Sunderland Flying Boat

[lindsaywaring]

Hi All,

I am looking for squadron details of my father - Flying Officer John Alfred Waring NZ421301.  Can someone point me to where I can find the details of his squadron?

What i do know is that he was a wireless operator in a Sunderland Flying Boat squadron in West Africa.  They ditched at sea and were rescued after 3-4 days.

He did his training in Vancouver Canada before being posted.

Thanks in advance for your time,

Lindsay

[Dave Homewood]

Possibly No. 490 (NZ) Squadron RAF, who were a New Zealand squadron flying Catalinas and Sunderlands from Jui, in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

No. 95 Squadron RAF (based in Gambia) and No. 270 Squadron RAF (based at Lagos, Nigeria) also flew Sunderland from West Africa.

There may have been other units too, not sure. If you have access to his flying logbook it will all be recorded in there, with a list of squadrons and units served on inside the back cover. If you cannot get hold of his logbook, your best bet is to get a copy of your father's service records by approaching the NZDF. See here
www.nzdf.mil.nz/personnel-records/nzdf-archives/accessing-military-service-records.htm

[errolmartyn]

Lindsay,

From my 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):

Thu 13 Jul 1944
WEST AFRICA
Anti-submarine patrol south of Cape Verde, French West Africa
490 Squadron, RNZAF (Jui, Sierra Leone; detachment at Bathurst, Gambia - 298 Wing)
Sunderland III ML852/P - took off from Bathurst at 1738 captained by Fg Off M E McGreal, RNZAF. At 1900, as it was turning port at 1000 feet, both port engines coughed, spluttered and lost power. With the aircraft rapidly losing height, and the two pilots struggling to bring the port wing up again, the depth charges were rendered safe and jettisoned. Within a few minutes ML852 had ditched in the heavy seas, broken up and sunk. The wireless operator, last seen at his post sending out distress signals, and the RAF flight engineer either died in the crash or drowned as the ‘boat went down. They are commemorated on the Malta Memorial. The eight survivors, five injured, were sighted in their two dinghies by a searching Sunderland the following afternoon at 1600. An American crash boat picked them up at 1723 and landed them at Dakar at 0330 on the 15th. Other RNZAF airmen amongst those who survived were 2nd pilot Fg Off N H B Barker, navigator Plt Off T D Alty, wireless operator-air gunner Fg Off J A Waring, air gunners Fg Off H W N Budd and Wt Off J S Wrigley. All but Barker, McGreal and Waring were injured. A detailed and graphic account of this event forms Chapter 9 of McGreal’s autobiography, A Noble Chance (Wellington, 1994).
Wireless Op: NZ421286 Wt Off Richard Allen Piers OPIE, RNZAF - Age 23. 389hrs.

Errol