October 15, 2004 at 12:01 pm
Does anybody have any information on the Lancaster ED930 “Queenie VI” in relation to its visit to New Zealand?
This was an RAAF Lancaster, and was the first to visit both Australia and then New Zealand. While in NZ in 1943 it did a flyover of my home town of Cambridge according to a newspaper snippet.
There’s a good website here that gives its background and crew, etc. of the plane, but little about the NZ visit.
http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/ozatwar/queenie.htm
I am curious because a late RNZAF mechanic, Jim Wiseman, who was from Cambridge, NZ, apparently worked on the Lancaster while it was here. The accompanying photo comes from his collection via his sister-in-law. It is marked with a press stamp stating a Christchurch photography firm’s name – so I’m unsure if he bought the photo as a souvenir or if he took it and the developing firm stamped it. It’s more likely a mass produced item for sale as a souvenir I expect as the whole purpose of the tour was fundraising.
What I want to know is where the Lancaster visited within NZ, any dates of arrival to the country and various RNZAF Stations, and whether it suffered mechanical problems, or would Jim simply have been refuelling and regular daily maintenance on it?
It is a great shame this Lanc was broken up and melted down. I wonder if any components survived as souvenirs.
By: Dave Homewood - 15th October 2004 at 14:06
Apparently this same Lancaster flew under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There is a Robert Taylor sketch of the event, but I wondered if anyone has seen an actual photo of this feat?