Air Power, Insurgency and the “War on Terror” - Prof. Joel Hayward's ...

Chapter 4
be reaped should it be executed successfully, but also because it represented <strong>the</strong> first
parachute deployment of British troops since <strong>the</strong> crossing of <strong>the</strong> Rhine in March 1945. 135
The SAS took <strong>the</strong> camp with little resistance, denying <strong>the</strong> insurgents a cross-border camp.
The airborne deployment of <strong>the</strong> SAS raises two fur<strong>the</strong>r points regarding <strong>the</strong> indirect role of
air power in Malaya: that of <strong>the</strong> importance of aerial reconnaissance, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> introduction
of <strong>the</strong> helicopter.
The SAS were able to locate <strong>the</strong> target camp during Operation Helsby by using maps
that had been drafted from aerial reconnaissance photographs of <strong>the</strong> area. Navigation,
ei<strong>the</strong>r by area or on <strong>the</strong> ground, was hampered in <strong>the</strong> early stages of <strong>the</strong> Emergency
by <strong>the</strong> absence of any previous extensive survey of <strong>the</strong> country. Photographic
reconnaissance was <strong>the</strong>refore crucial in revising old maps in order to ascertain a clearer
picture of <strong>the</strong> topography of <strong>the</strong> country as well as <strong>the</strong> specific location of insurgent
bases. Aerial reconnaissance was also essential for fulfilling <strong>the</strong> military priority of
destroying crops being cultivated by insurgents in jungle clearings in an attempt to
constrict <strong>the</strong>ir ability to survive in hiding. Reconnaissance aircraft were used firstly
to identify <strong>and</strong> monitor areas where crops were suspected to be growing, whilst light
aircraft were <strong>the</strong>n called in to spray chemicals from a low height onto <strong>the</strong> insurgents’
crops. Between 1952 <strong>and</strong> 1953 RAF helicopters on crop-spraying sorties destroyed 88
suspected insurgent cultivation areas. 136 Given <strong>the</strong> high dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> prolific usage of
reconnaissance aircraft it is little surprise that in <strong>the</strong> final <strong>Air</strong> Ministry analysis of <strong>the</strong>
Emergency, it emerged that it was <strong>the</strong> Auster aircraft, used chiefly for reconnaissance
purposes, which achieved <strong>the</strong> most flight time, highest number sorties, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> most
air mileage. 137
The second issue highlighted by <strong>the</strong> importance of air power to Special Forces deployment
in Malaya is that of <strong>the</strong> operational flexibility offered by <strong>the</strong> use of helicopters for both
casualty-evacuation <strong>and</strong> troop-carrying purposes. The medical airlift capacity of <strong>the</strong>
helicopter was fully harnessed with <strong>the</strong> introduction of <strong>the</strong> RAF Casualty Evacuation Flight
in May 1950 in Kuala Lumpur, manned initially by just three Royal Navy Dragonflies.
These Casualty Evacuation flights proved to be life-saving, particularly during rescue
missions to collect Special Force troops on long jungle patrols struck down with disease,
or troops severely injured after inherently unsafe parachute drops. 138 By <strong>the</strong> end of 1953
<strong>the</strong>re were three primary helicopter squadrons operating in Malaya. The Evacuation
Flight exp<strong>and</strong>ed <strong>and</strong> became 194 Squadron, where <strong>the</strong> Dragonflies were replaced with
<strong>the</strong> better performing Sycamore. Troop <strong>and</strong> supply drops were largely fulfilled by 848 <strong>and</strong>
155 Squadrons in many areas of dense jungle where <strong>the</strong> vertical take-off capability of <strong>the</strong>
helicopters ensured more accurate drops. Accumulatively, <strong>the</strong>se three squadrons formed
303 Wing in 1953 with a total of forty helicopters. 139
<strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong>, <strong>Insurgency</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> “War on Terror” 73