Pearl Harbor – 75 years on.

Fantastic set. Thank you for sharing them.

No “Zero” wreckage that I recall, but I believe this “Kate” is a new arrival from PNG with the ‘Swamp Ghost’ B-17.

Mark

The Kate arrived at Hawaii from New Zealand. It is under restoration in a joint effort by the Pearl Harbor museum and Pioneer Aero here in NZ. This Kate was “captured” by the RNZAF at Vunakanau Airfield, Rabaul, New Britain at the end of WWII. My good friend Bryan Cox escorted it in his Corsair as did other No. 16 Squadron RNZAF pilots when it was flown to the RNZAF Station at Jacquinot Bay. It was recovered some while ago by Australians and had been in New Zealand for a number of years before it went to Hawaii.

Nice set of photos !

Peter, more here about the Boeing F4B-4 replica move and arrival to the Pacific Aviation Museum: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pacificaviationmuseum/albums/72157630828521846

Revisiting my ‘Swamp Ghost’ images at Pearl I noted something I had missed, suspended well out of visitor’s sight in the roped off corner of the hangar.

It does not appear to be on the ‘collection’ or ‘renovation’ lists.

Here is a small crop from said image. Looks interesting.

Mark

Wonderful set of photos Mark, thanks for sharing.
I was lucky enough to be able to visit for the 50th anniversary and I was mightily impressed by the huge effort put on to commemorate the 1991 event.
Every military facility on Oahu was open to the public during the anniversary week and guided walking tours were provided. The guides explained the events of December 7 as we walked around each venue, with such things as aircraft crash sites and some instances of damage that was still visible from the raid being pointed out along the way. The stories and fates of numerous US and Japanese personnel were told during the tours and these were greatly enhanced by the presence of so many US veterans of the raid, many of whom chipped in with their own memories.
On anniversary day itself President H Bush led the commemoration ceremonies from the USS Arizona memorial so, of course, only VVIPs and veterans were allowed on board during the ceremony. I was amongst the crowd watching from the water’s edge on Ford Island, enjoying the various USN / USMC flypasts when a brief rain shower passed nearby. The combination of the rain and sun created a rainbow which, from our perspective, gave the impression that the right-hand end of the bow was nestling on the Arizona, a remarkable and very moving coincidence. I will never forget the gasps from amongst the crowd as the rainbow formed and appeared to settle on the wreck while the ceremony was underway.
I have been lucky enough to do many WW2-related ‘battlefield tours’ over the last 30+ years but the Pearl Harbor 50th is right up there with the very best.
Ed

Any sign of the “Zero” wreckage that was shot down on one of the outer islands on Dec 7?
It was on display for awhile, then removed over cultural sensitivity issues.

No “Zero” wreckage that I recall, but I believe this “Kate” is a new arrival from PNG with the ‘Swamp Ghost’ B-17.

Mark

Great pics Mark, BTW the girl who the sailor is kissing died earlier this year, bless her.

Great stuff!

Excellent pics Mark,,,Pearl harbor is on my bucket list to be sure. This just adds incentive to get it done sooner than later.

Before someone asks, the ac immediately above is a Convair L-13, a postwar six seat liaison type.
After becoming surplus, many were fitted with the radial as seen here…but in military service they had a flat 245 hp Franklin.

Also note the H-34 is in USAF markings, one of a handful of surplus navy aircraft operated as rescue HH-34s in the early 70s.

Any sign of the “Zero” wreckage that was shot down on one of the outer islands on Dec 7?
It was on display for awhile, then removed over cultural sensitivity issues.

Nice. Thanks for posting those Mark. Bucket list job I think.

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