RNZAF Aerobatics Teams

[30sqnatc]

Last night I was thinking of the first RNZAF aerobatics display I recall watching, the Yellow Hammers flying Vampires so I did a search expecting to find a thread dedicated to RNZAF aerobatics teams through the years but ........ Are my search skills failing me or is there no such thread?

I believe it would be great to have a single repository on this subject.

Here is a starter - 1959 film of unnamed 75 Sqn aerobatics team captured in NFU film Jetobatics. www.nzonscreen.com/title/jetobatics-1959

The film description is:

This National Film Unit short captures the action with the RNZAF’s 75 Squadron aerobatic team. The pilots, all in their early to late 20s, fly their de Havilland Vampire jets through low and high altitude manoeuvres. NFU cameraman John Hutchinson squeezed himself and his camera into the cockpit for 14 flights over five days, to capture spectacular images from a fifth Vampire piloted by Flight Lieutenant Barry Gordon. The team was formed in 1958 for the RNZAF's 21st Anniversary Air show at Ohakea. It then toured New Zealand, giving displays at all the major airports.

[Dave Homewood]

Uh-hum...

www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/Airshow%20Archive%20Home.htm

The short-lived Yellow Hammers team can be found on my site here:
www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/Airshow_Display_Teams_75Sqn.htm#Yell

[Dave Homewood]

And scroll up that page to find the Jetobatics team...

[30sqnatc]

See I didn't even know that page existed

[Dave Homewood]

It is part of my Wings Over Cambridge website.

[tbf2504]

In 1986 Adrian Balch produced a book "Aerobatic Teams of the World" I provided information on the history of the RNZAF teams which started with a three ship Harvard formation tied together with light string between the wing tips in 1947-49 Flown by CFI instructors. The first jet team was on 14 Squadron when they were in Cyprus in 1952 and in 1953 they flew many formation demonstrations during their "Great Southern Tour" of Africa in conjunction with the coronation. The "jetobatics" team for the 1958 21st anniversary, then the Yellowhammers in 1964. The "Red Checkers" Harvard team 1966 - 1975 with up to five Harvards. Then the Airtrainers from 1981.

[Dave Homewood]

Oct 19, 2024 7:36:18 GMT 12 tbf2504 said:

In 1986 Adrian Balch produced a book "Aerobatic Teams of the World" I provided information on the history of the RNZAF teams which started with a three ship Harvard formation tied together with light string between the wing tips in 1947-49 Flown by CFI instructors. The first jet team was on 14 Squadron when they were in Cyprus in 1952 and in 1953 they flew many formation demonstrations during their "Great Southern Tour" of Africa in conjunction with the coronation. The "jetobatics" team for the 1958 21st anniversary, then the Yellowhammers in 1964. The "Red Checkers" Harvard team 1966 - 1975 with up to five Harvards. Then the Airtrainers from 1981.

I have not seen nor heard of that book, but my website covers all the teams you mention, plus many more.

Also that CFS Harvard team was not the first RNZAF Aerobatic team. There was one in the 1930s in Vildebeests. And there was also a No. 14 Squadron Corsair aerobatic team in Japan at the same time as that Harvard team at home.

[tbf2504]

Thanks for that additional info Dave, I had not noticed those two earlier ones.

[tbf2504]

Dave, with reference to your two earlier teams. Would the Vildebeests not have been a formation team? Can't visualise the Vildes doing loops and rolls! The Corsair team, do you have any confirmation on their aerobatic displays, or were they again a formation team?

[Dave Homewood]

Both were indeed formation aerobatic teams.

The Vildebeest team was written about in Geoffrey Ellis's book Toolbox On My Wing, about the three-ship Vildebeest team looping together.

And regarding the Corsairs in Japan, I corresponded with Max Hope on it, he was one of the team members. He wrote, ""Following the RAAF Mustangs 'showing off' to us at Iwakuni, Len Rayner led Tom Rabone and me down to the Aussie base at Bofu, where we did several 'formation loops'. (The Aussies did not come back again). This was the first occasion/recollection I have of formation aeros being carried out."

I am sure Bryan Cox talked about the No. 14 Squadron team in at least one of his books too. We certainly discussed it a few times.

[errolmartyn]

Oct 21, 2024 14:03:05 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Both were indeed formation aerobatic teams.

The Vildebeest team was written about in Geoffrey Ellis's book Toolbox On My Wing, about the three-ship Vildebeest team looping together.

And regarding the Corsairs in Japan, I corresponded with Max Hope on it, he was one of the team members. He wrote, ""Following the RAAF Mustangs 'showing off' to us at Iwakuni, Len Rayner led Tom Rabone and me down to the Aussie base at Bofu, where we did several 'formation loops'. (The Aussies did not come back again). This was the first occasion/recollection I have of formation aeros being carried out."

I am sure Bryan Cox talked about the No. 14 Squadron team in at least one of his books too. We certainly discussed it a few times.

These sound more like one-off displays - hardly sufficient to be described as 'team' aerobatics?

Errol

[Dave Homewood]

I got the impression from Bryan that the Corsair team worked up with practices before they made the visit to Bofu, so I'd consider them a proper team.

I have not found evidence of where the Vildebeest team displayed at, the newspapers don't seem to mention them. but I got the impression that they two were a proper team that took their display around to various places.

[tbf2504]

Hi Dave, thanks for the additional information. Would be interesting to find any additional information on the Vildebeest aeros, as I did not several errors in Geoffery's book

[Dave Homewood]

We'd need to find the pilot's logbooks I guess.

[30sqnatc]

A three-ship Vildebeest team looping together with their 49 ft wingspan would be amazing. Comparing their wingspan with a modern aircraft, it is just slightly less than a King Air 350!

[Dave Homewood]

I have come across a three-ship display of Vildebeests in an airshow at Wigram on the 22 of September 1935. I am not sure if this is the team that did aerobatics though, the news articles seem fixated on the fact they did manoeuvres based on orders given by wireless radio from the ground that the audience could hear through the P.A. system. This direction by radio was clearly a novelty so the newspapers neglected to report what it was they were ordered to do.


AIR PAGEANT AT WIGRAM.— Aeroplanes of the Canterbury Aero Club and the New Zealand Air Force took part in the air pageant yesterday in aid of the sports queen in the Metropolitan Queen Carnival. Three Vickers Vildebeest machines flying in formation, directed by wireless from the ground.

Press, 23 September 1935

Then I found this article which suggests there was also an aerobatic display team of Avro 626s at the Otago Aero Club's Air Pageant on the 13th and 14th of March 1936.

Three Avro machines from Wigram took the air, and as gracefully as a trio of huge birds went through a series of Air Force drill evolutions and formation flying. An interesting feature of this event was that the planes were controlled from the ground by wireless, and as the orders were transmitted to the aircraft they were simultaneously broadcast to the crowd.

That quote comes from the article here:
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19360316.2.13#image-tab

And these photos accompanied the article and clearly show three Avro 626's in close formation, but whether they actually did formation aerobatics is probably lost to the mists of time.

 
AERIAL PAGEANT AT TAIERI AERODROME Despite the wet weather in the afternoon, the aerial pageant attracted a large crowd to the Taieri Aerodrome on Saturday. (1) “Bombing” a “tank”. (2) Formation flying by Air Force machines. (3) Mr “Scotty” Fraser making a parachute descent. (4) A Vickers Wildebeeste (sic) in flight. (5) Mr Fraser demonstrating the adjustment of a parachute. (6) A Hawker Tomtit in flight. (7) A part of the crowd sheltering in the new Union Airways hangar.

Otago Daily Times, 16 March 1936

Regardless of whether they performed aerobatics, both these three-ships were Air Force display teams.

[Dave Homewood]

Frank Dix was one of the three Vildebeest team pilots, from memory, and he did an aerobatic display in a solo Vildebeest at the McGregor Air Pageant at Rongotai on the 28th of March 1936.

See the inset photo here:

Air Pageant at Rongotai Aerodrome.- In aid of the McGregor National Fund an air Pageant was held at Rongotai aerodrome on Saturday afternoon in which 12 aeroplanes, including two air force machines from Wigram, took part. At left: A line-up of club machines preparatory to the afternoon's proceedings. At right: During the taxi around the aerodrome, the machine turning is the R.N.Z.A.F. Avro trainer, followed by a Cook Strait airliner and club machines. Inset; The R.N.Z.A.F. Vickers Vildebeeste during an aerobatic display.
Nelson Evening Mail, 1 April 1936

[Dave Homewood]

Looking for more evidence of the Vildebeest aerobatic team, four Vildebeests attended the North Island Air Pageant at Wanganui on the 6th of March 1937.

Though the newspapers do not specifically use the word aerobatics, on the 6th of March in the Wanganui Chronicle is said, among other acts, there was "a spectacular display of formation air drill by members of the New Zealand Air Force."

Apart from four Vildes the only other aircraft the RNZAF took was a DH60 Moth. So the 'formation air drill" had to be the Vildebeests.

Then several newspapers mention afterwards on the 8th of March, "In the line of aeroplanes are several Air Force Vickers Vildebeest bombers, the evolutions of which attracted considerable attention during the pageant."

Back then the word evolutions was definitely used to describe aerobatics.

So, I am pretty convinced that the Vildebeest team flew their formation aerobatics at this event. The four Vildebeest pilots were named in the Chronicle as Ronald Cohen, Ted Olson, Maurice Buckley and Tony Lester. Three of these pilots were the ones named as being in that team.

[Dave Homewood]

I just found this article from the Wanganui Chronicle, 8 March 1937, after the same event:
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19370308.2.106

An extract reads:
"One of the star attractions of the afternoon was the display of formation air drill by three of the Vickers Vildebeest Bombers piloted by Flight-Lieutenant W. M. Buckley, Flying-Officer Lester and Flying-Officer R. J. Cohen. The machines turned, zoomed, climbed and performed many other manoeuvres in perfect formation. Later the same machines participated in a similar display in which different manoeuvres were performed, the two displays being greatly appreciated by the crowd."

[errolmartyn]

Oct 31, 2024 23:21:53 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

I just found this article from the Wanganui Chronicle, 8 March 1937, after the same event:
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19370308.2.106

An extract reads:
"One of the star attractions of the afternoon was the display of formation air drill by three of the Vickers Vildebeest Bombers piloted by Flight-Lieutenant W. M. Buckley, Flying-Officer Lester and Flying-Officer R. J. Cohen. The machines turned, zoomed, climbed and performed many other manoeuvres in perfect formation. Later the same machines participated in a similar display in which different manoeuvres were performed, the two displays being greatly appreciated by the crowd."

Buckley's log book entry for 6 Mar 37 records: F/Lt Willis as pilot of a WACO with Buckley as passenger engaged in a 'Test over Wanganui' that lasted 25 mins.
The day before Buckley piloted VV NZ104 from (Hobsonville?) to Wanganui via Waiuoru in a 3 hr 10 min flight with passengers AC Lawn and LAC Fennessey.
On the 7th the same aircraft and crewing arrangement is recorded as 'return to Hobsonville' in a 2hr 45 min flight.
No record of Buckley flying a VV on the 6th.
Cheers,
Errol