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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2019 9:22:26 GMT 12
Does anyone have any wartime photos or knowledge of the wartime service of the following WWII aircrew members;
J.W. Ritchie ( 412741), J.D. Hamilton (415528), K.F. Aldridge (4213795) and A.A. Mence (422948).
I have exhausted all avenues at ArchivesNZ, I am looking official service records but I am really after photos.
Cheers.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 22, 2019 9:25:55 GMT 12
Do you know what aircraft types or squadrons they flew in?
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Post by errolmartyn on Mar 22, 2019 10:18:52 GMT 12
Does anyone have any wartime photos or knowledge of the wartime service of the following WWII aircrew members; J.W. Ritchie ( 412741), J.D. Hamilton (415528), K.F. Aldridge (4213795) and A.A. Mence (422948). I have exhausted all avenues at ArchivesNZ, I am looking official service records but I am really after photos. Cheers. From Colin Hanson’s By Such Deeds – Honours and awards in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, 1923 – 1999: HAMILTON, Pilot Officer John Douglas, mid.NZ415528; Born West Melton, 24 Jun 1921; RNZAF 5 Oct 1941 to 1 Jun 1945; Wireless Operator-Air Gunner. Citation Mention in Despatches (22 Mar 1946): I n recognition of gallant services rendered during the war. Served two tours with 6 Sqn RNZAF (Catalina), then one tour with 8 Sqn RNZAF (Ventura). His operations with 6 Sqn included an open rough sea landing to rescue three badly burned Americans of a downed B-24. This action was commended by the CO 31st Bombardment Squadron, USAAF, as follows - “The following members of the RNZAF - F/S J B Monk, P/O R Carleton, F/S A N Oliver, F/S J D Hamilton, Sgt L L Boatwood, Sgt B Street, and F/S T B Durrant displayed excellent courage and devotion to duty under hazardous conditions on 5 March 1944 when their plane landed offshore of Kabanga Bay, Rabaul, and rescued three survivors of AP469 of this squadron which had been previously shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire over the nearby Rapopo Airdrome. It is the desire of the survivors, warmly seconded by the undersigned, that the most sincere appreciation and commendation be extended these men for their capable performance in finding and rescuing them from the sea and efficiently administering first aid with skill and in such manner that the probable harmful effects from exposure and injury were reduced to a minimum. The efficiency and dispatch with which this crew functioned is inspirational and a stimulation to morale throughout this organisation.” He also appears in a New York group photo with 3 other airmen accompanied by the four 'King Sisters, noted US radio singers' that appears in The Weekly News of 21 Oct 42. The Air Force Museum of New Zealand should be able to provide you with a scan of the image.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2019 17:47:03 GMT 12
Thanks very much Errol great info, W. Ritchie ( 412741), J.D. Hamilton (415528), K.F. Aldridge (4213795) and A.A. Mence (422948) were with 8 Sqn's tour at Emirau (Jan to Mar 45). Aldridge and Ritchie were with 4 Sqn at Fiji from mid 43 through to Feb 44.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2019 18:25:19 GMT 12
What I'm trying to achieve is a framed display similar to the attached photo which but with a photographic record of my fathers 8 Sqn crew - F/O Harding (pilot), J.W. Ritchie (navigator), J.D. Hamilton (wireless operator/air gunner), K.F. Aldridge (air gunner) and A.A. Mence (air gunner). <style></style>
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clint
Squadron Leader
Posts: 135
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Post by clint on Mar 23, 2019 16:17:19 GMT 12
Impressive!
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Post by davidd on Mar 23, 2019 17:55:46 GMT 12
medicus, Just a partial answer to your query, but I have a reference to Crew Training course No. 6 (photo taken @ No. 1 OTU, Ohakea, dated 10/5/43, Negative No. G.809), which Matthew O'Sullivan at the RNZAF Museum may be able to locate for you. This crew, under captain F/O R L Harding, included just three other men, one Air Observer (F/O J W Richie), and two W/Opr A/Gs (Sgts J L King and A Fitness). Obviously some changes took place in this crew! The crew as listed here was posted to No. 1 GR Sqdn at Whenuapai on 31/5/43, then to No. 4 Sqdn at Nausori (Fiji) on 8/7/43. Obviously King and Fitness were later posted away, and two "straight" air gunners, plus a new W/Opr A/G were posted in at some point. (Ventura crews generally, apart from a navigator and WOAG, included two straight air gunners, whereas Hudson crews were usually two pilots, one Air Observer or Navigator, and two WOAGs). David D
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2019 18:59:30 GMT 12
Thank you David, more great leads. I will ask Mathew to have a go at finding that photo. My father (R L Harding) ended up in 4 SQN July 43 to early 44 and his crew included Sgts J L King and A Fitness and F/O Ritchie (nav). My father and F/O Ritchie moved briefly to 41 Sqn then crewed up again in 8 Sqn at Emirau in late 44.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2019 16:05:55 GMT 12
Matthew was good enough to supply the photo below (copywrite RNZAF Museum), can anyone identify which airman is F/S J.D. Hamilton? <style></style>
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Post by errolmartyn on Apr 2, 2019 16:31:07 GMT 12
Matthew was good enough to supply the photo below (copywrite RNZAF Museum), can anyone identify which airman is F/S J.D. Hamilton? <style></style> This image appears in The Weekly News of 21 Oct 42 on page 17. The caption reads: Sergeant-Gunners J. D. Hamilton, H. D. H. Parkinson, A. F. Dunstan and D. J. Opie with the King Sisters, noted U.S. Radio singers. Errol
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2019 16:47:09 GMT 12
Thanks'very much for sorting this out Errol.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2019 19:28:29 GMT 12
Hi David Just a question regarding RNZAF Hudson crewing, am I correct in understanding that it was usual practice for Hudson’s undertaken garrison work from Fiji to have 2 pilots, a navigator or observer, and two WOAG’s. With reference to the copy of the 4 Squadron operations record page below (copyright archives New Zealand) the crew of 2039 was my father, F/O Harding as captain so was SGT Gill also likely to be a pilot as I know that F/O Ritchie was a navigator and F/SGT King WOAG and Sgt Fitness an AG? Did the navigator/observer occupy the position in the nose of these aircraft? Also, I was wondering if anyone has any information about F/O Ritchie’s RNZAF WWII service, or where he ended up after the war? l
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Post by davidd on May 19, 2019 12:21:56 GMT 12
Yes, W O Gill was the second pilot, and F/O J W Ritchie was the Nav. I know that Gill completed his pilot training at Wigram in 1942, and was injured in an Oxford crash near the end of his course. The initials of the two gunners were J L King (a WOAG) and A Fitness (a straight A/G so far as I know). David D
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2019 16:04:16 GMT 12
David
Thanks very much for the informative reply.
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Post by Dave Homewood on May 19, 2019 18:36:57 GMT 12
Yes Alan Fitness NZ427529 was an Air Gunner alone, no wireless operator training.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2019 17:40:03 GMT 12
Just got J.D. Hamilton’s military file. In the operation record under the heading Future Employment , the “Would you like to be employed otherwise and above (specify)” was crossed with the following hand written comment “PV2 Pacific Ferry with present pilot; otherwise another bomber tour with him” Looks like he was OK with my dad as pilot, so does this suggests that the plan was to replace the PV1’s with PV2’s but I guess the end of the war put paid to that plan, is that correct. Did any PV2’s make it to NZ? Not sure how WO Hamilton would have known about the possibility of a PV2 ferry flight.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 16, 2019 18:13:46 GMT 12
Yes they had PV-2 Harpoons on order, and four arrived before it was decided to cancel them with the end of the war in sight (though not set in concrete).
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Post by davidd on Aug 17, 2019 12:55:58 GMT 12
RNZAF (and Govt) had decided to "run down" the Bomber Reconnaissance force from five to two squadrons in about May/June 1945, although the whole force had been under a cloud for several months already. The sixth PV-1 squadron (No.8) had already been disbanded after its one and only tour came to an end in late March 1945 at Emirau, and a similar fate befell No.3 Sqdn when its last tour was completed in late June 1945 from Jacquinot Bay. No.1 Sqdn was likewise disbanded following its last tour at Emirau at end of June 1945, and No.9 Sqdn was also withdrawn to NZ at the end of May 1945, also from Emirau. This left just Nos. 2 and 4 Squadrons in existence, and they were to planned to continue operating from Jacquinot Bay and Los Negros till January 1946 at least, although the rather unexpected surrender of Japan following the atomic bombs effectively brought a stop to that scheme. The four PV-2s ferried to New Zealand were apparently rather a disappointment, although better in many ways than the PV-1, but the main problem seemed to be the lack of many real land targets for such expensive-to-operate aircraft as PV-1s or -2s, and the apparent disappearance of enemy submarines from the South and South-West Pacific areas, with the remaining Catalina squadrons being considered quite capable of looking after that problem, should it even exist. RNZAF Venturas last flew operations from Nausori (Fiji) in March 1945, and from Guadalcanal in June 1945, which threw up (rendered surplus) two squadrons and servicing units, and in New Zealand only Whenuapai was operating the type on a reduced basis owing to the apparent dearth of enemy submarines, although by now we were also hosting some units of the British Pacific Fleet, so at least a pretence of submarine protection to naval as well as civilian shipping had to be maintained. The four PV-2s were all returned to the US Navy in Hawaii by about April/May 1945, but they did not survive for very long after the war before being "stricken" - being rather early production models probably counted against them, although I think they were built post the major design defect in the outer wings coming to light, which caused production to cease for quite a few months after the first few dozen examples had been delivered to the Navy. David D
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2019 17:31:39 GMT 12
Thank you Dave and David for your informative replies. I continue my search for group or individual photographs of J.D. Hamilton (415528), K.F. Aldridge (4213795) and A.A. Mence (422948). I've been back to the archivists at Archives NZ several times. Last week I asked if they would be able to go through 6 Squadron WW2 images of which I understand there are quite a few, given that all three airmen served in this SQN. Clearly looked this was not a practical request however the archivist did reply that " There are a set of photos of plane crews in the album, identified by the name of the pilot. This seems the likeliest part of the album to include at least some of the subjects though the date of these photos is not clear.
I've submitted the album R17389475 (6 SQN) for digitisation - aside from being a very good album with some striking photos it is also put together in a way that will make it comparatively straightforward to copy.
I can't guarantee that it will be copied as the team will need to consider their time and resources, but I will let you know if our digitisation team chooses to proceed and, if they do, when the album is available for viewing online.
I guess we will have to see what comes of this. Thanks to excellent information from David I was able to source an old training photo from which I've managed, with the help of photoshop, to at least achieve a limited degree of success in producing a photo montage of my father's aircrew, the image below being that of his 4 SQN (Fiji tour) nav and air gunner -copyright RNZAF Museum. RLH crew
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