Dave HomewoodA pity that Johnny Houlton is no longer around to take the controls again for the D Day airshow, like he did over Normandy on the 50th. I recomend his book by the way, Spitfire Strikes. A good read.
Dave HomewoodI understand it that gloss paint is often applied nowadays to warbirds because it lasts much longer, so is much more cost efficient for the owner. And it’s easier to maintain of course.
It also adds a bit of speed over matt paint, and especially over bare metal.
It was interesting to compare the paint schemes on the old RNZAF Andovers. Half the fleet were in matt camouflage schemes, and though well maintained they looked a little rugged. The other half of the fleet were in glossy white (UN) and blue and white (IP) schemes and always looked lovely and fresh. But they were all used the same amount.
One thing I’d really like to see replicated authentically, though it’s no doubt impossible, is the colour of the worn and weathered RNZAF Corsairs that operated in the islands. The NZ blue paint when roughed up by the coral dust apparently turned an odd pinkish shade, making them rather distinctive. It would be interesting to see one operating looking like that these days I reckon.
As for Norman Jackson VC, interesting story. I wonder if he had known prior about Sgt Pilot Jimmy Ward VC, who’d done a similar thing in a 75 Sqn Wellington. Jimmy didn’t use a parachute, and he kicked holes in the fabric for holding onto. He used a tarpaulin I think to smother an engine fire, and it took several trips back and forth to the engine before he succeeded. And he didn’t fall off. He was NZ’s first VC winner in WWII, and was killed a matter of months later on another raid.:(
Dave HomewoodHi guys,
I had thought about doing the model in Battle of France colours, but I don’t really like the scheme with the black and white underneath, and would prefer a battle we actually won. However, if I did decide on a BofF aircraft it would be the veryone in Papa Lima’s photo, because I have met he pilot.
He was Deryck Kain, known to all as ‘Bill’. He served in 73 Sqn in France. Although not originally from here, he moved to Cambridge following the war and lived here till his death a couple of years back.
Bill was notable by having been shot down and imprisoned in the Battle of France – not by the Germans, but by the Frogs! Plus his captures bayonetted him too.
A few years before his death a good mate of mine got to know Bill well, and he recorded all his wartime stories, and scanned his photos for posterity. At that time Sir Tim Wallis had bought his Hurricane, and it turned out Bill had flown it in 73 Sqn. Bill still had the spade grip as a souviner from the Hurricane he’d been shot down in, so he donated it to Sir Tim, and today it flies in the machine.
Yes JDK, this photo was staged for the press, I remember him talking about the press with some bitterness. The press followed their sqn closely because of Cobber Kain’s success, and they then clamped onto Bill because, though no relation, he had the same surname. So in the press he became ‘Cobber’s Cousin’, which he hated.
Any success in finding Kiwi BofB Hurricanes Daz?
Cheers
Dave
Dave HomewoodGood point Daz, the article was from Nov 43 and said the blue clipped-wing Zeros were new, so this probably isn’t the same thing as the author referred to. Thanks for pointing that out, I hadn’t picked up on it.
Dave
Dave HomewoodMm, that’s an interesting scheme. Thanks Allan. Yes, perhaps this is like what he shot down.
Cheers
Dave
Dave HomewoodI am bumping this one up because I am fascinated to know about these blue, clipped wing Zeros in the Pacific. Perhaps someone knows more, and may have missed the thread first time round. I cannot find anything about them. Could this Kiwi have turned the tables and shot down an American?
Cheers
Dave
Dave HomewoodAnyone guess what this is?
Photo 21
Dave HomewoodNo, it wasn’t exploding (as discussed on the Bermuda Triangle Avengers thread 🙂 ) It is actually using JATO (Dear God!!)
Photo 20
Dave HomewoodI have gone through and numbered the previous posts at Ray Jades request. I hope this makes referencing easier. 🙂
Here’s a few more….
Photo 19
Dave HomewoodOriginally posted by Phil Foster
No mate I don’t think the RAF would be the same place without a large contingent of Kiwis. They seem to get everywhere, part of the furniture it seems, and if you are grounding a job lot of fast jet pilots, send em over here. Meant in the nicest possible way BTW.Phil
😀
We already did send you our pilots. As soon as the strike wing ceased, 21 of our top strike pilots transferred immediately to the RAF. And a good number of them have been fighting in Iraq I believe. I heard the first RAF strike in the recent Gulf War was practically all Kiwi pilots. Pity we had to lose them.
I think as far as the war goes, there was hardly any RAF squadrons that didn’t have at least one Kiwi on it, whether as aircrew or otherwise. And of course the great man himself, Sir Keith Park, was a Kiwi too. Now he WAS RAF.
Dave HomewoodHi Ian,
Interesting one. You may know this already, but a quick look in the brilliant books ‘For Your Tomorrow’ by Errol Martyn I find that F/O Sim was flying a Spitfire VI, coded BR319/C. He took off at 05.35 and during a strike on minesweepers he was hit by flak.
The Spit caught fire, and he pulled away from the formation, and was last seen at 300ft going down towards the sea in a shallow dive with a dead propellor. He was not seen to bale out or ditch.
He’s commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
His serial number was NZ403995. He’d flown 588hrs and thiswas his 98th op. He had flown with four different squadrons.
As for Mairoa, Auckland. Did you get this from CGWG?
I had not heard of this place, and it is most probably a very tiny rural settlement (which are usually lesser than even anl English village in population) It is not in or near Auckland city to my knowledge.
Auckland province (not the city) covers vast tracks of the North Island. These days we usually refer to counties rather than provinces, but this often confuses because they referred to the province in the days of the war. So something that in those days read Auckland could in fact 2-3 hrs drive from the city.
I found that there is a small place near Te Kuiti (in the King Country county) called Mairoa. I don’t think that the Auckland province stretched down that far. There is also an area of Hamilton (Waikato county) called Maeroa.
Is there anything I can help you with in looking up? I’d be happy to assist if I can.
Dave HomewoodCheers Mark,
On reading that the mention of the Rapide reminded me I have seen some reasonable famous pictures and I think film too of a Rapide in the North African desert which is in RAF markings, with big Red Cross markings and a subscriber name. A quick google found this photo. I think they may have been operated by the RAAF, or am I confused?
Dave HomewoodFor that matter, did they have any other sort of aircraft fund raisers in Britain? Perhaps Lancaster Funds? Or Hurricane Funds?
I know here in NZ, as well as raising maoney for England’s RAF, we had local appeals too. During WWII the NZ Govt ran a Bonds For Bomber campaign, raising money for our own bomber force to defend NZ against the imminant Japanese invasion. It was VERY successful.
Was the Spitfire the only aeroplane that was funded in this way in Britain?
Dave HomewoodI’m not sure of the answer to your rather interesting question (have you got one of these Meccano Dinky Spits? Or a picture?) but there is a really interesting and substantial list of presentation Spitfires here.
http://www.spitfiresociety.demon.co.uk/present.htm
It doesn’t mention Dinky or Meccano, and it doesn’t have any of 485 Sqn’s presentation aircraft or that one called “Graham Heath’ as mentioned on my thread here
http://forum.airforces.info/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24063&highlight=spitfire+graham
But it is a very interesting and long list – many potential models there.
Another thing of interest to do with Spitfire funds is this lapel badge which was apparently given out to subscribers to the funds, as an incentive/free gift. I think only in Britain.
Dave HomewoodRe. ‘Foreign’ Pilots in the RAF – NZ’s position
In New Zealand’s case, the RAF sent a team of recruiters to New Zealand before the war, sometime in 1938. They wanted NZ’ers to join up because they knew there was a war coming and for some reason started drafting in Kiwis.
Before this point I doubt there were more than a handful of Kiwis in the RAF.
I know that a couple of chaps from Cambridge joined up then in 1938, and sadly never returned. A good number of these RAF Kiwis at the beginning of the war were brought together and became the New Zealand Flight, which later developed into No. 75 (NZ) Sqn. RAF, flying the RNZAF’s Wellingtons.
So anyway, just before the war 402 NZ men had joined the RAF, and they were indeed members of the RAF.
When war broke out, the Empire countries quickly came up with the Empire Air Training Scheme, where the British Government semi-sponsored training in NZ, Australia, Canada, Rhodesia etc. in return for our aircrews.
The pilots and crews that New Zealand trained in this scheme were all RNZAF members, and of the 10,950 New Zealand men who flew for the RAF, most were actually RNZAF. They were merely administered by the RAF, but in fact overseen by Bill Jordan (the New Zealand High Commissioner to London) who could, if needed, step in and over rule the RAF.
All those men that you see in photos with New Zealand on their shoulder are RNZAF. They were issued the shoulder flashes when embarking for any overseas service. Apparently airmen at home were often looked down on in the street if they were not wearing ‘overseas’ flashes. Damn fool civilians.
In fact one old chap who’d commanded 488 (NZ) Sqn and had flown hundreds of night fighter sorties in the defence of London, told me when he arrived home in 1945 he was in a tram in Auckland. A woman saw he was wearing a European theatre medal, and she began berating him loudly and telling him that he was a coward for not staying home and defending NZ against the Japs. He said he was stunned silly, but a big burly Kiwi soldier next to them picked her up and threw her off the tram!! Great story. So some people had some silly ideas about our boys serving with the RAF despite their huge sacrifices.
I believe that after the war began very few Kiwis joined the RAF directly. They joined the RNZAF instead. In fact many already serving with the RAF changed over to RNZAF command anyway. I’m not sure if this was because of a directive or if it was a choice.
After the war a load of top RNZAF pilots decided to stay on with the RAF. At this point they relinquished their RNZAF membership and transferred to the RAF.
One other point, in NZ’s case up till 1949 New Zealand was still considered part of Britain, and all Kiwis were British citizens. We had self-rule and were a Dominion, but still British as it were. For Kiwis then, Britain was ‘home’, so RNZAF pilots and crews were not considered as ‘foreign’like say Free French, Czech or Poles. We were the Colonials expected to do our duty for King and Country, back in the days of Empire – they must have been the days, eh?
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