100 Squadron 95th

Excellent pics Bruggen, be great to see a Hawk painted up in stripes and camo to represent the 20 year ‘Tatty Ton’ period when 100 sqn operated the Canberra TT.18!

Great stuff! My grandfather was a founder member of 100 Sqn. Just a lowly erk but he did fly with them. He died in a shipboard accident in 1920.My Dad had his flying gear but, things being tight after his death my grandmother had to take a lodger who stole the lot.
Jim

Perhaps today the oldest surviving RAF 100 Squadron aircraft?

http://www.aarg.com.au/Beaufort.htm

DAP Beaufort A9-13 was the 13th locally built Australian mark V Beaufort Bomber, with the first 20 being assembled from imported UK parts, but fitted with Australian built Pratt and Whitney 1830 Twin Row Wasp engines. A9-13 was originally built to an RAF order of 180 aircraft and was delivered as RAF serial number T9552 in January 1942 and was one of 20 Australian Beauforts delivered to 100 Squadron RAF which operated at Richmond NSW.

DAP Beaufort A9-13 was the 13th locally built Australian mark V Beaufort Bomber, with the first 20 being assembled from imported UK parts, but fitted with Australian built Pratt and Whitney 1830 Twin Row Wasp engines. A9-13 was originally built to an RAF order of 180 aircraft and was delivered as RAF serial number T9552 in January 1942 and was one of 20 Australian Beauforts delivered to 100 Squadron RAF at Richmond NSW.

The first 58 aircraft were constructed with British serial numbers for delivery to the RAF for use by RAF 100 Torpedo Squadron at Singapore, however only 6 aircraft ever left Australia for Singapore, with 1 crashing on the way, and the remaining 5 hurriedly returned to Australia following the Japanese invasion.

T9552 joined Q Flight of the RAF 100 Torpedo Squadron at Point Cook on 21 January 1942 as the 8th aircraft on strength, and being allocated the RAF squadron codes NK-B. By the end of January the squadron relocated to Richmond RAAF Base in NSW.

On 9th of April T9552 was involved in a 5 hour escort duty of a large RAN Convoy, and in late April 1942 was transferred to Number 1 Operational Training Unit at Nhill.

All former RAF Beuaforts were transferred to the RAAF in May 1942 following the fall of Singapore, along with all other Australian RAF Beauforts and a new RAAF 100 Squadron was formed to operate Beauforts adopting the number and many aircrew from the RAF 100 Squadron attachment already in Australia along with those who escaped from Singapore.

Renumbered as RAAF Beaufort A9-13 in OTU service in June 1942 it moved to Bairnsdale in Victoria for use in the training of Beaufort aircrew before allocation to operational squadrons and served with 1 OTU until December 1942 when it suffered a forced landing due to engine failure

A9-13 continued to serve with 1 OTU until January 1944 when it was transferred to 1 Aircraft Deport at Laverton from where it was issued to 8 Communications Unit serve in New Guinea as a replacement for A9-79 in a communications and support role.

While serving with 8CU in New Guinea A9-13 was used to calibrate ground based airfield and early warning radar installations, as well as general communications and “milk” runs.

During a flight to deliver fruit and vegetables in May 1945 to the 100 Squadron base at Tadji airfield near Aitape in Northern PNG A9-13 suffered a forced landing and was converted to components

regards

Mark Pilkington

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18378243

Tied in with the Leeming families day, if the weather good should see some aircraft in the area.

Chinook been over on way in.

Hawk

This is the paint job, Coningsby last week.