RNZAF P-40N's and crews at Torokina

[Dave Homewood]

There is some nice silent footage near the end of this of RNZAF pilots and groundcrew with No. 4 Servicing Unit P-40N's at Torokina, along with other USAAF P-39's, USMC Corsairs and US Navy Dauntless

[davidd]

Interesting sequence of Torokina. In addition to the aircraft types named, there are quite a few F6Fs (Hellcats) and the odd high-winged light aircraft, type indeterminate due to very poor quality of the film (probably a result of repeated copying!) Plenty of action on the bulldozers, trucks and graders too, presume the Sea Bees hard at work. I noticed (at position 00-26-33-26) what appears to be a fighter doing a wheels-up landing, possibly a P-40. Also at 00-30-13-14 there is a fairly clear but unexplained sequence of the removal of tape which had been previously affixed to presumably prevent ingress of grit, etc into the guns of an F4U, and which had not even been fired through. Why would he do that? Also quite a bit of the routine servicing of aircraft which helps with the balance of activities, and pilots semi "off-duty" fooling about, including an RNZAF pilot taking an interest in his own side arm. The unique RNZAF tropical flying helmet can also be seen in a few shots, with its "ventilation" cut-outs. Seems as though most Americans were reluctant to wear shorts (apart from the Sea Bees who were often older men, and used to working in dusty outdoor circumstances, where lack of clothing reduced washing requirements!)
Date of this sequence (22nd December 1943) was just after the RNZAF aircraft arrived at Torokina, and both 4 SU and 2 SU aircraft are visible. Torokina itself had only been open for about 2 months. One of the last sequences shows NZ pilots apparently trying to explain the (unfamiliar) modified RNZAF roundels to an American soldier. Has anyone seen a better copy of this interesting films?
David D

[pjw4118]

Great to see, I wonder how much other NZ footage lurks in USMC archives ? Regarding the Colt 45 that the Kiwi is so interested about , what did he swap for it , and how many came back to NZ ?
I used to work with Bill Barnard who served up there and distilling was a major industry with the SU. Using PX sugar and what ever they found , they produced tropo juice for the US forces. The irregular issue of NZ beer was pretty tame by comparison. They also used to blend avgas with glycol and grease to treat the dreaded fungus of the nether regions.
Bills fondest memories were of burning off the grass and undergrowth to get rid of rats and snakes , and the fire would find hidden Jap or US dumps of gas and munitions " a 44 gallon drum would really go off ".
Lets hope more of these films appear.

[davidd]

All RNZAF aircrew in the forward area were officially issued with their own side-arms, they did not need to barter for them. In the earlier days (1942 and early 1943) the RNZAF seemed to have rather a motley collection of side arms to issue to aircrew, including German Lugers. There is a well-known photo of a 14 squadron pilot (a Sgt I think) brandishing such a weapon in about April 1943 just prior to departure from NZ in his Kittyhawk. As all weapons (excluding Saturday night specials of course) have traditionally had manufacturer's serial numbers (and sometimes official government numbers as well) and these number(s) would be recorded on the personal issue card, swapping of weapons with Allies was fraught with complications, and was definitely not encouraged, but it probably did happen. I imagine such arrangements or similar have always existed in most air forces ever since the earliest days of employing aviation in wars.
David D

[Dave Homewood]

Check out this fantastic footage I found of the RNZAF P-40's of No's 2SU and 4SU preparing for a massive Allied operation at Torokina, Bougainville. Skip along to 4.30 mins
catalog.archives.gov/id/75955

[Dave Homewood]

I also found some more footage of RNZAF P-40s at Torokina that I have not seen before! I wish it was sharper, and longer.
catalog.archives.gov/id/75951

[Dave Homewood]

And this version of the footage in my original post at the top of the thread has no time code over it. Great footage, date 22 Dec 1943.
catalog.archives.gov/id/75975

Plus with these US National Archive clips you can download and keep them.

[Dave Homewood]

Here is another, seen elsewhere but this has no watermarks.

catalog.archives.gov/id/75976

[noooby]

Is that 3071 with 4 kill markings on it??

[Dave Homewood]

Dec 16, 2023 8:04:08 GMT 12 noooby said:

Is that 3071 with 4 kill markings on it??

Yes. NZ3071 scored four air to air kills, whilst flown by Errol Brown, Alister Buchanan, and Clive Highet,