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Post by davidd on Nov 15, 2020 9:58:24 GMT 12
As usual, excellent photos, and a keen sense of history, that is INTERESTING history, all told with minimum of words. David D
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Post by davidd on Nov 15, 2020 9:53:30 GMT 12
Whew! Thanks for checking that out aircraftclocks, you had me worried there! Sometimes the human eyes can let you down (or the brain!), we have all had to wrestle with these problems, including "misremembering" events or other "solid" facts - I have been caught out on this Board before, it pays to be humble. David D
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Post by davidd on Nov 14, 2020 14:10:18 GMT 12
aircraftclocks, all I have to go on at the moment is date in the RNZAF List as noted - what is source of your information? Possible this date later amended of course. David D
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Post by davidd on Nov 14, 2020 13:04:44 GMT 12
A few other fairly well known characters in the photo of Wigram's Course 3A: P P O'Brien was later the Chief Investigator of Air Accidents in New Zealand, and the face of "Chunky" (R F Watson) in front row may still be remembered by those old enough to be around in the RNZAF in his later days, particularly when he was flying the mighty Hastings. He was also a test pilot in WW2, of the PV-1 Venturas which were assembled at Ford Island, Hawaii, in 1943/44. J H (Jack) Register was a well-known airline pilot postwar (NAC). Of the 21 men shown here (although P L Stokes is rather chopped off!), 12 were shipped to UK per AORANGI, ex Auckland 6th Feb 1941, and of these, six were killed (Barron, Grant, Kennedy, Miller, Taylor, Ward) and one (Williams) became a PoW. David D
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Post by davidd on Nov 14, 2020 12:06:03 GMT 12
sheena58, I can just add the following. NZ416417 Donald George BURNESS obviously enlisted in NZ sometime in mid-1941 (by service number), embarked NZ for Canada 8/1/42 as a trainee W/Opr A/G, ex Auckland to Halifax per DOMINION MONARCH, arrived Halifax 3/2/42 (per Errol Martyn's "For Your Tomorrow, Vol 3"). Must have graduated from an RCAF school as a Sergeant W/Opr A/G during period August to November 1942 (rough estimate from own records of other W/Opr A/Gs sent on this ship), and was eventually appointed to a commission in rank of Pilot Officer (presume while still in United Kingdom, attached to RAF), with effect from 15th February 1945. (Last information from RNZAF List for April 1945, also source of his given names.) Anyway, Warrant Officer was not his ultimate rank! David D
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Post by davidd on Nov 10, 2020 13:45:09 GMT 12
First I have heard of Piper Cubs being used to mark targets for our TBFs (or any other TBFs for that matter), although I have read of them seeking out targets for the attack aircraft, when "low and slow" had its advantages. I wonder if they fitted any armour plate to the Cubs used for this sort of work? Probably not! Nice find. Presume these were US Army L-4s, although the USMC had an observation squadron which used Taylorcraft (Navy version of L-2?) for similar missions in central Solomons in 1943/44. Always something interesting happening, usually new ways of making the lives of all members of the the Japanese armed forces as miserable as possible. David D
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Post by davidd on Nov 8, 2020 11:03:51 GMT 12
Reminds me that the late Ross Macpheson was the proud owner of a fairly complete Wright Cyclone Nine (R-1820 G205A1 if I remember correctly) which he showed me at Otaki, but the circumstances behind of this revelation I have since completely forgotten. However it may have been acquired by Airland as a spare for their Lodestar fleet from "an overseas source". The really interesting thing about this engine was that all the makers plates attached were in the French language, presumably at the request of the original purchaser. Is anybody aware of the possible location of this rather interesting aero-engine, not certain what aircraft it would have been originally installed in, although a Lodestar would be a pretty good guess, or a Hudson. So far as I am aware, the French never purchased a license to produce R-1820s, although post-war they did build the Bristol Hercules under license. I also remember seeing a P&W Twin Wasp (R-1830) at Wigram which the maker's plate revealed to have been manufactured in Australia under license, probably for the Beaufort or the Boomerang programmes, although what it was doing in NZ at the time (about 25 years ago) is anybody's guess. Another interesting discovery was that the RNZAF's one and only DHC-3 Otter was fitted (at least at the time of its sale in about 1966 from memory) with an Australian-manufactured R-1340 geared Wasp, which of course were manufactured initially for fitment in the CAC Wirraway programme. And no, I failed to record their manufacturer's serial numbers at these critical, fleeting moments, although I found their circumstances moderately intriguing. David D
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Post by davidd on Nov 5, 2020 11:14:37 GMT 12
I do not think there is any doubt that the airfield in question is Piva, and almost certainly Piva Uncle (or Piva North, also known as Piva Bomber strip). The Aussies were at Piva by November 1944, and were still there at the Surrender. Australian 2 Corps was the resident AIF Army formation (two Divisions), so could well be them standing in front of tender, although RAAF also wore slouch hats, cocked up on one side I believe. However these, although those in photo are just tilted, not pinned up by service badge as was usual for the Army. Any experts out there? The RAAF (17 AOP Flight, Army pilots, perhaps 17 Flight was also Army?, although ground staff probably RAAF) also had Auster III's near Piva, although at a small strip called (I think) Halsey Field, also used for sports! RAAF C-47s were also based at Piva to do supply drops to the Army "in the field" throughout this period, although it was probably just a detached Flight from somewhere else, usually only a few (2 or 3) on Bougainville at any given time. Of the Beauforts at Piva (again just a very few), at least one was a "Beaufreighter", a strange looking beast. David D
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Post by davidd on Nov 5, 2020 10:55:28 GMT 12
I agree, a wonderful shot, showing New Zealand in the 1950s/60s the way it was, and in many cases still is. Can just hear that Lycoming O-320 giving its all to avoid a hill looming up ahead! Farming country like that holds most people enthralled, especially on a perfect weather day. David D
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Post by davidd on Nov 2, 2020 10:49:08 GMT 12
I note that F/Sgt Le Lievre's initials seem to vary somewhat from entry to entry. His given names were Lancelot Francois (yes, he had impeccable French heritage, I think his grandparents came out in the COMPTE DE PARIS to Akaroa, so very much born and bred in New Zealand). Died quite a few years ago. A friend of mine and I visited him in at his Banks Peninsular farm in late 1980s or thereabouts and interviewed him, friend has notes taken from his log book. So definitely L F Le Lievre. David D
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Post by davidd on Oct 31, 2020 13:18:53 GMT 12
I do not believe, generally speaking, that the RNZAF's "fleet" of 41-odd Fairey Gordons arrived in New Zealand in camouflage colours. It is certainly possible (some RAF front-line aircraft adopted what I have assumed were temporary camouflage colours, shortly after the Munich crisis of September 1938), but photos of RNZAF Gordons in camouflage are extremely rare - I would think most of these would have been taken after about March/April 1942 when training aircraft in New Zealand were ordered to be so-painted in the face of Japanese aggression. Based on a check of available surviving photographs at RNZAF Museum, the Gordons at Wigram (No. 1 Flying Training School) appear to have all retained the usual pre-war overall silver colour scheme with exception of the very dark upper decking to the fuselage. It is also suspected that a few longer-surviving Gordons were painted overall yellow after being converted to drogue towers. I seem to recall (maybe 30 years ago) having seen fabric pieces from NZ629 (from John Claydon I believe) which were finished in camouflage paint, a fact which rather surprised me, so perhaps it was one of the very few to have arrived in this type of scheme, only to end up in the high hills of inland Canterbury. I then wondered if this colour scheme contributed to making the aircraft more difficult to locate from the air, against the general greenery. However, I do appreciate Charles Darby's account of the recovery (above) which gives a good impression of the state of this lucky survivor from the early 1930s, almost unique in the World. David D
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Post by davidd on Oct 28, 2020 20:38:15 GMT 12
Incidentally, the pilot Keith Ballagh mentioned by Peter earlier on this thread (killed in PA-18 ZK-AXH in 1954), was also an RNZAF pilot during WW2, trained on Course 44B at Woodbourne, then flying three tours with 18 Squadron, and a fourth with 20 Squadron, all in the South Pacific theatre. David D
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Post by davidd on Oct 25, 2020 11:16:25 GMT 12
All I can think of for W.I.D. A.T.D. is that it might involve a sub-contractor, in the UK or in fact at any of the airfields (RAF or civil) along the ferry route.
Just from memory, there were some technical issues coming to light during the fairly long period that "our" Mossies were being ferried out from the UK (roughly mid-1946 to mid-1948 from memory), and some of them concerned the landing flaps which were being degraded by ingress of water, possibly due to long storage outside in all weathers in the UK. Also possible there were other issues both before and after this period, often involving the vulnerability of the airframe to deterioration in adverse conditions.
This mod could also have been a product of a simple watch being kept for normal wear and tear on the airframe, especially at critical points, or where troubles seemed to crop up from time to time, for reasons not entirely clear at that time. I am assuming the "ply patch" in question is the one directly to the left of the "Information notice" which is presumably glued and screwed firmly into position on the bulkhead, and those are the holes through which the rudder trim cables are routed (as well as the bolt holes).
The close up of this "information notice" (the second image in the series of three) has had the trimming cables and all the brackets, etc., stripped from the bulkhead. Takes me a while to get my head around exactly what we are looking at. I am presuming the information in the notice is merely noting the authority for this mod, and/or the actual contractor or RAF Depot which incorporated it, but regret to say it does not mean very much to me at this time!
Hold ups in the delivery flights was very much the norm, as were a lot of special inspections prompted by new fears about integrity of the airframes. The weather for some of the early ferry flights was atrocious, and that was just in the UK (huge snow storms, etc), and various issues seemed to be popping up regularly.
The difficulty of getting enough qualified and experienced pilots and Navigator (W) to undertake these flights was extremely serious, and the RAF had to provide a lot of these men over the period, and I think the NZ Govt must have grown weary of all the tales of woe generated over this time of trial, and were grateful when it finally ended.
The next problem was to find an actual use for the total of 76 airframes which finally arrived in NZ, plus the eight from Australia, (actually nine if you take the 50 pound purchase of "Suzy", the specialized "Survey" Mosquito which ended up becoming a permanent resident, with code letters SU-Z. However that is entirely another story, and not a happy one.
Trouble was, those Mosquitos were selling at such great discount prices (average only about 5,000 pounds). In early 1950s, NZ Govt was paying over 30,000 pounds for each Devon, but at least they were brand new, and relatively modern.
Sorry I cannot think of anything else that might solve the mystery at this stage. David D
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Post by davidd on Oct 25, 2020 10:10:58 GMT 12
Yes, these bombs can be read about in the pages of the squadron operations books, as well as other official documents in use at the time, including American command diaries, etc. Another interesting fact on RNZAF Avengers flown on operations from Bougainville between late March and late July 1944 was that on at least one occasion (perhaps two), a number of the RNZAF TBFs were flown by USMC crews on operations, simply because the American squadrons were temporarily short of aircraft on those days, and the NZ squadron/SU had a relatively light "work schedule" on the day. The aircraft were viewed as "Allied assets", to be used to best advantage to further the aims of the great cause. David D
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Post by davidd on Oct 24, 2020 9:50:51 GMT 12
If you want to get a little more exotic, the RNZAF occasionally toted one of the standard US 2,000 pound bomb. These bombs appear to typical members of the American GP type, based on standard US Army types, with box tail, and would be from the AN M-34 or AN M-66 series. I presume these required an appropriate standard US bomb carrier of some description, which were no doubt locally available for the purpose.
Just remembered. I saw the remains of a US 2,000 pound bomb at Rabaul (Kokokpo Military Museum) in 2001; interestingly it had been detonated, but the large, curled over exploded remains of the main casing was still impressive. If this was indeed the remains of an AN M-34 of M-66, the main body (excluding tail fin) was 70 inches long, and diameter was 23.3 inches, wall thickness half an inch, so relatively thin casing. Could be equipped with a selection of fuses (nose and tail) to suit the employment and target, which also included a hydrostatic fuse for low-level operations against ships and submarines. The weight of the filling comprised about half the weight of the bomb. Typically, I failed to take a photograph of these remains! David D
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Post by davidd on Oct 22, 2020 9:20:30 GMT 12
Nice shot there Dave, presume taken in New Zealand by background, and general markings displayed. Could well be a "JZ" aircraft, but I hesitate to offer any other advice, apart from it probably being at Ohakea or Ardmore! There is so little hard information on OTU aircraft generally, and I also include the Fighter Gunnery School, Gunnery Training School, and various communications, utility and drogue-towing flights in this category. David D
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Post by davidd on Oct 22, 2020 9:03:47 GMT 12
Another hobby NOT mentioned in original article was the manufacture of attractive items for American servicemen, which sometimes became an obsession (and could give you considerable spending power!)
I always remember reading "Spud" Spurdle's account of this, whilst he was with 16 Squadron at Espiritu Santo in 1943, and attempting to intercept some of the sneaky night bombers the Japanese occasionally sent over. He was enraged to find that the P-40Es they were flying at the time had a high rate of unserviceability, and on investigation he discovered that several tradesmen, mainly instrument types, were far more dedicated to manufacturing "sweetheart" trinkets for the Americans than getting the P-40s into a state suitable for night flying. He only hints at the steps he took to bring these chaps into line!
My dad was rather attracted to this "industry" as well, and was also a very keen pursuer of some of the more magnificent examples of Lepidoptera which flitted about in quiet clearings of the jungle near Piva in 1945. He also participated in a "crocodile hunt" in dark pools in streams, but all they got after hurling in hand grenades was a lot of very small, dead fish. We still have his butterfly collection, kept in a large flat tin, with many specimens protected in actual display packets (double sided cellophane of some kind) and some even with their scientific names printed on the edges. The most magnificent were the huge ones with a large furry (yellow) body, and wings of amazing jet black and peacock blue upper surfaces, with yellow, green and red lower surfaces with black veining. This type of butterfly had to be gutted after death, as their abdomens would have rotted otherwise.
He also was attracted by one species which was speedy and manoeuvrable, and hardly anybody could catch them, but Dad, after much effort, finally succeeded. However I don't think dad made any money on his small-scale manufacture of "attractive items" although he had a small kit (kept in an almost air-tight "Peanut" tin, which still survives).
There were a few tools (since lost, or put to other uses) plus pieces of "Plexi-glass" (American version of "Perspex") of various thicknesses, some vandalised RNZAF brass buttons, plus half-finished items, which seemed to involve moulding the plastic into various items, and affixing the tiny brass "letters" and "crowns" microscopically cut from the brass buttons. However I think his main passion was chasing the butterflies.
He also tried swimming off the Torokina beach, but was almost drowned in the heavy surf one day (he never told us kids, but did tell my mother of this near-death experience).
I also heard from a former Equipment officer who accepted the offer of a ride on a water sled towed by one of the RNZAF Crash boats at Piva in 1945, but regretted it almost immediately, and was terrified that he would also drown as there was a bit of a chop on the sea, and the ride was very rough, and he had practically nothing to hold onto. These boats were capable of about 38 knots I think, although doubt they would travel at that speed in a chop. He could not communicate in any way with the crew of the boat as it was a full time job just to hang on - they all naturally assumed he was having a great time of course! The noise of the exhausts of the boat would have made any sort of conversation impossible. David D
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Post by davidd on Oct 22, 2020 8:24:55 GMT 12
Surprised that the fighter escort did not escort the Venturas over the city, but it could be argued that they would only be able to provide defence against enemy fighters, but not the flak! And German flak was always greatly respected by this stage of the war, if not earlier. You had to have real guts to fly over defended targets anywhere in Europe in daylight by 1943, and earlier, and at night it would have been just about as dangerous. Aircrew were always in danger aboard aircraft, at any stage of flight, but particularly over enemy territory. The action above just gives an idea of that ever-present danger. David D
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Post by davidd on Oct 19, 2020 15:23:24 GMT 12
The "Malaguna floatplane", first entry in the above post, was probably the same aircraft which was delivered to Jacquinot Bay by an RNZAF pilot (F/L R H F Hickson), an Australian-born member of No. 6 Squadron at Halavo Bay, and a flight engineer from his crew by the name of Crook. The RNZAF Museum at Wigram has Crook's logbook, which contains a brief entry for this flight from Rabaul - the aircraft was still at Malaguna at the end of hostilities, but a few days after its arrival at Jacq Bay, one of the floats sprang a leak and the aircraft capsized and eventually sank at the mooring. David D
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Post by davidd on Oct 18, 2020 9:17:27 GMT 12
PD12 rang a bell with me, so I will keep my big mouth shut today! David D
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