but I have a feeling this Chipmunk was at various times 9M-ANI and 9V-BAE.

Correct, Ndedge!

So not as bad as it looks.

RMR, I think maybe it was worse!

I’ve just had the following information from a very authoritative source:

The photo would have been taken between 16/8/1957 and 24/8/1957.

The Chipmunk of the Malay Auxiliary Air Force based at Penang had run low on fuel and in attempting to land at Medjie Airstrip 3 miles NNE of Johor Bahru ran into a mangrove swam. Date of accident 15/8/1957. Initially declared a write off, it was decided to retrieve and rebuild the aircraft [cat 4] at Selatar, where it arrived on 24/8/1957. The photo shows the retrieval operation underway.

After rebuild the aircraft was returned to the MAAF in December 1957 and sold to the Royal Malaysian AF in early 1959 and became FM1022. Presented by the RMAF to the Royal Singapore Flying Club in 1963 as 9M-ANI- then 9V-BAE on breakup of the Federation.

To Australia in 1976 having been purchased Jeff Trappett when he was serving at RAAF Butterworth. Became VH-BBK in 1977 and has remained as such.

As I posted earlier, not to be confused with the “FM-1022” currently on display at Kuala Lumpur! Thank you to all who responded.

Sycamore:

In the cruise it should be trimmed/rigged with zero rudder input – high power/low speed lots of left rudder reducing as the speed increases, power off at high speed little input with increasing right rudder as the speed decreases.

MM:

Thanks for the “I can’t see yellow bands either” input, I spent a lot of time looking and ended up wondering if it was just me going blind. They should be there! While non Training Command Chipmunks acquired some odd schemes (e.g. WZ870) and indeed lost their yellow bands(e.g. WK616), it seems unusual indeed for RAFC aircraft.

Hi Steve:

I wasn’t intending for my response to be of the “I’m right/you’re wrong” category, merely wondering if you had any knowledge of a connection between WZ870 and the RAFC. I have come up with a very vague connection. Now I had previously posted that the Cranwell pale blue/trimmed dark blue band didn’t appear on the Chipmunk until the advent of the overall silver/DayGlo strips scheme, i.e around 1961, thus totally ruling this out. However I’ve since had pointed out that this scheme existed much earlier; there are photos of a RAFC BP Balliol back in 1955 wearing these bands. Perhaps the observer who noted WZ879 in “Cranwell T-bands” really meant that the colour was the same as the RAFC trim?

And now, to muddy the waters further, a very good source has come up with this photo:

WK616 was with the Duxford Station Flight from 29.8.1954 to 14.7.1958, i.e. overlapping WZ870’s stay there. Note the absence of the yellow Training Bands, and that the entire fuselage upper decking, nose cowl and just possibly the rudder appear to be in a light colour. I’m uncertain about the rudder; it could well be silver, but the tone has changed because of the angle at which it’s displaced. Grasping at straws I know, but is it just possible that the pale blue (if indeed that’s the colour) was some form of unofficial “Duxford colour”?)

Funny you should mention white, the same suggestion has just come up on the PPrune Forum.

Thanks.