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Post by oj on Jan 3, 2022 20:44:24 GMT 12
"The four aircraft left Ohakea at 3.11p.m. and were expected at Whenuapai at 4.21 p.m. They were from the No 2 Wellington Squadron and were piloted by members of the Territorial Air Force. They were using visual flying procedure and were to proceed via Cape Egmont, Waitara and the Taranaki coast. At 3.30 p.m. the pilots reported running into bad weather about Waitara. After striking the bad weather they proceeded indvidually and did not have contact with each other."
This sounds like poor planning with no contingency. Flying VFR and proceeding into bad weather. What did the official RNZAF enquiry say about it all?
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axelford
Squadron Leader
I have visited 13 Plane wreck sites and counting, happy to help with info!
Posts: 120
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Post by axelford on Jan 8, 2022 7:24:58 GMT 12
It certainly would be interesting to get the report and see what comments it has to say. It's strange but I recall one source claiming they collided in the bad weather but I can't find it again so it may have been my brain on the blink!
Speaking of little known wrecks, there's a very long list of collisions, stalls, training accidents etc. of RNZAF craft that are described as having crashed on farmland and non-forested terrain and it has made me wonder how many have remains buried on site or how many have something of note sitting on site (In cases where it's convenient to tip into a gully or leave under scrub.)
What especially made me think about this is yesterday I was driving through Bulls when a picture of a Kittyhawk caught my eye in the window of a building, in particular, the Bulls museum. They had on display a plethora of parts from NZ3226 which hade been accidently uncovered by farmers excavating a paddock in 2019, the parts mainly consisted of engines related components. So it has fired my imagination wondering what items would be at these very unknown crash sites.
Edit: Just remembered a forgotten plane wreck, NZ1008, a Harvard that flew straight into the western cliff face of Kapiti Island, it took a team a lot of effort to walk around to that side and recover the parts but they did not remove the engine block and it is still there according to a (2013?) book about Kapiti Island.
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chook
Flying Officer
Posts: 63
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Post by chook on Jan 26, 2022 15:44:38 GMT 12
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chook
Flying Officer
Posts: 63
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Post by chook on Jan 26, 2022 16:00:23 GMT 12
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Post by davidd on Jan 28, 2022 8:27:45 GMT 12
Chook, Your first post does give the impression that your two posts are NOT New Zealand Corsairs (although I soon realized that your meaning is that they are not actually in NZ), but it is equally very obvious once the attachments are revealed that these are both RNZAF Corsairs. I was not even going to explore these two posts, but then I thought - perhaps these might be worth a look in spite of this - and glad that I did. Ewan Stevenson has provided quite a lot of information about the wrecks and the pilots, although the old myth about the existence of the F4U-1A model sadly still persists. Amazing what is still "out there".
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chook
Flying Officer
Posts: 63
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Post by chook on Jan 28, 2022 15:18:24 GMT 12
Yes sorry, was a bit misleading. They would be awesome expeditions to go on!
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chrism
Squadron Leader
Posts: 128
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Post by chrism on Jan 28, 2022 16:22:12 GMT 12
Yes sorry, was a bit misleading. They would be awesome expeditions to go on! A couple of great links there thanks, interesting pictures!
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axelford
Squadron Leader
I have visited 13 Plane wreck sites and counting, happy to help with info!
Posts: 120
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Post by axelford on Jan 28, 2022 17:21:13 GMT 12
Fascinating links, it is a shame however as the article says, that so many wreck parts are sold off illegally with no context of where they are from and the stories lost.
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axelford
Squadron Leader
I have visited 13 Plane wreck sites and counting, happy to help with info!
Posts: 120
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Post by axelford on Feb 19, 2022 18:00:03 GMT 12
Visited Lodestar ZK-AKX the Friday before last Friday. Some have commented that there is little left in situ but baring the engines which had been recovered for the investigation the site had a lot to see.
The fuselage with cabin floor and wing spar attachment was still there, the doorway for the mail compartment was visible as well. Unlike all the air force crash sites I've visited, which have metal seats, there was a lot of fabric chair remains. Also of interest was fused aluminum from the fire, I've failed to find that elsewhere. The red paint and serial numbers where still visible on the large parts of wing intact. The tail unit although mentioned as being recovered for a Ventura restoration, was still there in pieces so I suspect only a few pieces were taken.
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Post by johnnyfalcon on Feb 19, 2022 20:31:36 GMT 12
Great update! Any pics?
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axelford
Squadron Leader
I have visited 13 Plane wreck sites and counting, happy to help with info!
Posts: 120
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Post by axelford on Feb 20, 2022 19:15:04 GMT 12
Thanks, as to pics, I still haven't wrapped my head around photo imbedding. I know I can always ask someone else to embed them but it is embarrassing that I still haven't figured it out despite being of the so called digital native generation... I'll get the photos off of my mum's camera sometime and upload them to my flickr. Then have another go at uploading them!
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kiwiwreckdiver
Squadron Leader
Still military and aviation history mad
Posts: 116
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Post by kiwiwreckdiver on Jul 18, 2023 1:09:09 GMT 12
Fascinating links, it is a shame however as the article says, that so many wreck parts are sold off illegally with no context of where they are from and the stories lost. most of it ends up in Local scrap bins for a couple of dollars booze money.
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Post by dustyredgodfrey on Jul 18, 2023 9:46:29 GMT 12
Any information on a light twin wreck at windwistle inland canterbury? I saw it in the mid ninetys at a farm called "the point"? I suspect it was used for parts and then partly buried. I am curious as to what it was
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Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 7, 2023 13:32:14 GMT 12
Any information on a light twin wreck at windwistle inland canterbury? I saw it in the mid ninetys at a farm called "the point"? I suspect it was used for parts and then partly buried. I am curious as to what it was Could it have been the remains of an Anson? There were three on a farm there at Windwhistle, one of which is now in the Air Force Museum.
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