Celebrating the RNZAF Airspeed Oxford

[pjw4118]

David D thanks for info. Any comments on the following fuzzy picture. Oxfords coded ZX with painted cowlings?

[Dave Homewood]

ZX was the codes of No. 1 (Bomber) Operational Training Unit. The vertical band forward of the tail was also a OTU marking, as were the yellow cowls.

[pjw4118]

Thats better Dave. Any idea where ?

[Dave Homewood]

They were based at Levin, New Plymouth and Ohakea. Given the big square concrete padded apron there I'd guess Ohakea? I think I've seen this shot before but not blurry. Is it in RNZAF The First Decade maybe?

[davidd]

I'm fairly certain that shot was taken at Ohakea in about the July - October 1943 window - one thing I recall that assisted with dating was identification of that u/s Hudson in background on left, which was I think struck from behind by a P-40 and was subsequently written off. The presence of all those PV-1s behind the Oxfords further assists dating more positively - these would be from 2 Squadron. The red cross marking also is interesting, never seen such a prominent one on an RNZAF aircraft, and somewhat at odds with its heavily armed status (another one of those aircraft with a nose gun as well as a turret!) Also the serial number of these Oxfords was presented in a most unusual manner, in two lines with the NZ above, and number below. And yes, it WAS in First Decade, page 48.
David D

[Dave Homewood]

Was there a hatch with a first aid kit in the nose of the Oxford?

[airspeednz]

The drawings don't show a hatch on the side in that area (or any other for that matter).

Dave.

[Dave Homewood]

I didn't think there was a hatch, and have always wondered why that aircraft had a red cross painted on its nose. I wonder if it even was a red cross, perhaps it wasn't red and may have been some other marking, perhaps to denote a lead ship or some sort of wargame marking?

[airspeednz]

That would certainly make sense as the dimensions of the cross don't look right for it to be a "red Cross" type marking. I look forward to finding out more about the significance though.

Dave.

[airspeednz]

Also of interest is what appears to be either something coming off the wing or possibly off the fuse (in the area of the roundel). Would love to find out what that item is.

Dave.

[Dave Homewood]

Jul 29, 2013 17:46:25 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

I think I've seen this shot before but not blurry. Is it in RNZAF The First Decade maybe?

To answer my own question, yes a much clearer version of that photo appears on page 48 of RNZAF - The First Decade by Charles Darby.

The back row of bombers are four Venturas, and as David says there's a derelict Hudson there too. There seems to be a series of huts where the trees are in the distance, perhaps it is the camp known as Siberia? Here's a scan from that page:

[Dave Homewood]

Could that object leaning against the roundel be a tailwheel steering handle for ground handling?

[airspeednz]

Certainly looks to be a tow/steering bar in that clearer picture. (that Red Cross looks very different in this shot too).

Dave.

[Dave Homewood]

I'd like to see a decent sized scan of an actual large glossy print of that photo some day.

[airspeednz]

Even better would be a re shoot of that photo in colour!

[camtech]

Found the article and photos - from the NZ Weekly News 8 Jan 1941. Actual crash date was 30 Dec 1940.

[Dave Homewood]

Really sad and incredible photos, thanks for posting. The article is very descriptive too.

[Dave Homewood]

Jul 26, 2013 16:46:30 GMT 12 thomarse said:

Is there any other mention on this Board of the incident involving the house at Ashurst? I've searched including Google without success.

I'd like to know where to find the house. It was built by my great-grandfather.

A look at the White Pages site reveals several Kebbells in that lower North Island area, though none in Ashhurst. But perhaps some of them are those four children, and they can pinpoint the house's location for you.

[htbrst]

There is an additional poignant photo of the wreckage in front of the house in a hangar Cat article from NZ Wings found here: www.pacificwingsmagazine.com/content/hangar-cat-84

Here is the description from that article:

THIS is one incredible photograph, a sad tale of the results of applying bruteforce to a wooden structure. Spotted on the wall of the Ohakea Museum, it vividly tells the story of an instructor and a pilot under training who, early one January 1941 morning, decided to indulge in a spot of low level adventure. They were young, the war was young and immortality was a strong feeling amongst the exhilaration of racing along at tree top height. The Airspeed Oxford was so new in RNZAF service that it still wore its RAF identity of R6226.

Downstairs in the Ashhurst house the family were at breakfast, four children ten minutes earlier roused from their beds, when the Oxford banked to clear a washhouse roof some 30 feet away, pulled up and impacted into and through the upper story. The port wing took out a 600 gallon water tank and a section of roof The fuselage and starboard wing went in one side of the house and out the other via the children's nursery. Wreckage was strewn across the lawn and into a gully. Not a lot of plane sense remained but definitely a message for any one contemplating low level immortality. Photograph courtesy RNZAF Museum.

[rone]

to add a bit of history to the story of Don Subritzkys Oxford, the blue/grey high backed seat visible in 2 of the pictures is actually a seat from the A/S Consul that my father broke up at Whenuapai. He made himself a rocking chair out of it, Don informed me he was given it some time after my father passed away by another member of my family. Good to see it back in the correct environment.