|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 2, 2018 19:36:17 GMT 12
When I was young Dad and Nana, who had lived on Airfield Road, Ardmore right opposite the station from 1942 to 1952, used to talk about the several crashes that happened during WWII where RNZAF Corsairs ended up in their paddocks. And they said within seconds the crash fire vehicles would come flying onto their farm and they'd drive straight through the wire strained fences to get to the sight of the crash. The station ambulance and fire engine would be there too, in fact I think it was the fire engine with the fence wire cutter on the front. And they'd cart the poor bloke off and a truck would then lift the wreck and it would all be taken back to the station. Apparently an RNZAF team would then fix all the fences like nothing had happened, and sort out any divets left, and within an hour or so the farm would be back to normal. These crashes were almost all - if not all - overshoots, I don't think anything went in vertically leaving a bigger mess. These were always pretty exciting stories to listen to. One of them Dad vividly recalled, he and my grandfather were in a paddock doing something there when a Corsair suddenly smashed in through the fence and came to a halt. Dad said the pilot had tried to get out while still sliding and it had suddenly halted, and the canopy slammed shut cutting off the pilot's hands. Dad innocently picked up one of the hands and was shocked as it was wriggling as he held it. Dad always thought that the pilot had died but I can find no record of a pilot dying in a crash on their farm, so the poor blighter probably suffered the rest of his life without hands. There was another crash where my grandfather pulled a pilot out of a burning one. He never got a George Medal like some other locals did for either a similar or perhaps the same event though. Anyway, this is likely to be some of those very vehicles that they used to have visit the Homewood farm on these occasions, from a photo album at Archives NZ.  |
|
|
|
Post by shorty on Dec 2, 2018 20:18:43 GMT 12
What photos?
|
|
|
|
Post by 30sqnatc on Dec 2, 2018 20:46:42 GMT 12
This picture shows a typical wire cutter on the front of an RNZAF Marmon Harrington crash rescue tender built by Colonial Motor Company in Lower Hutt. Photo is from Colmoco files.  |
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 2, 2018 20:47:50 GMT 12
It is an album of Ardmore photos at the Archive. |
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 2, 2018 20:50:07 GMT 12
Dad said the Ardmore Fire Engine also had a Bren gun mounted on the back and used to drive around each evening firing into the drains to scare the birds out from nesting. One time Dad, his brother and their mate were in one of the drains as they would sneak onto the station using the drain systems to get closer to watch the planes, when the fire engine came past and fired just over their heads.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 2, 2018 21:42:22 GMT 12
Is the truck in the photo I posted a Chevrolet 15CWT?
|
|
|
|
Post by Brett on Dec 3, 2018 8:28:02 GMT 12
Dave, your photo is of a 1940 Ford which has been modified by Marmon-Herrington into a 6x6. Marmon-Herrington were the designated conversion company that did all of the 'factory' 4x4 and 6x6 conversions on new Fords. It was probably built in Canada.
|
|
|
|
Post by davidd on Dec 3, 2018 8:49:34 GMT 12
The Corsair incident where the pilot suffered injuries to both hands may have been NZ5514 (of 1 SS), pilot was F/Sgt J W Wright of 26 Sqdn, date 6/3/45. However this accident was on the airfield (unless the Corsair subsequently went through a fence), aircraft stated to have swung off runway and overturned. Causes included an oily windscreen (hardly uncommon on Corsairs!) and pilot inexperience. "Both arms seriously injured by canopy flying shut". Definitely the end of Wright's flying career in RNZAF. He was a Canadian-trained pilot and had been sent to UK, but never flew any operations from there.
PS, is there some confusion in above posts between the TWO photographs posted by Dave, BOTH of trucks (one crane, one crash tender)?
David D
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 3, 2018 8:55:58 GMT 12
Dave, your photo is of a 1940 Ford which has been modified by Marmon-Herrington into a 6x6. Marmon-Herrington were the designated conversion company that did all of the 'factory' 4x4 and 6x6 conversions on new Fords. It was probably built in Canada. I think you are referring to Paul's photo (30sqnatc). My photo is in the original post. It's definitely not a 6x6 |
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 3, 2018 9:00:05 GMT 12
The Corsair incident where the pilot suffered injuries to both hands may have been NZ5514 (of 1 SS), pilot was F/Sgt J W Wright of 26 Sqdn, date 6/3/45. However this accident was on the airfield (unless the Corsair subsequently went through a fence), aircraft stated to have swung off runway and overturned. Causes included an oily windscreen (hardly uncommon on Corsairs!) and pilot inexperience. "Both arms seriously injured by canopy flying shut". Definitely the end of Wright's flying career in RNZAF. He was a Canadian-trained pilot and had been sent to UK, but never flew any operations from there. Thanks David, that must be him. I wonder if he had his hands on the canopy trying to get more elevated in the seat to try to see forward. He must have landed long and overshot through the fence and across the road into the paddock where Grandad and Dad were standing. Dad and Nana never mentioned it as happening across the road on the airfield. Poor bloke.  |
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 3, 2018 9:03:40 GMT 12
Oh crikey, I see that John William Wright only died in 2014. I wish I'd know he was still around, I'd have loved to have talked with him about that incident and his flying career.
|
|
|
|
Post by starr on Dec 3, 2018 10:27:46 GMT 12
David, that incident you mentioned re the one that caught fire, I am pretty sure that Clyde McInnes, a farmer on Cosgrove Road was also in attendance.
|
|
|
|
Post by 30sqnatc on Dec 3, 2018 16:03:34 GMT 12
Is the truck in the photo I posted a Chevrolet 15CWT? No due to the wheelbase its a CMP 30 cwt or 60 cwt, I suspect 30 cwt due to the small wheel diameter. It's impossible to confirm Ford or Chev as the visible differences are few e.g. square verses diamond radiator grill mesh. |
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 3, 2018 16:54:42 GMT 12
Did Ford and Chevrolet both licence build roughly the same design? Or did one copy the other very closely?
|
|
|
|
Post by 30sqnatc on Jul 20, 2019 16:58:36 GMT 12
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 21, 2019 16:05:27 GMT 12
Sorry Paul, can you explain this post? What are we meant to be noting?
|
|
|
|
Post by davidd on Jul 22, 2019 10:57:50 GMT 12
I think he is looking at a pair of those strange little (American) tracked bomb skids at the tail-end of the train, on right. A photo of these very odd little units came up on this site last year, being used in the Pacific theatre - had no idea we also had some in New Zealand, click on the address below.
David D
|
|
