Canberra Question

[Dave Homewood]

It seems that the Canberras that No. 75 Squadron operated on loan from the RAF were with the unit at Singapore from 1958 to 1962; and the RNZAF-owned Canberras were operated by No. 14 Squadron at home and in Singapore from 1959 to 1970.

So am I right in thinking that both squadrons were equipped with and operating the Canberra in the years 1959 to 1962?

If that is the case, what happened to the Vampires during that time? Was there a jet conversion unit using them? Were they in storage? I find this period a bit confusing.

[chrisr]

Nothing definitive, but this is from the Ferrymead site:

"During this time 75 Squadron was also operating Vampires. In the late 1950s many of the aircraft went into storage as the TAF was disbanded, 14 Squadron re-equipped with the English Electric Canberra and 75 Squadron spent time overseas operating aircraft leased from the RAF."

ADF serials notes many Vampires were placed in storage in 1958

There are many photos on the RNZAF museum site of 14 sqn Vampires together with Canberra's, I can't see dates on them. But it looks like 14 and 75 sqn operated both types simultaneously.

[Dave Homewood]

Interesting.

[tbf2504]

Dave, the answer to you query is as follows: 75 Squadron operated the loaned RAF B2 Canberras at Tengah 1958 -1962, and some T4 Canberras, while in NZ 1960 - 1961 two loaned T4 Canberras were operated by the Bomber Operational Conversion Unit BOCU at Ohakea. No.14 took delivery of the first BI(12) in 1959 along with two T13's so there is an overlap of the two squadrons operating canberras at the same time.

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks Paul, yes I'd worked that out. But my real question is was there any unit also operating the Vampires at that time? Surely new pilots must have been coming off Harvards and Devons and into Vampires before they moved to the twin engined Canberras during that three year period when both operational squadrons were equipped with Canberras?

Or did they go straight from the Devon to the Canberra?

[camtech]

My memory says that 14 Squadron operated both Canberra and Vampire aircraft at the same time. When 75 returned home, they took over the Vampires.

[tbf2504]

14 Squadron and BOCU operated both the FB5 and T11s at Ohakea from 1962. Prior to that most Canberra pilots would have come from the old 14 Squadron Vampires/Venoms and the later pilots would have done the jet conversion at Ohakea with 14 Squadron. See "Forever Strong" by Norman Franks page 176 which gives details of those operations.

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks chaps, that makes sense now.