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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 30, 2006 10:13:32 GMT 12
What was the exact nature of the work carried out by Army Co-operations Squadrons in the wartime RNZAF?
At various periods the RNZAF operated five AC squadrons, three with Hinds, two with Vincents. I know they worked closely with NZ Army units based near them, but what exactly did they do?
Were they used as spotters? Or to train soldiers in dealing with aircraft? Did they drop practice/flour bombs on troops? I have never seen a satisfactory explanation as to their duties. I know the aircraft were made fully operational with guns and bomb racks.
Did they also do local patrol work perhaps? Can anyone clarify this for me please?
Very little has ever been written on the operation of the Hawker Hinds in RNZAF service, in both their training role with No. 3 SFTS, Ohakea, and in operational AC Squadrons. I'd love to know more.
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Post by corsair67 on Jan 30, 2006 18:18:44 GMT 12
I always assumed the Army Co-op was a forerunner of what is now termed Close Air Support; where aircraft are used to attack any targets that are may hinder troop movement and also scout for any enemy forces up ahead.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 30, 2006 19:53:47 GMT 12
Ah, yes, you're probably correct there.
Sadly there does not seem to be much in the way of any recorded history of our AC squadrons. The Royal New Zealand Air Force official history by JMS Ross doesn't even mention the Hind or Vincent AC Sqns.
Geoff Bentley did write a little about the squadrons in his books, but very little else is recorded. I was speaking with Geoff yesterday, interviewing him for my GR Squadron book, and he said even he wasn't sure of the nature of the work they did, despite being a member of No. 20 (AC) Squadron. He was a Clerk GD on the Sqn so was more involved with paperwork than ops. He did get a flight in a Hind though. One interesting thing he mentioned was it was planned for No. 20 Sqn to be the first into the Pacific, but things changed and the P-40 squadrons went instead. He was also one of the last men out of RNZAF Station Onerahi when it closed after No. 20 Sqn disbanded.
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Post by corsair67 on Jan 30, 2006 20:31:52 GMT 12
The thing that amazes me the most is to think that all this was done without radios to communicate from air to ground and v.v.! Signal lamps/flags would have been one method of communication I guess: would they have morse units on the Hinds/Vincents?
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 30, 2006 21:02:12 GMT 12
I don't actually know if they had morse onboard. The gunners were WAG's, Wireless Air Gunners, in the Vincents so possibly. I shall have to ask that next time I'm talking to a Vincent crew to find out for sure. Great question.
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Post by phasselgren on Feb 3, 2006 6:29:01 GMT 12
Here comes my first post.
Army Co-op usually included tactical recce (both visual and photo), spotting and close air support as a secondary role. I am sure they used radios because RFC/RAF used radios for artillery spotting in WWl. Written messages could be picked up with a hook but I think the Lysander was the last aircraft to have this possibility.
I read that RNZAF Avengers or Dauntless crews did some spotting on Bougainville. Can anyone give me some more information about this?
Cheers
Peter
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