Air Force seaplane "sensational crash"

[Dave Homewood]

I just noticed this edition of the Auckland Weekly News on TradeMe for the 5th of November 1930.

www.trademe.co.nz/Antiques-collectables/Other/auction-209094730.htm

One of the articles listed as within is:

"P18-NZ News-Seaplane "Fairey" Crash in to harbour"
and
"..Sensational crash into Ak harbour-seaplane belonging to NZ air force"

It might be of interest to someone. Obviously one of the Fairey IIIF's

[Dave Homewood]

By the way, the second listing is relating to a photo in the centrefold

[angelsonefive]

Dave, this will be the crash of the Fairey IIIM F1134 in the Waitemata Harbour, off Birkdale, on 29/10/1930.
The crew of 3 were unhurt and picked up by the Saro Cutty Sark flying boat L3 which was following.
The Fairey was salvaged the next day but, although almost undamaged in the incident, was never repaired.

[Dave Homewood]

I just happened onto a detailed account of the loss of NZ632 (F1134) from the NORTHERN ADVOCATE, 30 OCTOBER 1930

SENSATIONAL ACCIDENT

AUCKLAND SEAPLANE SUNK

TERRIFIC IMPACT WITH WATER

THREE MEN SUBMERGED 50 FEET

MIRACULOUS ESCAPE FROM DEATH.

(Special to “Northern Advocate.") AUCKLAND, This Day.

An amazing escape from death was experienced by three occupants of the New Zealand Air Force’s Fairey seaplane when it plunged into the harbour near Hobsonvillc during the progress of an air speed test on the Waitemata at mid-day yesterday. Three men — Flight-Lieutenant S. Wallingford, who was piloting the machine, Corporal H. Smith and Mr A. G. Andrews, aircraftman apprentice — were carried by the sinking seaplane 50 feet under water, and owe their lives mainly to the buoyant properties of their safety jackets, which lifted them to the surface.

Squadron-Leader L. M. Isitt, who was following the seaplane in the flying boat Cutty Sark, saw the machine strike the water at a speed of 125 miles and disappear from view. He alighted on the spot, where the seaplane had vanished two minutes after the accident, and saw the three occupants come to the surface.

The story told by the seaplane occupants is that after circling round the warships of the Dutch naval squadron as they were taking their departure for Brisbane at 10.50 a.m. Fairey III proceeded to test out her engine speed over a known distance on the way back to the base. She attained a speed of 135 miles an hour, and, when 1½ miles from the base, commenced to slow down and reduce altitude. She was believed to be flying only 20 feet or 30 feet above the surface of the harbour when the speed fell to 126 miles an hour, but there was evidently a miscalculation of the altitude, for suddenly the floats hit the water with terrific force. The machine turned on to her nose, and she went down, "like a stone."

"I did not think they would ever got out alive," said Squadron-Leader Isitt, who saw the whole incident from the air. "I could see they had been taken under the water with the machine, and I knew that if they had been injured in the smash, or had been caught under the plane, they would never come to the surface. I immediately alighted in the Cutty Sark on the water where the machine sank, and as I did so I saw all three of them swimming round. They must have been quite two minutes under water before they struggled free and came up, yet they did not appear to be at all exhausted. They were extremely lucky. They were all wearing Reed jackets, which are filled with kapok, and we never strap ourselves in. To those circumstances they owe their lives. I helped them into the Cutty Sark and flew to Hobsonville, where, with the exception of a bruised thumb received by Corporal Smith, they were found to be none the worse for their sensational adventure."

"As for as the pilot is concerned, the mishap was apparently due to an error of judgment on his part," said Squadron-Leader Isitt, "That, however, is not the serious thing it would be in the case of a commercial machine carrying passengers. An Air Force pilot engaged in a legitimate test such as was being carried out today, is entitled to take risks that would not be warranted in the case of a commercial machine."

The seaplane now lies in 35 feet to 40 feet of water at low tide. Oil and petrol rising to the surface enabled her to be located 500 feet from the northern shore, midway between Island Bay and the air base at Hobsonville.

That, the three occupants were able to free themselves from the machine while under water points, it is hoped, to the fact that the craft is not hopelessly damaged. Salvage operations commenced early today.

[davidd]

As might be gathered from the last description (above), this Fairey IIIF was seriously damaged, thus the write off decision.

[davidd]

Also just noticed that you have identified this aircraft as NZ632 as well as its correct number (F.1134, the maker's number of course). NZ632 was actually a Fairey Gordon, a very similar aircraft structurally, but this aircraft (NZ632) definitely had NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the ill-fated Fairey IIIF of 1930, although possible that a few surviving airframe parts were kept as spares for the remaining F.IIIF, and some parts could have fitted the later built Gordons too. Have never been able to identify the author of this bit of fake news, but it has been around for very many decades (50/60 years?), and so far as I know, no reference or proof of this association has ever been forthcoming. Seem to recall that in fact BOTH the NZ Fairey IIIFs (cannot recall the alleged former identity of the other) had been allocated Gordon serial numbers by the mystery individual, so if anybody can throw any light on this predicament, please post here! I think parts of this story has even been published in British aviation books, and possibly even in one of the Putnams' books.
David D

[Dave Homewood]

It's been three years, exactly to the day, so I have no idea why I wrote NZ632.

[emron]

That prang didn’t seem to harm Sid Wallingford’s future career in the service and his later exploits are well known. One of his crewmen, George Andrews was a former neighbour of mine. He wouldn’t let a dunking in the harbour put him off either. George was amongst the first draft of apprentices to enter the NZPAF in 1929 and was only 17 at the time of the accident. He went on to complete 31 years with the Air Force and when he retired in 1962 he was in charge of engineering at Hobsonville.

[errolmartyn]

Jan 16, 2021 11:57:14 GMT 12 emron said:

That prang didn’t seem to harm Sid Wallingford’s future career in the service and his later exploits are well known. One of his crewmen, George Andrews was a former neighbour of mine. He wouldn’t let a dunking in the harbour put him off either. George was amongst the first draft of apprentices to enter the NZPAF in 1929 and was only 17 at the time of the accident. He went on to complete 31 years with the Air Force and when he retired in 1960 he was in charge of engineering at Hobsonville.

From Colin Hanson's By Such Deeds – Honours and awards in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, 1923 – 1999 :

ANDREWS, Flight Lieutenant Augustus George, mid.
NZ29115, NZ48557 & 72614; Born York, England, 20 Jul 1913; RNZAF 8 Nov 1929 to 22 Dec 1946 & 23 Dec 1948 to 5 Sep 1962; Engineer.
Citation Mention in Despatches (22 Mar 1946): In recognition of gallant services rendered during the war. Served with Base Depot and 1 SU at Guadalcanal and Bougainville Aug 1944-Aug 1945.
Attached to 720 (Catapult) Flt FAA (Walrus) 17 Jan 1939-30 Aug 1940. Died Howick, Auckland, 23 Jun 1988.

Errol

[emron]

Thanks for that extra detail Errol. I’ve now corrected his year of retirement which I had only guessed at (using an undated newspaper clipping). I was a schoolboy when we were neighbours and don’t recall ever discussing his military service. He was truly one from the Flying Boat era and if only we could borrow from his skills and experience these days. I hope he now approves of what MOTAT has managed to achieve with one of his Sunderlands.

Now we need to find out what became of the third crewman, Corporal Smith. Does anyone have his service number and biography?

[errolmartyn]

Jan 16, 2021 15:52:11 GMT 12 emron said:

Thanks for that extra detail Errol. I’ve now corrected his year of retirement which I had only guessed at (using an undated newspaper clipping). I was a schoolboy when we were neighbours and don’t recall ever discussing his military service. He was truly one from the Flying Boat era and if only we could borrow from his skills and experience these days. I hope he now approves of what MOTAT has managed to achieve with one of his Sunderlands.

Now we need to find out what became of the third crewman, Corporal Smith. Does anyone have his service number and biography?

The First of the Many (Air Force Smiths!).

From Colin Hanson’s By Such Deeds – Honours and awards in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, 1923 – 1999 :

SMITH, Squadron Leader Herbert Henry, OBE.
NZ23102; Born New Brighton, Christchurch, 17 Dec 1904; NZPAF/RNZAF 20 Sep 1923 to 1 Oct 1948; Engineer.
Citation Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (22 Mar 1946): In recognition of gallant and meritorious services rendered during the war. In his tours of duty overseas, as well as during long service in New Zealand, Squadron Leader Smith has an excellent record of highly meritorious service. A most experienced Engineer Officer who was chosen to undertake a course on Kittyhawk aircraft in the United States in 1942, he returned in time to accompany the first fighter squadron of the RNZAF to serve in the Pacific. Subsequently, in 1944, he served as engineer to a Catalina squadron at Suva, and later assumed command of the Corsair Assembly Unit at Los Negros. By his extreme devotion to duty, using his advanced technical knowledge to best advantage, and imparting his knowledge to his juniors, he has given outstanding service to the RNZAF.
Sqn Ldr Smith was the third airman to join the NZPAF, but the first direct entrant - the other two having transferred from other Army units. He had previously been employed as a mechanic with Henry (later Sir Henry) Wigram’s Canterbury Aviation Company. Member RNZAF Contingent London Victory Parade 8 Jun 1946. Died Waihi, 22 Jun 1986.


Errol

[emron]

Wow, quite a trio. They were lucky to avoid tragedy that day and we must be thankful that all three made the most of their second chance. They were able to develop those skills over the following decade that would be so sorely needed during the conflict ahead.

[nuuumannn]

Dec 30, 2020 12:59:08 GMT 12 davidd said:

Also just noticed that you have identified this aircraft as NZ632 as well as its correct number (F.1134, the maker's number of course). NZ632 was actually a Fairey Gordon, a very similar aircraft structurally, but this aircraft (NZ632) definitely had NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the ill-fated Fairey IIIF of 1930, although possible that a few surviving airframe parts were kept as spares for the remaining F.IIIF, and some parts could have fitted the later built Gordons too. Have never been able to identify the author of this bit of fake news, but it has been around for very many decades (50/60 years?), and so far as I know, no reference or proof of this association has ever been forthcoming. Seem to recall that in fact BOTH the NZ Fairey IIIFs (cannot recall the alleged former identity of the other) had been allocated Gordon serial numbers by the mystery individual, so if anybody can throw any light on this predicament, please post here! I think parts of this story has even been published in British aviation books, and possibly even in one of the Putnams' books.
David D

Hi Dave, well, having read this, I can vouch for Taylor in Putnam's Fairey Aircraft, which includes the New Zealand Fairey IIIFs' original serials, so not Putnam this time, although my issue of the book is the 1st Edition, so it might have appeared in more recent re-issues. In Darby's RNZAF The First Decade is this revealing entry under the list of Fairey Gordon serials under Note 4 on page 117: "Serials NZ639-641 may have been reserved for Fairey IIIFs."

Is that true? If you can find the origin of the latter entry in Darby's book, that might be a starting point.

[davidd]

Grant,
I cannot be totally certain of anything, but to convert a Fairey IIIF to a Gordon would probably mean having to change over engine mountings and the like (which may have been available from crashed aircraft, etc, from a certain point in history), but we also have the RAF serial numbers of more than enough Gordons to provide for 41 aircraft without having to drag the IIIFs into the picture. There was no great requirement to keep more than a sensible range of spare parts for the two IIIFs in New Zealand service (and of course it was not until 1939 that the RNZAF realized it was getting several shipments of the ex-RAF Gordons), so it is interesting that the two IIIFs were still in service (from different production batches, and of different Mark numbers) in that year, and it also seems fairly clear that the IIIFs were both "grounded" at about this time.

As you probably know, the few miserable records kept by the RNZAF on these two very similar, but different aircraft types, give no real clues as to the fates of the IIIFs, although there might be something about a conversion to an instructional airframe for one of them. Certainly the badly damaged one was never rebuilt - the RNZAF was not very well versed in all-metal construction in the early 1930s, which is probably why they never attempted such a job, and a second hand model was sought from the UK govt. I suppose a smallish range of spares also arrived with the Gordons shipped to NZ, possibly including spare mainplanes, tail surfaces, undercarriage parts, etc, some of which were shipped from the United Kingdom, probably most from India or the Middle East.

Unfortunately no combined list of the several successive identities of these Gordons (Fairey numbers, RAF numbers, NZ numbers) seems ever to have been compiled, although some of these connections would have appeared on their RNZAF logbooks, which generally do not survive. A single engine log book for an AS Panther engine fitted to various Gordons does survive, which is very interesting - it was fitted to several Gordons in turn. In fact a Gordon with the serial number NZ641 did see service in the wartime RNZAF, which appeared a considerable time after all the others, which tends to suggest a "bitsa" put together from the choicest of the available spare parts to hand.

Charles Darby's theory is tempting, but I feel it is still a long shot when you see the considerable list of Gordons delivered to this country. No mention is ever made of Fairey IIIFs in the very useful ORB of the Air Department for the early years of WW2, although it goes into considerable detail of the arrival of successive types of aircraft, the problems had assembling them, shipments of spare Panther engines being shipped to New Zealand from Malta (thoughtfully located by the FAA I believe!), the manufacture of dual control sets for the Gordons at Wigram (by the NZ Govt Railways Department, who delivered some less than perfect sets to Wigram. At least one of these sets failed in service and caused some tense moments for the instructor, who happened to feel the unit break catastrophically at a critical moment with a doubtful pupil, who was very nervous about landings - fortunately the latter pulled off a dazzling one to the relief of the instructor. There is also a mention of the rebuild of various wrecks of Vincents and Vildebeests to produce a "new" aircraft for the training fleet, and this received a new serial number, and the arrival of a Fairy Battle in 1941 is also recorded, and its purpose.

David D