Ah yes, you’re undoubtedly correct there Daz. That’s just the sort of thing I mean, I am not sure when each one took flight and so a chronology would be handy.

For my part I can say the AFC Hurricane here in NZ first flew 21st 0f January 2000, and it continues to fly today, and is displayed and is still owned by Sir Tim Wallis.

As an aside to these adverts from Contact, you maye be interested that today I added 13 new scans of Contact covers to my Contact magazine database. The page is here
http://www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/RNZAF%20Contact.htm

I just love Maurice Conly’s artwork, for an amateur who was almost thrown into the job when he failed pilot training due to a medical problem, he certainly did an awesome job of capturing the Air Force on canvas. There’s a lot of variety in his work (in later life he designed most of NZ’s coins and stamps up till the 1990’s). I particular like the cover with the ADU member on April 1943, and the Mossie on the Christmas 1944 issue. 🙂

Thanks Allan and Mark12, some interesting info there.

I recall seeing part of a documentary on Clive Caldwell when I was a teenager in the mid-1980’s. It was probably screened for ANZAC Day, which is when all the good programmes are screened here. I don’t remember much at all about it other than he was interviewed, as were a few other pilots from his sqn, and they got him together with Col Pay’s Spitfire. I’m not sure why but his name stuck in my head, and he’d be the only WWII Aussie pilot I could name if someone asked. The little I saw of the programme was good and I’d like to see it again someday but I doubt that’ll ever happen. I have often wondered if he was related to our ace Keith Caldwell.

Turbo, we still have a strike wing in the RNZAF. Our P3K Orions now crry the bombs that were once carried by the Skyhawks! Plus they also carry torpedoes. The Govt has just announced yet another upgrade forthem (which they always make sound triumphant but all it means is deferring buying replacements for the 39 year old aircraft) during which I they should redesignate the Sqn as No 75 (NZ) Sqn, add turrets and paint them in green/brown topside and black below, with AA codes. 🙂 Yey, another step backwards.