Post by emron on Oct 1, 2021 12:47:07 GMT 12
Press14_Dec_1959 by Ron Wilson, on FlickrRepeated 11-Jan-1960 with more detail.
Press11_1_1960 by Ron Wilson, on FlickrBennett Aviation, Te Kuiti were the successful bidder. They later on-sold NZ2527 to Barr Brothers, Auckland, together with two engines and a propeller.
Who can tell me the serial number of the R2600 now fitted to NZ2505 in Gisborne?
There may have been parts of NZ2503 amongst the spares in this tender too.
I remember removing the remains of red fabric off the replacement rudder that we fitted to NZ2527.
2503’s was the only one to have that colour.
Here’s the account of NZ2503’s demise. Note the date and location of the ditching. This is different to what's recorded on other popular sites.
“Press” 15-March-1956
PLANE CRASHES INTO SEA
R.N.Z.A.F. AVENGER LOST
------
CREW OF THREE PICKED UP
UNHURT
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(New Zealand Press Association)
AUCKLAND, March 14.
Three crew members escaped unhurt when a Royal New Zealand Air Force Avenger
aircraft from Ohakea crashed into 162ft of water in the Hauraki Gulf today. They are
Sergeant G.S.Brown, Aircraftsman W.J.Knox, and Aircraftsman G. Lindstrom, whose
plane had been towing a target at which H.M.N.Z.S. Kiwi had been shooting.
The accident occurred at 3 p.m. about 15 to 20 miles east of Tiri Island.
When the Avenger’s engine failed, Sergeant Brown advised the Kiwi by radio that
he would have to crash, and the ship immediately steered in the direction of the
expected landing. It was only 200yds away when the plane struck the water. A
ship’s boat picked up the airmen.
“I was flying at 2000ft with about 4000ft of line on the drogue when my engine cut”
said Sergeant Brown, interviewed at Whenuapai tonight. “I checked all my instruments
while A.C.1 Lindstrom cut the drogue loose. When the engine failed to restart, I called
up the Kiwi and told them I was going to ditch."
“I circled the Kiwi several times and then put her down about 100yds from the ship.
She hit very smoothly. Only about one minute had passed since the engine stopped.
The ditching went smoothly. I slipped my canopy back and out on to the wing and
into the water, followed by the other men."
After the men had inflated their Mae Wests and paddled away the plane slid down
quickly - about half a minute after coming to rest.
The naval longboat was in the water before the plane touched down, and within
two minutes the men were in the boat. They were taken back to the Kiwi, where
they were given dry clothes and hot drinks.
The Kiwi returned to Devonport to land the men, and later put back to sea.
The three men were taken to Whenuapai, and will be flown back to Ohakea
early tomorrow morning.
As the plane crashed in 27 fathoms, it is unlikely that salvage will be attempted,
although an R.N.Z.A.F. officer said tonight that a diver might be sent down to
try to find why the engine failed.
-----
“Press” 26-March-1956.
AVENGER PLANE SALVAGED
UNDERWATER TOW FOR 28 MILES
(New Zealand Press Association)
AUCKLAND, March 25
A difficult and dangerous salvage job ended today, when the Navy placed a
badly-damaged Avenger aircraft on a landing vessel for dispatch to Hobsonville
tomorrow.
The plane had crashed into the sea on March 14. Navy divers found it in 130ft of
water, and towed it under water 28 miles to the inner harbour.
Even then the task was not complete. The Avenger broke through the holding slings
when the tender was between Queen’s Wharf and Bayswater. Divers went down and
secured it again, and it was not until 4 p.m. that it was lowered safely on to the
landing-craft.
The tow had started on Friday afternoon, 15 miles east of Tiritiri Island.
There were some anxious and dangerous moments at the base before the Avenger
was safe on the landing-craft. However the lifting wire and the special steel sling,
made only an hour or two earlier in the dockyard, stood the strain.
It was a delicate task to place the big aircraft on the landing-craft. The body of the
plane completely filled the deck, and the wings spread far over the sides.
