WGCDR Max
LOVES
19/2/1937 to 28/11/2025. Aged 88.
3SQN Sabre Pilot and International Test Pilot.
Max at Centre. Flanked by CO3 WGCDR Glassop [left] and
FLGOFF Phil Dunn [right]
Max
matriculated in 1952 from Sydney Christian Brothers College.
In 1953 he moved to Manus Island, north of New Guinea, where his father
was with RAAF No.5 Airfield Construction Squadron.
Max
sat in a Mustang cockpit at Manus and decided to apply for pilot
training!
- After an interview for RAAF College with AVM Alistair
Murdoch, Max
was selected!
He
graduated in December 1957. During Mustang conversion at
24 SQN he quickly fell in love with the aircraft. From July
1959 Max completed a conversion to the Avon Sabre at Williamtown
and was posted to 3 Squadron at Butterworth, Malaya, for two
years. There he married June, and began his long and very happy
family life.
The
Association is lucky to have a
rare “fully-captioned” 3SQN pic from 22 Feb 1960, preserved by Jake NEWHAM...
No.3 (F) SQUADRON PHOTO - 22 FEB 1960
FRONT ROW [left to right] PLT.OFF
DUNN, FLT.LT RICHARDSON, FLG.OFF REESE, FLG.OFF JOHNSTON, FLG.OFF
MATTERS, FLG.OFF LOVES, FLG.OFF LODGE,
FLT.LT NEWHAM, WG.CDR THOMAS, FLT.LT SCULLY, FLG.OFF STENHOUSE, FLG.OFF
THOMPSON, FLG.OFF CRUMP, FLG.OFF NOBLE, FLG.OFF JENKINS, FLG.OFF DART,
FLT.LT SIMMONDS, FLG.OFF MITCHELL.
SECOND ROW [left to right] SGT LESLIE,
SGT WHEELER, SGT REARDON, SGT LENSON, SGT HYLAND, F.SGT PIGGOTT, W.OFF
LAMP, W.OFF JARRETT, SGT MARSHAL, SGT CORMACK, SGT PIZARRO, SGT
THOMSEN, F.SGT DEBENHAM
THIRD ROW [left to right] LAC BROWN, CPL
MEEK, CPL GARDINER, LAC COWAN, CPL COOK, LAC McDONNELL, LAC SHARKEY, CPL
CLARK, CPL FLYNN, LAC CARNEY, CPL SMITH, LAC GUY, LAC DeFRISKBOM, LAC
INGATE, CPL MITCHELL, LAC O'LEARY, CPL BURKETT, CPL ROWLANDS.
BACK ROW [left to right] LAC
GIFFORD, LAC ROSSELLO, LAC WARD, LAC VANDERVELDEN, LAC McCLELLAND,
LAC FIXTER, LAC BLAYDEN, LAC KEETON, LAC DORSMANN, LAC LARSEN, LAC
BRAME, LAC MONKHOUSE, LAC SALTER, LAC CAMPBELL, LAC SAXTON, LAC MOORE.
ABSENT: CPL SINGER, CPL BROWN, LAC ELLOY,
LAC MAYO, LAC KNIGHT, LAC STOKES.
Max
later went to the Empire Test Pilot School, Farnborough,
UK. Completing his course in 1964, Max then spent three years on RAF
exchange at MOD Boscombe Down, involved in Lightning
missile and Hawker Hunter photographic-recon flight-testing,
before returning to the RAAF Aircraft Research & Development
Unit in Melbourne in 1968.
There
he was mainly involved in Mirage development-testing and new
aircraft acceptance from the Government Aircraft Factory (GAF).
He
was then appointed to lead the introduction of the new Aermacchi 326H jet trainer, and
spent four months in Italy developing the flight test schedule and
accepting the first three RAAF aircraft there.
In 1970 Max led the
comprehensive erect and inverted spinning flight-test program
at ARDU, after which he completed Army Staff College before
being posted to a recruiting appointment in HQ Support Command.
Max
left the RAAF in 1974.
Many thanks to Obit. author: AVM
Bob RICHARDSON (ret). Received via Pete RING - NSW
Air Force Association.