|
Post by gibbo on Jul 6, 2022 13:12:18 GMT 12
Just noticed this on the Govt Electronic Tendering system. Closed 8 April 2022 The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is in the process of withdrawing its fleet of six Lockheed P-3K2 Orion aircraft from service. Aircraft will be progressively retired over the period 2022-2023. Retired aircraft will be flown to RNZAF Base Woodbourne in Blenheim, NZ, for storage. Support inventory is primarily located at RNZAF Base Auckland with some elements at other locations within NZ. The NZDF is offering five aircraft from the fleet plus support inventory for tender. Fleet and inventory The fleet and inventory on offer includes: • Five P-3K2 Orion aircraft • Flight deck and tactical rail simulators • Ground Support Equipment including docking stands • Spares inventory including spare engines and propellers • Special To Type test equipment • Publications suite and drawing decks • SAP-based maintenance data and aircraft structural history Interested parties are advised that to register and view this RFT in detail they MUST go to the NZDF’s SmartProcure website at nzdf.bravosolution.comSuppliers must logon to access the RFT and submit a response. Registration is simple and free, just click “register now”. If you require assistance to register please contact dcs@nzdf.mil.nz ALL enquiries regarding this RFT must be in writing through NZDF’s SmartProcure message system. NZDF will endeavour to respond in writing to written enquiries within two working days. Did see that tender on the GETS site sometime ago... what makes me curious is they say the offer includes 5 P-3K2 Orion aircraft (the 6th destined for the RNZAF museum - NZ4204 AIUI)... but from what I recall they were breaking down the retired ones for spares... hardly what the tender doc suggests when they say 5 aircraft.
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Jun 11, 2022 10:32:18 GMT 12
Yes it's a little worrying where the NH-90 is heading if we are to continue with them in the longer term...I guess you could argue ADF & Norwegians are helping to increase the spares pool...lol! The Norwegians have clearly been let down but I see theirs are the naval version and it sounds like onboard system issues may have been a big factor in their case... www.scramble.nl/military-news/norway-immediately-stops-operating-the-nh90
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on May 24, 2022 16:19:15 GMT 12
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on May 24, 2022 8:29:09 GMT 12
The (latest) Air Force News #246 magazine has a wonderful centrespread and 4 page article on the Air Force heritage Flight. Try to get a copy of you can. Well worth it! Yes an excellent article in the AF news #246, a couple of other interesting articles too. If you're reading this now then it's easy to download or read online: issuu.com/nzdefenceforce/docs/airforcenews_issue246?fr=sMDk1MDM5NjExMzQ
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on May 19, 2022 18:12:14 GMT 12
NZ C-130Js to get specialist equipment, advanced sensors. ( Link) "The five Lockheed Martin C-130J-30s Super Hercules to be procured by New Zealand will have specialist equipment and sensors. Janes has learned that the aircraft will be fitted with L3 WESCAM MX-20 electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) cameras and a Honeywell JetWave Ka-band wide bandwidth, high-speed satellite communications (satcom) system. The MX-20 system is designed for high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) operations. It has been deployed aboard long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) and GA-ASI MQ-9B SkyGuardian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Able to provide more than x400 magnification in the EO sensor and more than x75 magnification in the IR sensor, the MX-20 also uses Enhanced Local Area Processing (ELAP) to improve feature recognition." Just in case anyone assumed this image was of NZ's C130j-30 order....nope, stock image obviously as MinDef site says LM will start construction next year: www.defence.govt.nz/the-latest/story/flying-high-the-new-c-130j-30
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on May 18, 2022 8:49:12 GMT 12
Yawn, typical media, lead with a headline that clearly wants you to believe the vessel has spent 8 years in Canada.... think it is closer to 3 years but hey! Why don;t they put their friggin energies into exposing the tattered shape our defence force is in, this doesn't do that!
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Apr 22, 2022 17:03:14 GMT 12
NZ C-130Js to get specialist equipment, advanced sensors. ( Link) "The five Lockheed Martin C-130J-30s Super Hercules to be procured by New Zealand will have specialist equipment and sensors. Janes has learned that the aircraft will be fitted with L3 WESCAM MX-20 electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) cameras and a Honeywell JetWave Ka-band wide bandwidth, high-speed satellite communications (satcom) system. The MX-20 system is designed for high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) operations. It has been deployed aboard long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) and GA-ASI MQ-9B SkyGuardian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Able to provide more than x400 magnification in the EO sensor and more than x75 magnification in the IR sensor, the MX-20 also uses Enhanced Local Area Processing (ELAP) to improve feature recognition." LOL if Janes has just 'learned' this then they need to up their game... this was detailed on the FMS 'request' back around 2019 & has been known for 3 years or so That aside this is good news and I guess the intention is to use them to supplement the P8 in SAR etc but given we don't have enough C130 for transport taskings alone...! I know one of the combat uses for the MX20 on a C130 is to surveille an intended landing zone at a safe distance to gain a better indication of potential ground threats. Definitely a step ahead for 40sqn... and the full flight sim will be a step change too. Bring 'em on!
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Apr 18, 2022 10:32:17 GMT 12
gibbo, that is correct, certainly with Bomber Command squadrons. Other squadrons from as early as 1942 (maybe earlier) never had the ground-staff on squadron strength, they were posted to numbered SE's (Servicing Echelons), and often these incorporated the number of the squadron they were initially attached to, but with an additional number inserted ahead of it. No. 486 (RNZAF) Squadron was a good example of this, right through the war. However this is quite a complex story, with the Bomber Command squadron servicing staff being transferred to Base Wings in late 1943 (generally), which were responsible for servicing multiple squadrons on up to three stations which were all administratively linked for servicing purposes, etc. No. 488 (RNZAF) Squadron in Singapore (and possibly Sumatra?) however had its original ground staff posted to the squadron at Rongotai along with the aircrew in September 1941, and they stayed together until withdrawn to NZ in March/April 1942; these men remained an integral part of the squadron throughout its short existence. I have never seen these reorganisations covered in an overall manner in a single publication, but the "RAF Squadrons" (author temporarily a blank) does have most of the details listed under each squadron, in 2nd edition. Thanks David, this makes sense. Unfortunately I only had 1 in-depth conversation about his time in the UK with him before he died in 1986 and that was before I really got into NZ military history with the level of interest I have now. He had some fascinating tales but understandably the focus of publications tends to all be about aircrew so if anyone can recommend any good personal histories written by WW2 groundies I been keen to hear.
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Apr 17, 2022 1:30:28 GMT 12
I've been looking at my late Uncle's service records again recently... Ronald G Pryce, NZ 39407. He served with the RNZAF in the UK between September 1940 & January 1944 with service in NZ briefly before & after WW2. He was an armourer and his records show he was posted as follows: - 217 Sqn 09/09/40 - 02/04/41 (St Eval, Cornwall)
- 75 Sqn 02/04/41 - 02/04/42 (Feltwell, Norfolk)
- Redhill U.K. (Surrey) 02/04-42 - 22/01/44
From the above clearly the first 2 postings were with the respective squadrons, but I'm curious about the 3rd entry... RAF Redhill was an operational base, it merely seems that he was no longer posted to a squadron but rather the base itself.
My question... I have this idea rattling around in my head that maybe at some point during WW2 some / all ground tradies moved from being posted to squadrons to being posted to bases... is this correct?
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Apr 14, 2022 14:07:10 GMT 12
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Apr 11, 2022 17:29:11 GMT 12
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Apr 7, 2022 9:02:17 GMT 12
Yep that's the location... I know the bridge itself is long gone hence I refer to the location rather than the bridge (I've see at least one image posted elsewhere where they show this bridge & say it was the one built by the tunnellers... nope!). Yes I did 2 weeks rental car self-drive with that time split 50/50 between France & Belgium so got to see a huge amount & didn't limit myself to just the NZEF history although that was definitely the focus. Biggest buzz = being in the battlefield of Flers-Courcelette in the area that my grandfather's company advanced & where he was wounded ... 100 years to the day that he was wounded there!
Been back since for 1 day in the area after being in Normandy for 75th of the D-Day landings... got to see a little of Rossignol Wood that time. Good times!
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Apr 5, 2022 20:17:51 GMT 12
Hi Gibbo, thanks for the information. The tunnelers' war is indeed a fascinating story, far more elaborate than what is often portrayed. The Arras tunnels were extensive, and the aboveground Arras campaign began in April 1917 and ended in the month of May, so that makes sense. Further north in Flanders, at that time the tunnelling around Messines was going on and nearing its end, but the assault on the town by the NZ Div 7 June when the mines were scheduled to go off didn't have any mines within that particular area, although the explosions were close enough to have been seen and heard quite well from their posts in front of Ration Farm where the Kiwis were waiting to make their assault. This is a memorial to New Zealand miners within one of the tunnels at Arras that has been opened to the public. Great War Tour 09Thanks nuuumannn, yep thank you too for you help The Tunneller's story is indeed a fascinating one and it's only really since reading Peter Cooke's book that I've fully appreciated their role. In September 2016 I got to tour the Wellington Quarry museum in Arras (pictured above) ... mind-blowing stuff and I'd do the tour again in a heartbeat. It really filled you with pride when the tour guide asked if there was anyone from NZ in the group... there were me & another couple out of 12 or so... bloody awesome! I also got to see the site of the bridge over the Canal Du Nord that won the Tunneller's much acclaim in 1918 between Hermies & Havrincourt... quite ironic that Tunnellers are remembered as much for their bridge building skills as their underground work... the sort of guys you'd want on your side in a shit-fight I reckon! cheers
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Apr 4, 2022 23:56:27 GMT 12
Hi Gibbo, the Segregation Camp at Etaples, or "Eat Apples" as it was called by some who were there was quarantine to ward off the spread of infectious disease. It's worth knowing that Etaples is often recognised as the site where the Spanish flu epidemic took root among soldiers in France. When were your brothers there? As tunnellers, were they involved at Arras, or the Somme, or Messines? Cool thanks nuuumannn, that makes sense. I've read a number of WW1 service records and never seen that reference before. They both left segregation at Etaples in May 1917 & were posted 'in the field' that month when the tunnellers were in Arras so fair to assume that's where they were posted. They both embarked with the Tunnellers 3rd reinforcement draft (travelling with the 19th NZEF reinforcement draft) in November 1916 and had consecutive service numbers. Both survived the war. It's kind of quirky how I got interested in this pair... I have just finished reading Peter Cooke's excellent history of the NZ Tunnellers 'Duigan's Circus' and whilst still reading it I was over tidying up my parents graves at Waikumete (West Akl) when I went for a wander a couple of rows over & found a headstone (not RSA or CWGC) that mentioned him as being a tunneller & listed his service number (he's buried with his wife). At home I looked in the list of personnel in the book and found him & his brother listed so had a look at their service records. cheers
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Apr 3, 2022 23:10:56 GMT 12
Hey have been looking at online (Archives) WW1 service records for 2 brothers who served with the NZ Tunnellers (3rd Reinforcements) and see something on both their records that I've never seen on records before. They have an entry that states that having arrived at Etaples camp on the way to France they were 'Detached to Segregation' and on the same date another entry 'Admitted to Seg. Camp'.
About a month later they are 'Attached to Base (ex Seg. Camp)' then 2 weeks later 'Detached to join unit'.
Does anyone know what Segregation would refer to? I wondered if it was disciplinary but for both of them to do the same on the same dates somehow suggests something else to me. ...Gibbo
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Mar 25, 2022 18:30:34 GMT 12
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Mar 5, 2022 0:32:22 GMT 12
Wreckage was still there much later than the 1990's, some dick tried to sell some of the wreckage on TradeMe too in the mid-late 2000's. Yeah that wouldn't surprise me Dave... the B.I.L. finished up at the forest by 1990 so he understood from others it might've been buried. You know the thing that got me was in the crash report there was an invoice to the estates of the dead crew for any RNZAF property not accounted for in the final 'clean out' of possesions... I'd heard that was common but would the families actually have been billed or was it likely just an administrative exercise? Talk about callous...especially as they died a few days before Xmas.
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Mar 4, 2022 23:32:04 GMT 12
krisd, Have made an earnest attempt to find the source of the information on suspected sabotage of NZ2020 resulting in the accident of 21st December 1941, but so far have failed to find my original source, which would have been an Air Department file or other official document. However I can provide another source (also a file), the original accident report for this aircraft. This was Air 25/2/452, Flying Officer E F Holdaway and crew. You may require further information to obtain this file, which I cannot supply, as the filing systems at (New Zealand) National Archives (now known as Archives NZ) have changed somewhat over the years since I first hand copied my lists of air accidents, and they may require a Series number for the full reference. However most staff working there today would probably know about this large group of files, and may be able to help you locate it regardless. I am suspecting you may not be domiciled in New Zealand, in which case you may have to obtain the assistance of a local researcher, perhaps resident in Wellington (or close by), although not certain of their "Covid 19" status at this time. As noted in previous post, I have not personally studied this particular file, but one additional fact I have discovered is that at least one Hudson in Fiji was found to have similar faults in the aileron control system which required rectification, but that is all (from my file on the original published article). Since I got rather keen on aviation history in about 1968, I have not been a particularly commercial author, and was definitely not trained in the scholarly rigour of noting source of ALL IMPORTANT FACTS (although for direct quotations I often provide source). This habit has naturally proved to be a serious failing when somebody questions something 50 plus years later. However I can usually attribute source, or provide a good guess in maybe 80 - 90 % of cases after a good search. I was of the old school, and rather than photocopy everything, I generally took notes by hand (much cheaper, but not really that searchable) - not an excuse, just a fact. In the mid 1980's I visited the Woodhill Forest crash site of NZ2020 (there was still quite a substantial pile there) and some time later visited Archives & viewed the crash report. Interesting stuff and from memory the reference in the report to possible sabotage amounted to not much more than just a possibility. The aircraft went in at a pretty much nose-first attitude and the crash started a substantial scrub fire so extensive impact damage was also followed by fire damage and from memory there wasn't anything found that distinctly suggested sabotage in the case of NZ2020. I understand the wreckage was buried in the 1990's as the site was planted out with pines and having fossick around the area 6 years ago or so I simply couldn't get my bearings as the pines were almost ready for harvest. My brother in law at the time worked in the forest and it was him who took me up there to see it in the first instance. Solid detective work after that visit gave us a 100% positive identification as NZ2020. Still got some washed out prints of the wreckage somewhere.
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Mar 4, 2022 12:23:23 GMT 12
Putting aside how realistic this may or may not be (let alone aircraft types and numbers), may I pose some other questions? For Defence (and Govt), what other factors need to be considered? For example: Infrastructure: Would new hangars be needed (thus more $$$ required) or would the original hangars still suffice (if so what existing squadrons using them would need relocating (42 Sqn?), or would a new, smaller hangar need to be built (more $$$) required to house them (eg presumably 42 Sqn's fleet could move into something smaller? Or share another hangar)? Would new accommodation blocks would need to be built? Would new maintenance and support facilities need to be built (or would existing facilities cope)? Didn't Ohakea have its own ground/primary radar systems pre-2001? If so, weren't they decommissioned at the time meaning new facilities and systems would need to be reinstated? Is there a need for specialised becons and navigation aids for around the country? Would additional new T-6 Texan training aircraft be required to cater for the increased pilot training activities? I understand they are stretched training pilots as it is, so how many additional Texans would be required? What would be the LIFT aircraft trainer and how many would be required? (Presumably similar numbers to the Strikemasters and Macchis)? Interesting that planning is underway for the UK and US LIFT aircraft to be replaced (eg the T-7A is being promoted for the USAF). Can Ohakea cope with another (potentially) 2 or 3 dozen aircraft, mixing "fast air" in with the slower Texan and Beechcraft trainers roaming the same countryside (or would the Texans/Beechcrafts need to relocate), as well as the other operational squadrons (3 Sqn's helicopters and 5 Sqn's Poseidons in due course). Wasn't this one of the reasons why the Singapore F-15 basing didn't proceed? If this was all to magically happen, it's almost as if the RNZAF needs another purpose built airbase, particularly as Whenuapai is constrained by urban growth and lack of opportunities to expand or lengthen runways etc? Or how realistic would it be to move the Texans and B350's to Whenuapai, where the airspace is presumably rather congested with commercial airline (and other private training) operations? So hypothetically speaking (and if the magic money tree is flowering), would a new airbase replace Whenuapai and if so where would it be situated? Or would it better to retain Ohakea and Whenuapai as they are with no changes to the fleets, but as per the Singapore basing proposal suggestions, build an airfield at Waiouru for the fast jets only? How practical is Waiouru? Some negatives could be having an active volcano nearby (potentially curtailing flying activities), the extremes in temperatures (from freezing to generally only warm in summer) and perhaps lack of opportunities for employment for spouses? Sorry, not trying to derail the conversation with nonsensical suggestions (like new airfields), but as these issues were highlighted in the Singapore basing proposal, I don't think there was much in the way of discussion on how to address these sorts of issues! Oh dear always said I'd steer clear of discussions on fast-jet options for NZ until such time as any major political party even mentioned the possibility, which is still very much a pipe-dream...but anyhow here goes! So what else would be required?... well basically the transport fleet would have to be close to double in size. IIRC one of the issues that stopped 75sqn being deployed to ET is that the 40 Sqn & allied equivalents were too tied-up in the response to provide any capacity for sustained operational deployment support of the 75sqn squawks - something that requires a bigger footprint & logisitcis train that a few weeks on exercise that they were at the time. If NZ got into the fast-jet business again it would not be for home defence, it would be for forward defence in our 'region' and that requires a robust transport capability to deploy & thereafter sustain. So to the cost of fast jets add another $3-4Bn for more Hercs & whatever the B757 will be replaced with.
|
|
|
Post by gibbo on Dec 9, 2021 11:35:23 GMT 12
Dave... can we move the 'The NZDF Tri-Service Military Board' out from under Army?... just doesn't make sense sitting where it is. I had thought about moving the board for a while but could not remember how it was done. Anyway I just had a bit of a guess and gave it a go, and it worked. So it is now out on the main page. Awesome thx Dave... and in case anyone hasn't told you.... you're doing a bloody stirling job with this forum! Take anything of your choice from the top shelf sir!
|
|