Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 7, 2010 0:09:45 GMT 12
Norm Todd, a wartime RNZAF Flight Engineer, told me he was sent up to Honolulu, Hawaii, to pick up a Ventura that was coming to NZ. He had hoped he'd be put into the pool of crews there on the Pacific Ferry Flight so he could spend a few days seeing Hawaii, but when he arrived he found the guy who was meant to be going as FE on the next flight out had broken a leg so he had to go straight onto that B-34 crew.
These were aircraft that had come down to Hawaii from the Aleutian Islands and were war weary combat veteran aircraft. He said this particular one was worn out as hell. On the flight they nearly had a total disaster when an airlock developed in the fuel and suddenly both engines stopped and the aircraft began to plummet. He said he had a frantic few moments turning valves and switches and pumps and suddenly they got the engines going again.
Then came the next problem, suddenly the astrodome shattered and blew out, causing a huge change of pressure in the aircraft and causing everything to blow around inside. He said that because these had been based in the cold climate of the Aleutians and were suddenly thrust into the tropics, the perspex could not handle the change in temperature. Before they reached Auckland the pilot's side window also blew out, and others had begun to craze. They touched down rather cold and shaken in the end.
I was wondering, did this perspex problem occur with all the ex-USAAF B-34's that went through that change in temperature? Or was Norm and his crew unlucky to have two blow on the same trip?
These were aircraft that had come down to Hawaii from the Aleutian Islands and were war weary combat veteran aircraft. He said this particular one was worn out as hell. On the flight they nearly had a total disaster when an airlock developed in the fuel and suddenly both engines stopped and the aircraft began to plummet. He said he had a frantic few moments turning valves and switches and pumps and suddenly they got the engines going again.
Then came the next problem, suddenly the astrodome shattered and blew out, causing a huge change of pressure in the aircraft and causing everything to blow around inside. He said that because these had been based in the cold climate of the Aleutians and were suddenly thrust into the tropics, the perspex could not handle the change in temperature. Before they reached Auckland the pilot's side window also blew out, and others had begun to craze. They touched down rather cold and shaken in the end.
I was wondering, did this perspex problem occur with all the ex-USAAF B-34's that went through that change in temperature? Or was Norm and his crew unlucky to have two blow on the same trip?
