Wartime Hood Aerodrome from above

[kiwithrottlejockey]

A wartime aerial photograph of Hood Aerodrome — taken on 6th April 1943....





The above photograph is part of the large collection held by the Wairarapa Archive.

More details of this particular photograph is online here....

• bones.mstn.govt.nz/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/ARC/BSEARCH/11/266791,41



The Wairarapa archive holds a HUGE collection of historical stuff related to Wairarapa. Most of their vast collection is catalogued online, although only a limited amount of their collection is actually available via the web. Their entire collection is accessible to the public at their premises in Queen Street Masterton, which is open all afternoon every weekday.

The following URLs take you respectively to the first page of an online search for items related to Hood Aerodrome; and the first page of an online search for items related to the RNZAF — with both searches displaying 100 items per page....

• bones.mstn.govt.nz/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/ARC/BSEARCH?ENTRY_NAME=BS&ENTRY=Hood+Aerodrome&ENTRY_TYPE=K&NRECS=100&SORTS=BY+SOVR

• bones.mstn.govt.nz/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/ARC/BSEARCH?ENTRY_NAME=BS&ENTRY=RNZAF&ENTRY_TYPE=K&NRECS=100&SORTS=BY+SOVR

[jonesy]

Would be interested to see a comparable one from 70-odd years later! Anyone able to help?

[kiwithrottlejockey]

I wonder if Piet Van Ash took that photograph from his Monospar?

Presumably he was the only person doing that sort of photography back then.

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks for that Bruce, that's a really interesting photo. It's odd that no matter which way you turn your head it looks to be upside-down.

I'd like to see more wartime photos from RNZAF Masteton/Hood Aerodrome in 1942-43 if anyone has any to share. I find that period when No. 14 Squadron was bsed there very interesting.

I have some daily routine orders from that station somewhere but they are later in the war.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Here is another photograph from the Wairarapa Archive showing Hood Aerodrome as a RNZAF station in August 1942....




(click on the photo to open the info page from the Wairarapa Archive's online database)

[Dave Homewood]

Bruce, the RNZAF was doing that sort of photography fro the mid-1930's, particularly with Vildebeests which aerial photography was one of their designated roles. It's more likely an RNZAF photo I would think.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Nov 27, 2011 12:06:00 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

It's odd that no matter which way you turn your head it looks to be upside-down.

That photograph is definitely not aligned according to cardinal compass points.

I'll put together a 1:50,000 topographical map section containing Hood Aerodrome and post it into this thread so you can compare the photo with correct alignment. It shouldn't take too long.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Here are sections of both 1:50,000 and 1:250,000 topomaps (NZTM series) showing the correct orientation of Hood Aerodrome....

[nzmonty]

Thanks heaps for posting this, I just found a heap of photos taken by my grandfather on the site too He ran a photographic business in Masterton (Hope-Cross and Richardson) and was photographer for the RNZAF during world war two, so there a chance some of the RNZAF photo's where taken by him too.