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Post by Luther Moore on Sept 28, 2011 5:15:12 GMT 12
Just a few auestions I have about my logbook.
What is ''Red letter day''
Did the RNZAF use S.B.D's
What is a drogue
It says ''Dog fight with an American S.B.D'' what would that mean
Is ''dimmed out'' blacked out
What is a T.B.F.L
What is a ''Flapless landing''
Who is Douge Smith.14 Sqd/Ldr Blundell/Blondell .K,P/O Sumner
What is Pallikulo
What does ''Bought it'' mean
What is a ''Tail chase''
What is a Jap ''Duke of York''
It says''Tower had to give a wild Pig a green light to scare it off the runway''whats a green light
Whats ''Smokey Joe''
What does ''Smoked target'' mean
What is a ''M.T area''
In April/May there is alot of missions to Support Aussie troops,anyone have anymore info on that?
Any help will be great.
Cheers.
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Post by buffnut453 on Sept 28, 2011 5:44:31 GMT 12
Some answers:
Did the RNZAF use S.B.D's - Yes, they did (aka Dauntless dive bomber).
What is a drogue - A target towed behind an aircraft used for gunnery practice
It says ''Dog fight with an American S.B.D'' what would that mean - Likely a mock-combat with an American Dauntless dive bomber.
Is ''dimmed out'' blacked out - Depends on the context. Dimmed out could refer to turning down the brightness of an illuminant (eg cockpit instrument lighting).
What is a T.B.F.L
What is a ''Flapless landing'' - Landing with no flap deployed - it will be at a much higher speed than traditional landings where flaps are deployed.
Who is Douge Smith.14 Sqd/Ldr Blundell/Blondell .K,P/O Sumner - "P/O Sumner" = Pilot Officer Sumner. "Sqd/Ldr Blundell" = Squadron Leader Blundell. Probably squadron mates of the pilot.
What is Pallikulo - Sounds like a place name.
What does ''Bought it'' mean - Killed.
What is a ''Tail chase'' - One aircraft following the other.
What is a Jap ''Duke of York''
It says''Tower had to give a wild Pig a green light to scare it off the runway''whats a green light - Probably a flare fired from the air traffic control tower (green to indicate an aircraft was cleared to land).
Whats ''Smokey Joe'' - Smoke signal.
What does ''Smoked target'' mean - Could mean a smoke target (ie a target that's smoking on the ground for aircraft to shoot at).
What is a ''M.T area'' - Motor Transport area. The MT unit on a station provides all the vehicular transport.
Does that help at all?
Cheers,
Mark
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Post by Luther Moore on Sept 28, 2011 6:04:46 GMT 12
Thanks Mark!
In regards to, ''Smoked target''it says I smoked target for a 16 plane sweep. Maybe popped smoke for them to identify it? It also says ''I dimmed out at 16000ft due to oxygen supply failure''So I'm guessing it meant blacked out?
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Post by buffnut453 on Sept 28, 2011 6:20:43 GMT 12
Hi Luther,
Yes, I agree with your assessment on dimming out. Marking a target with smoke was vital in jungle areas because targets were otherwise impossible to locate. I seem to recall RAAF Boomerangs performing this task as part of their Army co-op work.
As for knowing my stuff - blame 20 years in the RAF!
Cheers,
Mark
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Post by Peter Lewis on Sept 28, 2011 9:41:19 GMT 12
"Pallikulo" refers to the Bomber One strip at Espiritu Santo, in what was then the New Hebrides now Vanuatu.  |
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Post by errolmartyn on Sept 28, 2011 11:51:47 GMT 12
From my trilogy For Your Tomorrow - A record of New Zealanders who have died while serving with the RNZAF and Allied Air Services since 1915 (Volume Two: FAtes 1943-1998):
Fri 5 May 1944
NEW ZEALAND
Practice(?)
21 Squadron, RNZAF (Ardmore)
P-40N Warhawk NZ3170 - while performing aerobatics at low altitude, stalled off a steep climb on completing a loop and dived towards the ground. Had almost recovered and begun to level out, but crashed near Te Akau, 9 miles north of Raglan, at 0900. The pilot is buried at Hamilton.
Pilot: NZ4210042 Plt Off John Howard SUMNER, RNZAF - Age 20. 300hrs (51 solo on P-40)
Fri 30 Jun 1944
SOUTH PACIFIC
Sweep along the coast from Cape Gazelle to Cape Archway, New Britain
14 Squadron, RNZAF (Torokina, Bougainville, Solomon Islands)
F4U-1 Corsair NZ5207 - thought to have been shot down by flak a few miles north of Adler Bay in the vicinity of Sum Sum at 0925. The pilot is commemorated on the Bourail Memorial.
Pilot: NZ39898 Sqn Ldr John Crayley BLUNDELL, mid, RNZAF - Age 25.
Blundell, on his second South Pacific tour, had been commanding the Squadron since 20 April 1944.Errol
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Post by Bruce on Sept 28, 2011 11:57:29 GMT 12
T.B.F.L is likely to be a TBF-1 Avenger
I'm guessing a Jap Duke of York is a Japanese Battleship roughly equivilent to HMS Duke of York - a King George V class battleship. Just a guess mind you!...
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 28, 2011 17:19:39 GMT 12
Smokey Joe was the RNZAF codename or nickname for the aircraft that marked targets. These were usually RAAF Boomerang fighters but also done by RAAF Wirraways and RNZAF fighters too. They flew in low to identify the target and dropped a smoke flare so the fighter-bombers coming in behind could drop their bombs in a dive onto that area. Much like Pathfinders did at night with flares. The Smokey Joes were really the forerunners of Forward Air Controllers which were used much more into the 1950's-70's.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 28, 2011 17:22:29 GMT 12
''Red letter day'' is just a term meaning a big day, often one that has been anticipated for a long time or has a major tuning point in it. ie the World Cup Final is a ''Red letter day''
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Post by Luther Moore on Sept 28, 2011 18:29:03 GMT 12
Peter seemed of flown a few ''Smokey Joe'' missions in his F4U.
It's interesting how the RNZAF worked so close with the USAAF and USMC It's noted that Peter flew a few missions to rescue and find downed USAAF and USMC aircraft.
Does anyone know how long one tour would of been? Peter's Biography it says he did three tours.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 28, 2011 21:01:55 GMT 12
RNZAF Squadrons in the Pacific came under US command and were part of the US air wings in structure, they were basically treated as no different from US squadrons by the high command rather than as an independent Air Force. And New Zealanders were also working in the high command structure with the Americans too, it was all one solid effort together.
The length of tours varied but you'll see in his logbooks, from the time he left NZ till he returned each time, that was a tour. For fighter pilots usually two-three months.
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Post by Luther Moore on Sept 29, 2011 0:32:36 GMT 12
Very interesting Dave. I did not know that about the RNZAF under US command.
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Post by Luther Moore on Sept 29, 2011 5:00:00 GMT 12
Did the P-51's ever make it to New Zealand to replace the F4U?
Answer to my own question about the Aussie cover,
the Australians were supported by three squadrons of Corsairs from the Royal New Zealand Air Force—Nos. 14, 22 and 26 Squadrons—which bombed and strafed the ground in front of the advancing infantry, as well as a creeping barrage of artillery and mortar fire. With such strong support the Japanese offered little resistance and over the course of two days the 24th Battalion covered almost a third of the distance to the Hongorai
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 29, 2011 9:46:37 GMT 12
30 Mustangs arrived and the rest were cancelled. The thirty were purchased and stored till 1951 when they were put into service and from 1952 they equipped four squadrons of the Territorial Air Force.
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Post by camtech on Sept 29, 2011 11:23:34 GMT 12
Duke of York probably refers to a group of islands (Japanese occupied?) Between New Britain and New Ireland in the Solomons. NZ aircraft would have known this area quite well
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Post by Luther Moore on Sept 30, 2011 0:02:38 GMT 12
The length of tours varied but you'll see in his logbooks, from the time he left NZ till he returned each time, that was a tour. For fighter pilots usually two-three months.[/quote]
Geez i'm in shock!! I checked when his tour was over and in the book it says ''Tour ending on the 31st of May1945''(also the day of his death).
Camtech, I think you're right it says ''Duke of York Islands'' on another page.
Anyone know what a Japanese Canoe is? It seems to come up a lot.
What Does U/C stand for?
Air to Air?and in some parts Air to Air firing.
Dumbo Cover?
Bombs and bullets(straffing and bombing?)
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Post by Tony on Sept 30, 2011 0:23:47 GMT 12
Anyone know what a Japanese Canoe is? A canoe
What Does U/C satnd for? Undercarriage
Air to Air? Air to Air firing.
Dumbo Cover? Cover for PBY (Catalina) Air Sea Rescue
Bombs and bullets - Bombing and straffing
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Post by Luther Moore on Sept 30, 2011 0:39:23 GMT 12
Yes thank you I know it's a canoe, but I'm asking What sort was itand why the hell were Japs rowing around in canoe's.
Air to Air firing?
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Post by Tony on Sept 30, 2011 0:43:27 GMT 12
They used any transport they could get, barges small rowboats, canoes etc.
But it has to be said that the Allies straffed native canoes as well.
Air to air firing ie dogfighting. Live rounds against the Japs or a drogue or camera against friendlies.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 30, 2011 0:56:44 GMT 12
A lot of the natives were under Japanese occupation and were persuaded, bribed and cajouled into siding with the Japs. Certain areas were known to have unfriendly natives and their canoes would be recognised as unfriendly Japanese craft.
I was told a most incredibly detailed memory by a P-40 pilot, on his first ever mission and as wingman to the CO, when his CO struck engine trouble and was forced to bail out into the sea. A native canoe came out from shore where the natives were known to be Japanese sympathisers, and so he was tasked with strafing the canoe several times to keep them away from his CO, stalling them to give him time before the Catalina arrived. He was careful not to hit any of the natives but did some very low flying over them too making them jump overboard at one point. The CO was saved by the Dumbo in the end and all was good. But he said the natives would be paid handsomely by Japs if they'd brought in the pilot.
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