Air battles over Australia

Thanks Allan and Mark12, some interesting info there.

I recall seeing part of a documentary on Clive Caldwell when I was a teenager in the mid-1980’s. It was probably screened for ANZAC Day, which is when all the good programmes are screened here. I don’t remember much at all about it other than he was interviewed, as were a few other pilots from his sqn, and they got him together with Col Pay’s Spitfire. I’m not sure why but his name stuck in my head, and he’d be the only WWII Aussie pilot I could name if someone asked. The little I saw of the programme was good and I’d like to see it again someday but I doubt that’ll ever happen. I have often wondered if he was related to our ace Keith Caldwell.

Turbo, we still have a strike wing in the RNZAF. Our P3K Orions now crry the bombs that were once carried by the Skyhawks! Plus they also carry torpedoes. The Govt has just announced yet another upgrade forthem (which they always make sound triumphant but all it means is deferring buying replacements for the 39 year old aircraft) during which I they should redesignate the Sqn as No 75 (NZ) Sqn, add turrets and paint them in green/brown topside and black below, with AA codes. 🙂 Yey, another step backwards.

Why, Snapper? If he can’t find his way from Heathrow to Duxford, I’m not helping. He’s welcome to the UK. Just as long as he washes his hands after handling it of course.

Anyway I wear glases, and he’s got to be a pensioner; it wouldn’t look good as a fight. 😉

Joking aside, as Turb said, the ANZACs of W.W.I and the Antipodeans of W.W.II fought side by side; and most of them a long way from North, South and Mouth Islands, so I’ll stop playing cheap Xanophobia and leave it to the others.

The Darwin attacks were a bit of a shocker, and quite enough thank you. There were a lot of Aussies in Europe and North Africa fighting in other fronts that people in Aus thought were rather wanted ‘back home’ all of a sudden.

It was about then that Churchill made his remark that ‘the Japs can have Australia, we’ll get it back later.’ that made his name a swearword in my Royal Australian Navy grandfather’s house, among other households in Aus…

Cheers!

I had a phone call from a New Zealand Tiffy pilot this morning JDK. Best you go back to Heathrow sharpish…

Oz – Up North

Does anyone have stories of any air battles over Aussie?

A former work colleague of mine, David Wheeler, was with 54 Sqd. RAF, during the defence of Darwin.

He was credited with shooting down a Dinah, but in retrospect it was probably a Sally. He gave me a couple of bullets that had been removed from behind the armour plate in his Spitfire. I was pleased to pass these on to the Darwin Aviation museum together with his Irvin Jacket some years later.

It is magical ride to drive the main highway south from Darwin, through Livingstone, Strauss, Sattler, Pell, Hughes, all defence of Darwin airfields and abandoned now to the vegetation, indeed in most cases the runway was the original road. They have now all been flagged with historic markers.

At Fenton, the US base, when I was there firstly in 1992, there were still great chunks of Liberator scattered about and lots of spent cartridge cases in the old revetments.

I will leave you to guess what the remains are in photo 3 but aviation fuel was used for hygiene purposes I gather. 🙂

Mark

Sorry Turb,
In Britain, a Kiwi is mostly thought of as a small, hairy fruit, which you chop the top off before spooning out the insides. Now I, as an Aussie, couldn’t possibly comment that would be a good way to treat all Kiwis, could I? (Some of my friends are from NZ, but I try not to remind them. They cry.)

Heh.

And harmony folds its tent in the night, and departs the southern hemisphere…

My misinterpretation…I thought it was a dig at the dis-establishment of our fine airforce strike wing….which still peeves people off down here.

When it comes to WW2 I reckon that you can’t seperate the Ozzies and the Kiwis. All that banter was left aside and they fought alongside each other.

All is good !! 😉

TNZ

Sorry Turb,
In Britain, a Kiwi is mostly thought of as a small, hairy fruit, which you chop the top off before spooning out the insides. Now I, as an Aussie, couldn’t possibly comment that would be a good way to treat all Kiwis, could I? (Some of my friends are from NZ, but I try not to remind them. They cry.)

Heh.

And harmony folds its tent in the night, and departs the southern hemisphere…

Sorry. MUSTN’T Kiwi bait. The fruits don’t deserve it.

The “Fruits” don’t deserve it ?????

Sorry. MUSTN’T Kiwi bait. The fruits don’t deserve it.

Does anyone have stories of any air battles over Aussie?

Not since the NZ Air Farce closed up shop… 😉