 | Fleet Air Arm |
| Fleet Air Arm |
Updated 4 September 2010
It was sad to report the death, on 12 August 2010, of LCDR J.A. (John, Shorty) Roland RAN ret of Beacon Hill NSW 2100. He was a long-time member of the Naval Officers Club, from which he resigned in 2008 following confinement to a nursing home.
He was one of the four survivors of the seven pilots who graduated from the first RAN pilots’ course in 1949 (see picture below).
John was awarded the "Sub Lieutenant’s M.I.D." for exemplary work in Korea, dropping more bridges and blocking more tunnels than any other pilot aboard HMAS Sydney. During one of his last flights, some errant bomb debris froze his elevators rock solid. Instead of baling out, by judicious use of power, ailerons and elevator trim, he nursed his damaged Firefly back to a safe wheels-down landing at Kimpo airfield, near Seoul.
Later, his pinpoint bombing accuracy led him to be chosen to test some tiny practice bakelite depth charges that were believed to be safe to drop on surfaced submarines. The centre bomb in his first stick of four hit a periscope housing, denting it so badly that the periscope could not be moved. It also set fire to some combustibles on the bridge. The practice depth charge concept was ditched.
He was always an excellent deck-landing pilot and this led to him becoming a notable Landing Signals Officer with an ace RN Seahawk fighter squadron. He was also one of the early RAN-trained helicopter pilots, flying Bristol Sycamores, before moving on to Fairey Gannets.
He had three very unpleasant consecutive experiences with the twin-engined Gannet on attempted flights from HMAS Melbourne. This included a successful ditching (with a future RAN admiral in one of the back seats) after a total single engine failure on the catapult (see link to a Line Book cartoon below).
He then asked to be allowed to fly any RAN aircraft, other than the Gannet. The response was the cancellation of his flying pay and more small ships time.
It was not long after that he joined Qantas as an operations manager.
He is survived by his wife Doris (44a Oxford Falls Rd, Beacon Hill NSW 2100) and son Daniel. His funeral was held on August 17 at Mona Vale.
Picture below: John Roland with colleagues on the Number 1 Flying Training School course, pictured at Point Cook about March 1948. Back row, from left, Mick Streeter, Hank Hurley (later ACDRE), Bill Sweeting (later SLDR), Clive Van Der Lilley (ex-Writer), Fred Lane, Col Champ, Noel Creevey (ex-Signaller) and John Roland. Front, from left: Dick Sinclair (KIA Korea), John Herrick (later TAA and Qantas), Garth (Slim) Eldering (ex-LSEA Radar, back-classed after injury), LEUT H. Heny RN (Senior Naval Officer), Ian Webster, Ian Macdonald and John Horwood.
See also:
Line Book cartoon
Mention in Despatches gazettal
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