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Post by baz62 on Feb 20, 2013 11:47:34 GMT 12
Hey ! hold on ! No, they obviously have never found the pi;ot and its only the fact that Noel hilliam has gone to a lot of triouble trying to find out throgh anecdotal sightings (which you cannot always believe ) that he has finaly obtained enough information to locate it . . Its been along time and the Kaipara Harbour is not the friendliest of places at times ! We will just have to be a bit more patient and when someting tangible shows up and I find out I will do my best to keep you informed . Of course there are procedures to be carried out . . Patience my friend !! :-0 Eng Eng I wasn't being impatient, just asking a couple of questions. I am always learning (and experienced ex Air Force chaps like yourself are like gold on here)but will learn b****r all if I don't ask them! A lost RNZAF Mustang in a NZ harbour will make everyone on this forum rub their eyes and take another look to see they read it right. I'd expect a lot of us will be eyeing this thread with a lot of interest!! Looking forward to more of your experiences in the RNZAF too! (Hint hint) ;D
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Eng
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 81
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Post by Eng on Feb 20, 2013 15:53:28 GMT 12
OK Baz62 Ive taken your hint hint:-) also pity on you if you can stand another drip fed tale from the past . This is getting to sound like a bedtime story !! Along long time ago at a fairly deserted airfield somewhere near Papakura stood three old tired aircraft hangars. At another airfield near Palmy ( and the Bulls Pub ) there was a group of airman highly skilled ( or so they thought ) with nothing to do . What a waste thought some deep thinking high ranking bod in Air Department . These fellows should be sent up to Ardmore and clean out the hangars . And so it came to pass that when the rusty squeaky old doors were pushed aside there in the gloom sat thirty dirty dusty things all done up like mummies . When the bird shit encrusted mummy wrappings were finally cut off there exposed to the startled gaze of the airman was a wondous sight . They were just like Monarch butterflies emerging from their chrysalis state. WOW! Back to earth .There were roughly nine to a hangar from memory and there seemed to be a scarcity of parts The first two were easy to assmble because we "Christmas treed" the bits we needed from the ones at the back of the hangar . Things like magnetoes dislike being abandoned to their fate for those years and objected to providing the necessary sparks when required . They had to be removed and sent to Ohakea for a bit of good old TLC. Seals in carbs dry up and all sorts of little things add to the woes . And thats all youre getting tonite so do a Mr Bean and take your Teddy and if your good I'll continue this tomorrow. Nite Eng
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Post by suthg on Feb 20, 2013 16:31:37 GMT 12
HAHAHA! Waiting for the next installment! ...
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Eng
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 81
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Post by Eng on Feb 20, 2013 18:27:21 GMT 12
Sorry chaps but at this point Im going to have to cheat a bit Im running short of time and I must apologise however to keep you entranced before your bedtime tale here goes an excerpt from an address I gave on" Bugles" last ANZAC Day.
> While we, in the Air Force were fortunately not burdened bugle wise with this sort of sound in the morning. My first introduction to an early wakeup noise of this nature was when we were accommodated or should I say billeted at Papakura Army camp. The year was 1952 .We were assembling Mustangs at the nearby Ardmore airfield at the time and removing the aircraft from storage for Territorial pilots to fly on the weekends. A beautiful plane but that’s another story. I’m not too sure why The Papakura Military Camp failed to go to the trouble of employing the services of a bugler while we were there. Instead the Army had a powerful Tannoy system, a large speaker of which was on a pole just outside our hut. The first introduction to that day was a loud scratching noise (almost ear-splitting in itself) as a gramophone needle was placed none too gently into the groove of the record player. A few seconds later we were frightened out of our wits and from our warm beds by the terrifying sound of the Post Horn Gallup turned up full volume by some fiendish Military Redcap in the gate house ready to complete his all night guard duty. Perhaps this may have contributed to his bad mood at that ungodly hour. Maybe it wasn’t the nicest way of repaying the Papakura Army Camp’s kind hospitality but I must say it gives me, in my dotage, intense satisfaction to inform you that they never found out who severed the wires to the speaker. Four times in all before they and the dreaded Regimental Sergeant Major gave up. I still cherish those ancient diagonal cutters in my tool box. I guess in hindsight they probably saved us from murdering a poor bugler. Sleep well Eng
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 20, 2013 18:39:32 GMT 12
Great stories there Ralph. I'm really enjoying these memories you're sharing.
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Post by hairy on Feb 20, 2013 21:37:21 GMT 12
OK Baz62 Ive taken your hint hint:-) also pity on you if you can stand another drip fed tale from the past . This is getting to sound like a bedtime story !! Along long time ago at a fairly deserted airfield somewhere near Papakura stood three old tired aircraft hangars. At another airfield near Palmy ( and the Bulls Pub ) there was a group of airman highly skilled ( or so they thought ) with nothing to do . What a waste thought some deep thinking high ranking bod in Air Department . These fellows should be sent up to Ardmore and clean out the hangars . And so it came to pass that when the rusty squeaky old doors were pushed aside there in the gloom sat thirty dirty dusty things all done up like mummies . When the bird shit encrusted mummy wrappings were finally cut off there exposed to the startled gaze of the airman was a wondous sight . They were just like Monarch butterflies emerging from their chrysalis state. WOW! Back to earth .There were roughly nine to a hangar from memory and there seemed to be a scarcity of parts The first two were easy to assmble because we "Christmas treed" the bits we needed from the ones at the back of the hangar . Things like magnetoes dislike being abandoned to their fate for those years and objected to providing the necessary sparks when required . They had to be removed and sent to Ohakea for a bit of good old TLC. Seals in carbs dry up and all sorts of little things add to the woes . And thats all youre getting tonite so do a Mr Bean and take your Teddy and if your good I'll continue this tomorrow. Nite Eng Look familiar?
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Post by baz62 on Feb 20, 2013 21:50:57 GMT 12
Nice photos!
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Eng
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 81
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Post by Eng on Feb 21, 2013 7:48:51 GMT 12
Dave, you should label this sort of stuff "Chronic Chronicles". Im not too sure whether this is applicable :-) Nice pics indeed ! All a bit of nostalgia. Not forgetting that pic is over sixty years old . Boy ! Time DOES fly . :-) It really didnt end there for me as I was involved with the shifting and rebuilding of those ( I think we made one out of two hangars ) buildings to MOTAT much later . It was part of a PEP scheme. We lifted them the wooden trusses up about six feet higher and I had the job of putting down a concrete floor . I was rather dubious about this as the Sir Keith Park field is situated on the disused Meola Road rubbish tip. and liable to sink in parts , One of the interesting ( I suppose ! ) problems was the large amount of methane trapped below . I buried a 44 gallon drum and piped it ( the gas ) up to our smoko hut for cooking . Excellent heat but looking back bloody dangerous !!! Ah well the things we do !! :-) ( Or did ) Now how the hell did we get from Mustangs to Methane ? Eng
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Post by johnnyfalcon on Feb 21, 2013 8:07:45 GMT 12
Hah! What an entertaining read! Keep it up please :-)
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Post by beagle on Feb 21, 2013 10:17:22 GMT 12
45-11496 to RNZAF (NZ2407) not used operationally; damaged in assembly April 1952; reduced to spares August 1953
so what happened here. Something like fell of jacks and broke a spar.??
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Eng
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 81
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Post by Eng on Feb 21, 2013 11:54:56 GMT 12
(NZ2407) ?? I cant say I remember that incident and of course I would have denied all knowledge of it .:-) I DO however have horrible recollections of an ACH (Tech hand) who had been posted in to help as a Gofer . I hope hes no longer on this earth and not reading this . A real walking disaster if ever there was one . I dont know whether you remember the cartoons of Dilbert a mythical brainless airman who was for ever doing stupid things . His cartoons were festooned around the hangars of various warnings on how NOT to do things. Well this fellow was the original. He wanted to obtain his drivers licence and managed to persuade the Eng Officer to lend him our one and only Landrover to practice . Hours later he was found wailking back from the end of the runway where he had turned into a ditch . Morning tea ? The tea urn in the smoko room sans tea . I will omit his name . We tried to keep him clear of aircraft. One instance springs to mind . Stan Smith, a great friend of mine long gone and one whom I worked with later on Vampire assembly had positioned the Mustang in a straight and level position while he checked the rigging control runs to the tail section . He was a big man and fitted just nicely through the inspection panel then standing upright just in front of the tail wheel assembly. which was holding up the rear of the a/c . All was well until Dilberts son came in and demanded the whereabouts of a jack. (The Landrover had a puncture ). I was working on the next a/c and without thinking I gestured over to Stans kite and said something to the effect ' Thats the only one we have and Stans using it . " Next minute there was a hell of a yell . I looked over and saw Stans ankles just showing beneath the tail section . The tail wheel now on Terra Firma. Meanwhile Dil Jnr was blithely trundling said jack out the door. WE managed to extract Stan from his scrunched up position and rescued him unhurt after relieving a person with the hijacked jack. The Americans had NOT designed the Mustang for that sort of exercise . To our relief Dilbrain was posted out the next day . Look back and laugh :-) Eng
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 21, 2013 16:45:53 GMT 12
Oh dear. I recall a guy in my time that must have been Dilbert's grandson.
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Eng
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 81
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Post by Eng on Feb 21, 2013 19:47:05 GMT 12
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Eng
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 81
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Post by Eng on Feb 21, 2013 19:53:28 GMT 12
My abject apologies to all those plane spotting experts..I have carefully read and reread the instructions for adding pics to the forum. This is NOT a four engined Mustang but another graceful old friend of mine returning home from Tarawa . Obviously like any woman she wanted to be in the picture .:-) I will get better with this as I go hopefully . I just didnt have the heart to delete her !! Regards Eng
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Post by raymond on Feb 21, 2013 20:02:47 GMT 12
NZ4115
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 21, 2013 22:22:11 GMT 12
Lovely shot!
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Post by ZacYates on Jul 31, 2017 9:30:40 GMT 12
So I have the surviving RNZAF Mustangs as: NZ2406 - flying with Bob Baker in the USA as USAAF Little Rebel NZ2417 - flying with Kermit Weeks in the USA as USAAF Cripes A' Mighty 3rd NZ2423 - stored with John Smith at Mapua NZ2427 - with Maurice Hammond in the UK as USAAF Janie
What happened to the fuselage of NZ2429, last reported with Philip Warner in the UK? Did it go with NZ2406 to Bob Baker?
Also Paul Coggan's Mustang Survivors book of 1987 says F-367 was actually taken on charge by the RNZAF as the second NZ2410 after restoration at Ohakea rather than simply being painted as such. Is there any truth to that?
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Post by agalbraith on Jul 31, 2017 12:36:28 GMT 12
Hi Zac
The cockpit section of '29' went to Bob Baker (after Philip Warner)along with the rest of the ex RNZAF bits. There was a whole fuse side panel, and on it contained the dataplate of '06' the only identity confirmed officially....actually the only dataplate I found at all. So whilst a sizeable chunk of '29's fuse remained, the ID of '06' was taken up.
I was hoping to secure some of the original skins off the collection of parts as there was a lot with various TAF cheques painted on the side. Must follow up on that....
HTH Anthony
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Post by keroburner on Jul 31, 2017 14:14:49 GMT 12
Keeping in mind the submerged wreck in the river up north!
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Post by ZacYates on Jul 31, 2017 14:24:05 GMT 12
It does, thank you. And I hope you can get a hold of some of the parts! I'd be grateful for any further info you may be able to glean from Bob about what went into -06 and what's left. Incidentally both the first (NZ2406) and last (NZ2423) Mustangs to fly in RNZAF still survive, and yesterday was the 60th anniversary of NZ2423 going into storage at Woodbourne.
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