Vildebeests in Singapore and Ceylon

Those are brilliant pics Dave, so very clear for their era. There is a thread on Britmodeller www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=66426&st=0 where they're discussing the merits of the camo type applied to the Vildebeest in Singapore & the far east. It will be interesting to see what they make of these.
Steve.

I have been reading the modellers's comments on the thread you linked to. Wow, quite a hub-bub over these photos.

Someone is suggesting that the aircraft nosed over is in a "Tropical Land Scheme". The aircraft was based at China Bay, Ceylon, and its role was specifically for general reconnaissance patrols and searches over the Indian Ocean.

Also comments about the squadrons who owned the aircraft. Don was on No. 100 Squadron. It seems obvious form the photos that his torpedo training was in No. 36 Squadron aircraft and I am 90% sure he told me that when I filmed an interview with him in 2009. After he was up to speed on flying Vildebeests and dropping torpedoes he was shipped out to Ceylon where he said No. 100 Squadron had a detachment. The aircrfat nosed over is from that detachment. So it's quite possible it has a different colour scheme all together as it's in a different part of the world.

Some further information on the Vildebeest unit in Ceylon that Don was posted to. The unit was apparently a detachment of either No. 100 Squadron or perhaps of the Wing that it belonged to in Singapore. All their orders came from Singapore, and Don wrote that there was a similar small detachment in Hong Kong belonging to the same unit.

In Ceylon the CO was a Squadron Leader (or maybe Wing Commander) Harrison, who lived off the station and rarely flew and they seldom ever saw him. Next in command was Flt Lt John Chamberlain, who was the nephew of Neville Chamberlain. He'd been in the Far East for about 3 years by 1941, and was a heavy drinker. It was he who pranged the kite above.

There was also a Canadian, Flt Lt Eddie Good, who later went to Europe and was killed. There was a Warrant Officer Ross who apparently died from a tumour on the brain after a ditching accident into the Indian Ocean from which he was rescued. I wonder if this is him? Can anyone here please trace this chap's units to see if he was in Ceylon? He may have been in India for hospital treatment - he's the only Warrant Officer Ross listed from the UK.
www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2177679

There were also two other kiwis, though Don himself was the first New Zealand pilot posted to Ceylon ever. They were Sgt Ted Carroll of Wellington and Sgt 'Snow' Viles. Don's wireless operator-air gunner was F/Sgt 'Dinger' Bell.


When Singapore was attacked and fell, the Ceylon unit became an orhan unit. They received orders from Britain that they should fly their regular patrols with their four obsolete Fairy Seals that they had there, and to keep their six Vildebeests in reserve as defence of Ceylon.

They were still flying Vildebeests when Ceylon was attacked by a Japanese carrier force on the 25th of April, 1942. Don had just landed from a patrol and was having breakfast when they attacked. Ted Carroll was in another Vilde and did not quite make it back, he and his WOp/AG spotted the Zeros and Vals, etc and landed on a beach. He flew in after they left. Ceylon was badly damaged in the raids and Don said a Swordfish squadron there lost 12 aircaft to one Zero, with 33 of the 36 men killed.

Later on when all their Seals and Vildebeests had become unserviceable (I suppose as they had no support now from Singapore engineering and spares-wise), they borrowed Swordfish from a FAA unit at China Bay, Trincomalee. Later they also borrowed Fairey Albacores and Fairey Fulmars. So they had a lot of variety.

Oh and what happened to John Chamberlain after that boozed up flight? he was Court martialled, but got off very lightly as the men on the board were his mates. Don talked to hi about that flight later and John assured him he didn't recall a think about it as he was so pissed.

Don was later posted to India and he flew as a test pilot and delivery pilot for a maintenance unit, and over his wartime career flew over 50 aircraft types. He had amazing adventures including 'landing' a Walrus with wheels down in a water tank; being the first pilot to land and take off from what became the famous Red Road aerodrome (which was one of the main streets in Calcutta that they turned into a fighter base - Don was the proving pilot to show it could be done!); flying his dream aircrfat, the Mosquito, in India; and later going to Britian to be based with a VIP unit at Hendon. He flew all sorts of high rankers and politicians etc around Britian, Europe and the world from there. He was shot down whilst accidentally trying to land at an Allied aerodrome that had that afternoon been reoccupied by the Germans, with Lady Mountbatten aboard. Made an amazing landing in the shot-up aircraft and saved his passengers. He was also a passenger in a Blenheim in india, hitching a lift, and sitting unrestrained on the step down into the nose when it aquqplaned in bad weather on landing, and the aircraft cartwheeled. The nose broke off with him in it. He received just a small cut on his hand, the aircraft was a total write off. Some of the more unusual types he flew, of the 54 types in his logbook form WWII, include the Curtiss Mohawk, Curtiss Hawk, Fairey Seafox, Fairey Seal, Wapiti, Vultee Vengeance, and Bristol Bisley. More conventional types include the Spitfire, Hurricane, Mitchell, Hudson, Lockheed Electra, Liberator, Wellington, Mosquito, Oxford, Anson, Dakoa and many more.

Alan,

Unfortunately, all we have right now are theories and Dave is right that we have no guarantee that the same schemes were used in Singapore and Ceylon (although logic suggests that they ought to be because they came under the same command). The pics Dave has posted are so fascinating because they are so clear - much better than anything else that's been previously made available. If we could just get a rough guide on the types of colours used (brown, grey, green, blue etc), we could probably narrow the options down to something that can be accepted as the most likely scheme.

Cheers,
Mark

I had read the article of course and have discussed the colour of the Singapores a few times, but when 'colouring in' the picture quoted I really went with what looked nice.

It must be contagious as I too enjoy your posts Mark. ;D

I don't think it is pointless at all to try to piece together forgotten history like this. It would be good if someone could find the paint scheme drawings tucked away in an archive and have all the exact specs, but I guess someone has already checked and they aren't there?

Who cares about the colours! ;D

These are the best Vildebeest photos I think I have ever seen.

Thanks for posting them, Dave.

Cheers Craig, they are awesome aren't they?

Quite a number of New Zealanders seem to have served on No's 36 and 100 Squadrons before and during the conflict in Singapore when you count them up.

I have the following names, can you add any more?

No. 36 Squadron
Sgt Andrew Martin Hearn Fleming - (Albacore) killed on Endau raid 26 Jan 42
Sgt Thomas Steele Tanner - Killed Endau raid 26 Jan 42
Sgt Ron J. Reid - fought in Singapore and Dutch East Indies, flew the Vildebeest, and Albacore, survived Endau raid, later captured, I've interviewed him

No. 100 Squadron
Sgt David Bruce Smaill Lee - killed on Endau raid 26 Jan 42
Flt Lt Colin N. Gardner, flew in combat on Vildes, lives in Tauranga
Sgt Don MacKenzie - flew Vildes in Singapore before conflict
George Hitchcock (I interviewed him about his Fiji days)
George Gudsell (I interviewed him, he was on Beauforts, not Vildes with this unit)

Not sure which of the two squadrons these Endau raid survivors were on:
P/O R C Barclay
Sgt D L Buchanan
Sgt HK Minton