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Post by TS on Jun 3, 2020 17:26:08 GMT 12
Also interesting about that photo is that of the fourteen feet only two are in contact with the ground and they are all running away from the aircraft (maybe the Joe" wagon has just arrived?)! Of course Shorty you do realize that all pilots do this regularly. The two that have their feet on the ground just stalled briefly...  ( great shot though) |
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Post by davidd on Jun 3, 2020 17:45:48 GMT 12
So far as I know, nobody knows what colour the spinners on those P-40Ks ended up, and I doubt that this details was even written down at the time, but we can always try and guess! I doubt that the colour would have been very radical.
It is possible that a few of the surviving P-40Ks were repainted with dark olive drab uppers well AFTER their return from the Pacific (quite a good proportion of them had already been lost overseas), but I have never seen anything about them going overseas in dark olive drab uppers, although almost certainly all arrived from the factory this way. I do not recall ever reading anything on this forum that claimed these aircraft operated in the forward area with their original dark olive drab uppers - however I and many others would maintain that all P-40Ms and Ns were finished in this general camouflage scheme - if it was good enough for the Americans, then it should be good enough for the RNZAF who flew alongside them.
This policy (to retain the original olive drab/light grey scheme on P-40s) would also save a whole lot of pointless repainting, which I am certain would have been a great relief to those personnel involved in this type of work. Also remember that the RNZAF suffered some major paint failures on Kittyhawks and Hudsons (and C-47s, also C-63s later) in about the mid-1943 period, which led to the repaint trials conducted at Rukuhia in about October - November 1943. These trials were run by the chief chemist from BALM paints, and he was convinced the repainting had been very poorly done by the RNZAF personnel concerned, and was surprised that the service had no specific trade of aircraft finisher at this time - in fact this did not happen until late 1940s, but we may hope that the good chemist managed to convince the RNZAF to smarten up on the skills of cleaning down aircraft properly and to "rough up" the base paint properly and degrease everything BEFORE starting to respray anything, and also to get some half decent painting equipment, all points included in his report.
These aircraft (P-40Ks) were also photographed at Whenuapai, and at Norfolk Island; those at the latter location being included among the shots printed in Charles Darby's book "The First Ten Years".
The P-40Es almost invariably had the early circular cross section exhaust pipes (rather then the later "fish-tail" (flared) exhausts, so most likely that is the type of P-40 on extreme left.
David D
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Post by davidd on Jun 3, 2020 18:47:40 GMT 12
Have just found my copy of "With 14 Squadron at Masterton's Hood Aerodrome" by Peter Norman (published December 2002, he sent me a free copy!)
The pilot's on cover are identified as follows: (first unidentified, but almost certainly Ernest Charles "Annie" Laurie, who departed squadron before it was sent overseas, being posted to 16 Sqdn at Woodbourne, 8th May 1943), Stan Quill, Sandy Eaton, John Hutcheson, Paul Green, Alan Sievers (in BG SD's) and Jack Meharry (obscured, and the only way this man could have been identified would be by somebody who knew the photograph and all the participants). For confirmation of Laurie. see photo in Chris Rudge's book "Air to Air", page 329.
David D
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 4, 2020 9:12:58 GMT 12
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Post by camtech on Jun 4, 2020 12:56:55 GMT 12
Would agree re Norfolk Island, Dave. Looks far too open to be there, but does resemble Whenuapai.
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Post by mit on Jun 4, 2020 15:00:24 GMT 12
Also what colour are their spinners on the distant left aircraft here? RAF Dark Green? The one in the foreground with the Sky spinner is reasonably worn looking so must be a P-40E. Hi Dave, In Brian Cox's Book "Too young to Die" (maybe I should have made this the "Too young to Die thread...) He notes the KittyHawks had either White or Red spinners, So I would think based on that they are most likely Red. |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 4, 2020 15:20:18 GMT 12
That was only the case for the Fighter Operational Training Units at Ohakea. No. 2 (F) OTU had white spinners (and codes), and No. 4 (F) OTU had red spinners (and stripes and codes), so they were distinguishable in the circuit.
The operational P-40E's started with Sky spinners on arrival in the RAF scheme, and later models arriving in the USAAF Olive Drab and Neutral Grey scheme had olive drab spinners. In the Pacific after a time the spinners were all painted white as part of the international recognition colour scheme.
Also some homebased P-40's seem to have gained black spinners.
I'd think the ones in the photo will be Olive Drab.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 5, 2020 17:38:18 GMT 12
So what happened to this poor Dakota that was photographed here at Ohakea in 1992? I have no memory of ever seeing it when i was based there July-November 1993. I am told this is not the same Dakota that was at the gate as gate guard for the museum (now in Gisborne). So where did this one come from? And what became of it? Was it destroyed by the fire crews?  LINK LINK |
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Post by johnnyfalcon on Jun 5, 2020 18:21:25 GMT 12
The Fire Fighters were SAVING it Dave, not destroying it! Well they better not have!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 5, 2020 21:21:38 GMT 12
They set it alight though!
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Post by curtiss on Jun 5, 2020 21:24:32 GMT 12
It was the fire training aircraft at Milson before we moved it to Ohakea.
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Post by curtiss on Jun 5, 2020 21:30:31 GMT 12
Just found a photo - it was ZK CQA. It was remarked as "RFS"...
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 5, 2020 21:47:32 GMT 12
Thanks Mike.
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Post by mit on Jun 19, 2020 14:26:08 GMT 12
Here is more of a question than a break through, Did the RNZAF fly their own Hueys or did we borrow some as part of the Multinational Force and Observers mission in Sinai?  Air to air view of a formation of Iroquois helicopters operated by RNZAF pilots as part of the Multinational Force and Observers mission in Sinai link Air to air view of Multinational Force and Observers Iroquois 0-60809, in flight over the Sinai (?) desert |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 19, 2020 14:36:53 GMT 12
They were leased examples used in the Sinai, I think from the USAF? I was not aware there were as many as five active there at once till I saw that photo.
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Post by skyhawkdon on Jun 19, 2020 14:50:20 GMT 12
Pretty sure we only leased 2, the rest (the ones with the upward pointing engine exhausts) were RAAF.
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Post by camtech on Jun 19, 2020 15:14:52 GMT 12
I believe you are right, Don. Over the time the Kiwis operated these leased aircraft, there were more than two on strength.
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Post by kiwiinoz on Jun 20, 2020 18:05:23 GMT 12
We leased two Huey's and the Aussie's had 8,theirs had exhaust deflectors our ones normal exhaust.
One (809)had to go back to the states for repairs to stop excessive Pylon rock(lots of delaminated panels) If you thought getting one in an Herc was tight, try a French C160 Transall. it came back sweet as.
We all hoped we could keep them. but no
Yak
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Post by ErrolC on Jul 3, 2020 12:26:55 GMT 12
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Post by tbf25o4 on Jul 3, 2020 13:16:56 GMT 12
See also Seek and Destroy a whole chapter on Sinai operations complete with individual aircraft details
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( great shot though) 
