P40M NZ3119 Rebuild

[curtiss]

I recently visited Tri State Warbird Museum in Ohio ( www.tri-statewarbirdmuseum.org/being-restored.html ) and had a good look at P40 NZ 3119. The aircraft is on rebuilt after it suffered extensive wing and cowling damage following an engine failure and forced landing. During the rebuild, the opportunity has been taken to further detail the aircraft with the installation of all the original equipment. The structural repair work on the wings is well advanced but no date has been set for a first fligt. The rebuild is being led by Paul Redlich and is an outstanding example of the art of warbird restoration.








SCR 274 radio control and recognition light switch box

[Dave Homewood]

It's great to see this update Mike, thanks very much for posting these photos.

[komata]

A genuine RNZAF aircraft, in RNZAF markings, a combat veteran to boot, AND in the USA!! Amazing, and thanks for sharing your pics with us. Unfortunately, and based on casual observation of various other P-40's over many years, one has to ask if anyone is prepared to bet as to how long it will remain without the almost obligatory sharks teeth? So far the owners haven't succumbed to temptation, so one can but hope...

[Dave Homewood]

I don't think it was a combat veteran, it served with No. 2 F OTU at Ohakea.

[komata]

Thanks Dave: My fault as I misinterpreted what the the Museum had written.

According to the museum itself: 'This P-40 Kittyhawk saw service with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) as NZ3119 and was flown by Geoff Fisken, RNZAF's highest scoring pilot in World War II'.

The Museum didn't say that it had been in combat of course, merely that Geoff Fisken had flown it, without saying exactly when this had occurred. The 'combat-inference' was there (at least to me), but I should have checked a little bit better.

Again, thanks.

[Dave Homewood]

I'd like to try to confirm that claim that Geoff Fisken flew this aeroplane. He was with No. 14 (Fighter) Squadron, who flew P-40E's at Masterton. On the 13th of February 1943 they moved to Whenuapai still with their P-40E's.

On the 26th of March 1943, having just been re-equipped with P-40K's, the Squadron began to move north to the Pacific, and though they had a delayed start they were at Espiritu Santo as a unit by April 1943. They then moved onto Guadalcanal and began operations on the 11th of June 1943.

So when NZ3119 was first brought on charge on the 21st of May 1943, Geoff was at Santo.

The squadron, and Geoff, remained on ops till the 25th of July 1943, then they headed to Santo for a rest at the end of their tour and they headed back to New Zealand on the 30th of July 1943.

At this point Geoff Fisken was removed from flying operations due to a medical issue that stemmed from a wound sustained in Singapore. He didn't fly operationally again, and was discharged from the RNZAF nine months later on the 22nd of April 1944.

Meanwhile NZ3119 had been sent to No. 2 (Fighter) Operational Training Unit. It was definitely on strength there by November 1944 because I have evidence of this in a logbook.

So was there a period between 31st of July 1943 and 22nd of April 1944 that Geoff might have flown this aircraft, at No. 2 (F)OTU or elsewhere?

Or is there confusion in that Geoff's personal aircraft with No. 14 Squadron, the famous NZ3072, was coded as "19"?

And where does the No. 16 Squadron/No. 18 Squadron "XO" code come from on this aircraft? Is there a genuine connection with either squadron and NZ3119?

[camtech]

Dave, I have a note, from a log book, that NZ3119 was used by 18 Sqdn early August 1943.

[Dave Homewood]

OK, thanks. Where was the squadron at that time?

[raymond]

from wiki

After being formed in June 1943 at RNZAF Base Woodbourne, No. 18 Squadron was based in New Zealand until September 1943 when it deployed to Palikulo Bay Airfield on Espiritu Santo.

[camtech]

Will have to dig the original file out and check, Dave. Will let you know

[Mustang51]

Damn............ I wish I could see those pics !

[ZacYates]

First: NZ3119 is looking fantastic! The cockpit looks immaculate. I was broken-hearted to hear of her accident, but it looks like she'll be back better than ever! (No offence intended to those who worked on her)

Second: I may have missed it, but are Geoff Fisken's logbooks still around? I'd bet they would say one way or another, but it seems the obvious answer!

[Dave Homewood]

They are, in the George Hood Museum at Masterton, the place that's never open. However, I am working on a plan....

That makes sense that No. 18 Squadron was at the time at Woodbourne - actually the squadron and it's predecessor that used the same codes, No. 16 Squadron, were based at RNZAF Fairhall, which is right nextdoor to Woodbourne and adjoined. So if Geoff flew this aircraft it was either there or at Ohakea with No. 2 (F) OTU, but I somehow doubt he did at all because he'd been medically grounded by the wounds in his leg which prevented him from flying P-40's.

[davidd]

Dave H,
Herewith the notes I have compiled myself on the NZ P-40Ms. These have been put together with all care and using mostly official information, but they can only be considered as 99% accurate as official records can be notoriously hard to locate, or read, can lack vital specific information when you most need it, and confirm that human beings can be somewhat unreliable in their weaker moments. Also much information we would desire was never written down in the first place.

Fates for P-40Ms. Like the P-40Ks, most of the Ms were also ferried up to the Pacific Islands, although this was spread over two major migrations, in April (by 14 Sqdn) and in July 1943 (by various squadrons). Again the survivors were ferried back to New Zealand in early 1944 as they were superseded by P-40Ns. Six of the P-40Ms never proceeded overseas for various reasons; NZ3067, 3073, 3089, 3117, 3119 and the laggard, 3180, all ending up with No. 2 OTU at Ohakea. NZ3073 was damaged in a forced landing on 8/4/43 whilst on a test flight from Hobsonville and did not proceed overseas. NZ3089 was originally issued to 16 Sqdn for ultimate ferrying overseas but was damaged at Waipapakauri on the first stage of the trip, when its undercarriage collapsed on landing on 7/7/43. After repair it was issued to 3 FMU at Woodbourne where it was joined by NZ3119.

Most surviving P-40Ms were returned to New Zealand from Guadalcanal between 7th and 11th February 1944, with majority being issued to No. 4 OTU at Ardmore. These included NZ3071, 3079, 3081, 3082, 3083, 3085, 3087, 3110, 3112, 3115, 3118. It is thought that the final pair of P-40Ms in the Pacific (NZ3072 and 3114) departed 1 SU at Guadalcanal on 13/3/44 for New Zealand. A total of just ten P-40Ms survived the war to be sold for scrap.

David D

[camtech]

Nov 16, 2014 20:06:37 GMT 12 camtech said:

Will have to dig the original file out and check, Dave. Will let you know

Just had a look for the info, but it seems I got the details from a logbook at the RNZAF Museum way back before it was officially open. I used to visit in lunch breaks and hunt through some of the original archives - very friendly and helpful staff back then made for uncomplicated access to material. I was also helping sort out some of the material.

Unfortunately, I didn't always get the details fully recorded.

I can imagine that with the wealth of archives now held by the museum, that it is a researchers dream for sheer volume of logbooks and other memorabilia.

My recollection is that NZ3119 was at Woodbourne/Fairhall at the time.

[scrooge]

Someone could also ask the Subritzky's- they did a lot of the early restoration.

[camtech]

I'd like to update the ADF listing for NZ3119, so would appreciate some brief history from Subritzky onwards, thanks.

[noooby]

You probably won't get too much info out of Geoff's logbook.

Last time I looked at it, while having a cuppa with him in Rotorua, I noticed that the P-40's were recorded using their SU identification, not their tail numbers. So you probably won't ever see "NZ3072" in there, but you will see "19".

I remember there being a lot of Hind flights in there after he got back from the Pacific. He said that was one of his favourite aircraft to fly. He also still hated Stan Quill when I visited, and blamed him for being medically discharged. The language certainly got colourful when Stan came up in the conversation!

His personal photo album had lots of gaps in it as people had borrowed lots of his photos and then never returned them.

I took photos of some of his photos and also some logbook pages (35mm, no digital back then!), but alas, with moving around a few different nations in my time, they have been misplaced somewhere

[Brenton]

Someone should ask Tri-State where they got their information from ?

[Dave Homewood]

You're right there Nooby, he certainly hated Quill, haha