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Post by 43willys on Feb 10, 2009 16:38:17 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 10, 2009 18:20:28 GMT 12
Wow, those are terrific photos Mike! Just amazing to see this set.
Someone a few years back on the FlyPast Forum told me that he knew of several ex-RNZAF Dauntless's in barns or sheds in NZ. he never produced any fiurther evidence and I wrote it off as a crank tale, however seeing these, you never know.
Is that Seagrove or Hobsonville? I thought they were broken up at Hobby but the photos don't look right for Hobby.
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Post by hairy on Feb 10, 2009 19:26:31 GMT 12
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Post by shorty on Feb 10, 2009 19:37:42 GMT 12
Great pictures hairy, Notice the Cat wing section,what do you think that is on the left with the porthole windows is? Ventura?. Would like to know what the sign on the right says. Painted on a fin?
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Post by hairy on Feb 10, 2009 19:55:14 GMT 12
The chunk of aeroplane on the left with the portholes is, I think, the mortal remains of ZK-AMC which was broken up in the Tamaki estuary by MacDermott & Linn (IIRC). As for the sign, I have checked the negative and it is the same as the scan (no dodgy cropping), sorry.  I also forgot to add that the Onehunga pictures were taken on the 31st of December 1949.  |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 10, 2009 20:26:54 GMT 12
I suspect the sign was an OPEN sign, ie hours of business as it looks like OPE... at the bottom, and I wonder if the PLA... was perahps PLATING, as it is a metal works?
Very sad yet infinately interesing photos.
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Post by shorty on Feb 10, 2009 20:51:16 GMT 12
I don't think its a T Dave, there's no sign of the top bar, more likely a N as in Plane parts.
As to why the wings were in boxes? Maybe they are not the wings OFF those Dauntlesses but spare wings FOR them and the spares were part of the job lot.They look like proper wing crates and when the P 40s were melted down Larsen had still crated P-40 wings which he melted down (qv John Scullin)
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Post by camtech on Feb 10, 2009 22:08:27 GMT 12
Just doing some checking because the Corsair aroused my interest.
I note the Dauntless were sold at Hobsonville in Tender 1703, closing 5 January 1948, which dealt with 22 aircraft. This may or may not have included Inst 110 (NZ5016), which is noted as sold to Edwards.
The Corsair will be either NZ5501 (Inst 121) sold 24 May 48 to Shearer or NZ5507 (Inst 122) sold to Wright 9 May 1948.
Can anyone add to the details?
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 10, 2009 22:38:52 GMT 12
Shorty, I doubt crated spare wings would have RNZAF roundels on them in the crate. Also note where they are stored in the paddock along the fence (which may well be Hobsonville but it's hard to tell) they are all wingless. I suspect the RNZAF has removed the wings when they were decomissioned. It would be like the RNZAF to crate them up whereas a scrapper would just bung them on a lorry if they were on their way to a smelter. Maybe the RNZAF initially intended to return them to the Yanks?
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Post by shorty on Feb 10, 2009 22:55:52 GMT 12
I can't see any roundels on that crated wing. I could believe that if the wings had been elsewhere for o'haul they would be crated for return to unit. More likely the stores people would have all the bits going up for tender, airframes, spare wings, props whatever assembled in one place for prospective tenderers to inspect and, after purchase, collect them from. Even in those days they wouldnt want civvies wandering around the station getting bits from here, there and everywhere. When the Harvards were disposed of from Woodbourne everything was collected into set places.. So maybe they were spare ones or maybe they were removed when they went into storage before being disposed off. We need to find someone who was involved in 1945! Probably when they were withdrawn and put into storage their eventual fate wouldn't have been decided at that stage. They would have been waiting for the govt to decide on peacetime requirements
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 10, 2009 23:10:11 GMT 12
I can certainly see the roundel on my monitor, bewteen the posts in front of the aileron, the blue is faded but the white ring shows up. I reckon they're definately used wings by looking at the colour too, they would have been non-specular dark sea blue I think. but the colour looks decided used. If overhauled I'm sure they'd have been stripped and repainted.
I agree that the ultimate fate when withdrawn wouldn't have been known. These were withdrawn in 1944 when No. 26 Squadron, who were flying them at Seagrove, received orders to stop flying them and convert to Corsairs at Ardmore. Remember how all the Harvards were stored at Woodbourne in the hangar wingless? I would suggest these may have been stored wingless in the Seagrove hangar. Just a theory. Who out there knows any of the 26 Squadron groundcrew??
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