|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 28, 2011 23:43:49 GMT 12
I was asked tonight about No. 75 Squadron Vampires, and I really don't know a lot about the service of the type in that Squadron, other than the Vampire display teams which i have looked into for my website - here www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/Airshow_Display_Teams_75Sqn.htmDoes anyone have any photos and stories and memories of the technical history, operational history and social history of the Vampires of No. 75 Squadron, and the squadron members at that time please? |
|
|
|
Post by oggie2620 on Aug 29, 2011 10:09:30 GMT 12
There must be something in Forever Strong but I think David Duxbury will be a good person to ask since thats what he was looking at when I met him at Wigram in 2010... Will have to email him for you.
Dee
|
|
|
|
Post by oggie2620 on Aug 29, 2011 10:19:35 GMT 12
Done.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 29, 2011 10:56:53 GMT 12
I'm just hoping there will be people here who worked on them, or flew them, who will come forward with stories and photos.
One thing that has come up is that a mate has a copy of a logbook of a No. 75 Squadron pilot from the mid-1950's, and for a lot of the Vampire entries he has written rather than the aircraft serial, a code letter instead. I have never seen any photos to my knowledge of a Vampire wearing code letters. Where did they carry the letter? On the tail uprights? Or the nosegear door? Or elsewhere?
I will look at Forever Strong, though it's not in any way a reliable source, it's riddled with errors that book.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chris F on Aug 29, 2011 15:12:44 GMT 12
Dave have you talk to Brett Emery yet....he knows a few people with good knowledge of the Vampires.
|
|
|
|
Post by skyhawkdon on Aug 29, 2011 15:36:31 GMT 12
The Vampire (and Canberra) years is a relatively unrecorded era of RNZAF history. Someone needs to research it and write it up into a book! The very detailed, but yet to be finished 75 Sqn history will cover some of it but only that relating to 75 Sqn.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 29, 2011 15:36:54 GMT 12
Raptor, I think you mean Brett Emeny. A good lead.
Don, a history of the Vampire in NZ service is pretty much what is being done and why I strated this thread. It's not me doing the research, I was asked about it myself by author David Watkins who is writing about Vampire history and intends to include decent sections on No. 14 Squadron RNZAF and No. 75 Squadron RNZAF in his book. He has nearly completed the No. 14 Squadron section but is finding No. 75 Squadron harder to find info on.
I have posted this thread here to see what might come out of the woodwork. We have a lot of guys here who worked on the Canberras and Skyhawks, there must be some who remember the Vampires, or who have photos to share.
|
|
|
|
Post by skyhawkdon on Aug 29, 2011 15:48:57 GMT 12
Has he seen the 75 Sqn history being done by the 75 Sqn Association? I think Stu MacIntire in Tauranga has taken it over to get it finished? Glen Turner would know.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chris F on Aug 29, 2011 16:01:10 GMT 12
Sorry Dave typo...must improve that!
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 29, 2011 16:11:55 GMT 12
Don, he has been in contact with Glen Turner and so is likely to be aware of it.
|
|
|
|
Post by paddy on Aug 29, 2011 16:12:17 GMT 12
Has he seen the 75 Sqn history being done by the 75 Sqn Association? I think Stu MacIntire in Tauranga has taken it over to get it finished? Glen Turner would know. Sorry to go off topic but Stu McIntyre was the Base Commander during my time. We were dispatching him in a T Bird from AMS for a test flight. The Leccies had forgotten to put the fuses back in for the bangers so it took quite a while to get him started (Call the Leccies out etc etc) He obviously had a lot of time to look around as after he had landed a missive came from him that the airman that had dispatched him was to have a haircut ASAP. (And no it wasn't me. Guy looked like a short Peter Tork from the Monkees but with glasses) Base Commanders never stop being Base Commanders. |
|
|
|
Post by Tony on Aug 29, 2011 23:33:25 GMT 12
My first memory of the Vampire was when they landed at Wellington on the Saturday of the Opening Weekend (horrible weather that day) and they streamed up to the Cobham Drive end of the runway before entering the taxiway to head back towards the terminal. Lead cranked his canopy back and waved to me. I was the only sod there (opposite Wexford Road). Just what an excited eight year old needed.  |
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 30, 2011 0:57:55 GMT 12
Tony, the formation leader that day was Colin Rudd.
|
|
|
|
Post by Tony on Aug 30, 2011 3:27:31 GMT 12
Tony, the formation leader that day was Colin Rudd. Gawd - he was around for a while then, He was a Wing Commander when I was at Ohakea as a Corporal so around the late '70's maybe early '80's |
|
|
|
Post by snaphead on Mar 20, 2013 10:05:10 GMT 12
I have some memeries of 75 Sqd.
After my Mechs course I was posted to 75 sqd as a Airframe Mech. After my induction and allocation to (then) Cpl Ian Uffendell my first task after lunch was to man the BCF fire extinguisher for an engine start. Imagine my horror as a "wet" start occured. Successfully extinguished and the tail tipped down and a dry-out run completed.
Another memory is of the Base Commander deciding to go for a fly. Now on the Vampire the Start button and the engine fire extinghisher button are one above the other. Guess what , this particular Group Captain pushed the fire bottle button. A half day to change and purge.
I think the G/P's name was Hope.
I was also there the day a Vampire crashed. We were having a special parade and flypast
for the Squadron to accept the colours from a wartime squadron (485 I think). The Vampires were coming in for a formation landing on the main runway (bomb dump end) and the Vampire's undercarriage clipped a lip at the begining of the runway, spun round, broke its back, caught fire, the wind was blowing from the west so the flames went over the cockpit and burnt the pilot. He was still alive at that stage but died later the night. It was a very subdued group of "baggies" that went to lunch that day. For the life of me I can't remember the pilots name. We all flew up to AKL in a B-170 for his funeral and (complete) cremation.
On a more pleasant note I was the "baggie" nominated to go up to Whenuapie with a formation of 3 Vampires. My pilot was Flt Lt Larry Ollson (I think) a very good pilot and a nice guy. I recall the Crackerstacker assisting to strap me in and asking "you comfortable" and tightening them further. The flight was very smooth and about mid North Island Larry bought out a map and asked me "Do you know were we are?" I said maybe so he rolled the aircraft upside down and said "there we are"and rolled upright.
Another incident was during the induction of a new mech in which I broke the reflector glass on the gun sight. I was showing how to open and close the DV window on a T-11 and how the gunsight extended and retracted when I got it out of sequence and the sight smashed into the DV window. think the inductie was either Dick Coker or Garry Higgins.
Gisbourne was an interesting exercise we went on with the Vampires. It has a railway line going through it and trains had right of way. Just after we arrived in a B-170 a Cessna 180 topdresser thought he could taxy through our camp, BUT unknown to him in the long grass were two loading ramps, over he went. The people and females of Gisbourne were very sociable! Thats where I learnt about the location of the "Golden Rivet".
|
|
|
|
Post by shorty on Mar 20, 2013 11:06:15 GMT 12
That crash pilot"s name was Murray Whineray (Winstons brother).
Lots of 75 Sqn photos om my "Stash" thread. Earlier on they didn't wear squadron markings
The code letter ones, would that have bee in Cyprus flying RAF ones by any chance?
|
|
|
|
Post by obiwan27 on Mar 20, 2013 11:40:58 GMT 12
|
|
|
|
Post by shorty on Mar 20, 2013 11:44:48 GMT 12
OOPs, sorry about the typo
|
|
|
|
Post by phil82 on Mar 20, 2013 15:13:32 GMT 12
I have some memeries of 75 Sqd. Cpl Ian Uffendell : Later WO he now lives in Blenheim Another memory is of the Base Commander deciding to go for a fly. Now on the Vampire the Start button and the engine fire extinghisher button are one above the other. Guess what , this particular Group Captain pushed the fire bottle button. A half day to change and purge. I think the G/P's name was Hope. That would be the late Max Hope who was indeed Base Commander at the time of the Vampire crashI was also there the day a Vampire crashed. We were having a special parade and flypast for the Squadron to accept the colours from a wartime squadron (485 I think). The Vampires were coming in for a formation landing on the main runway (bomb dump end) and the Vampire's undercarriage clipped a lip at the begining of the runway, spun round, broke its back, caught fire, the wind was blowing from the west so the flames went over the cockpit and burnt the pilot. He was still alive at that stage but died later the night. It was a very subdued group of "baggies" that went to lunch that day. For the life of me I can't remember the pilots name. We all flew up to AKL in a B-170 for his funeral and (complete) cremation. Pilot was Fg Off Murray Whinereay, younger brother of Sir Wilsonquote] |
|
|
|
Post by avenger on Mar 20, 2013 15:54:22 GMT 12
There was mention earlier re Stu McIntyre of Tauranga, maybe that should have been Stu Boys?
Stu McIntyre is in Wellington.
|
|
