupt the continuity of the platoon by having three leaders in a month, he declined the offer.

Left: Ray beside a 'Huey' in South Vietnam. Right: Air mobile operations in Vietnam routinely resulted in the aircraft coming under fire, adding to the perils of flying in close formation.

Disaster struck on night of 8 February 1968 when the 135th lost a full crew, including Ray’s room-mate and Section Leader Captain Bob Fleer, US Army, whose aircraft was struck by a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) before crashing in the LZ.

The death of all those killed in action was deeply felt by the men of the 135th Assault Helicopter Company.

Two weeks later Lieutenant Commander Pat Vickers, RAN, was fatally wounded when flying the lead aircraft in a mission to lift troops out of a ‘hot’ pick-up zone (PZ). His loss was to weigh heavily on the flight as a single burst from an M16 fired from extreme range somehow found its mark after ricocheting off the helicopter’s instrument panel.

Six months later the gunship of Lieutenant Tony Casadio, RAN, Petty Officer ‘Darky’ Phillips and two American aircrew was hit by an RPG just after departing their base at Camp Blackhorse. Fate again lent a hand as the usually reliable RPG failed to explode and but for the helicopter ditching in a bomb crater, they may have walked away uninjured.

In July 1968 Ray was granted leave, flying back to Australia for a week’s R & R during which time he became engaged to his future wife Janet.

Detachment 2 of the RANHFV led by Lieutenant Commander GR Rhorsheim, RAN, arrived in Vietnam in mid-September 1968 and Ray, by then a seasoned pilot, was given the task of familiarising his former mentor as part of his in-country training. He later recalled that “after a nervous start he told me to settle down and the rest of the flights went well”.

'Slicks' in close formation in Vietnam.

Ray left Camp Blackhorse on 18 October 1968 exactly one year after arriving in Vietnam. Upon reflection, Ray considered his year serving in Vietnam with the RANHFV as being the pinnacle of his flying career, with little matching both the flying and the camaraderie within the 135th Assault Helicopter Company. For “outstanding leadership and bravery as a pilot” he received a Mention in Dispatches.

On returning to Australia Ray was granted leave before undertaking conversion training to fly Grumman S2E Tracker aircraft. He found the Tracker a very forgiving aircraft to fly and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. During his training he was granted time off to marry Janet, a union that has lasted more than 51 years producing three children and seven grandchildren.

Ray was to enjoy a long and rewarding association with the S2 Tracker anti-submarine aircraft.

On completing OFS training, Ray joined 816 Squadron resuming the pattern of deploying throughout the region in HMAS Melbourne as required. Sea time offered many challenges and during a crossing of the Great Australian Bight in 1970 Melbourne encountered some of the worst seas and weather Ray had experienced with one wave breaking over the forward lift dropping it by about a foot. In September 1971 Lieutenant Godfrey joined No. 50 Flying Instructors Course after which he joined RAAF Pearce for 18 months instructing pilots to fly Macchi jets. His next appointment was as the Station Flight Safety Officer at NAS Nowra, a position he held for three years, interrupted only by a brief return to 816 Squadron for a RIMPAC deployment. In April 1976 Ray was promoted Lieutenant Commander.

Ray centre front, when posted to his QFI course at RAAF Base Pearce flying Macchi jet trainers.

In January 1977 Ray balanced family life with study as a course member at the Australian Staff College at Queenscliff, Victoria. The following year he returned to flying Trackers taking up the appointment as the 2/IC of an 816 Squadron detachment to RAAF Darwin. There he spent three months conducting maritime patrol sorties which included searching for Vietnamese refugees making the perilous voyage to Australia. On returning to NAS Nowra from Darwin, Ray become the Senior Pilot of 851 Squadron under the command of the popular Lieutenant Commander REN ‘Windy’ Geale, RAN. His time with 851 Squadron proved rewarding and he was to enjoy passing on his experience to future pilots and aircrew of the Fleet Air Arm.

In January 1980 Ray was appointed Commanding Officer of 816 Squadron. He came to view this appointment as the culmination of his operational flying career. Supported by a great crew of aviators and maintenance personnel the Squadron achieved a formidable operational effort during the two embarked cruises in Melbourne that year. He considered himself fortunate at that time to have the support of Senior Pilot Lieutenant Commander Ian ’Wakka’ Payne and Senior Observer Lieutenant Commander ‘Micky’ Edmonds. The first cruise saw Melbourne participate in Exercise RIMPAC 80 during which 816 Squadron was credited with several submarine ‘sinkings’ even though Ray considered the last of these a fluke.

Within about an hour of the exercise ending, but still being inside the exercise area I spotted a huge bow wave ahead of the aircraft. I alerted the crew and we started an attack sequence on what appeared to be a fast-moving nuclear submarine. We reported a hit and during the exercise wash-up all hell broke loose when we were awarded the sinking. The sub CO was not impressed! He argued that he was outside the exercise area, but an analysis of his track revealed him to be about a mile inside.

The matter was settled as gentlemen later in the mess after a few drinks and all was forgiven.

Melbourne’s second deployment of 1980 was to South East Asia and further west to the Persian Gulf. The major sortie of the cruise involved searching for a Soviet Task Force that had transited the Suez Canal and which was heading for the Arabian Gulf.

I launched at first light and transited about 400 NM West having no trouble picking the Soviets up on radar where Ops said they would be. The Flagship was the Riga, a helicopter carrier, supported by a couple of destroyers and another support vessel. When we passed alongside at low level some of Riga’s crew were playing volleyball and stopped to give us a wave.

Arresting and launching from Melbourne's small flight deck required no small amount of skill as a pilot.

The S2 Trackers operated in all weather conditions day and night.

The inherent dangers of flying were never far from the minds of Melbourne’s Carrier Air Group and on 21 October 1980 the ship lost one of its A4G Skyhawk fighter bombers during a failed launch.

The wakeup call for all aircrew this cruise was the ‘cold cat shot’ of a Skyhawk flown by Dave Baddams. Standing in ‘Flyco’ it was jaw dropping to watch the Skyhawk move down the flight deck like in a slow-motion movie leaving behind skid marks as Dave stood on the brakes. Suddenly the canopy flew off as the ejection sequence began and the Skyhawk slowly fell off the bows of the carrier. The SAR helo was quick off the mark rescuing Dave almost as soon as he hit the shark infested water. The USN had already lost two pilots in nearby waters.

It was during this deployment that Ray featured in the RAN public relations cine film Sea Eagles, coaching a pilot during an S2G Tracker approach and arrest on the carrier (https://seapower.navy.gov.au/history/videos/sea-eagles). He was also to reach the milestone of achieving 5000 flying hours, an event that was appropriately celebrated with Melbourne's captain, Commodore Ian Knox, RAN.

Melbourne's Commanding Officer Commodore Ian Knox congratulates Ray on attaining 5000 flying hours.

Towards the end of the cruise Ray was advised that he was to be appointed as the next Executive Officer (XO) of HMAS Coonawarra and it was with regret the Ray left 816 Squadron following a year in command.

Ray found his two years as XO of HMAS Coonawarra challenging and rewarding, both for himself and his family, counting the opening of Darwin Naval Base and being presented to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip as being a major highlight.

In January 1983 Ray returned to NAS Nowra as Little ‘F’ (Lieutenant Commander Flying) which provided him with opportunities to resume flying as he oversaw airfield operations. Later that year the Australian Government made a decision to abandoned plans to replace the ageing aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne and discontinue fixed wing aviation in the RAN. This came as a bitter blow to the Fleet Air Arm resulting in many of the RAN’s aviators leaving the Service. Some were to transfer to the RAAF while others transferred to the civil aviation industry. Ray was similarly disappointed and his final posting was to Queensland managing the Command and Personal Services Organisation. At the end of 1984 he tended his resignation and became an orchardist.

A strange job for a ‘birdie’ but Janet would not let me fly anymore as in her words, “I waited 20 years for the phone call and I don’t want to wait another 20 years for it to come”. I was not surprised as we had lost many friends in my 23 years in the FAA.

In retirement Ray Godfrey was among a number of former members of the RANHFV who sought to have the achievements of the Flight appropriately recognised and was proud to be among those presented with a Unit Citation for Gallantry by the Governor-General, General Sir Peter Cosgrove on Vietnam Veterans Day 18 August 2018. In Ray’s words:

The award finally recognised the exceptional effort shown by all 400 members of the RANHFV during the four detachments to the 135 AHC spanning three years and eight months.

Veterans of the Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight Vietnam on the occasion of being presented with a Unit Citation for Gallantry by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, His Excellency the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove, AK, MC (Ret’d), 18 August 2018.

 

Ray 'Beachball' Godfrey with the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, His Excellency the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove, AK, MC (Ret’d), following the presentation of a Unit Citation for Gallantry to members of the Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight Vietnam, 18 August 2018.

Further Reading

RANHFV https://seapower.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/ran-fleet-air-arm-ashore-vietnam.