New Zealanders flying in Korea?

[Dave Homewood]

Were there any New Zealanders in the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (or other air services for that matter) who flew in the Korean War?

[corsair67]

Dave,

Here's one that I managed to trawl up: Commander G A Beange, RAN -

cas.awm.gov.au/item/REL37352.013

Of course, there is also P.O Vance Drummond who was shot down over Korea while flying Mustangs with the RAAF. He was captured and became a POW.

There was another Kiwi who flew with 805 SQN, but I can't recall his name (possibly Bowler or Bowles???), and I'm not sure if he flew in Korea.

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks Craig, I appreciate that.

The Australian National Archive has a file on Guy Beange but it's not digitised. They also have an RAAF Sergeant Vance Drummond A33624, but it oo is not digitised online. I note another New Zealander named Frederick Agnew Vance Drummond there who was a Sgt pilot and killed in No. 111 Squdron in 1941 too.

No pilots show up when seraching the Aussie National Archives for "Bowles" or "Bowler" and "Zealand". Was 805 Squadron in the RAN or the RN? A search for 095 Squadron brought up a file on Kittyhawk accidents!!

[corsair67]

Dave, I've managed to track him down:

Lieutenant Commander W. G. Bowles, DSC. He commanded 805SQN (RAN FAA) in Korea from Aug. 1951 until Feb. 1952.

Haven't been able to confirm that he was a Kiwi, but was lead to believe so by FlyNavy a couple of years ago.

[angelsonefive]

There is a file in the NZ Archives relating to an air accident in 1951 to the RN Hawker Sea Fury VW654.
The pilot was named as Flt-Lt A.F. Tucker, RNZAF.
Where the accident took place, and the fate of the pilot is not given in the brief outline.

If you want to obtain a copy from the Archive the full description is
ABFK 7281 W4266 164 25/4/10

I believe it costs $25 for photo-copying and postage and can be charged to a credit card.
Alternatively you can arrange to view the file at no charge.

[Dave Homewood]

Blimey, that's Fred Tucker, famous RNZAF pilot. He commanded No. 14 Squadron at one point. He must have done an exchange or something like that. Cheers for that.

[angelsonefive]

Hi Dave,
I guess then that the crash was not fatal , assuming that he went on to reach Sqdn-Ldr.

[Dave Homewood]

And he's still alive now I believe.

[Dave Homewood]

Fred Tucker was doing a course in the UK when that Sea Fury incident occurred so it's not related to the Korean War.

[Dave Homewood]

I interviewed Group Captain John Gard'ner this past week. He flew in WWII and then was posted as an RAF officer to the USA in 1950 and joined a USMC squadron, the number of which he can't recall as his logbooks were nicked (like most interesting pilots!!) but it began with VMF. He was stationed at USMC Cherry Point on Grumman Tigercats for about 11 months and then was posted to USMC El Toro, California where he converted to the Skyknight jet. He was given the task of then converting 55 other pilots to the type and training them up. Then the squadron went to Japan and onto Korea and he flew a three month tour in the Korean War. A remarkable man with an amazing story.

So that adds one more to the list of kiwis who flew in the Korean War.

[Dave Homewood]

Here is an older thread I had forgotten about on kiwis in the air in Korea
rnzaf.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Postwar&action=display&thread=1991

[Dave Homewood]

Does anyone know if these two NZ-born pilots who flew in Korea during the war are still alive?
- Maxwell Scannell: He was from Christchurch, he flew with the RNZAF in WWII and then afterwards joined the RAF. He too flew with No. 77 Squadron on Mustangs and then meteors and shared in the distruction of a MiG-15.

- Roy Lelong: Auckland born RAF ace who served on in the RAF afetr the war and was posted to the USAF. He flew F-86 Sabres in Korea. He was an ace and I think he is dead but cannot find any real confirmation of this.

[trx850]

And another very interesting one found just today!

www.navy.mil.nz/know-your-navy/official-documents/navy-today/nt09webformat/nt141/plane-guard.htm

Cheers,
Pete M.

[Dave Homewood]

Great find Pete. It sounds like there were a lot of kiwis still in the RN FAA at that time.

I wonder where Roy Hooker lives, is that a recent article? I would love to interview him for my FAA film project.

[Dave Homewood]

Ah, just spotted when you click the photo it has they live in Otaki. Cool.

[Calum]

Stumbled across this link when searching for info on Lieutenant G A Beange for my Airifix Sea Fury build

www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1210656

[davidd]

I am guessing that the Corsairs which flew over HMS Glory off Rabaul in September 1945 during the surrender negotiations were not RN ones from the Glory, but were RNZAF aircraft from Jacquinot Bay. Just a thought.
David D

[Dave Homewood]

INCHON ATTACK

WELL-PLANNED AFFAIR

NEW ZEALANDER PARTICIPATES

(Special Correspondent—N.Z.P.A.). (Rec. 9.15 a.m.) LONDON, Nov. 16.

“Inchon was a wonderfully planned landing — a D-Day beach attack in miniature,” said Lieutenant Randall Kettle, Royal Navy, sole New Zealand pilot in the aircraft-carrier Triumph, describing flying experiences off the coast of Korea during the early stages of the campaign.

He returned to England with Triumph, and will be stationed at Portsmouth on the drogue towing service.

“We had two squadrons in Inchon, one of Seafires for spotting for cruisers and the other of Fireflies for attacking coastal shipping with rockets,” said Lieutenant Kettle, “We were pretty successful against very inferior ack-ack opposition.”

During the whole Korean campaign, said Lieutenant Kettle, Triumph had no operation casualties. Her Seafires and Fireflies flew 900 sorties, without loss.

Lieutenant Kettle, who is a son of Mr and Mrs F. von Kettle, of Taupo, and formerly, of Napier, was educated at Wanganui and entered the Royal Navy at the end of 1942 by special entry examination.

Bombardment of Nicobar
After training at Chester, he joined the cruiser Kenya as a midshipman, and was aboard her during the bombardment of Japanese-occupied Nicobar Islands. Later he was attached to the destroyer Queenborough. He returned to England in 1944 for a sub-lieutenants course, and was afterwards sent to join the cruiser Belfast in the Pacific, based on Hong Kong. During this period of service Belfast visited Japanese ports and went to Australia and New Zealand, where Lieut. Kettle was able to see his parents.

At the end of 1946 he transferred to the Royal Naval Air Service and trained at several schools in England, finishing up on Seafires at the operations school at Lossiemouth, Scotland.

After ferrying in England for some time, Lieut. Kettle joined Triumph and sailed in her early, in 1949 for the Mediterranean. Later Triumph reinforced the Hong Kong area. She had completed a tour of service in waters round Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, and was on the way back to England when the Korean fighting broke out, and she was ordered to remain.

Opposition Negligible
“We were first working with the United States Navy,” explained Lieut. Kettle, “and our Seafires and Fireflies co-operated with them in strafing Korean airfields and trains with rocket and cannon. We were ‘in’ on the landing just north of Pusan. Then we worked with our own fleet units mostly against coastal towns, ports and small shipping. We did a lot of reconnaissance work, too. Opposition was negligible, shore ack-ack poor, and we did not lose aircraft in the operations, unless you count one accidentally shot down by an ally! Most of our successes came from spotting for cruisers and against ships. Trains towards the end were few and far between.”

Triumph was in sight of the New Zealand frigates Pukaki and Taupo while in Korean waters.

Lieut. Kettle paid tribute to the good work done by South Korean minesweepers and LST's. “They had not much equipment, but they certainly made the most of it.”

Lieut. Kettle made several visits to Japan, and for a time was based with No. 77 Australian Squadron there. At Kure, he found a fellow New Zealander from Napier—Lieut. J. S. Pallot, who was attached to H.M.S. Commonwealth. “We had a minor celebration,” admitted Lieut. Kettle.

After drogue towing at Portsmouth, Lieut. Kettle hopes to transfer to a first-line squadron.


ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, 17 NOVEMBER 1950