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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 28, 2022 15:07:24 GMT 12
Oh right, now I fully understand. Wow, took me a while to get that. So the main runway was always in the same place. And the big hangars where PAC are now would be off to the right on the photo. Cheers.
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Post by nuuumannn on Mar 28, 2022 15:35:07 GMT 12
The mosquito in the foreground of the Taieri photo is carrying the codes that were assigned to either 20 MU or 132 OTU RAF (the previous operators?) Correctamundo. PZ474 was formerly on the books with 132 OTU at RAF East Fortune. I don't have exact dates the aircraft was there and it isn't specifically mentioned by serial in the station records, but I have data from extraneous sources stating it was definitely there. The first Mosquitoes (T.IIIs) arrived at East Fortune in April 1944, the first FB.VIs in May, and in December 1945 132 OTU had eight serviceable Mosquito T.IIIs and 33 serviceable Mosquito FB.VIs. If anyone has a copy of PZ474's Form 78 that'll tell us when it left 132 OTU.
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Post by oj on Mar 28, 2022 20:27:43 GMT 12
Definitely correct first time Bruce. I reckon you can see the two Air Force hangars in top right back-ground. the images are quite faint, but from my working there for 25 years with AESL/NZAIL/JAL/PAC everything is correct. In my mind's eye I can clearly see the line of the Waikato river and the wooded area that was/is Narrows Camp.
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Post by davidd on Mar 29, 2022 15:14:57 GMT 12
To more-or-less complete details of the life of Mosquito PZ474 as per Grant's posted just less than 24 hours ago, I offer the following notes.
These scribbled notes on the service histories of most ex-RAF Mosquitos delivered to RNZAF, are courtesy of a (at the moment sadly forgotten) AHSNZ member, I think he lived in the Auckland area at the time he sent them to me (unsolicited, as I recall), may have been Charles Darby, but more likely someone else. Will now cut to the chase.
PZ474 BoC by RAF 19/4/45 (so WW2 was still in progress - a genuine warbird), by 19 MU (station not noted), to 8 OTU, Haverford West on 3/5/45, to 132 OTU (East Fortune) 13/6/45, to 51 MU (location?) 18/2/46, to RNZAF 23/1/48, despatched to New Zealand 3/3/48 (crew W/O W E M Aitken, RAF, pilot, and W/O I M Clark, RNZAF, Nav (W)), arrived NZ and TOC 3/4/48, to NZ2384, sold as surplus, to ZK-BCV.
So thanks to that unknown AHSNZ member, if I remember his name will include it in this post later.
See Nuuumannn's post below for additional information re PZ474.
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Post by Antonio on Mar 30, 2022 9:45:31 GMT 12
Gotta love this shot of the colour scheme trials "Air to air view of four Airtrainers in formation over RNZAF Base Ohakea. This is to evaluate the suitability of proposed new colour schemes. L-R: NZ1941 (black), NZ1938 (yellow), NZ1943 (original), NZ1937 (white)."
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Post by nuuumannn on Mar 30, 2022 14:58:54 GMT 12
19 MU (station not noted), to 51 MU (location?) 18/2/46 Well, thanks Dave, good info and good to have those precise dates for its arrival at and departure from 132 OTU. As for the abovementioned MUs, 19 MU was at RAF St Athan and remained there well after the end of the war and personnel there were responsible for maintaining a whole load of surviving historic aircraft that belonged to the Air Historic Branch, including the Mitsubishi Ki-46, the Messerschmitt Me 410 and Ju 87 Stuka among others within the RAF Museum's collection. 51 MU was at RAF Lichfield and was a storage unit, so aircraft were bagged and tagged awaiting sale or some such fate, which fits for PZ474 eventually being sent to New Zealand.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 9, 2022 1:00:24 GMT 12
I am really loving the Hudson and P-40 photos being posted lately on the FotoWeb by Matthew. This one is great, No. 15 (Fighter) Squadron P-40E NZ3040 JZ-I. Note it has a little roundel on the tip of the spinner that others do not seem to have! PR193A LINKAnd a close up crop
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Post by ZacYates on Apr 10, 2022 11:45:21 GMT 12
How fascinating!
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Post by Antonio on Apr 11, 2022 17:11:30 GMT 12
Absolutely. Some interesting notes for modellers there. Note in the upper photo the small patch of sky above the intake.
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Post by agile on Apr 25, 2022 8:47:24 GMT 12
Gotta love this shot of the colour scheme trials "Air to air view of four Airtrainers in formation over RNZAF Base Ohakea. This is to evaluate the suitability of proposed new colour schemes. L-R: NZ1941 (black), NZ1938 (yellow), NZ1943 (original), NZ1937 (white)." My older sister was working in the paint shop at Ohakea when they painted the three trial schemes on the 'plastic rats', and she very kindly gave her plane-mad little brother a tour one weekend. She referred to the yellow aircraft as the 'nana rat' and the white aircraft as the 'casper rat'.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 25, 2022 9:51:16 GMT 12
What is your sister's name Alex? She would be my trade and I may well have worked with her.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 25, 2022 9:58:34 GMT 12
There have been so many "gold" photos in recent weeks with the amazing serials of photos of No. 15 Squadron and their P-40's. and No's 2 and 3 (GR) Squadrons with their Hudsons, and the incredible set of shots of Hudson NZ2013 post restoration... I am loving it all so much!
Also the set of photos taken at Fox Creek near Oxford brought back some great memories, as I did an exercise there in 1992.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 26, 2022 19:50:06 GMT 12
I love this photo of Hudsons and their Aerodrome Defence Unit guards. I am wondering, in the bomb bay is three 250 lb bombs, but what is the longer tube also hanging from a bomb rack? Is that some sort of depth charge?
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Post by curtiss on Apr 26, 2022 21:34:11 GMT 12
I love this photo of Hudsons and their Aerodrome Defence Unit guards. I am wondering, in the bomb bay is three 250 lb bombs, but what is the longer tube also hanging from a bomb rack? Is that some sort of depth charge? Looking at some armament manuals - it could be a Photo flash bomb or a fragmentation bomb. Cluster bombs are also cylindrical, but seem much larger. Maybe Denys knows for sure?
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 26, 2022 21:36:29 GMT 12
Thanks Mike.
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Post by scrooge on Apr 27, 2022 9:36:10 GMT 12
4 250lb's to be pedantic
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Post by saratoga on Apr 27, 2022 14:35:15 GMT 12
The long cylindrical item is a 4.5" flare, the bombs are 250lb GP or AS. Some of the other images in this series indicate AS.
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Post by Dave Homewood on May 5, 2022 21:32:04 GMT 12
This is a neat photo of an RNZAF Iroquois helping out a float-equipped RNZAF Sioux. The Museum does not seem to know the date or circumstances. Does anyone know? It seems to be pre-mid 1970 as it has the silver fern roundel on the wocka. MUS0901710 - LINK
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Post by Dave Homewood on May 6, 2022 15:49:01 GMT 12
There are two very cool shots of No. 14 Squadron RNZAF jets overseas. MUS090172 LINKRefueling No. 14 Squadron Vampires at Mombassa on the way from Cyprus to British East Africa, where they performed aerobatic displays over Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania) as part of Exercise Long Trek 2.May 1953. MUS090173 LINK Air to air view of a No. 14 Squadron Canberra armed with rocket pods, in flight near Victoria, Borneo, returning to Singapore from a low level tactical sortie during the Indonesian Confrontation. August 1964. Original RNZAF negative number PR5399-64
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Post by Dave Homewood on May 6, 2022 15:50:15 GMT 12
Note the black Kiwi on the third Vampire along the row. Most of the Cyprus-based RNZAF Vampire FB.9's seemed to wear nose art.
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