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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 28, 2010 23:36:40 GMT 12
Evan, that pilot was Squadron leader James Mumford Cranstone DFC. Service No.'s NZ405520 and 131543. He flew on ops from 1941 in No. 243 Squadron on Brewster Buffalo, then after escaping Singapore he joined No. 67 Squadron in India flying Hurricanes. Shortly afterwards he transferred to No. 146 Sqn on hurricanes flying from Calcutta, then on the Arakan and Assam fronts. Next he went onto No. 11 Squadron as 'A' Flight Commander also on Hurricanes flying in the battles around the Imphal and Kohima regions. He then became CO of No. 5 Squadron flying over the Arakan. This unit flew Hurricanes but then got the Thunderbolts. His last two sorties (of 197 flown) were in L-5 Sentinels from No. 94 Wing.
An interesting bloke by all accounts. And guess what, the white pages indicate he may still live in Wanganui!!
(Info above sourced from By Such Deeds by Colin Hanson)
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Post by hardyakka on Jan 28, 2010 23:58:18 GMT 12
Thanks Dave. My 'Net searches had filled in bits of the story and I was about to start searching RAF squadron histories one-by-one until I saw your post. Interestingly, "JM Cranstone" of Wanganui is on record as having officially objected to the "h" being put into the name of the city... The reason I asked originally is that I am a big fan of P-47s and when I was recently in the Frankton Model Shop, I saw a P-47 kit on sale. I thought it might be cool to build and paint in the colours of a kiwi pilot. S/Ldr Cranstone of 5 Squadron sounds like the ideal subject...
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 29, 2010 0:05:55 GMT 12
It sure does. Thanks for bringing this chap to my attention too. I would like to find a way to get to Wanganui and try to do a filmed interview for my veteran filming project if I can, now. I have emailed my co-director already to suggest a trip down. Buffaloes over Singapore alone is quite a story but also Hurricanes and Thunderbolts all against the Japs, very interesting.
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Post by camtech on Feb 2, 2010 11:39:07 GMT 12
Going back to the actual meet, I was trolling through some RNZAF News of 1960 and note the following: Queens Birthday Honours June 1960: - Sergeant Engineer R W Tocker, Hobsonville – Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air – who as Flight Engineer aboard the Sunderland which struck the runway during the opening pageant at Wellington Airport last year, effected repairs to the aircraft in the air in conditions of extreme turbulence, enabling the aircraft to land safely at Hobsonville. RNZAF News No 17 June 1960
Don't think Ray bothered to mention this, did he? Obviously what he did was way above and beyond the "call of duty".
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 2, 2010 11:42:59 GMT 12
He mentioned the incident very briefly, but never mentioned the QCVS.
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