A visitor to Hobsonville - Hawker Osprey

[Dave Homewood]

Here are three photos from march 1935 that come from the late Bob Lawn's collection, showing a Hawker Osprey from HMS Sussex visiting RNZAF Base Hobsonville.

[corsair67]

Classic images.

Is the Osprey a navalised variant of the Hawker Hind/Hart light bombers?

[dakman]

Wow classic pics Dave great to see

[Dave Homewood]

Yes it is the naval member of the Hart family.

When I first clapped eyes on one of these photos I thought I'd discovered a wierd test with one of the RNZAF Hinds.

[Dave Homewood]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Hart#Osprey

[Dave Homewood]

I never knew that an Osprey had ever visited here before but it has gotten me wondering what other aircraft types from visiting cruisers or other such ships during the 1930's and 40's. I know Achilles and Leander had the Walrus flying boats and Fairey Fox's before them, and I've posted elsewhere a photo I found of four Curtiss floatplanes that came on a US destroyer. They displayed at a Mangere airshow too. But there must have been others I guess

[alanw]

Cool Photos Dave!!!! ;D ;D ;D

Hobsonville has such a rich history (withholding rant here)
of aircraft and day to day happenings, an awesome place,
awesome aircraft and people

Thanks for posting

Alan

[flyjoe180]

Beautiful photos Dave, thanks for posting them.

[baz62]

I shouldn't read with out my glasses as I thought the date said 1985!
Great photos what an awesome looking float-plane (float- fighter?)

[Dave Homewood]

Some photos from this visit from the New Zealand Herald, dated 14th of March 1935:

 

CRUISERS OF THE VISITING AUSTRALIAN SQUADRON ARRIVE AT AUCKLAND FROM RUSSELL:
DESTROYERS DELAYED BY HEAVY WEATHER IN THE NORTH
H.M.A.S. Canberra, flagship of the squadron, and H.M.S. Sussex arrived in port early yesterday, but the departure from Russell of the three destroyers was postponed and they are due at Auckland to-day. Top left: The Mayor, Mr. G. W. Hutchison, making his return call on the squadron commander, Rear-Admiral W. T. Randle Ford. Top right: H.M.A.S. Canberra rounding North Head. Lower left: The seaplane H.M.S. Sussex ready to be hoisted on board. Centre: Sailors on the Canberra who were on guard duty yesterday morning. Right: Captain F. S. Bonham Carter, commanding H.M.S. Sussex, arriving on board the Canberra.

[Dave Homewood]

NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 7 MARCH 1935

NAVAL VISITORS

AUSTRALIAN SQUADRON

ARRIVAL AT RUSSELL

CRUISERS AND DESTROYERS

MANOEUVRES OFF NORTH CAPE

[by telegraph—own correspondent] RUSSELL, Wednesday

In line formation the Australian Naval Squadron entered the Bay of Islands at six o'clock this morning. A light mist lay along the skyline, and each vessel came first into sight as an indefinite image that appeared to be floating above the waters, larger than it really was.

The warships came in dead slow, H.M.A.S. Canberra, flagship of Rear-Admiral W. T. Handle Ford, leading the way, followed by H.M.S. Sussex, commanded by Captain C. S. Bonham-Carter, with the destroyers Stuart, Vendetta and Voyager astern.

Russell, or at least part of it, was early astir and people assembled on Flagstaff Hill to see the squadron enter. Right on the stroke of seven o'clock the Canberra reached her anchorage, a little over a mile northwest of Russell wharf. The Sussex anchored a little further out and the Vendetta and Voyager, as they came in, ranged one on each side of the flagship in order to take on fuel, while the Stuart went alongside the Sussex. Later, the destroyers moved to anchorages nearer the shore.

The five warships made a striking picture as they rested absolutely motionless on the glittering waters with a seaplane from the Sussex flying overhead and dozens of launches from ships and shore speeding to and fro.

Cruiser Eludes Patrols
The squadron is on an ordinary cruise, carrying out training in seamanship and paying an informal visit to New Zealand. The only manoeuvres carried out on the voyage across the Tasman were strategical exercises off North Cape last night. A strait was imagined, with the land at North Cape as its southern boundary and a mythical piece of land for its northern shores. Visibility was poor owing to light rain squalls.

The destroyers patrolled the entrance to the imaginary strait, with the Canberra as a supporting force in the rear, while it was the object of the Sussex to elude the patrol and slip through, a feat which she succeeded in accomplishing.

During the squadron's stay at Russell advantage will be taken of the quiet waters of the Bay of Islands to clean ship and to carry out further exercises in seamanship. Some of the officers will take the opportunity of having some deep-sea fishing to-morrow and on Friday. Rear-Admiral Ford will inspect the ships on Monday, and on Tuesday the squadron will hold a sailing regatta.

Visit to Auckland
On Wednesday the visiting warships will sail for Auckland and will later visit Wellington and Lyttelton. The Sussex alone will go further south and will pay a visit to Port Chalmers. During the squadron's stay in the Bay of Islands, officers and men will have entertainment in the form of dances organised by the residents of Russell, and a water carnival will be held at Opua next Saturday. This morning, the harbourmaster, Mr. A. Neuman, representing the Harbour Board, and Mr. A. E. Bissett, chairman of the Russell Town Board, paid official calls on Rear-Admiral Ford.

The vessels will be thrown open for public inspection, but the days have not yet been fixed. It will probably be on Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

SEAPLANE FROM CRUISER

ARRIVAL AT HOBSONVELLE

The Osprey, the seaplane carried by H.M.S. Sussex, arrived at the Hobsonville Air Base from Russell at about four o'clock yesterday afternoon. The crew, a pilot and a wireless operator, remained at Hobsonville for the night.

[emron]

Both senior officers aboard HMS Sussex went on to have distinguished careers during WW2.

Captain S. Bonham Carter retired in 1945 as Vice Admiral, Sir Stuart Sumner Bonham Carter, KCB, CVO, DSO. He died in September 1972, aged 83.

Commander G. Creasy would return to NZ, by then as Rear Admiral aboard carrier HMS Theseus in 1947. He retired in 1957 as Admiral of the Fleet, Sir George Elvey Creasy, GCB, CBE, DSO, MVO, DL. He died aged 77 also in 1972.

[emron]

Manawatu Standard, 7 August 1936.

DEFENCE FORCES
ESTIMATES ANALYSED
----
The increased expenditure on air defence provided in the Estimates now before the House of Representatives includes votes for building up a reserve supply of bombs and machine-gun ammunition for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, for enlarging considerably the ground and flying staff at Wigram Aerodrome, Christchurch, and for the establishment of a Fleet Air Arm in New Zealand.
----
FLEET AIR ARM
The Naval Estimates for this year include a sum of Pds2000 under the heading “Fleet Air Arm,” this amount being to cover the cost of maintenance of aircraft aboard H.M.S. Achilles and H.M.S. Leander, which are to be attached to the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy.
New Zealand at present has only shore-based aircraft, service types including Fairey seaplanes at Hobsonville and Vickers Vildebeest bombers at both Wigram and Hobsonville.
H.M.S. Achilles and H.M.S. Leander each carry two Hawker Osprey fighter reconnaissance machines, and each vessel is provided with a catapult for launching the aircraft. The Osprey is a two-seater machine capable of speeds up to 170 miles an hour and able to climb to 22,850 feet.

[emron]

Although Ospreys served aboard both Achilles and Leander they were replaced by a single Supermarine Walrus before the cruisers joined the New Zealand Division. In the case of Achilles, K5774 an early production model, became the first example to be so deployed when it was embarked from Spithead onto the ship in April 1936. Achilles spent the following 9 weeks with the Home Fleet at Gibraltar before sailing to NZ, arriving at Auckland on 6 September. K5774 was seen extensively across the country during the ship’s subsequent tour of ports. When Leander arrived in Auckland the following year, on 18 August, she carried aboard Walrus K8541. Its service life was cut short when it was written off in a landing accident on Wellington Harbour 3 months later.