RNZAF Ohakea

[Dave Homewood]

I thought it might be nice to have a thread about RNZAF Station Ohakea covering from the time it was built through to now, in interesting photos, with the following photos from the National Library of New Zealand:


Main hangar at Ohakea aerodrome, under construction. Photographed by K Wright circa 18 January 1939.



This image was published in the Evening Post, 18 January, 1939, with the following caption "The magnitude of the work involved in preparing the Government's recently-purchased site at Ohakea for the purpose of a Royal Air Force Station, is shown by these pictures of the main hangar, now in the course of erection. The upper picture gives an idea of the massiveness of the building, whilst that below indicates its great size. The new aerodrome is abut 500 yards off the Sanson-Bulls main highway and about the same distance on the Sanson side of the Bulls bridge." 


Hangars under construction, circa 8 Apr 1939, photograph taken by a staff photographer for the Evening Post


The Officers' Mess under construction, taken from on top of one of the concrete hangars, circa 18th of April 1939. Photograph taken by a staff photographer for the Evening Post.


The concrete hangar mould with No. 3 Hangar being built, same date and source


Same source and probably same date

[Dave Homewood]

3 Mar 1970, Whites Aviation photo



Airmen refueling a TAF Harvard from a tanker at Ohakea. Photographed circa March 1951 by an Evening Post photographer.


Photograph taken by Whites Aviation at the visit of the QANTAS VH-EAD Charles Kingsford Smith Constellation to Ohakea, 12 Dec 1947



Airman reloading a Corsair aircraft with ammunition, February 1947


Mustang NZ2430 crashed after suffering an engine seizure on take-off from Ohakea on 10 February 1955

[Dave Homewood]

Circa 7 Sep 1940, taken by a staff photographer for the Evening Post


The Link Trainer room in 1948


26 Apr 1948


26 Apr 1948


British Vickers Viking passenger plane G-AJJN, May 1947


18 Jun 1960

[Dave Homewood]

(L to R), Flight Officer C J Berryman, Flight Sergeant J D Waugh, Flight Lieutenant H D Coppersmith and Flight Officer J D Washington, 24 Feb 1947

[davidd]

I think somebody has got rather confused with their air force ranks - Flight Officer of course was exclusive to the WAAF in 1947, so Flying Officer is more likely the one required here. And incidentally, some really great views here Dave H. Corsairs (and their pilots shown here) would be part of the CFE.
David D

[Dave Homewood]

Yes, that is the National Library's caption, not mine. You see that error all too often from civilians who don't know the ranks.

[pjw4118]

Here are a few more from the same source







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And a couple of others

[Dave Homewood]

Hmm, it's only been a week or so and the library seems to have changed some of the links I posted, dang it.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

The National Library have a bad habit of regularly changing things, Dave.

I've tended to make NatLib photographs themselves a hotlink back to the source (where people can read the caption), but you can go back later and click on them and there is now no such url and when you search the NatLib website for the same photograph, you discover it is at a completely different location. This often happens multiple times with the same photograph.

[Dave Homewood]

I wonder why they do that. It's quite odd.

[tbf25o4]

The Lancaster photos are interesting in that the aircraft has no mid upper turret and carries SEAC markings (sans red centre)

[Dave Homewood]

Not SEAC, it's RAAF markings. This is the "Queenie VI" which Peter Isaacson and his crew brought to Australia and then over to New Zealand in 1943. I interviewed him here:
www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/WONZShow/2015/12/woa-peter-isaacson/

Oddly, all the links seem to be working again, I did nothing to fix them.

[baileyt]

[pepe]

Mar 14, 2017 0:52:14 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

(L to R), Flight Officer C J Berryman, Flight Sergeant J D Waugh, Flight Lieutenant H D Coppersmith and Flight Officer J D Washington, 24 Feb 1947

I have only just now spotted this excellent photograph.

The gentleman on the far right is indeed Flying Officer James Desmond Washington (NZ4311364) who was my uncle.

He served with 15 Squadron RNZAF on Bougainville during the last months of the Pacific War and then with 14 Squadron in Japan as part of J Force. While there he survived a landing accident when the undercarriage on his Corsair collapsed. He left the RNZAF in the 1950s and then had long commercial flying career in the Pacific Islands and Australia (including a period with Connellan Airways based out of Darwin).

I have a few photos and a part finished memoir from his time on Bougainville which I must ferret out and share.

[davidd]

Pepe,
I am certain most board members would love to read this memoir!
David D

[Dave Homewood]

Agreed!!

[camtech]

what they said!!!!!!

[ZacYates]

It's not WW2, but how much truth is there in the story that Ohakea was intended as an Imperial Airship stop? I seem to remember our esteemed leader suggesting the Ohakea weather would put the kibosh on any airship ops there!

[Peter Lewis]

I have heard that story too, Zac.
The R100/R101 airship disasters put paid to the idea of the Imperial Airship Route.

From Wikipedia:
"An air base was originally proposed in the area in 1927, when Ohakea was selected as the most suitable site for a mooring mast for airships of the British Imperial Airship service. It was proposed to build one mast for a demonstration flight, with the potential for expansion to a full airship base with three masts, airship sheds and hydrogen production. However, there was no point in going ahead with the development of the site without a commitment from the Australian Government to build masts to provide bases in that country. When the Australian Government declined to build masts, the New Zealand Government declined likewise."

[Dave Homewood]

This, Zac, from the NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 30 JANUARY 1939