Flying Officer Phillip Zupp M.I.D.

[Nostalgair]

Hi All,

In response to the queries relating to my Dad's "multi service" background, I thought I'd post something I wrote a couple of years back. It's a brief bio, but might raise some questions.

I thought that rather than rambling about any particular aspect, I could answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to ask.

Cheers

Owen

Phillip Zupp was born in 1925 in the fertile Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. In a rural community reeling from drought and the Great Depression, he never imagined he'd have the opportunity to fly. Nevertheless, on leaving school at 14 he spent his first pay cheque on a copy of Every Boy's Fighting Planes and enlisted in the Air Training Corps, a cadet body.

Enlisting on the stroke of 18, he served in World War II with the Australian Army's 2/10 Commando Squadron in Wewak, New Guinea. Upon cessation of hostilities in 1945, the bulk of his unit was shipped to Hiroshima, Japan, as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces (BCOF). On returning to Australia in 1947, he spent a year as a civilian cutting sugar-cane before re-enlisting in the Royal Australian Air Force as a mechanic in 1948. He began to spend his Air Force wages on flying lessons.

With the outbreak of the Korean War and Australia's commitment to the United Nations Forces, the RAAF was busily training pilots. On the recommendation of a senior officer at Wagga Wagga, Zupp was selected for No. 4 Pilots Course at Point Cook, Victoria, graduating in February 1951.

His "Korean Experience" began in November 1951 when he converted onto the Gloster Meteor at Iwakuni, Japan. Six days later he flew his first operational mission as a member of 77 Squadron, a "scramble" in A77-368. With about 400 hours total experience under his belt and only a dozen on type, he later reflected that "…it was pretty much on-the-job training and the longer you lasted, the greater your chance of survival." His log-book for the next seven months is littered with entries relating to the ground attack role 77 Squadron fulfilled. There are references to numerous occasions in his 201 missions when his aircraft was holed or landed with minimum fuel, as well as the various targets the squadron had attacked. Inconspicuously glued in between a couple of pages is his Citation, "Mentioned in Despatches". It makes special mention of a mission on 6 February, 1952, when his canopy was shattered by ground fire and, wounded, he flew A77-15 back to base at Kimpo. His log-book reveals that he flew again the next day. In retrospect, this seems a little premature as he had shrapnel and perspex surgically removed from his face in 1990.

Extracting details from Phil Zupp about his combat days was never an easy task. He was a quiet man who believed "that was then and this is now". With the exception of his American decoration - the Air Medal - his medals remained unmounted in their brown paper boxes until his latter years. In fact, certain medals have only surfaced recently as a result of research since his passing. This is indicative of the modesty he always exhibited, not a lack of pride in his military service. A newspaper article about Sgt. Zupp written on his return gives some insight into his perceptions of Korea. He speaks of the cold, the pile of rubble that was previously Seoul and the multiple currencies that were in use. Particularly telling is that when asked if he thought 200 missions were "too many missions for one flyer" on a tour of duty, he replied, "[The pilots] would probably growl if they weren't kept busy".

Subsequent to his RAAF career, Zupp remained in aviation for his working life. From international operations with QANTAS, to instructing, cloud-seeding and Aerial Ambulance duties. He always felt being paid to fly was a privilege he never dreamt of as a country boy in Queensland.

Phillip Zupp passed away on 31 July, 1991, after a short battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Edith, his children Pamela, Adrian and Owen and a number of grandchildren. Appropriately, his headstone bears the RAAF crest and the quote "Into the wild blue yonder".

[Antipodean Andy]

Owen, have you considered writing a book about your father's exploits? It would appear you have a significant amount of research at hand and his service in Korea would be of considerable interest as there doesn't appear to be a heck of a lot on the RAAF's involvement. Mind you, probably wrong there as I don't move in those "circles" so much.

Certainly a modest man who never lost the thrill of flying.

[Kyt]

Blimey! One of those careers would be impressive but being a Commando, and basically training himself to be a pilot?!

Owen, do you have any details about his service as a Commando? During the war where did see service?

I've got loads of other quetions but will ask them one at a time, so as not to overwhelm you. I really want to learn more about the Korean air war, but I'll be starting from scratch.

[Nostalgair]

Hi Lads,

Believe it or not, this bio actually simplifies the issue a little. His INITIAL enlistment was with the RAAF to train as a navigator. Midway through training the demand for aircrew declined and the chance of active service was disappearing. He jumped ship to the AIF and was subsequently mustered into the commandos. If you review the WWII Nominal rolls at World War Two Nominal Roll and search for Zupp, he shows up under RAAF and Army and the dates tell the tale.

His service in New Guinea was towards the close of the war. He landed at Wewak and served out of Karawop and the surrounding areas in 1945.

A book on Dad????

Cheers

Owen

[Kyt]

The remustering sounds like the situation with the USAAF. Around the time of Ardenne inlate 1944, a lot of aircrew trainees were transfered to the infantry because the huge demand for manpower.

However, I'd never realised that this also occurred in the Commonwealth forces. Haven't come across it in the RAF.

Considering the situation in that theatre right to the last days, he must have had a rough time in the commandos.

And yes, a book would be great Owen. How many people had such a varied service life. You'd have at least two buyers in Andy and me

[Nostalgair]

Hi Kyt,

The remustering was purely voluntary. You could opt to remain in the RAAF in some other role.

I recently interviewed a chap who was in the RAAF with Dad at the time and remembers him volunteering. He also remembers thinking that he was "bloody mad!" for doing so.

Cheers

Owen

[Kyt]

Well, I agree with the chap - I'd rather be flying around than slogging through the jungle

[Kyt]

Owen, did your father ever talk about his personal impressions of the Meteor - what it was like to fly etc. And as the resident Meteor expert can you recommend any books on the aircraft. I've seen a few but it's always difficult to gauge their quality. I'd quite like to read any memoirs if you know of any. Might help me get a better picture of what your father went through.

[Nostalgair]

Hi Kyt,

He lamented somewhat that the squadron wasn't equipped with the newer generation of jets such as the F-86. However, he did admire the sturdiness of the Meteor in the ground attack role as it could take a fair amount of abuse, albeit with a fairly 'fundamental' sighting system. As for ergonomics, it was a bit of a nightmare; a Spitfire cockpit with additional instrumentation plugged into whatever space could be found.

One thing he did like was that it was a very snug cockpit, something which was a personal preference I suspect.

As for other books, there are quite a few. Spidge has listed a number in his bibliography in the post-1945 forum. George Odgers, "Across the Parallel" was written at the time and recently Col King has written "Luck is No Accident". While this outlines Col's entire career, there is a very insightful section into Korean operations with 77 Squadron.

Cheers

Owen

[Kyt]

Thanks for the book recommendations.

You've probably seen this Owen but I do like the fact that RAAF ORBS are available online. Just found the one for the 77 Squadron Korean war period:

July 1950 - March 1952
http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imag...38104&I=1&SE=1

And this is interesting:
Defence Preparations Committee - Requirements of Meteor Aircraft for No 77 Squadron, Korea
http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imag...28882&I=1&SE=1