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RAAF beer mugs Korean war

dinomartino1

Well-Known Member
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Beer stein presented to Flight Lieutenant Douglas Charles Hurst of 77 Squadron RAAF, while serving in Korea. The stein bears the 'Sylvester the Cat' motif adopted by the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, USAF, which operated from Kimpo airbase alongside 77 Squadron during 1952.

Hurst, who was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1923, joined the RAAF in 1942, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and United States Air Medal for his service flying Gloster Meteor jets in Korea.
77 Squadron were on good terms with members of the 45th, who operated North American P-51 Mustang and Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star reconnaissance aircraft.

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Beer mug presented to Flight Lieutenant Douglas Charles Hurst during his service with 77 Squadron RAAF in Korea.

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Pilots of No 77 Squadron RAAF waiting to take off on a strike over North Korea are from left to right: Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Peter Cooney; Sergeant Kenneth Robert Janson; Flt Lt Douglas Charles Hurst; Flt Lt Stanley John Bromhead (operations officer) and Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Donald Hillier (missing on flying operations over Korea on 8 March 1953 and presumed killed in action).

In May 1942, he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force, and in July 1943 graduated as a sergeant pilot from Number 33 Course, 5 Service Flying Training School .He was posted to 80 Squadron RAAF, where he flew Kittyhawks on fighter-bomber operations from bases in New Guinea and the islands. By the end of the war, he had been commissioned as a pilot officer. Hurst elected to remain in the RAAF post war, and in 1947 volunteered to be part of the aerial component of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) in Japan. He served with 82 Squadron, based at Bofu, and equipped with Mustangs, until late 1948, when he returned to Australia. After conversion to jets, he flew Meteors as a flight lieutenant with 77 Squadron in Korea during 1952, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and US Air Medal for his gallantry in ground attack operations. He later served on staff duties in Malaya, commanded 76 Squadron flying CAC Sabres, and was Australian Air Attache in Washington from 1964 to 1966. Doug Hurst retired from the RAAF in 1970 with the rank of group captain.
 
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