Walrus to NZ – news tonight

Thanks Mark, just got the message. Brilliant, well done. I am looking forward to hearing more on the tape.

Sadly I don’t think Dr Ewing is a member of the same family. Made me laugh though.

Dave,

“A Thousand skies” has arrived in tape from to me, will let you know when yours is in the mail!

regards

Mark Pilkington

Dave,

Charles Darby’s RNZAF 1937 -’46 page 19 with associated pics confirms your info above that 11 ex FAA Walrus’s (or is that Walrii?) entered service between 1943 and 1944, although only 10 received RNZAF ID’s, NZ151 – NZ160, including L2222 which returned back to RNZAF as NZ151 after a brief spell with the RAAF.

Look forward to seeing a Walrus reunion one day if an airworthy NZ a/c could ever visit Point Cook’s recently restored example (we would promise to let you take it back to NZ!!)

By the Way ask Ross Ewing if he is a member of the Ewing family in the USA?
– cant he just ask “JR Ewing” to “fund” the whole damn thing (or get “Jeanie” to “blink” it back together and into the air??)

BTW A thousand Skies is located and apparantly on its way to me!

regards

Mark Pilkington

Thanks for the info Dave.

It’s a great aircraft, and I with the NZ team the best of luck. Not just because they are going to need it, but because they deserve it. 😀

Cheers

😀 😀 😀

Oooh, such a flypast would be great, especially if somone got one of the old Wasps up too.

The 60th Anniversary has long passed of course. The Royal New Zealand Navy was established as a seperate force in 1941. Before that our navy was actually called ‘The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy’. So New Zealand funded the ships and supplied most crew members, but they were British controlled.

The Walrus first came into NZ service in 1936 when the cruisers Leander and Achilles were equipped in that year and the next. They were operated by No. 700 Sqn of the RN FAA – but many of the Sqn members were attached from the RNZAF. Before the war there were four examples, one for each ship and two in store at Hobsonville in the FAA depot there.

In October 1942 a change of policy saw the Walrus brought onto land permanently (there were now five of them), and in Jan 1943 they were taken over ‘on loan’ by the RNZAF to form the Seaplane Training Flight at Hobsonville, where Catalina crews were trained as the Cats were coming into servicein April 1943. One was made an instructional airframe pretty soon (NZ155) and NZ153 crashed into the water after just two months. The remaining three were joined in Sept and Nov 1944 by five more ex-RN Walrus (NZ156-NZ160). After the war the RN was given back NZ151 and NZ152, while two of the other four left remained in service for a further six months with No. 5 Sqn at Hobby till Feb 1947. All four were sold at the end of 1947.

There was an eleventh RNZAF Walrus, K8558 of the FAA which was meant to be a stored spare at Hobby’s FAA depot but was instead used by the RNZAF from August 1941 to train pilots so they could deliver our Short Singapores from Singapore to Fiji. This Walrus was wrecked when it did a wheels down landing on Auckland Harbour 😮 . There’s a great photo of it somewhere upside down and being hoisted by one of the cruisers out of the drink. I’ll bet the pilot felt a fool! It was later transferred to the RNZAF books purely for admin reasons as it was a write off. It must have been a “You break it, you pay” policy.

This info comes from “Aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force” by David Duxbury, the late Ross Macpherson and Ross Ewing – the man who’s now leading the Walrus project.

So, I think the fantasy anniversary flypast will have to be the 75th, in 2011, just after it has returned from that trip to Duxford. 😉

Walrus.

James
I agree.
Rather than people endlessly speculating about why this airframe or that airframe is/isn’t going to be al Duxford this year/next year why don’t they save up for a ticket and go to the country in question??
A bit of travel does after all broaden one’s horizons.

I think I shell stat saving for my 2006 ticket to NZ shortly–for WOW not the Walrus!!
Cheers
Andy

I’ve seen and touched the project a/c. It’s possible, and there’s a hell of a lot of work, but it CAN be done. I’d be delighted that a Walrus is restored to fly anywhere in the world, rather than being left as a project. Again, before any British complants pop up, the project has been on the market for years. No-one has taken it up from the UK. I personally tried to interest a couple of appropriate British preservation organisations, and the project was rejected, for various reasons, some of which I accept as reasonable; but again, the UK will miss out. You can’t knock the New Zealanders either. The self same idea could have been put together in the UK, – but wasn’t. Surprise. It’s not just about money, it’s about attitude. Herendeth the lesson 😉

Could’nt agree more James……….

Now that would be a way-cool idea, Dave.

They copuld do a flyby with the new SH-2G and Walrus marking 60 (?) years of RNZN aviation involvement.

oops, fantasy realm again too 😀

TNZ

Hi James (Wal-nut 🙂 )

Well, it seems to be the unwritten rule on this forum that when any warbird anywhere in the world is mentioned as being restored, it is EXPECTED to be at the next year’s Legends 😀

As Shane Glassey (aka Shagbat) said on my original thread about the NZ group wanting to buy the Walrus:
“A tour of UK and Aussie has been discussed as something we would like to do but it’s too early to speculate to much.” Shane is heavily involved with this group, and is a noted restorer of old aircraft himself, like Ross Ewing.

So there is a possibilty, and at least they are considering it as an option. Wouldn’t it be great if they could get the Royal New Zealand Navy involved and the plane actually did a world tour on one of their ships, just like the olden days when they operated from the RNZN ships Achilles and Leander. Thy could lash it to the hhelideck I guess. I’m probably getting into the realms of fantasy now though…

I for one wish them the best of luck (And yes, I don’t have the money.)

I’ve seen and touched the project a/c. It’s possible, and there’s a hell of a lot of work, but it CAN be done. I’d be delighted that a Walrus is restored to fly anywhere in the world, rather than being left as a project. Again, before any British complants pop up, the project has been on the market for years. No-one has taken it up from the UK. I personally tried to interest a couple of appropriate British preservation organisations, and the project was rejected, for various reasons, some of which I accept as reasonable; but again, the UK will miss out. You can’t knock the New Zealanders either. The self same idea could have been put together in the UK, – but wasn’t. Surprise. It’s not just about money, it’s about attitude. Herendeth the lesson 😉

Let’s get them flying!

PS Can anyone see TFC bringing it back in 2010 as the surprise item for Flying Legends? Much as I’d like to believe it, I can’t. 🙁

James (Walrus nut)

Hi Dave,

I saw that tonight on TV3.

Had some great archival footage of the Walrus being launched from the ships.
If I had $5K to spare, boy I would definitely become a shareholder !!!

You’re right, he has got a good track reocrd and there is no reason why he won’t succeed.

Cheers
Chris
TNZ.