New (old!) photos up on Tocumwal Aerodrome Website

Here tis

Hi Ewan; I’m not sure if this is the right one, but image no 47 states “The remains of a Douglas A-20 Boston”, but the nose section in the foreground is from a Beaufort and the aircraft behind it is a Boston.

Is that the one you mean? To my knowledge no Hampdens ever got to Australia.

The Washington is interesting; it has no tail, so was it disposed of there?

Yes the cockpit section and the nose glazing on the ground are both Beaufort and the nose of the complete aircraft behind is clearly an A-20 Boston.

Although clearly not in this photo, and not believed to have been at this site, a Hampden was brought to Australia after the war for the AWM and later scrapped.

regards

Mark Pilkington

That picture of the Boston in the hangar is A-20C A28-31 the only A-20C not to serv with 22 sqn you can see the 3 x .50’s above the centre line in the nose and .50 barrels sticking out the cheek positions (.30 on normal A-20C’s) also the edge of a tropical filter on the L/H engine cowl this was the only RAAF Boston to have tropical filters fitted, this and ex 89th BS 3 BG A-20A A28-39 were used in Australia as test and training aircraft .

And as a continuation of JDK topic about Australian Sqns , I have seen documents from RFC HQ to 67 Sqn RFC (Aust) which has had the 67 RFC crossed out and 1 AFC written in, 1 Sqn AFC never accepted being called 67 sqn it was only the british highups that refered to it as 67.
The same happened in WW2 the RAF wanted all the Commonwealth sqns to change there number to avoid confusion with RAF sqns, the Canadians complied changing 1Sqn RCAF to 401 sqn RCAF and all there squadrons were numbered from there, the RAAF politely declined….., and 3 Sqn and 10 Sqn stayed the artical xv Sqn’s started from 450

Going further off topic (which is what forums are for!?!) a number of Australian Flying Corps Squadrons of the Great War era have one number in Australian records and an entirely different one in the RFC / RAF records. (Avoiding a number conflict with RFC/RAF units.) Officially, according to the AWM, as below, they used the British designation during their deployment with the British forces, but I think there were occasions – and in Australian records (IIRC) where they still used their own AFC numbers.

http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_10842.asp

meanwhile, back at Touc…

Just to be crystal clear, 455 was an RAAF Squadron

Well, glad you pointed that out, I never realised it was formed in Australia first before being ‘reformed’ (?) in the UK! That’s very interesting; most histories from the British side state that the unit was formed in the UK and don’t mention its formation firstly in Oz.

Oops, Ewan – I’m leading you astray!

Just to be crystal clear, 455 was an RAAF Squadron; there was no ‘455 RAF’, although it is quite correct to state the rest (Article XV, operating under RAF command etc.) and as was often the case, it had a mix of British and other nationalities as well as the Australian members.

http://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/research/units/455sqn.htm
http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11153.asp

And was it the only RAAF unit to operate from Russia?

Regards,

Good work 🙂 Thanks for clearing that up – you often have to ask questions when more than one person mentions the same thing !

Hampdens I think were used by the RAAF (455 Sqn) but that was over in Europe, so they probably didn’t make it out here.

As to the Washington, that was the one scrapped at Tocumwal….

No worries Ewan, just a small thing; 455 was actually an RAF unit despite its RAAF title; it was one of the squadrons set up for Commonwealth nations under Article XV of the Riverdale Agreement. These units, although affiliated with and manned primarily by Commonwealth nations, were under the jurisdiction of the RAF. Its Hampdens, if I can recall were based at Leuchars in Scotland.

I hope this is of interest to you.

🙂

Great pix, Ewan!

No known Hampdens in Aus (other types did make it, but are often overlooked, like HP Halifaxes) and the pic does indeed show Beaufort noses and a Boston in the hangar.

The Vengeance was indeed used as a target tug after being withdrawn as bombers, and (obviously) before scrapping.

Regards,

Hi Owen

Anything is gratefully appreciated and always credited where due. Yes, Vengeances were stored at the base and given “the chop” 🙁 For memory they were also used as towing targets…but I’m sure someone else is better equipped to answer that !

Good work 🙂 Thanks for clearing that up – you often have to ask questions when more than one person mentions the same thing !

Hampdens I think were used by the RAAF (455 Sqn) but that was over in Europe, so they probably didn’t make it out here.

As to the Washington, that was the one scrapped at Tocumwal….

Hi Ewan,

I’m sure I have some post-WW2 scrapping photos from Tocumwal that my father took when he was down that way. I’ll PM you if I can find them. I think I recall Vultee Vengeances; would that be correct?

Cheers

Owen

Hi Ewan; I’m not sure if this is the right one, but image no 47 states “The remains of a Douglas A-20 Boston”, but the nose section in the foreground is from a Beaufort and the aircraft behind it is a Boston.

Is that the one you mean? To my knowledge no Hampdens ever got to Australia.

The Washington is interesting; it has no tail, so was it disposed of there?

Yes it’s believed to be the AWM Ki-21.

There have been a few aircraft that may have been stored at Toc that were not as well known – always a mystery or two lurking around. If you find the pic of the remains of a Boston in the gallery section (it’s captioned as such), check the aircraft that is hiding behind it in the shadows of the hangar. A couple of people have suggested that this may be a Hampden – not being an expert on aircraft ID I don’t know and have not tried to filter the pic as it’s only small and would distort – anyone have any ideas?

Terrific images; beautiful and sad at the same time. Is that the Ki-21 that was scrapped because the AWM had nowhere to put it? Vandals!

Beautiful!!

I really love/hate those scrapping photos.

Laurent