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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 23, 2010 15:52:28 GMT 12
These RNZAF Official Photos (Air Force Museum of New Zealand copyright) come from the late Bob Lawn's collection. They show the aircraft storage at Woodbourne in Jan-Feb 1945. I had no idea just how many trainers were mothballed at that point in the war. These are engines, Cheetahs from the Oxfords I guess, taken on the 15th of Feb 1945  The aircraft stored in No. 2 Hangar, RNZAF Station Woodbourne, 9 January 1945  These diagrams show which aircraft were stored in which hangar in the 17th of Jan 1945 No. 1 Hangar at Woodbourne  No. 2 Hangar at Woodbourne  No. 5 Hangar at Woodbourne  And the hangar at Omaka  |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 25, 2010 17:12:16 GMT 12
I'm quite surprised no-one else has found this of interest. Historically it pinpoints exactly where a load of RNZAF aircraft were at that time, and the number of trainers in storage at that time I found quite staggering. Just the hangar full of mothballed engines is incredible.
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Post by shamus on Jul 25, 2010 17:50:18 GMT 12
On the contrary Dave. I found the photos very interesting indeed. I just failed to comment on it.
I just enjoyed them in my quiet way. Many thanks for posting them.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 25, 2010 18:46:36 GMT 12
I'm glad someone liked them Jim. I cannot help thinking that over the past few years we have seen various threads about the Oxfords bought from the RNZAF after the war and dispersed around Marlborough. They would account for but a fraction of all these ones seen here. There are 91 in the Woodbourne hangars and 29 at Omaka! I wonder what happened to the remaining aircraft that were not sold for tender. Were they burnt at Woodbourne?
I wonder if any of these ones ever got reassembled and flown again after the dates seen here. And if any of these might still exist in a barn somewhere.
Perhaps Al's Cheetah is among those in the photo.
I was interested to note the two Rearwins, the Puss Moth and the Waco in No. 5 Hangar.
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Post by shorty on Jul 25, 2010 19:37:57 GMT 12
I looked at just a couple of rows of the Omaka ones and see NZ 2124 there, this crashed 5-7-52 so it was put back in service and another one became a INST airframe at 1TTS so it must have flown also. No doubt lot more if you go through the lot.
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Post by flyjoe180 on Jul 25, 2010 23:45:41 GMT 12
What a great photo of all those Oxfords. A collection never to be seen again.
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Post by Mustang51 on Jul 24, 2017 8:06:17 GMT 12
Dave, What a great record. Not very often you can find something like that and a mine of information for OxBox fans and also historians in general. Not only knowing where they were but EXACTLY where they were located and in which hangar. Amazing stuff. Wish I had that same data on the Oz Mustangs.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 24, 2017 10:56:20 GMT 12
Yes it is certainly amazing. I wonder if the RNZAF had similar charts for all the Harvards and Mosquitoes that were stored in a similar way in hangars there postwar.
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Post by Mustang51 on Jul 24, 2017 15:27:46 GMT 12
I am guessing that they did. Part of a much better system than the RAAF's
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 24, 2017 15:56:51 GMT 12
Yes they must have had them. Maybe one day they will surface. It was only by pure chance these Oxford ones survived in a box of old photos and paperwork from the late Bob Lawn's career that his daughter had, and I only met her by pure chance too.
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