Lucky or what ?

[dakman]

:-In 1941 lac G C Stewart was recorded as walking out from the crash of a Hawker Hind Perhaps it was luck or something else but this was the first of many unplaned arrivals back on the ground . Is much known about this RNZAF chap and his flying exploits . Hope he survived ww2 ? as I would certainly fly with him /

[dakman]

The Hind he was flyimg was reported as NZ1518 and dated November 1941
near Waikanae

[errolmartyn]

NZ413903 Guthrie Cuthbertson Stewart
Born Auckland 21 Nov 21
Enlisted Levin as AP u/t 6 Jul 41
4EFTS Aug 41
3SFTS
On 20 Nov 41 ‘While flying [Hind NZ1518] on navigation exercise, pilot entered cloud when writing up log [!]. He turned to climb into clear country but found himself in a diving turn amongst hills. Aircraft failed to recover from diving turn and crashed into bush.
Instruments retrieved and wreckage set alight by works section later.”
[Remarkably, he was uninjured in this accident.]
Embarked President Grant for UK/attached RAF 20 Jan 42
Commissioned (from Wt Off) 18 Jan 45
To Reserve (as Fg Off) 29 Jan 46
Was a building inspector in Auckland in 1963

Log book or copy of it held by the Air Force Museum

Errol

[dakman]

Thanks Errol nice to confirm he survived the war ,

[shamus]

Dakman, I believe Guthrie Stewart is still alive and living in Henderson. It is many years since i saw him. Being a Hind pilot I of course interviewed him many years ago. He was lucky to walk away from the Hind crash in the Tararuas but luck was his middle name. He was, during the war, involved in eleven crashes and walked away from them all. He belly- landed a Lancaster, with a 500 pound bomb aboard, that had an undercarriage failure and walked away. He had an engine failure in a Spitfire at 25000ft. above 8/8ths cloud and when he came out of the cloud at 1000ft there was an aerodrome straight beneath on which he was able to force land. Now thats lucky.

[Dave Homewood]

So he flew Lancasters AND Spitfires. he sounds like a very interesting chap.

The phone directory only lists two G.C. Stewarts in Auckland. One at St Heliers and the other at Onehunga. Is he perhaps in a home? There's no probate for him on the National Archive site so that is promising.

[dakman]

Thanks for the response guys he sure had a great service life
good that most of his experiences have been noted
may be Peter Jackson would be a bit interested ?
Could be a good kiwi film