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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 18, 2009 21:12:04 GMT 12
Thanks for that. Yes I recall reading that Ohakea had to have the runway rebuilt because in winter it was like a lake and they months with no flying there in the wet season (is there a dry season at Ohakea??) Thanks for the details.
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Post by hairy on Jun 19, 2009 21:39:35 GMT 12
I just noticed the different u/c doors set-up on NZ2147. Also notice how close the props are to the cowlings on the Oxfords and how only about 50% of the prop would produce thrust.
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Post by shamus on Jun 19, 2009 22:06:01 GMT 12
Some more Oxfords. Two side by side. In this one, is it minus its prop or is it spinning so fast that you cannot see it? And, where are these two Oxfords? Is this Hobsonville?
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 19, 2009 23:10:39 GMT 12
I guess that is Hobsonville, but from an unusual angle. Neat photo. The one with the engine running is an enigma too, it must surely have a prop, but why can't we see it? Long exposure maybe?
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Post by baz62 on Jun 20, 2009 20:07:51 GMT 12
Yes the engine must be at high revs to make the disc of the prop invisible.
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Post by shamus on Jul 1, 2009 16:26:26 GMT 12
Another Oxford photo I have just discovered. Probably out of Wigram flying over Christchurch. If so I could be down there in one of those houses looking up at it.
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Post by Bruce on Jul 1, 2009 16:38:32 GMT 12
Thats a really nice photo, even if it is a little fuzzy. It looks like one of the prewar Oxfords, going by the roundels on the wings. It appears to have the blue "B Flight" bar on the side too.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 1, 2009 18:11:36 GMT 12
I agree with bruce, that's a neat photo indeed. I wonder if others were taken on the same flight.
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Post by shamus on Jul 1, 2009 21:37:32 GMT 12
If thats the case, I wouldn't be looking up at it but I do remember plenty of Oxfords and also Ansons out of Wigram during the war and afterwards. Also remember climbing up on the house roof to see the Meteor flying over. Very exciting for a young kid.
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Post by shamus on Jul 3, 2009 17:32:51 GMT 12
Another one of an Oxford over the sea. Now a photo that had to be split in half to really appreciate it. Looks like Hobsonville in the early days.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 3, 2009 18:53:52 GMT 12
Great photos there Shamus. At first I really liked that second shot (the first one taken at Hobsonville). Then I looked at the serial on that first one, in silver, and now I REALLY like that photo. NZ1213 was one of three Airspeed Oxfords to serve with the New Zealand General Reconnaissance Squadron at Whenuapai in 1940. I only recently discovered that that squadron had a Oxfords, and now you've presented a great photo of one of them. This is probably taken just before it was posted into the NZGR Squadron. It was posted to the Sqn in mid-October 1940 and continued to serve with No. 1 GR Squadron through till November 1941, when it transferred to No. 2 FTS, Woodbourne.
The other two NZGR Sqn Oxfords were NZ1287 (which came and went quickly) and NZ1309 (which remained till the 10th September 1942) - I thought we had that one in the second photo for a second but we're one digit out.
Thanks for the awesome photos!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 3, 2009 18:54:37 GMT 12
Also in that photo with NZ1213 in it, the marquees in the background which served as the Airmens' barracks at that time in 1939-40!!
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Post by sopwitht1 on Jul 7, 2009 20:58:41 GMT 12
Hi Dave, Just a quick question, that picture of the three Oxfords at the head of the forum, was it taken at Wigram? I think I might have seen it before, the aircraft on the left is NZ279, the one the pilot stalled and crashed whilst aerobatting over Akaroa. Is that right? Really enjoying the pics - looking at Marcus' Leo White walk round photos, in the first one from the front, is that a Spitty in the background under the Oxford's stbd wing? Its pointy wings are a giveaway. Like you, I'd love to see an Oxbox fly; I wasn't aware there were so many possible projects - I know that there were bits scattered around the place in Blenheim (I've got a Cheetah engine mount on loan to someone at the moment), but it might turn out that we have more here in NZ than in the UK - only two complete examples and an unrestored one. Oh, by the way, the Oxford was designed by Alfred Hessel Tiltman; he was Airspeed's chief designer - N.S.Norway was merely the company director! www.postimage.org/image.php?v=PqO_q_iDuxford's example suspended from the roof of their big, big, big hangar. RAF Museum's Canberra B.2 in the background.
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Post by Bruce on Jul 7, 2009 21:53:25 GMT 12
Really enjoying the pics - looking at Marcus' Leo White walk round photos, in the first one from the front, is that a Spitty in the background under the Oxford's stbd wing? Its pointy wings are a giveaway.. Looks indeed like a Spitfire, or more correctly the TTS Seafire. Possibly even the Hobsonville Fairey Firefly behind it too. Good spotting!
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Post by shamus on Jul 8, 2009 11:19:08 GMT 12
Hi sopwith1. I think I can answer your question, as I posted that photo on page 2 of the thread. It was taken at Hobsonville and was an official RNZAF photo.
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Post by sopwitht1 on Jul 9, 2009 20:44:14 GMT 12
Cheers Bruce, didn't pick the Firefly though. Shamus, thanks for that - the serial is too blurry to read on the a/c on the left. From what little I know, my understanding is that all RNZAF Oxboxes were assembled at Hobsonville, so NZ279 was there to begin with, but only served with No.1 FTS at Wigram before the accident.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 10, 2009 9:39:51 GMT 12
Yes they were all assembled at Hobsonville I believe. I've been up close and personal with the Oxford here at Wigram this week, now coloured red with the dope covering, and it's looking stunning. A real work of art. And the P-40E is also looking stunning in its new Pacific scheme (that's right, it's no longer in an OTU scheme!!)
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Post by sopwitht1 on Jul 10, 2009 20:44:56 GMT 12
Any photos, Dave?
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 11, 2009 19:08:25 GMT 12
Here are some I took on Tuesday 7th of July 2009, thanks to our guide Alan Gee, and my mate Barf from the museum who peeled me off the tour for a more in depth look at the restorations: The tailplane has had the nine layers of paint removed and the fabric removed to reveal the woodwork And that revealled an early repair done to it, which was signed by the repairers The forward fuselage is about to get its interior green paint and can then be fitted out, whilst the rear of the fuselage interior is already green And the new P-40E colours, which will confuse some who have seen it in the OTU scheme in the past. This new scheme is based on a set of photos of a P-40E, I think Barf said NZ3096 from memory, which had just rolled out of the paint shop at Rukuhia after a later war repaint. He has matched the green to the RNZAF repaint green shade. It's a much more generic scheme than it wore before, as the earlier OTU scheme had codes and thus indicated it was representing a specific aircraft, whereas this scheme was worn by loads of P-40's, at home and overseas, and thus represents the type more widely. The aircraft it was based on from that set of photos was an ex-USAAF aircraft that the RNZAF got from Tonga, and it did serve both at home and in the Pacific, so it's fitting as this airframe is also ex-USAAF.
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Post by John L on Jul 14, 2009 18:13:05 GMT 12
So, what is the story behind the museums Oxford?
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