P-40 Wreck with Russell Brodie, WWI Airmen with Errol Martyn

[Dave Homewood]

The Wings Over New Zealand Show Episode 186 is now online. This episode features the fourth and fifth speakers at the recent WONZ Forum Meet held at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand, at Wigram, Christchurch.

Russell Brodie of Rangitata Island, South Canterbury, was an impromptu speaker, giving a short talk about the amazing discovery only a few days before this event of the remains of ex-RNZAF Curtiss P-40N Warhawk, NZ3240, on a farm in South Canterbury. This is an amazing discovery of an unknown surviving RNZAF fighter from WWII. He also talked a little about his Tiger Moth, NZ1443 (ZK-BRL) which the following day 93 year old Bryan Cox was going to go flying in.

And next, very well known and respected Air Force historian Errol Martyn gives an interesting talk about two young New Zealanders, Hugh Blackwell and Ross Brodie who learned to fly in New Zealand and joined the Royal Flying Corps during World War One. Errol tells their stories using their personal diaries. This gives a really interesting insight into both the Canterbury Aviation Company at Sockburn (now Wigram), and the New Zealand Flying School at Kohimarama. And it's a really fascinating personal insight into two pilots who went on to join the Royal Flying Corps.

Here's the link to the show page:
www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/WONZShow/2018/07/russell-brodie-errol-martyn/

[camtech]

Is NZ3240 the Warhawk that suffered accident damage at Ardmore in March 1944, was originally written off to an instructional airframe, then restored to flying status? I don't have any record of its disposal details.

[Dave Homewood]

It's accident was 13 Feb 44. The paperwork to write it off was March 44. It "apparently" returned to flying status but that seems very unlikely. It's disposal details are very mysterious. Simon at Wigram found nothing.

[grgrimmer]

According to the record I have, NZ3240 was a P40N-20 with a C/N of 31595 with a USAAF No. 43-236565
"Assembled by No.1 Aircraft Depot, Hobsonville and BoC at Hobsonville on 03 February 1944. Damaged during operational training flight from Ardmore on 10 March 1944. Converted to instructional airframe INST93 at Ardmore. In December 1944 the serial INST93 was cancelled and the aircraft reverted to NZ3240."

[camtech]

Jul 30, 2018 9:33:02 GMT 12 grgrimmer said:

According to the record I have, NZ3240 was a P40N-20 with a C/N of 31595 with a USAAF No. 43-236565
"Assembled by No.1 Aircraft Depot, Hobsonville and BoC at Hobsonville on 03 February 1944. Damaged during operational training flight from Ardmore on 10 March 1944. Converted to instructional airframe INST93 at Ardmore. In December 1944 the serial INST93 was cancelled and the aircraft reverted to NZ3240."

quite true, but we still don't know how, where or when it was disposed of.Quite probably via tender, but which one.

[Dave Homewood]

It was not damaged on the 10th of March 44, it was damaged on the 13th of February 1944 when Noel Pirie put it through the fence at Ardmore. I think the March date is when the paperwork was finalised to write it off and convert it to an INST.

What we need to know is this:
- What was it used for as an instructional airframe while at Ardmore? I mean there was no ground trade training done there so why did they retain it?

- Why is it recorded as reverting to an aircraft from being an instructional airframe? This suggests that it was repaired, but why? By December 1944 there was an abundance of perfectly airworthy P-40N's not being used by anyone at Rukuhia, so why repair a stuffed one?

- How and when did it move from Ardmore to Wigram?

- Where did it go at Wigram? Which unit? One suggestion is it went to the Electrical And Wireless School, but did it? If they needed one why not get an already airworthy example from Rukuhia?

- It was disposed of from Wigram, this we know. the chap who bought it and towed it to the farm is still alive.

[baz62]

I presume that this is definitely NZ3240? Certainly a strange state of affairs. Could it possibly be that going through the fence wasn't that bad? Perhaps with a few P40s around she got parked up as an Instructional airframe and someone thought that it could be returned to the air fairly easily? And did so? As you say Dave why expend the effort to send something damaged all the way to Wigram when there are better candidates around to fly down. It's a real mystery. I'd love to know what state she was in when the farmer got her as in was she complete and undamaged or were there signs of damage from the fence incident.

[Dave Homewood]

The makers number found on it matched NZ3240. But I guess when they dig up the other bits there may be more marks that can confirm this.

That's a good question regarding possible existing damage when the farmer bought it. I'll see what we can find out.

[planewriting]

While we are on the subject of pre-loved P-40s now is as good a time as any to raise this point. Aviation Historical Society member George MacGregor recently asked me what I knew of a P-40 crash at Judea, Tauranga. Short answer "nothing" however looking at www.adf-serials.com.au/nz-serials/nzkittyhawk.htm I see "NZ3195 Assembled by No.1 Aircraft Depot, Hobsonville and BoC at Hobsonville on 04 October 1943. Crashed during attempted force landing at Tauranga during operational training on 14 January 1944. Converted to instructional airframe INST95 at Tauranga on 14 March 1944. Reduced to produce on 02 May 1945". Could this be the aircraft to which he is referring? I will be visiting the newspaper room in Wellington next month and will have this on my list of things to research.

[baz62]

This is becoming one of those fascinating threads where little bits and pieces come to light and us eager forumites (is that a word??) log in to see what's developed.

[Dave Homewood]

I asked one of the chaps involved in the recovery about the state it was bought in. he has replied:
"It was bought minus engine and wings but towed here on its landing gear by the sounds of it."

[camtech]

Just looked at a letter written by a Fg Off P A Harrison (undated) to Sqn Ldr T N de Stigter, regarding aircraft at No 2TTS, and there is no mention of NZ3240, so if it was there, it was probably unofficially.

[Dave Homewood]

Can you elaborate please Les as to the date of that letter? Was that Paul Harrison?

[camtech]

The letter is not dated at all, but a date range could be worked out, and is certainly signed by Paul.

[baz62]

Jul 31, 2018 9:33:49 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

"It was bought minus engine and wings but towed here on its landing gear by the sounds of it."

The P40's undercarriage is in the wings so if the wings were off so was the undercarriage. The wings are joined in the middle with the fuselage perched on top of them. However if Mr gas axe was used and she had the wings cut off outboard of the undercarriage then that statement would be correct.

[Mustang51]

Numerous P-40s in Canada were moved around this way after gas axing the outers off. Somewhere I have a pic of one

[johnnyfalcon]

In conversation with Russell and Ross at Rangitata Island a comment was made that the wings had been visible from the road for decades, lying in a paddock adjacent the road. Only, no one saw or recognised them for what they were.

[markrogers]

Sounds like the wings may have been torched off and the P40 towed on it's wheels minus the wings outboard of the undercarriage, and the wings may have been brought along with it and were laid down on the ground in the paddock.

[ZacYates]

I've been updating my RNZAF P-40 survivors list and came across NZ3240 in my little document, I'd completely forgotten about her rediscovery two years ago.

Has there been any progress on answering Dave's questions, or any other parts recovered?

The section recovered and shown in Russell's photos would make an amazing restoration project by itself - a P-40 cockpit would be a pretty neat thing to have.

[shorty]

Can anyone throw any light on the yellow paint showing on it?