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Post by flyinkiwi on Feb 4, 2016 14:31:12 GMT 12
I was reading on the Aichi E13A "Jake"'s Wikipedia entry that:
Does anyone have any further information regarding this? The wikipedia entry was not referenced at all.
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Post by The Red Baron on Feb 4, 2016 20:06:21 GMT 12
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Post by davidd on Feb 5, 2016 22:05:03 GMT 12
The Jake was not captured, it was surrendered after the end of hostilities. It was found at Malaguna along coast of Simpson Harbour (Rabaul) and was ferried by an RNZAF pilot (one S/L Bob Hickson from memory) with an RNZAF passenger by name of Crookshanks, to Jacquinot Bay, south of Rabaul. It was left moored overnight, but in morning was found floating upside down, so was abandoned. One flight hardly makes for any sort of widespread use - it was only moved to prevent the Australians stealing it! Funnily enough, an Aussie DID steal it - Bob Hickson was from those parts! Not certain if this photo was taken at Malaguna or J/Bay, but I suspect the former.
David D
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Post by errolmartyn on Feb 5, 2016 22:19:41 GMT 12
The Jake was not captured, it was surrendered after the end of hostilities. It was found at Malaguna along cost of Simpson Harbour (Rabaul) and was ferried by an RNZAF pilot (one S/L Bob Hickson from memory) with an RNZAF passenger by name of Crookshanks, to Jacquinot Bay, south of Rabaul. It was left moored overnight, but in morning was found floating upside down, so was abandoned. One flight hardly makes for any sort of widespread use - it was only moved to prevent the Australians stealing it! Funnily enough, and Aussie did steal it - Bob Hickson was from those parts. Not certain if this photo was taken at Malaguna or J/Bay, but I suspect the former. David D There was only one Crookshanks in the RNZAF of WWII - NZ40999 James Douglas Crookshanks. He enlisted at 4 Technical Training Center, Hillside as a flight mechanic under training on 29 Mar 40. He later became a qualified air gunner and flight engineer, his log book (or a copy) is held by the Air Force Museum. Colin Hanson has an entry for Hickson in his By Such Deeds – Honours and awards in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, 1923 – 1999 : HICKSON, Squadron Leader Robert Haire Faris, mid. NZ1136; Born Perth, Western Australia, 19 Oct 1913; RNZAF 13 Oct 1939 to 21 Nov 1946; Pilot. Citation Mention in Despatches (22 Mar 1946): In recognition of gallant services rendered during the war. Member of crew delivering a Singapore flying boat from Singapore to Fiji in Oct-Nov 1941 and served in Fiji on this type until mid-1942. CO 5 Sqn RNZAF (Singapore) Feb-Apr 1942. Also served with 6 Sqn RNZAF (Catalina) during 1944-1945. Errol |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 6, 2016 2:03:15 GMT 12
Bob Hickson flew the first Allied aircraft into Rabaul after the surrender, an RNZAF Catalina, on which was his cousin, S/Ldr Faris, and also an air force photographer who took all the shots of the surrendered Zeros and POWs. I have spoken with both men in the past. Trying to recall latter's name.
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Post by davidd on Feb 7, 2016 10:30:47 GMT 12
Dave,
According to the official booklet "The assault on Rabaul", most of the photographs which appear in this publication actually taken on ground level at Rabaul in September 1945 were taken by either D H Vahry, or T W Ewart (latter's contribution was on page 24, top, the wrecked Daihatsu barges). However I have some doubts about the accuracy of crediting of photographs, as one "page 30 (bottom)" is credited to Vahry, but this page has NO photographs!
David D
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 7, 2016 14:25:38 GMT 12
That's him, Flying Officer Douglas Haswell Vahry. NZ391204. Doug was on the RNZAF's first photography trade course, previously they'd hired in civilian professionals to do photography on a job by job basis, or had a few ex-civilian trained professionals who'd joined the service. His course was held at Hobsonville between 6th of November 1939 (also his date of entry into the RNZAF) and 16th of July 1940, under the guidance of instructors Sgt Frank Fennessy and Cpl Ron Johnson. Postwar Doug had a photography studio in Parnell which his son still runs I believe. He was 93 when I met him in December 2010, and to my knowledge he's still going strong now. And the medical officer I mentioned was Dr. Irwin Bruce Faris, known to all as Bill. By the 1980'she was a senior doctor at Auckland Hospital. He rang me back in 2009 for a chat and I was going to interview him properly but sadly he passed away before I got to go and see him. he went into Rabaul on that flight as part of the team looking for missing RNZAF personnel. Both Doug and Bill had spent time on the GR and BR Squadrons. Also on board that Catalina that flew into Rabaul with Bob Hickson and Bill Faris was Wing Commander Ian Mathieson. They landed at Rabaul the day after the ceasefire (15 of August 1945) on Simpson Harbour without any charts to indicate possible mines, and then they transferred to HMAS Vendetta after it entered the Harbour, from where they went ashore with Australian Brigadier General Ed Sheehan, where they were met by General Imimura who surrendered 120,000 troops to them. Faris was one of three New Zealanders present at the surrender so Hickson and his Catalina crew must have joined them but not his crew. Now that I look into my files more deeply, Doug Vahry was actually at Los Negros the day of the surrender with Gp Capt Geoffrey Roberts, and he did not arrive at Rabaul till the 10th of September 1945 so was weeks after Bill Faris's arrival there. Doug was in a small team led by Squadron Leader Denys Hamilton. Also in the team were F/Lt Geof Muir, Sgt George Clark and F/Lt Walter Ingram. I believe some Aussie troops were also attached to the unit. It was this group who took over the aeroplanes surrendered by the Japanese at Rabaul. They searched for Allied graves, and after six weeks Hamilton and Muir left, leaving Vahry, Clark and Ingram as the only RNZAF personnel there. Doug single-handedly had to explore and photograph all the tunnels and caves around Rabaul, and drag out any equipment in them, take the stuff to camp via a jeep and crate it up for the Allies to take. Conditions and food were appalling there and Doug picked up amoebic dysentery which earned him the nickname Jet Propulsion! After around ten weeks at Rabaul Doug was flown back to Bougainville in a Catalina with the other two kiwis and two ex-POW priests. They flew through a storm so bad the two priests were kneeling in the aircraft praying during the flight! Here are some of the photos Doug took at Rabaul. The team at RNZAF Station Jacquinot Bay before departing for Rabaul - standing at left, F/Lt McMillan (who remained at Jacquinot Bay), F/Lt Geof Muir, S/Ldr Denys Hamilton and Sgt George Clark. Seated in front, left, F/O Doug Vahry, F/Lt Walter Ingram.  The Jake  The team at Rabaul  S/Ldr Hamilton, F/Lt Muir, Vice Admiral Kusaka's interpreter and ? at Vunakanau airfield during the surrender of the aeroplanes  Pilot briefing for the transfer of surrendered aeroplanes. They flew under escort given by No. 16 Squadron RNZAF Corsairs to Jaquinot Bay, New Britain. Forum member Bryan Cox escorted the Kate, who's pilot started out flying the wrong direction and Bryan had to direct the right way using hand signals.  The three Zero fighters and the Dinah that the RNZAF claimed as war prizes.  The Dinah        |
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Post by harvard1041 on Feb 8, 2016 6:19:53 GMT 12
Hi Dave - just wonderful photos - just neat.
As a kid, a family friend was Gordon Leask - who had been an RNZAF Armorer up in the Islands and spent a lot of time on Rabaul at the end of the war 'cleaning' up the airfields. I assume dumping Japanese bombs etc ... took months he said, and they never did really do the job 100% - he said they were very keen to get home by that time.
He had a good old collection of Japanese rifles, pistols etc and a box of Jap aircraft instruments .. I've often wondered what happened to his haul after he died ( 20 years ago now ) ...nice guy - his party trick was riding a bicycle sitting on the handlebars peddling backwards.
Cheers
Hvd1041
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Post by ZacYates on Feb 9, 2016 12:35:48 GMT 12
Terrific photos, thanks so much for sharing Dave.
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Post by Mustang51 on Apr 26, 2016 9:52:31 GMT 12
Wonderful shots. What a piece of history.
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Post by John L on May 12, 2016 12:50:30 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on May 12, 2016 22:00:44 GMT 12
I think there's some confusion there on that page. The Ki-46 Dinah page starts off talking about the Dinah and then talks about the Kate.
The Kate is in Hawaii, having spent a period at Ardmore in storage. Pioneer Aero is involved in its restoration.
The Dinah is in Victoria, Australia.
The Jake remains under the sea where it sank.
One Zero is in Auckland War Memorial Museum, I believe that the other two that were left there by the RNZAF were recovered some time back by that same people who have the Dinah, but I am not sure where they are now.
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Post by davidd on May 14, 2016 20:05:32 GMT 12
There is certainly a lot of confusion on those pages, and some rather disastrous errors. Goodness knows where all this bad information is coming from - not NZ I hope! The correct information has been known to aviation enthusiasts for at least 30 or 40 years to best of my knowledge.
Many of the most serious errors concern the other Japanese aircraft mentioned in relation to both the Dinah and the Kate. Only three Zekes (all model 52s, no Model 22) accompanied the Dinah on its final flight to Jacquinot Bay, and not five as stated in the article. However the Kate article has the correct number of Zekes, but again gives the (false) presence of the Model 22, which was actually the one which was found at Kara airstrip on southern Bougainville and is the one now on display at the Dominion War Museum in Auckland. This formation (one Dinah, 3 Zekes) was escorted by 16 RNZAF Corsairs and definitely NOT by RAAF fighters as stated in the article. The task of apportioning out the aeronautical "spoils of war" in September 1945 was given to the RNZAF, being the only remaining major Allied air formation in the area, rather then the RAAF, which has largely moved elsewhere by this date. Thus the RNZAF allocated itself the majority of the former Japanese aircraft and other relics, although in the event most was abandoned as already noted, apart for the one Model 22 Zeke (located at Kara, Bougainville), and the engines and props from the Dinah.
The Kate was NOT accompanied by the Jake on its delivery flight to Jacquinot Bay on 14th October 1945 - the Kate flew alone, along with its RNZAF escort. I have also read somewhere an account supposedly written by a member of the RNZAF who claimed he flew as a passenger in the Kate on this last flight, but I believe this to be the result of a "faulty and confused" memory. This aircraft was delayed at Vunakanau in September 1945 by an accident (it had apparently collapsed one of its main undercarriage legs) so was in no fit state to make the ferry flight that month - it took till the middle of the following month before it was repaired by Japanese personnel alone.
The location of the attack by two Kates was Seeadler harbour (not Seedler as in article) which was surrounded by the Admiralty Islands - this word is German for Sea Eagle, although it was supposedly named after the Imperial German Navy cruiser of that name in about 1900 rather than the bird as such. On the shores of the Seeadler harbour is one the Australian government's holding camps for illegal immigrants, etc, so this locality is somewhat more in the news these days than is usually the case.
The Jake was in fact ferried to Jacquinot Bay in mid-September 1945 by two RNZAF personnel, and as such required no Corsair escort. I have never been able to find out why the Japanese did not ferry this aircraft themselves, although it is possible that no qualified IJN seaplane pilot was available.
David D
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Post by isc on May 14, 2016 21:16:27 GMT 12
There was also a German four masted cadet training ship(sailing) with the name of Seeadler, I remember seeing A film of it at the Cinerama Theatre in Christchurch some where about 1966, when I was at a block course at NAC, the film I wanted to see was the Aerobatic film with the Vampires.
Perhaps the Japanese pilots knew something about the Jake, and decided that they were not suicide pilots, best leave it to someone else. isc
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Post by Dave Homewood on May 14, 2016 21:37:21 GMT 12
now on display at the Dominion War Museum in Auckland. More commonly known as the Auckland War Memorial Museum. The Kate was escorted on this flight by Bryan Cox of No. 16 Squadron. He's written and talked about this on many occasions. On taking off the Kate pilot turned the wrong direction and Bryan said the sudden thought passed through his mind that maybe he was trying it on, and that Bryan may have to shoot him down. Luckily through a series of hand gestures the Japanese pilot got the right idea, and Bryan didn't become the last RNZAF pilot with an air to air kill. He's never mentioned anyone in the back seat. That would be a significant factor in the decision making over a shoot down. |
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Post by davidd on May 15, 2016 11:01:50 GMT 12
Thanks for the correction Dave H, was scratching to recall the correct name, but did not realize they had dropped the Dominion reference - it was originally named that way (more-or-less) was it not?
Dave D
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Post by Dave Homewood on May 15, 2016 13:36:29 GMT 12
No it seems it has always been the Auckland War Memorial Museum. It's focus from the start was just on the war experiences of people from the Auckland region (which includes the provinces of Auckland, Waikato and Northland). The names on their Memorial Wall are only from that region, no-one from south of the Waikato I believe.
Despite all the war trophies that were brought back from WWI for a supposed "Dominion War Museum", that museum was never built, and a lot of the trophies dispersed and/or disappeared.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 7, 2022 19:25:29 GMT 12
Regarding the Dinah and Zekes in the photos above, this from the MANAWATU STANDARD, 22 SEPTEMBER 1945:
AIRCRAFT SURRENDERED
JAPANESE PILOT WEEPS.
(R.N.Z.A.F. Official Correspondent.) (10 a.m.) JACQUINOT BAY, Sept. 20.
A proud moment in the history of their Service was enjoyed by R.N.Z.A.F. personnel at Jacquinot Bay today. It was the unusual ceremony of the arrival of four Japanese aircraft flown by Japanese pilots to be handed over to the New Zealanders. The aircraft were three Zeke fighters and one Dinah reconnaissance craft, and all but the Dinah made good landings.
The Japanese pilots stepped out on to the wings of their aircraft and saluted smartly, but they were ignored. They looked very crestfallen when they stepped down, and one of them burst into tears. . . . .
There was an amusing incident when the Japanese presented two copies of a typed receipt for the aircraft to Wing-Commander P. A. Matheson, of Otago, commanding officer at Jacquinot Bay, for his signature. One copy was intended for General Hitoshi lmamura and the other for the R.N.Z.A.F. Wing-Commander Matheson signed both copies, but, also kept them. The Japanese pilots, who were quickly taken back to Rabaul, were very agitated about not receiving a receipt.
The Dinah is a twin-engined aircraft considered to be almost in the Mosquito class. Evidently according to Japanese standards the aircraft were serviceable, but their serviceability was well below the R.N.Z.A.F standards. There was even a bird's nest under one flap of the Dinah.
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Post by kernalkraig on Jul 14, 2022 10:05:08 GMT 12
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_von_LucknerThe Seeadler was a German commerce raider in WW1. Felix von Luckner was the Captain. After capture spent some time at For Jervois (Ripapa island) in Lyttleton harbour. He was transferred to Motuihe Island, and escaped. A brief and not particularly accurate account of his exploits is on Wikipedia.
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