By: Old Git - 5th November 2009 at 18:56
Well well, a couple of these look familiar Keith! Good to see the whole set.;)
I wasn’t aware they were part of a set. As I have said I found them in an old suitcase of photos which belonged to my late step-father Maxwell Turner who was on the Tracker and whose picture is above. Apart from the rockets being censored which implies an official source as I have said above, some of them have stamped on the back HMS Tracker – not to be sent through the post. Three of them have handwriting on the back with no official stamp.
From what I can ascertain most of them are a batch of pictures which must have been obtained by members of the crew as they seem to have appeared elsewhere including the U-Boat attack ones.
By: AMB - 5th November 2009 at 14:25
Some pictures from when my step dad was on HMS Tracker. I will add some more of a Couple of Swordfish mishaps plus what looks like an attack on a U Boat
Well well, a couple of these look familiar Keith! Good to see the whole set.;)
By: D1566 - 5th November 2009 at 05:58
I had no idea that Swordfish were fitted with Leigh lights – did they carry any armament as well?
By: Dave Homewood - 4th November 2009 at 23:59
Great shots! Can you read off the name on the side of the first Wildcat (coded ‘B’), and also the serial on the ditched Swordfish?
Lee
The Hellcat’s name appears to be “Lost Lady”
By: Dave Homewood - 4th November 2009 at 23:52
That’s a great set of photos there.
While I’m no FAA expert, it’s pretty certain the Swordfish is carrying censored RP-3 anti-submarine rockets. The ASV radar wasn’t fitted below the wing, the space is too small for the Leigh Light or larger depth charges, Creeking Door rightly spotted one rocket dropped behind (I agree anyway!) and it’s carrying the smaller D/Cs on the outer racks. So by a process of elimination…
I’m no expert though I am learning a lot fast about the Fleet Air Arm in WWII right now because I am currently making a documentary film about the New Zealanders who flew with the RN FAA. I have been interviewing veterans and one of the chaps I interviewed last week gave me the same series of Swordfish shots, so they were probably crown official shots. Ralph Cocklin was onboard the same ship, HMS Tracker, and was a Swordfish pilot. He later flew off Macships and is one of the last survivors of such, certainly the last known kiwi Macship man.
The difference with Ralph’s photos is the censor didn’t get to them.
Does that help any?
If anyone can help me with Fleet Air Arm photos from World War Two, any theatre of war, any ship, any aircraft type (the kiwis seem to ahve been involved in the lot) I’d be most grateful. This film project is a shoestring venture, done off my own bat because the opportunity arose to meet some of these wonderful veterans at their last reunion a few weeks back, and I realised no-one has ever made a film about NZ’s involvement in the FAA before. tehir stories are superb. I have talked with and interviewed in the past two weeks men who flew in Swordfish, Flumars, Albacores, Chesapeakes, Seafires, Hurricanes, Corsairs, Hellcats, Tarpon/Avengers, Fireflies and many more in training and combat. Super guys, super stories, and a very important project I think. I have the support of the New Zealand Fleet Air Arm Musuem (Auckland) who’ve been helping me track down veterans. Off tomorrow morning to interview a chap on a FAA secret squadron, and he then flew Wildcats and Hellcats…
By the way, Ralph was there when that Swordfish went into the drink and I have filmed him telling the story of how it happened. The pilot’s name was Cliff. I have to go through the footage to find the details and get his last name, sorry. Too many stories filling my head to remember.
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October 3, 2009 at 4:07 pm