Roger Phillips recalls the day he struggled to escape from a sinking Wessex
In 1979 I was an aircrew member of 28 Squadron, stationed at RAF Sek Kong in Hong Kong. I was the training NCO and loved the work. After 10 stints in Northern Ireland during the 1970s, Sek Kong felt very much like paradise.
One warm April morning we were tasked with practising winching beside a mountainous area bordering the sea. We reached the spot and winched the crew member down onto a ledge on the cliff face. We then set about winching him back up into the aircraft.
This is a difficult operation, and despite several attempts to recover the 'survivor' we were unable to. After 15 minutes we decided to fly a circuit and land on a flat area to change places and duties.
The pilot transitioned away from the winching position and turned out to sea. Another crew member and I were busy with the winching equipment, when we suddenly felt that something wasn't right. I moved to the starboard door to assess our position when there was one hell of a bang, and the aircraft hit the water.
I was thrown out of the door and into the sea, but was still attached to the airframe by my harness. The aircraft then rolled violently to the right, swallowing me up.
I now have a 'missing' period. I do remember suddenly being inside the aircraft again as it lay on its starboard side. Luckily, I was immediately below the port bubble window escape exit, and I knew the escape drill off by heart.
Firstly, I had to break the locking wire which secured the escape hatch from inadvertent release. Then the window needed to be pulled into the airframe to afford escape. The wire broke, but the window refused to move. I was stuck, and sinking fast. In the darkness, alone and surrounded by rising water, I remember thinking: 'Am I going to die?
I punched out at the plastic part of the window, and it burst from its metal surround. I was ejected from the airframe in an air bubble which exploded violently upwards.
Looking up, all I could see was a circle of dim light. Everywhere else was total darkness.
To my horror I began to be dragged down again. I was still entangled in my harness and the winch wire, which was attached to the sinking Wessex. I don't know how, but I managed to wriggle free and, realising I was about to breathe water, I pulled my Mae West [life jacket] and shot up towards the light.
I broke the surface and gasped for air, but it was no good. I was panicking, and my brain was telling me there was still no oxygen. Eventually I felt the fresh air fill my lungs. Looking around, I was happy to see the other crew members, safe and well.
We were rescued by a Chinese junk boat and deposited onto a beach where, eventually, another aircraft came to pick us up.
Later, when a doctor examined me, he noted that there was evidence from my helmet that I had been hit on the back of the head by one of the rotor blades. Perhaps this explains the missing period I experienced just after entering the water. Was I unconscious? I'll suppose I'll never know. Either way, I'm lucky to be alive.
Roger Phillips served in the RAF from 1970 to 1980. A keen walker, at the age 73 Roger walked 500 miles in 28 days for charity and plans to be the oldest person ever to walk from Land's End to John O'Groats. He is a member of the Association's Headquarters Branch.
The salvaged remains of the crashed Wessex.
