B-17 Accident in Fiji 1942-1943

[davidd]

That photo almost certainly taken at Nadi (Nandi) rather than Nausori, the latter being (so far as I know) rather too small for regular or sustained use by heavy aircraft such as B-17s, B-24s, etc. Also I don't think that Nausori had any rugged looking hills so close as those visible in the excellent photograph. However Nadi certainly had a magnificent range of very high and rugged hills just a few miles to the west. There was previously (on this forum) a great photo of an early RNZAF Hudson at Nadi with those hills behind, but this was one of the thousands lost in the great Photobucket fiasco.

[Dave Homewood]

Do you know where that Hudson photo was David? I may be able to recover and re-post it.

[McFly]

Jan 7, 2022 12:09:40 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Do you know where that Hudson photo was David? I may be able to recover and re-post it.

This one perhaps..?

"Two RNZAF Hudsons and an American Airacobra in a hurricane revetment, Nandi. Hudson NZ2025 'H', at left. 28/02/1942 (MUS9501327)"

[McFly]

Jan 7, 2022 10:29:57 GMT 12 davidd said:

There was previously (on this forum) a great photo of an early RNZAF Hudson at Nadi with those hills behind, but this was one of the thousands lost in the great Photobucket fiasco.

This one..?

[davidd]

Yes McFly, that second one indeed does look very much like the image I had in mind, although not necessarily the exact same - I thought that the Hudson was further away from camera, and background hills were clearer. However I don't remember the revetment in foreground either, but I am pretty certain that if this is NOT the same image, then it was taken at the same time and place, so jolly well done! And thanks to Dave for suggesting that a copy of this photo may still exist somewhere in the vast labyrinth of computer brain cells. Photos of those 4 Sqdn Hudsons at Nadi with no unit identification code apart from those very large single letters, as is also the case with top photograph, or at least the closer aircraft coded "D". The two Hudsons in top photo do not appear to have been fitted yet with ASV arrays on rear fuselage, certainly true of foreground aircraft, not clear on one at rear. Also rather difficult to compare the background hill crests, but some clever person could volunteer to do the manipulation, although a clearer shot from modern day would be interesting! These two photographs originate with the the aerodrome construction squadron who actually supervised the building of the Naadi airfield complex (construction actually continued over most of 1942).

[McFly]

Jan 7, 2022 17:31:20 GMT 12 davidd said:

Yes McFly, that second one indeed does look very much like the image I had in mind, although not necessarily the exact same - I thought that the Hudson was further away from camera, and background hills were clearer. However I don't remember the revetment in foreground either, but I am pretty certain that if this is NOT the same image, then it was taken at the same time and place, so jolly well done! And thanks to Dave for suggesting that a copy of this photo may still exist somewhere in the vast labyrinth of computer brain cells. Photos of those 4 Sqdn Hudsons at Nadi with no unit identification code apart from those very large single letters, as is also the case with top photograph, or at least the closer aircraft coded "D". The two Hudsons in top photo do not appear to have been fitted yet with ASV arrays on rear fuselage, certainly true of foreground aircraft, not clear on one at rear. Also rather difficult to compare the background hill crests, but some clever person could volunteer to do the manipulation, although a clearer shot from modern day would be interesting! These two photographs originate with the the aerodrome construction squadron who actually supervised the building of the Naadi airfield complex (construction actually continued over most of 1942).

Photo picked (resurrected) from this 2012 previous thread (link) in which a fair bit of discussion on the 'Fiji' Hudson was had - see 'here' and 'here'. However acknowledge there may be other photos yet to be found in the Photobucket archives..