NZ Bomber Command Association

[pjw4118]

Yes thats a 90 sq aircraft flown by NZ pilot Rodney Williams born in Oamaru.
He joined directly into the RAF as 1395356 but on the squadron sheets his number is NZ2074. Dont know why.
His logbook records R as LM187 and later PD433 but he flew a variety of Lancasters during his tour on 90 sq.

[horicle]

Possibly I knew the same Rodney Williams in the 1950's. Then he was the teacher at Five Forks school, Co of 26 Sqn ATC in Oamaru and the guy who sat in the back seat of North Otago's Bergfalk II on my first glider flight.

[errolmartyn]

Mar 5, 2017 14:49:54 GMT 12 pjw4118 said:

Yes thats a 90 sq aircraft flown by NZ pilot Rodney Williams born in Oamaru.
He joined directly into the RAF as 1395356 but on the squadron sheets his number is NZ2074. Dont know why.
His logbook records R as LM187 and later PD433 but he flew a variety of Lancasters during his tour on 90 sq.

Rodney Greville Williams was a well numbered man!

He enlisted (in NZ) for the Fleet Air Arm in January 1941 - he would have been issued with an FX prefixed number on arrival in the UK.

In August 1941 he transferred into the RAFVR as 1395356, later becoming 150229 upon being commissioned.

In December 1943 he transferred into the RNZAF, as NZ2074 and was renumbered for a fifth and final time while on the Reserve sometime after 1948.

He left the service altogether in March 1961.

Errol

[pjw4118]

Thanks for the extra details , I have a copy of his logbook and RAF papers , he certainly took the long way round , his pilot training appears to have been in USA.

[pjw4118]

The latest NZBCA News is available at www.NZBombercommand.co.nz from Wednesday.

Reserve June 11 for the Annual Rememberance Service. Hall of Memories, Auckland War Memorial Museum. Starts 10.30am. All welcome
Veterans, Officers and VIP's will be seated in a special area.

[pjw4118]

Newsletter Number 1 1986

An interesting find. The last paragraph still applies after 30 years.
'Lets get weaving you dozy airpersons and make this work for a while at least'

[pjw4118]

Most will be aware of Lincs Aviation at East Kirby making plans for their Just Jane to be made airworthy. Amongst the myriad things to do , replacement of perspex panels in the turrets is needed and with MOTATS positive support , Rex Stanners removed the rear perspex from our Lancs rear turret to be copied and remoulded in new material for Just Jane.
Fortunately the two aircraft are twins , along with the example now on show in Western Australia they were the last operational Lancasters flying with the Aeronavale out of Noumea. Gifted in 1964 , Just Jane was flown back to UK from Sydney and eventually was purchased by the Panton brothers . Ground run for many years , son Andrew has a target to fly this Lanc in 2018.
The Lancaster Owners Club is rather small but increasingly co operative. Maybe a trip to UK next year.?

[delticman]

Jun 10, 2017 17:39:06 GMT 12 pjw4118 said:

Most will be aware of Lincs Aviation at East Kirby making plans for their Just Jane to be made airworthy. Amongst the myriad things to do , replacement of perspex panels in the turrets is needed and with MOTATS positive support , Rex Stanners removed the rear perspex from our Lancs rear turret to be copied and remoulded in new material for Just Jane.
Fortunately the two aircraft are twins , along with the example now on show in Western Australia they were the last operational Lancasters flying with the Aeronavale out of Noumea. Gifted in 1964 , Just Jane was flown back to UK from Sydney and eventually was purchased by the Panton brothers . Ground run for many years , son Andrew has a target to fly this Lanc in 2018.
The Lancaster Owners Club is rather small but increasingly co operative. Maybe a trip to UK next year.?

I saw Just Jane a few days ago and it's looking great, ailerons were not fitted and it's out every now and again for engine runs.

R

[suthg]

I saw Just Jane in June 2015, out for her taxi run with 12 paying passengers on board. They paid £350 IIRC and they give her a run at least once a week in summer, weather permitting. Lovely to hear her 4 Merlins and to see their passion. A nice little tea-room there too and another aviation bookshop! I have a video somewhere, I could put together and load up to YouTube. I should just do that!!

[pjw4118]

Yes you should.

[suthg]

Alright then ... she is now uploaded after a bit of editing and cropping and only at 720P - I have a 1080P one creating now. My mistake. It was a windy day so a lot of wind noise at times through the microphone, but not so much when starting up the Rolls-Royce Merlins!




And the Full HD 1080 Version



Cheers

[pjw4118]

Just Great ,, thanks Chris

[pjw4118]

Our annual service was very well attended and supported by RNZAF, RAAF, RCAF and RAF. As usual 3 Squadron ATC acted as ushers and wreath bearers.

[pjw4118]

The rear turret perpex has now been removed for copying and eventual installation on "Just Jane"





However a start to repairs on the outer wing spars has been delayed while methane levels in the ADH are rechecked and venting occurs. Being built on an old landfill the ADH has continuous monitors installed and if levels reach a specific level I understand that the venting is done.

This picture is dated October 1949 where the tip was yet to be opened

[pjw4118]

The latest issue of NZ Bomber Command News is available on www.nzbombercommand.co.nz . We wont ransom your pictures on this site !!!
The June issue features the last bombing raid on Berlin written by Richard Stowers.
The past few years of newsletters can also be downloaded.

[Dave Homewood]

New Zealand airmen at a Bomber Operational Training Unit in Britain


Auckland Weekly News, 12 March 1941
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19410312-32-3

[pjw4118]

The latest issue of NZBCA News is on line and can be seen at www.nzbombercommand.co.nz
It contains two lengthy article and is 16 pages this time.

[Dave Homewood]

Final salute for Nelson's bomber command veterans
TIM O'CONNELL
Last updated 14:37, November 19 2017

The perils of war could not take them down, but time has finally taken its toll on Nelson's veterans of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command.

Four of the five surviving World War 2 servicemen attended their 50th and final luncheon on Friday.

RNZAF Lancaster pilot Rex Waters, RNZAF Lancaster navigator Dave Knight, RAF Mosquito ground crew engineer Geoff Pattenden and RAF Mosquito pilot John Beeching gathered at NMIT's Rata Room Restaurant for a final reunion, 72 years after their war service in Europe concluded.


Former Mosquito pilot John Beeching from Nelson in front of the restored de Havilland Mosquito at Ardmore Airfield, South Auckland, in the first public appearance of the WW2 fighter bomber, 2012.

Lancaster pilot Buzz Spilman was the only absentee from the event because ill health.

Spilman and Knight were members of the No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron, which flew more sorties than any other Allied heavy bomber squadron, and suffered the second most casualties of all Allied squadrons.

Joining family and friends of the crewmen were Nelson MP Nick Smith, deputy mayor Paul Matheson, representatives of the Returned Services Association, Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the NZ Bomber Command Association.


Mason Robinson, Royal New Zealand Air Force plays the last post at the last ever Bomber Command lunch in Nelson, at the Rata Room at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.

The first lunch gathering in 1993 drew around 20 servicemen.

Almost a quarter of a century later, the numbers have dwindled and with those left now in their 90s, the men have decided this will be their last time together.

London-born Beeching said while "natural attrition" had shrunk the local membership, the camaraderie had not diminished over the years.


World War II Royal Air Force Bomber Command veterans John Beeching, left, David Knight, Rex Waters and Geoff Pattenden gather for the last ever Bomber Command lunch in Nelson.

"We never seem to run out of things to talk about, it's a perennial subject that keeps on being perennial."

Beeching said he still vividly recalled the feeling of flying Mosquito planes on numerous bombing missions over Germany that lasted up to six hours at at time.

"It had probably the worst aircraft seat ever devised – the seat went up and down but the arm rest stayed still – there was less space in the cockpit of a Mosquito than there was in a Morris Minor."

Knight - now 93 - said the nature of air operations gave little opportunity to forge close bonds during the war.

"It's not like the army where you make friends because you're living with them over a long period – with an air crew you're busy doing your scheduled activities – crew members came and went and of course many of them perished."
Air crew that served on the command suffered one of the highest fatality rates on the allied side during WW2 with over 40 per cent of the 125,000 air crew killed and 8,325 aircraft lost in action.

Luncheon organiser Graham Pullyn, whose father Phillip was a bomber command veteran but died in 1999, said the sacrifice of the command went largely unrecognised following the war but has attracted growing recognition in recent years.

Beeching and Spilman were present when the bomber command memorial was unveiled by the Queen at London in 2012, while the crews' efforts were finally recognised in the medal system with the issue of the bomber command clasp in 2013.

While the acknowledgement was not forthcoming in Pullyn's father's lifetime, he was proud to finally have some recognition in his family's possession.

"We owe you and your colleagues a huge debt of gratitude for the sacrifice and contribution you have made to allow us to live in our free societies today," an emotional Pullyn said in addressing the veterans.

www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/98987968/final-salute-for-nelsons-bomber-command-veterans

[pjw4118]

A biography of S/L Phil Lamason DFC and bar , titled "I Would Not Step Back " will be launched at the ADH MOTAT 11 am February 14th. It is open to all . Copies will be available to purchase . Further details about the book are at www.phillamason.com

[pjw4118]

Wednesdays book launch went off with about 70 attending. Pictures are on NZBCA facebook. The book is a beauty and very well put together. The odd blooper but they dont affect the read.
Copies on line or from the MOTAT bookshop.