Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 16, 2011 15:01:42 GMT 12
I just came across this very interesting article/interview with a Petty Officer C.A. Oliphant who was by April 1941 apparently an ace having shot down 10 enemy aircraft, however he has not been mentioned on the NZFPM Ace List.
A FINE RECORD
NEW ZEALAND PILOT
VARIED WAR EXPERIENCE
NAZIS SHOT. DOWN
(From "The Post's" Representative.)
LONDON, February 10
A New Zealander with a remarkable war record is Pilot Petty Officer C. A. Oliphant, of Timaru. When hostilities broke out he was in America, where he had lived for six and a half years and had flown 2500 hours for Pan- American Airways.
Returning to New Zealand, he enlisted in the Royal Navy and served in the Achilles at the Battle of the River Plate, where he won the D.S.M. He applied for a transfer to the Fleet Air Arm, and he was in England on leave at the time of' Dunkirk. Immediately he volunteered and made several trips in a small boat which rescued many British Tommies.
For a time he was transferred to the French Fleet Air Arm, and with them he made many raids over the Maginot Line. Since then he has shot down 10 German aircraft, some near Narvik, and others over England. He has crashed twice, and he has had to bale out once. That was after he had sent two Me. 110's down in flames.
"Three of us were up together that day," he said, "and we split up to see what we could find. I saw a couple of Me.'s and I radioed to the other chaps, but they were too far away, and I had to get stuck into the Germans myself. I was in a Fairey Battle. I managed to get the first Me., and I had just got him when the second came down on me from nowhere.
"We shot each other up. but he baled out just before I had to, and so I was credited with having brought him down."
SUCCESSFUL ENCOUNTERS
Oliphant has shot down three Germans off Portsmouth, three, between Narvik and the English coast, and one off the Isle of Wight, Margate, and Bristol.
"Once I got chased by a Dornier, and I had to go for my life," he said. "I was flying a Shark with the Coastal Command and the Dornier was considerabjy faster than me. I was very glad to get away from him, and it was all I could do to manage it."
While attached to the French Fleet Air Arm, the New Zealander dropped bombs on the Siegfried Line on several occasions.
"Once we went over to Essen. Everything was quiet when we arrived and we dived down in single file. I was last. As we went down Jerry let off everything he had. and my tail was bumped with a piece of shrapnel. The jar threw me forward, and my hand touched the jettison switch.
"It released the whole of the bomb load—about 24 altogether—and the lot of them went down into a gasworks. The plane shot up immediately, and it was like being in a lift for a moment. There was a good old fireworks show down below, and the 'Old Man' seemed quite pleased when we got back."
Oliphant has had a grouse recently, and an ambition. His grouse is that he's getting "browned off" with lack of action. And his ambition is to go to Greece.
Does anyone have more details on this chap please?
A FINE RECORD
NEW ZEALAND PILOT
VARIED WAR EXPERIENCE
NAZIS SHOT. DOWN
(From "The Post's" Representative.)
LONDON, February 10
A New Zealander with a remarkable war record is Pilot Petty Officer C. A. Oliphant, of Timaru. When hostilities broke out he was in America, where he had lived for six and a half years and had flown 2500 hours for Pan- American Airways.
Returning to New Zealand, he enlisted in the Royal Navy and served in the Achilles at the Battle of the River Plate, where he won the D.S.M. He applied for a transfer to the Fleet Air Arm, and he was in England on leave at the time of' Dunkirk. Immediately he volunteered and made several trips in a small boat which rescued many British Tommies.
For a time he was transferred to the French Fleet Air Arm, and with them he made many raids over the Maginot Line. Since then he has shot down 10 German aircraft, some near Narvik, and others over England. He has crashed twice, and he has had to bale out once. That was after he had sent two Me. 110's down in flames.
"Three of us were up together that day," he said, "and we split up to see what we could find. I saw a couple of Me.'s and I radioed to the other chaps, but they were too far away, and I had to get stuck into the Germans myself. I was in a Fairey Battle. I managed to get the first Me., and I had just got him when the second came down on me from nowhere.
"We shot each other up. but he baled out just before I had to, and so I was credited with having brought him down."
SUCCESSFUL ENCOUNTERS
Oliphant has shot down three Germans off Portsmouth, three, between Narvik and the English coast, and one off the Isle of Wight, Margate, and Bristol.
"Once I got chased by a Dornier, and I had to go for my life," he said. "I was flying a Shark with the Coastal Command and the Dornier was considerabjy faster than me. I was very glad to get away from him, and it was all I could do to manage it."
While attached to the French Fleet Air Arm, the New Zealander dropped bombs on the Siegfried Line on several occasions.
"Once we went over to Essen. Everything was quiet when we arrived and we dived down in single file. I was last. As we went down Jerry let off everything he had. and my tail was bumped with a piece of shrapnel. The jar threw me forward, and my hand touched the jettison switch.
"It released the whole of the bomb load—about 24 altogether—and the lot of them went down into a gasworks. The plane shot up immediately, and it was like being in a lift for a moment. There was a good old fireworks show down below, and the 'Old Man' seemed quite pleased when we got back."
Oliphant has had a grouse recently, and an ambition. His grouse is that he's getting "browned off" with lack of action. And his ambition is to go to Greece.
Does anyone have more details on this chap please?
