The RNZAF P-40 Pile

[davidd]

In Dave H's Reply No. 1, photo No. 4, we have 14 Squadeon at Torokina, third operational tour, period January - March 1944 in front of a P-40N. They arrived at Torokina on 10th and 11th February, on operations 12th Feb to 26th March. Nine of the squadron pilots ferried up a simliar number of new P40Ns, rest travelled up by air transport (with chauffeur!)

You can spot the CO (Stan Quill) in middle row (centre), flanked by his two flight commanders (F/Ls L R (Lou or "Snow") Renolds, and E H (Errol) Brown). The Intelligence Officer in this case was P/O P W Blundell. Other pilots were: F/Os E L ("Butch") Avery, W M (Mort) Bullen, R A (Rex) Weber, W J (John) Polson, G S Treweek (killed on tour, 13/2/44, aerial collision), P (Pat) Molloy, W J McLeod, D W Cocks, R G (Ron) Bush, B S Hay, P S Tennent, N A Frew; P/Os D W (Doug) Robertson, N C (Neale) Sutherland; F/Sgt N E (Noel) Hanna (to P/O during tour - that's him in back row, second from right.); Sgts R A Barnett, H P Crump, G George, R P George, R F Howe, W D Smith, L C Strawbridge. At time this picture taken, E H Brown had been grounded sick just before end of tour, but is still in photo. Butch Avery was sent home sick on 29/1/44, so probably not in photo. Normal strength of a fighter squadron at this time was 27 pilots (six sections of four pilots each, plus 3 "spares"), and one intelligence officer. I should be able to provide names for everybody in this photo - does anybody else have a named print?
David D

[davidd]

Error in above! Noel Hanna is in BACK row, second in from right end. I think there have been some other good pictures of Noel elsewhere on this site. Also I think Errol (E H) Brown was usually known as Howard (his second name). NB, most of this now incorporated in above post.
David D

[davidd]

Three of the pilots in this 14 Squadron group are wearing those soft (HBT) American sun hats, and one has the HBT peaked cap. These soft and informal "fatigue" hats were much more popular than the "official" sun helmets, which is why the latter soon died out.
David D

[brenton]

#3

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[brenton]

#4

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[brenton]

#5

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[brenton]

#6

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[brenton]

#7 This one really belongs in the Corsair file but was part of the same collection so was probably taken at the same time.The photos where on offer on Ebay from some American seller.

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[Bryce]

Regarding your reply to me about NZ3278 I find RNZAF P-40 schemes quite fascinating. There is a very nice set of photos of a 1/48 P-40 N modeled by Bruce Salmon elsewhere in the boards that shows her in Olive Drab and Neutral Grey.
However Ventura Decal Sheet V3277 has two options.
Mr Robert Montgomery says Blue Sea Grey and Duck Egg Blue.
Mr Rufus Anderson is in the Olive Drab and Neutral Grey camp.
Their views are stated on the decal instructions and are probably in the public domain so i won't repeat them here.
At least it could be a start of a good subject of debate.

[Damon]

Thanks for posting the pictures Brenton,shame about the script through the image though.

[brenton]

Nothing I could do about the script through the image short of buying the photo's. Sorry.
Most of the wartime colour photos of P40's give the impression that they where more brown than green. Is this because the photos have deteriorated or the planes have weathered or what? The RNZAF Museum is restoring their P40 with a green look I think.Are there any recent photos of their plane around ?
Also,was there no record of code #'s for the OTU's P40's kept ? How many are known ?
Thanks in advance.

[pjw4118]

Like Peter Flyer nz I am also old but the memory of the P40s we salvaged bits from in the 1960s ,is they were more green than brown and the bits I still have , including acess panel are all drab olive.

[davidd]

Benton.
Probably a third to a half of the Fighter OTU codes (Kittyhawks) are known, mostly from the records taken by Charles Darby and Phil Hanson in the early 1960s.
David D

[davidd]

I think it is a given that all the P-40Ms and Ns arrived in NZ in the dark olive drab and neutral gray (American spelling - sorry!) paints, with the later ones having the medium green "splotching" around the edges of the flying surfaces. However some of the earlier aircraft in New Zealand were repainted (when somebody in authority felt that they were getting just TOO SCRUFFY), and we got some P-40Es in the dark olive drab and gray, and others may well have been in the blue sea grey, although the latter paint was originally intended only to replace the American paint colour which was roughly based on RAF Dark Earth (for use on Hudsons and P-40Es (Kittyhawks); it was also used in this way on Ansons from mid-1944. If Robert Montgmery suggests that some later P-40s had overall (well all upper surfaces then!) blue sea grey, then he probably saw them like that as a boy, but as to how many were like that, I would not even attempt to hazard a guess.
David D

[brenton]

David D -are the known OTU Kittyhawk codes matched with the planes #'s and are they listed here or somewhere else on the net by any chance ?

[Dave Homewood]

Look at the various Rukuhia threads on this forum and you may find some OTU codes matching serials.

[davidd]

Brenton,
The only known published listing of those P-40 OTU codes is the (now) little known publication "Warhawk" produced by Charles Darby and Phil Hanson in April 1962, and described as "An Air Record publication." I still have my copy, a folded-over light card artifact making up 4 pages, could now be considered a bit of a scarce item (50 years old). Of course this includes the details taken from the aircraft then at Rukuhia just before they were smelted down for aluminium saucepans. Other P-40 OTU codes are known from photographs and crash reports, etc.
David D

[pmolloyjr]

re the Torakina photo, I can confirm that Pat Molloy (Dad) is in the back row, fourth from left. I have a photo of his class at OTU Ohakea and they appear to be standing in front of a P40. I'll post if when I can. I will ask Mum (still alive and very with it at 90) if she recognises anyone else.

I also have a good copy of the photo of Dad climbing into the cockpit of his P40 that was published in NZ Herald in 1944, the accompanying article saying that Dad was the first Allied pilot to land on the newly created airstrip on Green Island. The scan of the article is too poor to reproduce but I'll transcribe it. I'll also post Dad's own comments which were handwritten onto the back of the good photo.
I also have Dad's silk scarf issued to all NZ pilots in the Pacific, with a map of the area so they had a chance of navigating if shot down.

[davidd]

pmolloyjr,
I don't think those silk maps were ever used as scarves (although some were probably tempted!) These items were too valuable in case the owner came down in the sea and had to have a reliable local map which could survive a dunking in the sea yet still be entirely legible so the owner might have a chance of saving himself. Those maps were really good quality printing and included a lot of useful information for castaways and the like, with seasonal winds and currents for the theatre in question. The RNZAF museum has a good seletion of these maps, mostly covering parts of the South Pacific.
David D

[Brenton]

I think the photo I posted earlier rnzaf.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=downloadattachmentpage&board=Wartime&thread=13664&post=165352 is this plane NZ 3067
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www.thescale.info/news/publish/P-40-RNZAF-training.shtml

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