Flightpath 2015-05-06

EXCLUSIVE – RAAF MUSEUM ACQUIRES THE R.E.8

THE R.E.8 ‘EYE IN THE SKY’

Building a ‘Harry Tate’

Cobra in the Clouds P-39s lost in New Guinea

LOCKHEED’S LODESTAR FAMILY

C-60 Lodestar – an active survivor W.W.II Grey Ghosts – PV-1 Night Fighters Leading Transport Twins – history in colour

AIRSHOWS Avalon International ✪ St. Barths Classic Fighters ✪ Antiquer’s National Fly-in NEWS Aussie Bristol Fighter ✪ Spitfire Mk XIV B-29 Superfort ✪ Canadian Lancaster saved & more

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Top: USAF F-35A Lightning II 1/72 scale. Above left: Sopwith Camel F.1 “First World War Centenary” 1/32 scale Above: Nieuport 17 “First World War Centenary” 1/32 scale. Left: Sopwith Camel F.1 “The Fighter of World War I” 1/32 scale.

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38

Contents Volume 26, No 4, May-June 2015

Features

18 River Relic – Rutters’ Pristine Bomber Contributing Editor Michael John Claringbould reports on the elusive Havoc 42-86747 and its pilot Vernal Bird.

26 Lockheed Vega VH-UVK From the Aviation Historical Society of Australia archives, Geoff Goodall profiles the 1929 Lockheed Vega VH-UVK.

32 Cobra in the Clouds Michael John Claringbould brings to light the losses of P-39s to the weather in W.W.II New Guinea.

LOCKHEED TWINS SPECIAL 38 Lockheed’s Transport Twins.

58 Hillson Praga The Praga E.114 flew in 1934, designed by Jaroslav Šlechta. Neil Follett looks at the three Pragas brought to Australia .

64 The R.E.8 ‘Eye in the Sky’ In a two part feature on the Great War’s R.E.8, Rob Langham & James Kightly explore the role of the type.

68 Building a ‘Harry Tate’ Flightpath’s Editor Rob Fox details how TVAL’s artisans recreated an authentic Great War R.E.8.

72 Fagen Fighters World War II Museum David Leininger tells the story of the Fagen family’s W.W.II militaria collection at Granite Falls Minnesota.

Contributing Editor James Kightly looks highlights of the piston-powered Lockheed Electra family.

Regulars

44 Lockheed’s Twins in Colour. Period and modern images of the Lockheed twins of the thirties and forties collected by James Kightly.

48 Lockheed’s Lodestar. Luigino Calario goes air-to-air with the CAF’s C-60 Lodestar - a very active survivor.

52 The Grey Ghosts VMF(N)-531. Alan C. Carey details the Pacific USMC Night Fighter squadron deployed with the radar equipped PV-1.

COVER: The R.E.8 acquired by the RAAF Museum at Point Cook. Flown by Gary Yardley with observer Bevan Dewes, Editor Rob Fox captured TVAL’s stunning WWI reproduction from his O-1G flown by Peter Clements when the R.E.8 was flown to the museum.

4 News 16 Personal Effects 24 Mailbag 25 Calendar 42 Poster 76 Airshows F L I G H T PAT H | 3

News

Editor: Rob Fox Ph: (03) 9580 7436 Email: [email protected] Contributing Editors: Michael Claringbould, James Kightly, Ron Watts, Andy Wright All letters and contributions should be sent to the editor: PO BOX 253 Bentleigh Victoria 3204. Research: Monica Walsh, John Hopton ADVERTISING Advertising Manager: Andrew Murphy, 17–21 Bellevue Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010. Tel: (02) 9213 8272, Email: [email protected] Advertising Production: John Viskovich Email: [email protected] Marketing Manager: Amber Clarke Email: [email protected]

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YAFFA AVIATION GROUP: Australian Flying, Aviation Business Magazine, Flightpath, Aviation Yearbook Publisher: Judy Hinz Circulation Manager: Lamya Sadi Group Production Manager: Matthew Gunn Art Director: Ana Maria Heraud Studio Manager: Lauren Esdaile Designer: Maria Alegro Images should be supplied with a separate list of captions and each image should have a name and address on it. Slides, prints and electronic versions of images are all acceptable, but please note that digital images MUST BE SUPPLIED AT A RESOLUTION OF AT LEAST 300DPI for the actual size of the image. Most editorial queries should be answered within a month; if not contact the editor. ISSN 1320–5870 4 | F L I G H T PAT H

Bristol F.2B for TAVAS Rob Fox The Bristol Fighter replica that recently starred at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon is now based at Caboolture, Queensland. Discussions between Andrew Carter, head of The Australian Vintage Aviation Society (TAVAS), and Gene De Marco, from New Zealand’s The Vintage Aviator Limited (TVAL) prior to the show, were the beginning of the process that led to the aircraft’s changing hands. TAVAS initially hoped to obtain sponsorship for the acquisition but, although indications were encouraging, this did not pan out. It was then wellknown Warbird identity, and major supporter of TAVAS, Jack McDonald stepped in. “Jack understood the historical significance of this aircraft and the need for us to operate an Allied type, in particular a two seater, allowing others to experience flight in a W.W.I aircraft,” said Andrew. “Immediately after the Avalon airshow, it was packed and shipped, alongside our Fokker E.III and D.VIII, to Queensland and reassembled by our volunteers under the guidance of chief engineer Dave Walsh.” Built by Ed Storo in the USA, the Bristol was registered as N624, and flown in a silver paint scheme, in 1992. In mid-2002 the aircraft was sold to TVAL and based at Omaka before being moved to Masterton. Here the colour scheme was changed and improvements made to the aircraft. TVAL operated it for the next thirteen years. One of the Australian units to fly the F.2B was 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps (AFC) in Palestine in 1917-18. Some of the squadron's aircraft supported Colonel T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and his forces by flying ground attack operations against the retreating Turks. TAVAS plan to paint the Bristol in the colours of the F.2B

ABOVE: Andrew Carter airborne over Caboolture in the F.2B with the TAVAS Fokker Triplane on his tail. [TAVAS] BELOW: Andrew Carter, head of TAVAS taking delivery of the Bistol Fighter at Avalon. [Rob Fox]

flown by Captain Ross Macpherson Smith, of 1 Squadron AFC in Egypt and Palestine. It will sport white bands and the letter ‘F’ on the fuselage and carry the tail number ‘B1229’. After serving with the 3rd Light Horse Brigade at Gallipoli, Smith transferred to the AFC in 1917 and was posted to 67 Squadron RAF in Egypt. He scored his first victory on 1 September 1917, shooting down an Albatros D.III near Beersheba, while flying a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2e. Once converted to the Bristol Fighter, Smith and his observers were credited with ten more victories in 1918. Famously in 1919, Ross and brother Keith together with mechanics Jim Bennett and Wally Shiers, flew the Vimy G-EAOU to victory in the 1919 England to Australia Air Race, becoming the first to fly from England to Australia.

News

‘Miracle’ & Jumbo to HARS Andy Wright

The Historic Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) added two classic jet aircraft to its impressive collection earlier this year. Built at Melbourne’s Fishermen’s Bend the Dassault/GAF Mirage IIIO A3-42 arrived at the HARS Illawarra base on 13 February. The former 77 Squadron aircraft was transported by road from Essendon Airport, Victoria, where it was being restored to airworthiness (see Flightpath V21-N.3). Former RAAF Mirage pilot Frank Fry, has loaned his fighter to HARS to allow the project to continue. HARS President, Bob De La Hunty enthused, “It’s in very good shape now and we’ve got some good sponsorship involvement so it will be

brought back as a taxiable aircraft to start with. The owner has a close association with HARS members who are putting all their effort into carrying forward his foresight and seeing it run.” The delivery of Qantas’ Boeing 747-400 ‘City of Canberra’ (VH-OJA) was more of a spectacle. Thousands witnessed its final landing on 8 March. Qantas had intended to retire the airliner in November 2014 but, upon deciding it was too historically significant to send to the desert boneyard, approached HARS to see if the organisation was interested in adding the 747 to its collection. “After we indicated our firm inter-

ABOVE: Thousand of spectators witness the Boeing 747-400 ‘City of Canberra’ (VH-OJA) make its final landing on 8 March. [Dick Simpson] ABOVE LEFT: The Dassault/GAF Mirage IIIO A3-42 airborne at Essendon Airport as it is loaded for the long road trip to NSW. [Peter Carmody] est, Qantas rolled back the process already been set in motion,” said Bob. This 747 still holds the London-Sydney record (nonstop), and added the record for the shortest Qantas service (QF7474), of twelve minutes, during the delivery f light to HARS.

FOR SALE Winjeel Wings & Centre sections. 2 sets approx ½ life each. Still in RAAF shipping crates with RAAF paperwork. $45K per set negotiable. Just what your TX Winjeel requires.

Call Rob 0411 336 156 or email: [email protected] F L I G H T PAT H | 5

News

NZ Spitfire Rebuild Down To The Wire The team at Avspecs Ltd. at Ardmore Airport, Auckland, completed the rebuild of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIVe NH799, ZK-XIV, only days before flying it to Omaka’s ‘Classic Fighters’ airshow. Built in 1945, NH799 was sent to India with the RAF before being handed over to the Indian Air Force. It was returned to the UK in 1981 by Doug Arnold and, in 1986, was bought by The Fighter Collection and partially restored. The project was completed by Historic Flying Ltd before Sir Tim Wallis purchased the aircraft for his Alpine Fighter Collection in 1994. It flew in New Zealand as ZK-XIV for two seasons before Sir Tim suffered a serious accident in the Spitfire on 2 January 1996. He survived but was badly injured. After a period of storage, NH799 began an on-again, off-again rebuild in the care of Avspecs. The Spitfire is now owned by Murray Miers and will join his Omakabased ‘Chariots of Fire Collection’. It has been painted in RAF South East Asia Command colours to reflect its service in the region. The aircraft arrived at Omaka, flown by John Lamont, just after sunset on Friday, 3 April, to the great delight of the crowd who welcomed it with applause and the anticipation of a wonderful weekend. The airshow was full of highlights and NH799 opened the Sunday display flying in formation with New Zealand’s two other airworthy Spitfires. This is the first time three civilian owned Spitfires have flown together during an airshow in the Southern Hemisphere.

John Freedman

Dave Homewood and Andy Wright

Privateer back in action Andy Wright

‘Doc’ rolls out

Andy Wright

The Boeing B-29B Superfortress under restoration in Wichita, Kansas, USA, made another step closer to its first flight when it was rolled out of its hangar during a ceremony on 23 March. The date marked seventy years from when the bomber was delivered to the USAAF. In 1945, ‘Doc’, as the Superfortress is called, was ready to fly off to serve with its first unit. This year, although it looks externally complete, the roll out was just to commemorate the date on a long process of the restoration of what will be the world’s second flying B-29 in private hands. Currently the Commemorative Air Force operate ‘Fifi’, 44-62070, and in the seventies 45-21787 ‘Fertile Myrtle’ was registered N91329 and flew on a number of occasions before joining Kermit Weeks’ collection, after being grounded, in the eighties. ‘Doc’ (serial 44-69972) served during the Korean War as a radar trainer before being retired and placed on the China Lake weapons range, California, for use as a target, along with a considerable number of other Superfortresses. It was recovered from the range in 1987 and transported to Kansas for restoration to airworthiness. After a period in storage, it is now owned by the non-profit organisation ‘Doc’s Friends’, formed by a group of Wichita business leaders in 2013, and has made great progress recently to the point where only minor adjustments and fittings are required before ground runs commence. It is hoped it will fly this year. The restoration is proceeding in hangar space donated by Boeing. With that kind of support, and an active and forward-thinking management, the almost unimaginable sight of two Superfortresses flying together is something we can all look forward to. 6 | F L I G H T PAT H

Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer in the care of GossHawk Unlimited Inc. in Arizona, USA since 2010, flew again on 20 February 2015 after engine issues identified in July last year were rectified. The Privateer (Bu 66302) was sold on from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) in 1958 and registered as N2871G the following year. It flew with Hawkins & Powers Aviation as a fire bomber for more than thirty years. The government contracts for all fire fighting Privateers were not renewed after a Lockheed C-130 Hercules and a Privateer experienced structural failures while attacking fires in mid-2002. Sold at auction, the aircraft is now owned by local interests. GossHawk has maintained the Privateer in an airworthy condition as much as possible. “We do a rolling restoration and do small parts at a time,” said Lindsey Goss, GossHawk’s marketing manager and a staff mechanic. “That way the owners can fly her when they like and take her to shows.” The aircraft has already attended two airshows since returning to flight. “We also plan to take her to Oshkosh and Thunder Over Michigan,” said Lindsey. Privateers operated as long-range patrol bombers over the Pacific from late-1944 and served with the US Navy and USCG into the 1950s. The final scheme has still to be decided but it currently resembles a Coast Guard aircraft. This Privateer, whatever its colours, will attract attention wherever it flies.

News TVAL’s Gary Yardley brings the R.E.8 in to land at Avalon. One of only three flyers existing, the authentic W.W.I reproduction is now part of the RAAF Heritage Collection. [Rob Fox] _

Great War flyer for the RAAF Museum Rob Fox

A rare reproduction W.W.I R.E.8 is now Australian owned. Announcing the news, Director of the RAAF Museum David Gardner said, “The Air Commander has endorsed the acquisition of The Vintage Aviator Limited built R.E.8 reproduction for the RAAF Heritage Collection at the RAAF Museum Point Cook.” Following the Australian International Airshow at Avalon, the R.E.8, along with TVAL’s S.E.5a, was flown to Point Cook where the acquisition process began. With the 100-year anniversary of its design approaching later this year, the addition of the R.E.8, one of just three built by the world-

renowned TVAL, is exciting and well timed. The type is credited with thousands of hours of artillery spotting, mapping and photography, as well as fifty air victories, in twelve months of operations over France, with the Australian Flying Corps’ 3 Squadron. The R.E.8 is immensely significant to our military history and this stunning example, now in the RAAF Museum’s collection , will help foster the rich and diverse history of the Australian Flying Corps for many years to come. For a full report, see page 64 for our historic feature on the type and page 68 for the full story of TVAL’s reproduction.

ABOVE: The RAAF Museum's Sopwith Pup replica leads their newly acquired R.E.8 and TVAL's S.E 5a as they approach overhead RAAF Point Cook. [Rob Fox]

W IN

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The Museum is open daily from 9am-5pm (except Christmas & Boxing Day). Tours operate daily and bookings are essential. Phone: (07) 4658 3737 Fax: (07) 4658 0707 Email: [email protected]

www.qfom.com.au F L I G H T PAT H | 7

News

Anson Memorial Unveiled Neil Follett

Following an initiative by the East Warrnambool Rotary Club in Victoria, a memorial to the crew of Avro Anson AW878 was unveiled on 14 February 2015. The memorial to the RAAF trainer and its crew was erected at The Crags, a site overlooking Lady Julia Percy Island, some ten kilometres from where the Anson crashed in W.W.II. At 08:00 on 15 February 1944, the Anson took off from Mount Gambier Aerodrome to fly an over sea exercise. The aircraft from No. 2 Air Observers School did not make any radio broadcasts and, at 12:30, overdue signals were transmitted from base. A search was initiated at 13:00 and the searching aircraft’s crew saw part of a mainplane on the shore of Lady Julia Percy Island ninety minutes later. The search continued the next morning without any further result. Wreckage subsequently found in the sea was identified as the missing Anson. No trace of the crew of four was found. They were F/Sgt James Henry MacLellan, the pilot, F/Sgt Dennis Leslie Baulderstone, LAC Norman Thomas Kruck and LAC Brian Carter Ladyman. Descendants and representatives of the four airmen killed attended the unveiling of the memorial which is mid-way between Port Fairy and Yambuk on Victoria’s south-west coast. As the families of the deceased airmen were placing red poppies near the memorial, a local fisherman laid a wreath over the wreckage on the western corner of Lady Julia Percy Island at what is known as Aeroplane Bay.

The Anson sculpture carved from local bluestone.

ABOVE: The plaque for the missing crew. [All Neil Follett] Descendants of the Anson crew at the dedication ceremony.

Rare ‘Skinny Bird’ sighted in France Eric Janssonne

Porterfield-Turner CP-65 Collegiate F-AYRJ based at Haguenau airfield [Eric Janssonne] 8 | F L I G H T PAT H

A rare Porterfield-Turner CP-65 Collegiate has called Haguenau airfield, in the Alsace region of France, home since September 2014. The Porterfield Aircraft Corporation, founded by Edward Porterfield, built 800 aircraft between 1934 and 1941, including 400 examples of the small, two-seat Collegiate. The type was nicknamed the ‘Skinny Bird’ due to its narrow fuselage. Porterfield ceased operations shortly after the United States entered W.W.II. This Collegiate (construction number 720) rolled out of the company’s Kansas City, Missouri, factory on 8 August 1940. It then served as a basic trainer with the government sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program (later renamed the War Training Service) in Michigan. The program’s aim was to greatly increase the number of civilian pilots and, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, such a pool of trained airmen was a great asset. In December 2013, the Collegiate, then registered in the UK as GBVWY, arrived in France, at Plessis-Belleville airfield, and was added to the French register as F-AYRJ. It was at PlessisBelleville, at the end of August 2014, that its current owner, Olivier Duque, first saw the Collegiate. Still powered by its original Continental A-65, F-AYRJ is one of just two Collegiates flying in Europe. The other is Steve Sharpe’s recently rebuilt 1939 CP-50 (G-AFZL) in England. The majority of the forty or so active survivors reside in North America.

News

Classic Czech Available A group of South Australian aviation enthusiasts is close to completing the airworthy restoration of a Czech-built Aero 145. However they can no longer find enough time to devote to the project and have decided to sell. Only five of the distinctively-styled aircraft (one Super Aero 45 and four 145s) were imported into Australia. Of these, just one Aero 145, the recently restored VHDUH, is currently flying here. The South Australian Aero (c/n 20-002) was built in 1961 by Orlican in Kunovice, Czechoslovakia, one of the 590 production line. Registered as VH-WWC upon its arrival in 1962, it was used by Commodore Aviation of Port Lincoln, S.A., for tuna spotting and the resupply of lighthouses on nearby islands. Fourteen years later the aircraft was withdrawn from service and placed in storage with its outer wings removed. The project was acquired by the group of Aero enthusiasts in 1985. They began the long restoration in a hangar at Pallamana, near Murray Bridge, in South Australia. The aircraft, de-registered in 1976, was re-registered in 2001 as VH-ZCL. The group has reluctantly decided to sell the partly restored aircraft, and further details can be found on page 5. Tony Cox

ABOVE: VH-WWC in Commodore Aviation colours at Adelaide Airport in the 1960s. [Geoff Goodall] LEFT: David Harris and John Ellis with their Aero 145 restoration project at Pallamana, South Australia. [Tony Cox]

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News

Vickers Vincent Dave Homewood

The near completed fuselage of the rare Vickers Vincent (NZ311, previously K6357) rolled out at Dairey Flat NZ. Steve Subritzky plans to next start assembling the wings of the former RNZAF biplane. [Dave Homewood]

ABOVE: Restorer Steve Subritzky, of Dairy Flat with reporter Dave Homewood in the cockpit of the giant Vickers biplane. [Kerry Carlyle]

The Vickers Vincent project (NZ311, previously K6357) being restored by Steve Subritzky, of Dairy Flat, New Zealand, was recently rolled out of its hangar. The aircraft is being painstakingly assembled from a massive collection of restored components without the aid of drawings, as such documentation no longer exists. The Vincent parts were collected over the years by Steve's father, Don, and were mostly dug out of dumps or found on farms and in private collections. Steve has also been fabricating new parts as required. This unique restoration project has been many years in the making, but now into an assembly phase, the results are remarkable. The identity that this large, single engine biplane is being restored to was used as a reconnaissance bomber serving in Iraq with the RAF between 1937 and 1939 on Imperial Policing duties before being purchased by the RNZAF. It then served with the Auckland (General Reconnaissance) Squadron, the Air Gunners and Air Observers School, 2 (GR) Squadron and 22 (Army Cooperation) Squadron of the RNZAF before ending its service career towing drogues at 1 Operational Training Unit at Ohakea in 1943. The fuselage is nearly completed and Steve plans to start assembling the wings soon. The aircraft is a painstakingly accurate static restoration, representing an important type in RNZAF history. The Vincent is almost identical to the Vickers Vildebeest III. Only the substantial remains of one Vildebeest, NZ102, survive and are currently under restoration at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand, Wigram.

LEFT: With work now completeed on the port wing of the Short Sunderland MR.5, NZ4115 the substantial scaffolding required is to be shifted work can be commenced on the starboard wing. [Dave Homewood]

BELOW: After prolonged exposure to the elements the former RNZAF Lockheed B-34 Ventura NZ4600 has been moved into the MOTAT maintenance hangar to begin the restoration. [ Dave Homewood]

MOTAT Movements Dave Homewood In the Museum of Transport and Technology's aircraft collection, in Auckland, New Zealand, the former RNZAF Lockheed B-34 Ventura NZ4600 has been moved into the maintenance hangar to begin its restoration. The substantially complete aircraft, which has sat outside in the weather for a number of years, is being stripped of paint and any corrosion. Other 12 | F L I G H T PAT H

issues will be rectified before it is prepared for permanent display within the museum. Restoration work continues outside on the Short Sunderland MR.5, NZ4115. Work on the port wing is now complete and the substantial scaffolding is being shifted to the starboard wing. It is planned for this aircraft to be finished to a standard where it can brought into the

main building by Christmas 2015. The Short Solent IV inside the main hall, however, has had work stop on its restoration because of these demanding projects. A substantial refurbishment, inside and out, to return it to its former glory had been taking place, but now manpower and resources have been moved to the other projects for the time being.

News

Original Chinook Retired Andy Wright The Australian Army retired a Boeing CH47D Chinook to the RAAF Museum at Point Cook on 17 April. A15-106 made its final landing at midday and was welcomed by museum staff. It was delivered as a CH-47C (A15-006) in early 1974, as part of the original Australian Chinook order, when the RAAF still operated the Defence Force’s helicopter fleet. Almost twenty years later it returned to the USA

where it was rebuilt to D-model standard acquiring the revised serial number. In the latter period of a long career, the aircraft served in the Persian Gulf region, most notably with the Rotary Wing Group in Afghanistan. There, to raise funds for Legacy, the defence for families charity, it was adorned with W.W.II inspired nose art, and the name ‘Life’s A Beach’, which it still carries. The Chinook will eventually be returned to RAAF colours. The Boeing Chinook A15-106 makes its final touchdown at RAAF Point Cook. It was later handed over to the RAAF Museum and placed in storage pending going on display. [Andy Wright]

Clifton 2015 Scott Williamson Over the weekend of 15/16 March the Darling Downs Sport Aircraft Association, along with the Lone Eagle Flying School, hosted its annual fly-in at Clifton airfield, Queensland. The event attracted approximately 100 aircraft and was very much a casual celebration of grass roots flying. Conrad Heim returns in Tiger Moth VH-ZUP after taking advantage of the calm conditions on late Saturday afternoon. [Scott Williamson]

0153-C AVB Quart Pg March 2015.qxp 23/03/2015 12:39 pm Page 1

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Jason Burgess’ C-47 on the move from Bendigo to Murrabit, Victoria. The former VH-AEQ, will be restored in TAA colours.

Dak on the move Andy Wright Douglas DC-3/C-47 enthusiast Jason Burgess moved one of his aircraft from Bendigo to Murrabit, Victoria, on 28 March. The former VH-AEQ, will be restored in due course. The aircraft was built as a C-47 (serial 4118663) and served with the 22nd Troop Carrier Squadron USAAF before being converted for civilian use in 1944. It flew with ANA, TAA, East West Airlines and Bush Pilots Airways before being retired in 1971. The reason for its retirement, corrosion, is also the contributing factor to this being a static restoration project. Jason intends to return the old airliner to its last TAA scheme complete with the name ‘Wills’. He has yet to decide where to display the completed aircraft but that decision is, obviously, still several years away. ’AEQ is not the only Douglas airliner owned by Jason. He also has the remains of the former VH-EDC and the nose of ’SBO in storage. ’EDC was the DC-3 expertly ditched into Botany Bay after an engine failure on take-off in April 1994. Following on from the C-47 restorations reported in the previous issue, it is pleasing to see another example of the legendary type with its future secured.

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News

Lancaster to come in from the cold Andy Wright

The future of Avro Lancaster Mk.X KB882 has been secured with the Alberta Aviation Museum, Edmonton, Canada, selected to restore and display the aircraft. Edmundston, New Brunswick, has displayed the bomber outside since 14 July 1964. A ‘Society for the preservation of the Edmundston Lancaster’ was formed to raise the funds needed to shelter and restore KB882. The group recently recognised their target was unreachable and, with the support of the Edmundston City Council, looked for a Canadian museum to take on the ambitious project. The Lancaster was one of 430 built in Canada by Victory Aircraft during W.W.II and flew eleven operational sorties against targets in Germany. One crew, led by Flight Lieutenant Allan Ross DFC DFM, flew KB882 on eight operations and would re-

turn the bomber to Canada in June 1945. It is one of only four surviving Lancasters to have flown combat operations. After time in storage and as a test bed, the remainder of the Lancaster’s service was spent mapping the vast expanse of Canada’s north. The Alberta Aviation Museum will restore the aircraft to its aerial mapping configuration and hopes to have all four engines running by the project’s completion. The museum’s curator, Lech Lebiedowski, said “It is much more than another Lancaster bomber. With this aircraft we will be able to tell the story of mapping Canada's north and the vital role of Edmonton in opening the last great frontier.” The museum will also highlight the role of the people of Edmundston as they battled time and the elements to save this important aircraft.

The CAF’s 2015 Airpower History Tour Frank B. Mormillo The annual Commemorative Air Force (CAF) AirPower History Tour is billed as a ‘hands on’ history lesson and is intended to “bring the sights, smells and sounds of World War II aviation history to audiences across the United States.” A production of the CAF’s B-29/B-24 Squadron, the tour brings together a variety of warbirds from the many CAF units across the country. The Squadron always contributes at least one of its four engine bombers, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress ‘FiFi’ 44-62070 and the Consolidated B-24A/LB-30B Liberator ‘Diamond Lil’ 40-2366, to the tour’s schedule. The Superfortress started off this year’s tour with a visit to the CAF’s Southern California Wing at Camarillo Airport, California. Although the original plan was for it to arrive at Camarillo on 2 March, and remain until March 8, the arrival was delayed for a day because of bad weather along the route from the aircraft’s base in Fort Worth, Texas. As the B-29 approached Camarillo, on 3 March, it was met and escorted by the Southern California Wing’s Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIV (NX749DP), Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat (N1078Z) and Grumman F8F2 Bearcat (N7825C) as well as the American Aeronautical Foundation’s North American B-25J Mitchell ‘Executive Sweet’ (4430801A). The Southern California Wing’s

ABOVE: After time in storage and as a test bed, the Lancaster was involved mapping the vast expanse of Canada’s north. [via Troy Kirkby]

RIGHT: Lancaster Mk.X KB882 out in the snow in Edmundston, New Brunswick. [Troy Kirkby]

14 | F L I G H T PAT H

CAF Colonel Philip Pardon was one of the volunteers who conducted guided tours through the B-29’s cockpit during the 2015 AirPower History Tour.

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North American SNJ-5 Texan (N89014) and Marc Russell’s Beech T-34B Mentor (N341MR) also launched from Camarillo to get a glimpse of the approaching bomber but did not fly in the main formation. Arriving after the Superfortress was Beech C-45F Expeditor ‘Bucket of Bolts’ (N70GA) from the CAF’s Bucket of Bolts Sponsor Group. The B-29, shortly after its midday arrival, was quickly prepared for guided tours by CAF volunteers. All CAF ‘Kentucky Colonels’ (the volunteers who host the tours, help keep the bombers flying and sell souvenirs and provide information from the Squadron’s mobile PX) usually spend between two to six weeks away from home to support the effort. For the rest of the week the B-29’s schedule generally included revenue flights in the mornings and static displays and tours in the afternoons. Supporting aircraft like the C45F Expeditor, the Southern California Wing’s SNJ-5 Texan and Fairchild PT-19 Cornell (N641BP), and even the B-25J Mitchell ‘Executive Sweet’, were also available to fly paying passengers during the AirPower His-

ABOVE LEFT: The B-29 Superfortress ‘Fifi’ over Southern California en route to Camarillo Airport for the first stopover of the 2015 Airpower History Tour. ABOVE RIGHT: The B-29 on the CAF Southern California Wing’s apron at Camarillo Airport with the Southern California Wing’s North American PBJ-1J Mitchell (in the final stages of its restoration to flying condition) in the foreground and the Curtiss C-46F Commando ‘China Doll’.

tory Tour stopover at Camarillo. In addition to membership dues, donations, memorabilia sales and event appearance fees, the revenue flights help to fund the operation of the aircraft and allow units like the B-29/B-24 Squadron to be self-sustaining. Though new tour stops are still being booked for 2015, the B-29’s schedule also includes stops in California and Nevada in March; Texas in April; Virginia, Maryland, and New York in May; and Pennsylvania in June. Other stops to be confirmed. The B24A/LB-30 Liberator ‘Diamond Lil’ is scheduled to join the tour in April.

ABOVE: CAF Colonel Steve McCartney entering the Camarillo Airport landing pattern in the Southern California Wing’s Grumman Hellcat. BELOW: The CAF’s Beech C-45F Expeditor ‘Bucket of Bolts’.

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Ph: +64 (0) 3 312 8008 Ivan and Sandy Campbell F L I G H T PAT H | 15

Personal Effects ‘Artie’ Bomber Command Legend by Vincent Ashworth

Wing Commander ‘Artie’ Ashworth DSO DFC* AFC* MID, a New Zealander, joined up before the war and eventually found himself flying Wellingtons with 75 (NZ) Squadron. He flew 65 operations over Europe and the Mediterranean and North Africa during three tours. He returned to New Zealand in 1943 and was soon posted to 17 Squadron RNZAF to fly Corsairs against the Japanese.  He eventually returned to the UK, this time as a Pathfinder, for his fourth bomber tour that culminated, after his 78th bomber op, in supply drops for Operation Manna and the repatriation of former POWs.  He retired in 1967 as an incredibly experienced, well-liked and respected pilot. This is the UK hardcover edition of the author’s earlier self-published work. The material is much the same but this is a far superior book. The timeline is still interrupted by chapters that, somewhat necessarily, set the scene. These could be in appendices but their inclusion in the main text does leave the reader hanging and wanting more. There’s not a lot of first hand passages from ‘Artie’ but this is more than made up for by people from all stages of his life contributing their memories and his affect on their war or career. This is a beautifully presented and well-illustrated book complete with several photos of relevant logbook pages written in Ashworth’s lovely copperplate. This is a very good, sometimes amusing, straightforward read. It is a fine reflection of the man. [Reviewer: Andy Wright] Vincent Ashworth, £19.95 plus p&p, www. fightinghigh.com

Blood, Sweat And Courage by Steve Brew After eleven years of toil, and almost 2,000 pages of text, Steve Brew has completed his war16 | F L I G H T PAT H

time history of 41 Squadron RAF. This book is the history of the squadron from the declaration of war through to July 1942.  The rapid-fire diary entries early on are increasingly interspersed, as the war heats up, with contextual ‘elaborations’ that provide considerably more detail as individual memories from squadron members illustrate events or the author expands on noteworthy items.  The Battle of Britain period is detailed by expertly blended combat reports and riveting narrative. The squadron then spent six months of 1941 on ‘rest’ before returning to the fray.  Their lot for the next twelve months was one of Circuses and sweeps before being stood-down. This is a huge book.  While very well written, it does require dedication to get through. Names and numbers are many but they are not overpowering. All men, where possible, are introduced by way of their career to the date of joining the squadron. Upon leaving their subsequent service is included in the narrative in surprising detail. Even the photo captions are mini-biographies. The author has achieved his aim to “give every man his place in history”. The appendices are massive. As is the norm for the Fonthill books, there is, maddeningly, no index but the author does provide one on his website.  This book was eagerly awaited because of the quality of the

first volume. It had to be superb and readable.  It is both and so much more. [Reviewer: Andy Wright] Steve Brew, £31.50 plus p&p, www.fonthillmedia.com

Flying On The Edge by Bernie Haskell New Zealand agricultural pilots are the stuff of legend. The country’s farming prowess owes much to a relatively small group of determined and pioneering aviators. As yields increased demand for more aircraft with increased performance grew. Pacific Aerospace Corporation developed the Cresco in response. It is a name synonymous with Kiwi aviation. Bernie Haskell’s business, JetSpread, was the first to operate this capable type. This book is a series of chronological tales of adventure and misadventure over the twentyplus years the author flew as an ag pilot. He mixes a good dose of extreme flying with large measures of humour and hi-jinks and spreads it throughout this 326page paperback. The author mainly flew during the less regulated 1970s and 1980s when communications weren’t so instant. More risqué escapades could go unnoticed and the author, always one to accept a challenge, use initiative or right a wrong, certainly took advantage of the opportunities presented. His time

in Egypt is one of impressive productivity despite intense frustration … and opportunities taken! He displays an uncanny sixth sense for things that are awry, both in flying and recreation (one often enabling the other), and it is this, along with his abilities as a pilot, that sees him safely through with little more than bumps, bruises, some ruined undies and a lot of laughter. This is a highly entertaining read supported by amusing sketches created by the author. Some of the tales may not be for everyone but they are there, warts and all. [Reviewer: Andy Wright] Bernie Haskell, NZ$39.00 plus p&p, wwwflyingontheedge.co.nz

de Havilland and Hatfield 1910 – 1935 While there are many books about the de Havilland aircraft company’s aircraft and history, this one is different, with the story being put into the local social and human context of the era. The de Havilland Aircraft Co, already an international business, opened an aerodrome in 1930 on farmland which it acquired to the west of Hatfield. But significant events had already brought aircraft over the town, often de Havilland, for the past twenty years. The company’s School of Flying was the first operation to take up residence. Flying clubs

Personal Effects

moved in and recreational facilities were developed. Garden parties, aerobatic displays and national air races were hosted. Regular visitors included famous flyers, royalty and aristocracy, actors and actresses, racing drivers, politicians, senior military ranks and representatives from Britain’s other great aircraft manufacturers. Throughout 1934, new buildings were constructed to house de Havilland’s global headquarters, factory production and Aeronautical Technical School. The victory of the sleek, red Comet [See Flightpath Vol.26 No.3] in the England-Australia air race that October would have lasting significance for the town, which grew to accommodate the de Havilland workforce. The legendary Tiger Moth and iconic airliners such as the Dragon Rapide came off the production lines. Increasing numbers of RAF pilots were trained by the School of Flying while the garden parties, flying displays and air races continued. Military aircraft contracts were getting larger as long shadows from Europe reached the town. The book is extensively illustrated with both colour and black and white and the images are much more diverse than the usual suspects. While this book stops in 1935, the author, John Clifford is well into work on a further volume taking the history on from that date. John Clifford is the son of an RAE Farnborough apprentice, and has translated Tor Idar Larsen’s Norwegian RAF pilot biographies in ‘Viking Spitfire’ and ‘Into the Swarm’, both also

published by Fonthill Media. [Reviewer: James Kightly] John Clifford, $44.99 plus p&p www.fonthillmedia.com

Fighter Leaders of the RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF & SAAF in WW2 (Volume 1) by Phil H. Listemann

sionally take the place of a black and white photograph. These profiles are better viewed in the forthcoming digital edition but the print versions are well-presented and inject added colour. Fighter Leaders is useful for potted biographies of pilots that enthusiasts may be unfamiliar with. It is a first stop reference that is probably better suited to

the digital format but the print edition, a slim 56-page paperback, is certainly handy to have on the desk (particularly with the list of names on the back cover). This series should build into a nice collection as more volumes are completed. [Reviewer: Andy Wright] Phil H. Listemann, $19.99 plus p&p, www.raf-in-combat.com

RAF, Commonwealth and exiled European squadrons served in every theatre of W.W.II. The stresses of operational flying were more than enough for a pilot to bear. However, add the burden of leadership and the shoulders of these young men suddenly seem so much broader. The sheer scale of the air war, and the challenges it presented, saw the development of many men into fighter leaders. These pilots were expected to be able to lead their unit into battle and maintain situational awareness and tactical advantage (where possible) while trying to stay alive. Fifty-two are included in this title and there are a lot more to come (the second volume is currently being written). The pilots are featured on one page each. A lot of information is presented for easy digestion with the majority of space dedicated to biographies averaging 300 words. Two images are provided for each entry but superb colour aircraft profiles occaF L I G H T PAT H | 17

River Relic Rutters’ Pristine Bomber By South Pacific Correspondent Michael John Claringbould

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On 25 September 2013 the remains of a U.S. airman returned home almost seven decades after he was lost in the jungles of New Guinea. Three days later Second Lieutenant Vernal Bird was interred at Evergreen Cemetery, Springville, Utah, with full military honours. There is, however, a twist to this story. While Bird’s bomber was destroyed when it crashed, another downed crew left behind an intact bomber that will probably never be found, let alone recovered.

N

ew Guinea will continue to hide aviation relics for a long time. None are likely to be as elusive or complete as Douglas Havoc A-20G-20-DO (serial 42-86747). It lies somewhere deep in the mud of New Guinea’s Lakekamu River where, on 12 March 1944, it was cleanly ditched a good one hundred kilometres upstream. Buried in silt, and covered by deep, flowing fresh water with minimal oxygen content, it is surely almost perfectly preserved. The bomber was ditched near McDowell Island, in the middle of the wide river, by First Lieutenant Herbert Rutters. Both he and his badly bruised gunner,  Staff Sergeant James Moore, clambered into the air-

craft’s life raft, stored just behind the pilot, and made it to shore in the slow current. Their aircraft sank nose first into oblivion. Rutters and Moore had ditched a long way off course and were far from their intended destination of Nadzab. While anti-aircraft fire claimed two of the six Havocs lost on the day’s mission, another four, including Rutters’, were claimed by the powerful and ever-present combination of challenging weather and geography. On the morning of 12 March 1944 three squadrons of the 3rd Attack Group (8th, 13th, and 90th) took off for a low-level strike against Japanese installations ranging from But to Boram fields behind Wewak township.

By now Wewak was a regular target for most Fifth Air Force units and this raid would subject it to strafing and 500 pound (227 kilogram) bombs. Wewak was still considered an ack ack hotspot at this late stage of the war. As with previous raids, combat planning tried to identify the locations of known antiaircraft positions so that the approach paths could try to avoid the Japanese guns. The pilots in the 3rd Attack Group had only recently converted to A-20G Havocs from B-25 Mitchell bombers. The Group had been among the first to enter combat in New Guinea and had done so with obsolete A-24 Banshee dive-bombers (the USAAF version of the Navy’s Douglas SBD Dauntless). Both MAIN: An artist’s impression of Rutters’ A-20G heading to New Guinea’s southern coast after becoming separated from his 90th BS comrades. Rutters spent the early part of this final leg cruising over four octas of cumulus cloud with tops up to 4,000 feet. On this journey he ditched A-20G-20-DO (serial 42-86747) in the Lakekamu River. If it could be retrieved it would probably be the most combat original and bestpreserved example of any A-20 in the world. [Artwork [email protected]] INSET: An artist’s impression of the 90th BS heading to Wewak on the morning of 12 March 1944. All of 90th BS A-20Gs carried white tail tips for recognition purposes. The 8th and 13th BS sported yellow and red tail tips respectively. If possible, assigned pilots tried to bag the first letter of their surname as the tail alphabetical identifier. Thus ‘Mark’s Hope’ had ‘R’ for its assigned pilot Bill Rupert. [Artwork [email protected]]

LEFT: A pre-war photo of Vernal Bird taken outside Milt’s Tavern, somewhere in Utah. It was nearly seven decades before Bird was returned home for burial after he was lost on 12 March 1944 mission. BELOW: (L to R) 90th Bombardment Squadron pilots at Nadzab, 1/Lt Herb Rutters, 1/Lt Sam Killebrew, and 2/Lt Bill Rupert. The damaged A-20G in the background is A-20G (42-86725) ‘Timberwolf’ written off at Nadzab after a crash-landing on 21 May 1944. Killebrew named his A-20G ‘Sammy’s Sweat Shop’ [via Rupert Collection].

F L I G H T PAT H | 19

Tail letter ‘R’ (foremost) was named ‘Mark’s Hope’ on the other side. Bill Rupert is behind the controls. This photo of the 90th BS in formation was taken around July 1944 over New Guinea’s northern coast.

the 13th and 90th Squadrons had only transferred to Nadzab, from Port Moresby, in February 1944. The 90th was operating brand new A-20G-20s, all assembled in Australia, equipped with the Martin rear turret. All six A-20Gs to be lost on this raid were new Dash 20 models. Thirty-six bombers would conduct the mission with each squadron contributing twelve aircraft. New Guinea-based A-20G combat crews usually only comprised a pilot and rear gunner but the 3rd AG, at this stage of the war, often carried a third crewmember. With fighter inter-

dimentary and inaccurate and underestimated the highest points of the Finisterre Ranges by thousands of feet. Weather had thus far proved the greater danger, not the Japanese. Only two weeks prior a flight of three Havocs from another Group - the 312th - had slammed into the Finisterres after becoming separated from their flight leader. In a month’s time, on 16 April 1944, many more would lose their way and forceland behind enemy lines. That day would become known as ‘Black Sunday’ due to the heavy losses. The golden rule of survival

The wreckage of Bird’s bomber, although known by locals, was not identified until 2001. ceptions unlikely, the addition of an extra man might be viewed as superfluous, but at least one gunner was always carried. (The Group’s gunners were well trained and very familiar with their weapons. Their first month of duty in New Guinea was spent cleaning and repairing the squadron’s .50in calibre machine guns.) Most of the pilots were recent arrivals from the U.S. and, in some cases, had as little as 200 hours of flying experience. The rule for navigation was ‘follow the leader’ and the more junior pilots did not even carry maps. The few that were carried were ru20 | F L I G H T PAT H

when forced down was to ‘stay with the aircraft’. This was, of course, a more challenging concept if stranded behind enemy lines. Many of these were factors in the Wewak mission’s fortunes. The weather at Nadzab on the morning of the raid didn’t look too bad. Nonetheless, Wewak was a good 260 nautical miles (480 kilometres) to the northwest so watching fuel consumption was a priority. High stratocumulus overcast dominated most of the northern New Guinea coastline that morning. Closer to Wewak there was eighty per cent coverage of cumulus from 1,500 to

4,000 feet. Thus there was a safe return over the top of these clouds provided crews navigated precisely. Surrounding Wewak is the Schrader Range and much of that was shrouded in wispy cloud. The formation descended smoothly as it approached Wewak. Along with the other two squadrons, the 13th BS made their low approach over the target, three abreast, and lost two aircraft to ack ack. These two were First Lieutenant James Scarlott and wingman Second Lieutenant Vernal Bird who lagged behind the others during the attack run as it commenced at 11:40 hours. It is possible that one of these two A-20Gs was hit early in the piece and the other stayed with it for protection. A nearby turret gunner later reported, “…about halfway down the run they were still with us and seemed all right.” However, neither was seen again after the formation turned for home and, in fact, both crashed not far from the target. In 1947 the remains of Scarlott’s bomber were located and he and his gunner were recovered shortly afterwards. The wreckage of Bird’s bomber, although known by locals, was not identified until 2001. Unfortunately it took the U.S. military another twelve years to confirm the remains of Bird, from Lindon, Utah, and gunner Staff Sergeant Roy Davis from Peterborough, New Hampshire. Regrouping after low-level missions was always a challenge. There were often disparities in the timings and targets between each squadron’s attacks. Although the aircraft would try to return as a complete group, things did not always go according to

Taken at Nadzab in June 1944, 90th BS pilots pose for the camera. The circular dice motif of the squadron, its lineage going back to the pre-war era, appears under the pilot’s window.

‘Jack’s Hack’ was one of the few 90th A-20Gs that carried a red surround to its shark’s teeth markings. Note also the shark’s eye just in front of the cockpit. Bombers were usually ‘assigned’ to only first lieutenants and above although it was often the crew chiefs who chose their nicknames and associated noseart.

F L I G H T PAT H | 21

Captain (later Major) Kenneth Rosebush, Commanding Officer of the 90th BS, appears with American actress Phyllis Brooks. Known as ‘The Ipana Toothpaste Girl’, due to her work as a model in her early twenties, Brooks became a Hollywood leading lady during the 1930/40s. She is seen here in her role as the first female entertainer to travel to the Pacific theatre. She held a press conference in Brisbane prior to her arrival in New Guinea. plan. The highest priority was to evacuate the target area as soon as possible. Loitering near the target used valuable fuel and was dangerous. Although encounters with Japanese fighters were rare by March 1944, they still operated in the area and the occasional one still rose to challenge attackers. On this day, however, the 90th Bombardment Squadron became badly fragmented. Leading it was Major Kenneth Rosebush, flying ‘Scremen Demen IV’, who tried to assemble his flock of twelve bombers as best as he was able. Other nicknames and noseart on the aircraft Rosebush led included ‘Barry’s I.N.S Baby’, ‘Punchy the 2nd’, ‘Hell’s Fire’, ‘Chaos Creator’, ‘Darlin’ Dot’, ‘Jack’s Hack’ and ‘Timberwolf’. Rosebush was carrying an interesting passenger in the form of International News Service war correspondent Lee Van Atta. Just prior to the commencement of hostilities, Van Atta had fortunately been prevented from moving to Manila and, thus, capture by the Japanese. His passport had not been in order when he tried to board the aircraft. Van Atta was subsequently a regular fixture on Fifth Air Force and RAAF combat missions and wrote many first-hand accounts for the U.S. and Australian media. With the attack over, Rosebush climbed his squadron to 7,000 feet to get above the thick overcast. His plan was to set course for Dumpu in the wide Markham Valley. 22 | F L I G H T PAT H

Once there the squadron would turn left and establish a landing pattern for Nadzab. Things began to go wrong when the squadron became fragmented as they climbed back through the overcast. Once above it, the tense voice of one of his pilots, Second Lieutenant Allan Garlick, was heard on the radio. Pilots were sternly instructed that use of the radio so close to a target area was only to occur under significant pressure. It was 12:10 hours, only about twenty minutes from Wewak, as Garlick transmitted that he had one engine badly vibrating due to a damaged propeller governor. For this particular mission Garlick had aboard additional crewmember Sergeant George Newcoms. The sergeant was a photographer. Rosebush instructed Garlick to feather the faulty engine and head for Dumpu. Garlick simply responded with “Roger”. With only one effective engine, Garlick’s lagging Havoc now struggled to maintain altitude. He found himself in marginal conditions over unforgiving terrain, and asymmetrically unstable, so an unfavourable outcome was all too likely. He never made Nadzab and the wreckage of his bomber was located near Simbai village in the Sepik hills in 1971. With Garlick out of the race, the 90th BS had meanwhile fragmented further. As one of the flight leaders on the mission, Rutters was supposed to lead his flight of Havocs

back to Nadzab. This flight comprised the doomed Garlick, John Trzaskowski and Second Lieutenant M. Short. However Rutters lost them in the climb through the cloud and set course on his own over a blanket of overcast. The cloud cover made navigation difficult. If the cover extended all the way to Nadzab then finding a safe route home might be hazardous. Force landing anywhere on the northern coast meant capture by the Japanese. Rutters, unsure of his position, thus set course for New Guinea’s southern littoral where the entire coastline was occupied by either Allied forces or locals friendly to the Allies. Ahead, unbeknownst to him, Trzaskowski and Short had made the same decision as they too headed for the southern coast. This pair stuck together and ran out of fuel in the vicinity of Port Chalmers where both ditched safely close to shore. Both crews were soon returned to Port Moresby by friendly forces. After losing Rutters’ four aircraft, Rosebush took the remaining eight 90th BS bombers back towards Nadzab. These were flown by William Rupert, Sam Killebrew, Kenneth Ladd, Shoop, Howard Baker, Panchor and William Tallon. Rosebush broke off not far from home to escort Ladd, another victim of Wewak’s ack ack, to an emergency landing at Gusap. When Rosebush finally landed at Nadzab later that afternoon he discovered he was missing Garlick, Rutters,

A confronting view of the 90th BS shark’s teeth marking. The teeth were applied using a spray gun and large stencil but their backgrounds varied considerably and some sported a red border. The marking was a carry-over from the squadron’s earlier B-25 Mitchell era in New Guinea but fell out of practice around June 1944.

Trzaskowski and Short. Suspecting they had headed for the safety of the southern coast, Rosebush flew a search mission the following day to the west of Port Moresby, where he located Trzaskowski’s and Short’s ditched Havocs in shallow water close to a grey, sandy beach. All alone and a good two hours from Wewak, Rutters ran low on fuel and decided to ditch in a long stretch of a wide brown river - the Lakekamu - while he still had power. After the relatively safe ditching, curious locals from Pawaia village ferried him and his gunner by canoe on a long three day journey to an Australian training camp further downstream. The camp was not far from the mouth of the river and directly opposite was the Romilly Sawmill that produced lumber for Allied military constructions at Port Moresby. From here both airmen were returned to Port Moresby and then to their unit at Nadzab. All of the pilot survivors of the day eventually returned home to the U.S. after their tour of duty. For some, however, it wasn’t without incident. Killebrew would later survive a ditching off Biak and Ladd crash landed at Nadzab after his hydraulics were shot out. As for Rutters’ presumably intact Havoc, it would be pleasing to see it located, recovered and preserved. The reality, however, is that the logistics and costs involved will likely preclude such a quest unfolding.

The 90th BS transferred many of its A-20Gs to the 417th Bombardment Group shortly after the latter arrived in theatre. ‘Amorous Amazon’ was one such example. It appears here with its new 417th BG owners shortly after its transfer circa June 1944. F L I G H T PAT H | 23

Mailbag

Puss Moth another life Thanks for Flightpath Vol.26- No.3 – lots of lovely ‘stuff’ again. Just to clarify a couple of minor details in Neil Follett’s excellent article on the DH80 Puss Moth VH-UPA. The young Adelaide based engineer who bought the remains, and later transported them to Melbourne, was Jim O’Connell. Jim was a LAME and had transferred to work at the now extinct Forrester Stephen Aviation the aviation arm of Golden Fleece, at Essendon Airport. Jim had the aircraft stored at his mother’s house off Burke Road, Camberwell. In 1973 his Mum sold her house to a developer and the Puss Moth was headed for the tip as Jim was restoring his DH Dragon VH-AGC and could not afford to either restore UPA  or pay for storage.  Rather than see that happen I bought it and stored it in my workshop in Heidelberg. It was a huge job to restore due to its total deterioration, and luckily John Petit later bought it and progressed the restoration, as Neil detailed. I am glad to see UPA preserved in Bundaberg, even in static condition, but, being an ex-Qantas aircraft I feel would be more appropriate to be at Longreach in the Qantas museum. But that’s not to be. Of note is that Jim went on to complete the restoration of his DH Dragon VH-AGC which he had started well before he bought the remains of UPA. This was based at Point Cook Vic. After completion he went on to show the aircraft until finances stopped his

The DH80 Puss Moth VH-UPA in 1967 prior to its move to Victoria. [Geoff Goodall]

flying in 1977. He got a film contract in 1979 and obtained  a permit to fly to Kyneton for that filming. Unfortunately on 13 December 1979 he had a lot of trouble preparing the aircraft for the ferry, finally getting both engines started about 1pm after a lot of effort. By this time a very gusty northerly gale was blowing. Jim insisted on flying – the lure of the money I suppose – and not having flown for almost two years, and in awful weather, the aircraft climbed very rapidly, very nose

up, until the aircraft stalled and spun in, still within the confines of Pt Cook airfield. The aircraft exploded and Jim was killed in the impact. A very sad end to a talented lad, and a lovely aeroplane. Regards, Clive Phillips, Victoria. Many thanks Clive for enlightening us to a few more lives in the tail of the Puss Moth VH-UPA. I remember vividly the crash of Jim O’Connell in the DH Dragon, certainly a tragic loss. Ed

‘Pregnant’ Lincolns Dear Rob, A follow up on the pregnant Lanc and Lincoln articles in Vol 25, No.3 and Vol 26 No.2, the article by Peter Lang was very interesting and to answer Peter’s query: Yes it was put into practice at 3AD Amberley in the late fifties. Two Merlins in specially adapted engine cradles were winched up into the Lincoln bomb-bay by the gun plumbers (Armourers) and held in place by the bomb latches. To support and hold the bomb-bay doors off the cradles, special spreader bars were made and fitted to the lower edges of the doors to prevent damage or undue stresses to the doors. It worked quite successfully and was used extensively due to an acute shortage of Merlins, in particular to No 1 Squadron in Malaya until about late1958

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or 1959 when the unthinkable happened. ARS 3AD was the only facility for major servicing and repair for all Lincoln airframe maintenance and major overhauls plus modifications. An aircraft having just completed a long major overhaul (from memory I think it belonged to 1 Squadron) was preflighted and prepared for early morning departure back to Malaya. The final item was the winching of two Merlins in their cradles up into the bomb-bay. The bomb-bay doors were partially closed and the spreader bars installed. Two Merlins were now snug in the bomb-bay. The last maintenance erks involved with an aircraft preflight are the gun plumbers who carry out their final checks to sign off the aircraft. Appar-

ently one of their checks is the electrical system pertaining to bomb selection and release with the multi switch selection panel in the bomb aimer’s position. Well, the story was the gun plumber doing the checks got out of sequence with the switching - result one Merlin was jettisoned onto the hard stand and the second one dropped but was held up by the front. I saw it happen and I’m sure that Lincoln bounced about four feet into the air on its undercarriage. Aircraft damage was extensive as can be imagined plus two Merlins which had to be stripped and rebuilt. I can’t recall if this transit method for Merlin engines was used again. Brian Lane. Ex RAAF Sumpy. North Queensland.

Mailbag

Stirling Memorial Dear Rob, The Newark Air Museum is assisting Jane Bealby from Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, with research on a wartime aircraft training crash near Edwinstowe, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, which happened on 26th February 1944. Preparations are well underway for the dedication and formal unveiling of an aviation memorial which will take place on Friday 19th June, 2015 near Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire. This raising of this latest memorial was prompted by the Aviation Memorials in Nottinghamshire, which was researched by the Newark Air Museum and published thanks to a Local Improvement Scheme grant from the Nottinghamshire County Council.  The crash happened in the early hours of 26th February 1944. The Stirling bomber, Mk III, EF127 from 1661 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU) at RAF Winthorpe took off at 1830 hours on the 25th for a 7 hour cross country training flight.  The aircraft crashed at 0130 hours having run short of fuel. Weather conditions were terrible, with rain, sleet and snow. Although a Mayday signal was picked up, five aircrew were killed and two were injured. One of the two airmen who survived the crash raised the alarm and help was summoned to the rural site between Edwinstowe and Clipstone. The second airman was rescued and taken to Mansfield General Hospital, where he remained unconscious for three days. He eventually returned to Australia after the war. The other survivor was William (Bill) Irving Taylor, who was back flying within a couple of months of the crash, but he failed to return from an Op in May 1944. Nottinghamshire farmers Mr & Mrs Bealby wished to play tribute to the crew and are raising this permanent monument to those who lost their lives on that early morning in 1944. The ceremony will be attended by

relatives of the crew members of Stirling Mk III, from Australia and England. 1661 HCU at RAF Winthorpe, Nottinghamshire was a training unit set up by 5 Group to convert aircrews to fly heavy bombers. The typical HCU Course lasted 6 weeks and one of the final parts of the Course was a cross country navigation exercise; it was on such an exercise that the crew had just embarked on when the Stirling crashed. RAF Winthorpe was located approximately 8 miles from the crash site and part of the former airfield is now home to the Newark Air Museum. Bill Taylor had two sisters, both of whom married and it is believed they emigrated to the USA, but they came from the Brisbane area. His parents were Henry Irving Taylor and Mary, nee Hetherington, and they may have had siblings who knew of this crash and passed the information down to other members of the family. Jane Bealby has already managed to find six families of the seven in the crew and she would dearly like to find information on Bill Taylor’s family. The crew of the Stirling Bomber EF127 were; Flt Sgt. William Victor Manuel, RAAF 401986, (Pilot) aged 27; Flt Sgt. Campbell David Bird, RAAF 418048, (Navigator) aged 30; Flt Sgt. George Richard Joseph Macoun, RAAF 426127, (Bomb Aimer) aged 21; Flt Sgt. Sidney Edward Christie, RAAF 423650, (Wireless Operator / Air Gunner) aged 27; Flt Sgt. George Davison, RAFVR 1677871, (Flight Engineer) aged 19; Flt Sgt. William Irving Taylor RAAF 434558, (Mid Upper Gunner) aged 27 [survived] and Flt Sgt. Reg J. Plath, RAAF 429483, (Rear Gunner) [survived]. Jane Bealby can be contacted via the Newark Air Museum email address [email protected] or directly at jane.bealby@tesco. net. Many thanks, Howard Heeley, Secretary & Museum Trustee, Newark Air Museum

Calendar of Aviation events MAY 2-3 Wings Over Illawarra Airshow, Illawarra Regional Airport, Princess Hwy Albion Park , NSW. visit www.wingsoverillawarra.com.au/ 23-24 Old Station Fly-in & Heritage Show, Raglan Queensland, visit http://www. oldstationflyingclub.com.au/fly_in.php JUNE 20 Moree Airshow, Moree Airport, NSW held by the Moree Aeroclub JULY 4-5 Hunter Valley Airshow, Maitland Airfield NSW. Contact 0423217789F SEPTEMBER 25 AAAA Spring Fly-in Cowra NSW. Held by the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia, visit www.antique-aeroplane. com.au OCTOBER 10 Nhil Airshow, Nhil Airport Victoria contact 0439424112 12 Wings Over Warwick, held by Queensland Recreational Aircraft Ass. And Warwick Aero Club. Warwick Aerodrome Queensland. Visit http://www.qraa.info/ 18 Jamestown Air Spectacular, Jamestown Airport, South Australia, visit http://www. jamestownflyinggroup.com.au/air-spectacular/ 23 AAAA Grassroots Fly-in, held by the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia at Kyabram Victoria, visit www.antiqueaeroplane.com.au NOVEMBER 20-21 Warbirds Downunder, presented by the Temora Aviation Museum, Temora Airport NSW. The 2015 event will include a Friday Evening airshow on 20 November 2015 and a Full Day Airshow on Saturday 21 November. Visit http://www.warbirdsdownunderairshow.com.au/ *The RAAF Museum at Point Cook VIC conducts an Interactive Flying Program – this takes place at the museum every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 1.00 pm. Visit: www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum *Temora Aviation Museum’s Aircraft Showcase Days are conducted on the first and third Saturdays of each month, visit: www.aviationmuseum.com.au *Please confirm all airshows and events with the organisers as details may have changed after the production of this publication.

The crew pictured in Nottinghamshire, Bill Taylor is third from the right. F L I G H T PAT H | 25

A Unique Aeroplane – Lockheed Vega VH-UVK By Geoff Goodall

L

ockheed Model DL-1A Vega Special NC372E was built in Los Angeles in 1929 with the constructor’s number of 155. The seven-seat aircraft was powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp SC1 radial engine and had a published maximum speed of 178 mph (286 km/h). The impressive range and speed of the Vega Special attracted the interest of British long-distance pilot Lieutenant Commander Glen Kidston who purchased this aircraft and arranged to have it shipped to England for a planned series of record attempts. On 16 December 1930 the Vega was added to the British Civil Register as G-ABFE. The aircraft arrived by sea from America in January 1931 and was quickly assembled at Croydon Aerodrome, London, where it was test flown by Kidston on January 31. Its British Certificate of Airworthiness, Number V-45, was issued under a new registration, G-AB-

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GK, that had been requested by the owner to incorporate his initials. This was a very rare departure from the strict sequential registration allocation used by the British authorities of the period. The date of issue of its CofA is variously recorded in official records as 3 or 17 January 1931. Either of these indicates a backdating of the issue date as the aircraft was still under assembly at that time. The next flight for the aircraft was on 14 February 1931 when Kidston and his partner, Lieutenant O. Cathcart-Jones, with two other crewmembers, made a local endorsement flight from Croydon. A similar exercise was flown on 20 February. The next day they flew a trial cross-country flight from Croydon to Le Bourget, Paris, in a record time of one hour and twelve minutes. Kidston, very satisfied with the Vega, returned to Croydon two days later and, after some local flying, had long-range fuel tanks fitted inside the spacious cabin. The aircraft was then test-flown at Croydon with these additions on March 19.

On 31 March 1931 Kidston and CathcartJones departed Netheravon for a much-publicised attempt on the Cape Record. Following a route that took them via Naples, Malta, Cairo, Kosti, Malakai, Kisuma, Salisbury, Bulawayo and Pretoria, they reached Cape Town on April 6 and successfully lowered the Record to six days and nine hours at an average flying speed of 134 mph (216 km/h). They beat the previous record by two days. The only incident along the flight had been the previous day when a forced landing was made at Lichtenberg, Pretoria, due to engine trouble, and the propeller was damaged by running through two wire fences. They were able to depart after only a short stay when Dutch farmers cleared a strip for them. After several local flights in the Vega in April, tragedy struck when Kidston and Captain T.A. Gladstone were killed on 5 May when their DH-80 Puss Moth, ZS-ACC, crashed in the Drakensberg Mountains near Van Reenen. The Lockheed was shipped back to England and test-flown, after re-assembly, at

Hamble Aerodrome on 5 December 1931. On the same day it was ferried to Hanworth by Cathcart-Jones at an average speed of 196.4 mph (316 km/h). In April and May 1932 he flew the Vega during Sir Alan Cobham’s National Aviation Day Displays and then began a busy round of visits to air pageants throughout Britain for the rest of the year. On 25 October Cathcart-Jones flew demonstration flights for His Highness Maharajah of Jodhpur, and Sir Frank Spickwell of Imperial Chemical Industries, for a possible sale. No firm negotiations were entered into and, after a trip from home base at Hanworth to Liverpool to visit the Grand National on 24 March 1933, the Vega was retired and parked in a hangar at Hanworth awaiting disposal. When Sir MacPherson Robertson, the Australian chocolate magnate and philanthropist, announced, in 1933, that he would sponsor an air race between England and Melbourne in October 1934, he captured the imagination of the world’s aviators and public alike, and soon a large field of aircraft ranging from Moths to a Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2, had been entered. With over 15,000 Pounds in prize money for the 12,300mile (19,795 kilometres) race, to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the foundation of Victoria, the MacRobertson Centenary Air Race was destined to become one of aviation’s most historic events. It was inevitable that Robertson’s aviation protégé, Horace Clive Miller, would enter the air race. Robertson had given financial

G-ABGK at Mildenhall prior to the commencement of the MacRober tson Air Race.

when the undercarriage G-ABGK at Aleppo, Syria, after turning over tson Air Race. ober MacR collapsed on landing during the 1934

VH-UVK and MacRobertsonMiller Aviation’s DH.86 VH-USD at Port Hedland in November 1938. [All images via AHSA]

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backing to Horrie Miller back in 1927 to purchase DH.61 Giant Moth VH-UTL, ‘Old Gold’, to establish airline services in South Australia as MacRobertson Miller Aviation Co. Ltd (MMA). The company was now operating passenger services between Adelaide and a number of South Australian country centres. After giving much consideration to what aircraft to enter in the race, Miller purchased, sight unseen, the Vega Special G-ABGK languishing at Hanworth. Horrie Miller was to have a memorable 1934 for, not only was he eagerly preparing for the air race but, on the home front, he had won the Government Air Mail Contract for an air service from Perth to Daly Waters from West Australian Airways Ltd. (WAA). MacRobertson Miller Aviation Co. had specified carrying out the service with three new de Havilland DH.84 Dragons, and these were immediately ordered from England with the new service to commence on 3 October 1934. The Adelaide base of MMA was to continue its South Australian airline services as a separate operation from the Perth base. Miller was unable to fly the Vega in the race due to the immense amount of organisation necessary to begin the Western Australian route. He engaged the services of veteran WAA pilot Captain James Woods whom he had known for some time from his regular visits to Parafield flying the WAA

VH-UVK at Maylands, Perth, 22 August 1935, still carrying its race number.

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de Havilland Hercules and Vickers Viastras on the Perth-Adelaide service. Jimmy Woods was no stranger to the route of the air race, for he had left Perth on 3 July 1933, flying his modified DH.60M Moth VH-UPD, ‘The Spirit of Western Australia’ in an attempt to break James Mollison’s Australia-England record of just over eight days. Bad weather and a petrol leak, which eventually caused a forced landing in India, frustrated the record attempt, but Woods flew on to England and, after being unable to raise a suitable price for his Moth, had it shipped back to Perth, where he resumed regular airline flying for WAA, and sold the Moth locally. Now a year later, Woods sailed back to England to take charge of Horrie Miller’s Vega Special for the MacRobertson race. He test flew the Lockheed at Hanworth on 15 August 1934 and, the next day, flew G-ABGK from Hanworth to Heston and then on to Rotterdam, where he remained for nearly a month, before returning to Heston on 14 September. The Vega’s next flight was from Heston to Mildenhall on 20 October to position for the start of the Race. Its race number, ‘36’, was painted on the tail and ‘Puck’ was painted on the nose in honour of Hugh Grosvenor (whose nickname it was) the ADC of the South Australian Governor, who had been a close personal friend of Miller’s until his death in an RAAF seaplane off Point Cook in 1930. At 06:39 GMT they departed Mildenhall to commence the race and reached Athens that night via Marseilles and Rome. The

Vega departed Athens next morning at 03:11 GMT but hopes were dashed just after dawn when the aircraft crashed on landing at Aleppo, Syria, at 07:50. Don Bennett gives the following account of their flight in his book ‘Pathfinder’: “Eventually the great day arrived, and it was certainly a magnificent sight to see the aircraft taking off in an English early morning on a race half-way around the world. We had no radio, and 90% of the first leg was over the top of clouds, so that we had to rely entirely on dead reckoning. All went well and we landed at Marseilles 3 hours and 45 minutes after take-off from Mildenhall, a fast trip for those days. Incidentally, Jimmy Woods has implicit faith in my navigation, and was under the happy delusion that a navigator could work magic. Fortunately the fates were kind, and his reliance on my navigation did not go astray. We pressed onto Rome and thence in the dark to Athens. As we were doubtful of our range being sufficient to reach Aleppo, and as the only intermediate stop Nicosia had no night-flying facilities whatsoever, we decided to sleep a little in Athens. The Greek Air Force put us up in the local barracks and after a few hours’ sleep we pressed on to Aleppo. As we took off I was under the impression that the undercarriage oleo leg had jammed again as it had done several days earlier at Hanworth, when we had worked late into the night to release the gland that had been binding and put it together again.

On arrival at Aleppo Jimmy brought the Vega into land, whilst I took up my position as far aft as possible. He hit the ground with a fair wallop and the undercarriage collapsed; down she went, and the nose went in as we whipped over on to our back. I was in the tail of the machine and my velocity from one end of the cabin to the other was remarkable. I rolled out into the dust of the aerodrome and then helped Jimmy Woods out with his forehead bleeding rather badly. He looked an awful mess, but was not really as badly bent as I was. I had done a fair bit of damage to one knee and could not move my head and shoulders. We were taken to a convent, and some Syrian nuns patched us up. The Air Attaché had come down from Beirut, and drove me, a very forlorn character, down to Beirut where I caught an American ship to Naples and back to England. I had to leave poor Jimmy Woods with practically no money, and a badly broken aircraft, waiting for funds to be cabled to him from Australia.” Bennett resumed flying with the RAF immediately and, after an impressive career of military and airline flying, rose to the rank of Air Vice-Marshal in the wartime RAF and achieved fame as the founder of Bomber Command’s Pathfinder Force. Jimmy Woods returned to Perth to take up the position of Operations Manager with MMA’s Western Australian airline service. At first Horrie Miller intended to have the Vega shipped to America for repairs and then shipped onto Perth for his use with the WA service. However it was decided that the

ABOVE: Captain James Woods, with bandaged head, inspecting the Vega at Aleppo. BELOW: In a hangar at Maylands, 1941, prior to RAAF impressment as A42-1. Note the Bristol MC-1 at right of photo (see Flightpath Vol.26 No.2 for this aircraft’s history).

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The Vega at Maylands, Perth, with Captain James Woods.

repairs could be done in Perth so the aircraft was shipped from Greece to Fremantle and taken by road to the MMA workshops at Maylands Aerodrome, arriving there in early January 1935. The rebuild of the big Lockheed was a major job that was to take eight months. Miller requested the Australian registration VH-BGK for the aircraft because the British markings across the mainplane and on the fuselage were extremely difficult to remove. The Civil Aviation Branch (CAB) would not comply with his request, however, and allocated VH-UVK instead. Later photographs show that the British registration was only slightly erased from the upper surface of the wings and, several years later, could still be clearly read. Miller taxied the Vega out for its first test flight at Maylands on 22 August 1935. Further test flights were made in August and September while a complex paper war was fought with the CAB over validation of its British and American Certificates of Airworthiness. This was a common problem with all foreign (i.e. non-British) aircraft imported into Australia at this time. Miller himself was very experienced with these difficulties for, in 1929, he had helped his friend Hugh ‘Puck’ Grosvenor order a similar Vega for a proposed attempt on the Australia-England record. At the same time Miller himself ordered a Vega hoping that Lockheed might find a way around the Australian embargo. The company did its best, and even opened a branch in Canada in an attempt to get around the regulations but, after a year, Miller was forced to cancel the order. Meanwhile, a compromise was reached in the airworthiness dispute over the former G-ABGK at Maylands and, although the CAB refused to add the aircraft to the Australian Civil Register, approval was given to operate the Vega initially on its current British C of A. On 13 October 1935 the Vega made her first commercial flight in Australia when she departed Maylands, under the command of Captain Woods and carrying two passengers, at 05:15 bound for Adelaide on a charter for MMA. Parafield was reached at 15:45 that afternoon, after refuelling stops at Kalgoorlie, Forrest and Ceduna, in a flying time of seven hours and 55 minutes. Woods set off on the return trip to Perth on 20 October but was delayed at Forrest for two days while waiting 30 | F L I G H T PAT H

VH-UVK at Maylands, Perth, 22 August 1935, with a fading registration but still carrying its race number 36.

for the airfield’s dirt surface to harden after heavy rains. He eventually reached Perth in a flying time of eight hours and 55 minutes. This was still an impressive time when compared with the two full days’ flying of the WAA Perth-Adelaide DH.89 Rapide service. Soon after its return to Maylands Woods flew the Vega in the Perth Aerial Derby and put up a better time than a visiting RAAF Hawker Demon fighter! The Vega was now stored in the MMA hangar at Maylands for eight months awaiting clarification of its airworthiness status. On 19 June 1936 VH-UVK was test flown by Miller for formal granting of its Australian C of A and it was finally officially added to the Australian Civil Register on 23 June. After several local flights, the Vega was off to Adelaide again on 5 October. Captain Woods flew the trip in seven hours and ten minutes and even landed at Blyth, S.A., on the last leg into Parafield from Ceduna. On the way back to Perth, four days later, Woods spent thirty minutes searching in the Zanthus area, near Kalgoorlie, W.A., for the visiting Dutch fliers W.D. Rous and H.J. Van Beckman who were missing in their DH.87B Hornet Moth PK-WDR. (They were later located on a clay-pan where they had forced landed without damage.) The Vega now settled into the role that Horrie Miller envisaged, that of occasional charter work and fast communications flights between his two MMA bases in Perth and Adelaide. It was uneconomical to use on the regular airline routes, although its performance would have considerably reduced the

flying time to Daly Waters, which was serviced by the plodding Dragons. The big Lockheed ranged all over Western Australia. It regularly flew charters and sometimes picked up mail from delayed scheduled flights and delivered it to Perth. The next Adelaide trip was 17 November 1936 to take a Mr and Mrs Newman from Kalgoorlie to Parafield. It returned to Perth three days later with a Mrs Boeri who was bound for Bunbury, W.A. She was transferred from the Vega to a Fox Moth at Maylands for the last leg of her journey. Horrie Miller flew VH-UVK in the Aerial Derby at Maylands on 9 January 1938 and, on 5 May, he flew the Vega into the newly built RAAF Station at Bullsbrook (soon named RAAF Pearce). On 10 November James Woods took the Vega from Perth to Darwin in fourteen hours and twenty minutes, stopping en route at the MMA ports of Geraldton, Port Hedland, Broome, Noonkanbah, Fitzroy Crossing and Wyndham, and returned three days later via Wyndham, Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Noonkanbah, Derby, Broome, Port Hedland, Whim Creek, Roebourne, Onslow, Carnarvon and Geraldton. This was to be the aircraft’s last long flight for some time because, apart from occasional test flights at Maylands, and even a day’s joyriding on 13 April 1940, the Vega remained in its hangar. On 2 June 1941 Miller flew up to Geraldton, returning to Perth the following day, and in August MMA applied, for the first time, to have the Vega included on their airline licence as losses of their fleet to RAAF impressments had criti-

VH-UVK at Port Hedland, W.A., in November 1938.

the Vega was accepted by the RAAF at No. 1 Aircraft Depot, Laverton, Victoria, on 11 November 1941 and taken on charge the next day under serial A42-1 cally reduced their ability to carry on their north-west service which had extended from Daly Waters through to Darwin. However, the Vega was not to enter airline service because, in November, it was taken from MMA for the RAAF under Requisition Number 9020. A C of A renewal was carried out in the MMA workshops at Maylands for the last time prior to the handover to the RAAF. The logbook showed that VH-UVK had flown only 246 hours. At the end of its ferry flight from Perth, the Vega was accepted by the RAAF at No. 1 Aircraft Depot, Laverton, Victoria, on 11 November 1941 and taken on charge the next day under serial A42-1. After being painted into a camouflage scheme at Laverton, A42-1 was issued to Northern Area HQ, in need of a fast communications aircraft, and was ferried up to the Northern Territory in late December. The Vega ground-looped violently on 17 June 1942 while landing at Cairns, Queensland. The rear wing spar was broken and the ailerons and wing tips were damaged. The damaged aircraft was trucked to Townsville where it was stored under the care of 24 and 33 Squadrons before being trucked the thousand miles (1600 kilometres) to Brisbane where the aircraft was received by the oddly named Aircrafts Pty Ltd in their Archerfield hangar on 12 October. The lengthy repair job by APL, under contract to the RAAF, was finally completed on 10 November 1943 and later that month the Vega was issued to No. 3 Communications Unit (3 CU).

After several months on general communication duties with 3 CU, the Vega was declared surplus to RAAF requirements and issued to the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) on 9 March 1944 for disposal. At first it was intended to issue the aircraft to Ansett Airways to supplement their Airspeed Envoy on their Hamilton-Melbourne service. The DCA, however, was concerned by RAAF reports that pilots had experienced longitudinal instability when flying the Vega. A series of flight tests were conducted on the aircraft, and as a result of these tests it was decided not to issue the Vega to Ansett. It was to be held by 3 CU at Mascot Airport, Sydney, awaiting a decision on its fate. Its transfer to the DCA was delayed

again in October while awaiting the installation of a new Wasp engine. Lengthy correspondence began between the RAAF and the DCA as the aircraft was now unserviceable, due to the engine and other maintenance requirements, and the RAAF did not wish to carry out any further work as it was due for disposal. The DCA felt that, if the aircraft was sold to a civil purchaser, stability tests would have to be carried out and probably would require a major rebuild of the airframe. The Department, therefore, recommended to the RAAF that the aircraft should be scrapped. On 28 August 1945 Butler Air Transport wrote to the DCA expressing their desire to obtain the Vega which had been standing in the weather at Mascot for over six months. On 12 October, however, the RAAF allotted the aircraft to No. 2 C.R.D. at Richmond for conversion to components and on that day the old aeroplane was dismantled at Mascot and trucked to RAAF Richmond for scrapping. Three days later James Woods in Perth telegrammed DCA advising that he wished to purchase the ageing Vega. He had inspected his old aircraft at Mascot when he passed through earlier that year in February and March while ferrying ex-RAAF DH.86s VHUSW and VH-USF from Brisbane to Perth for MMA. Woods was no doubt interested in the Vega for his Perth to Rottnest Island airline that he wished to establish as soon as wartime aviation restrictions were lifted. His later plans to import a Republic RC-3 Seabee amphibian were thwarted by the period currency exchange restrictions and his oneman-airline finally began operating over the 25-mile (40 kilometre) route in March 1948 with two Avro Ansons. When the DCA replied to Woods that the Vega was to be scrapped because of its alleged stability problems, Jimmy Woods angrily telegrammed, “Having flown this machine more than anyone else in Australia I am fully aware of its capabilities and cannot see any justification for any such action.” However the DCA remained firm and bluntly advised Woods that “the Department will not renew the C of A of Lockheed Vega VH-UVK.” In October 1945 the once proud Vega was broken up, with axes, for scrap metal in a far corner of Richmond RAAF Base.

THE AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA The Aviation Historical Society (AHSA) was formed in 1959 and has members in all Australian states and in several overseas countries. Part of our Statement of Purpose is: • To encourage and assist the research and writing of Australian aviation history. • To record the achievements of Australian aviation and its people. • To produce journals relating to Australian aviation history. Since the inception of the AHSA a Journal has been produced. Now titled “Aviation Heritage”, published quarterly, it covers all aspects of Australian civil and military aviation and is now in its 45th volume. A quarterly Newsletter gives information on current events and short historical articles. Visit www.ahsa.org.au for further information and to download a membership application form. Or email: [email protected] F L I G H T PAT H | 31

Cobra in the Clouds By South Pacific Correspondent Michael John Claringbould

At 7,000 feet above sea level, large chunks of wreckage lie scattered down a steep slope while an engine block can be found deep within a narrow ravine below. This is a remote site even by New Guinea standards. It is clear from the jagged tears in the structural parts of the airframe that the aircraft impacted at high speed.

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his Bell P-39 Airacobra was not a victim of the Japanese. It encountered a more dangerous adversary; one that claimed nearly seventy per cent of Allied aircraft losses in New Guinea - the weather. Unusually, it is a Q-model and one of the few lost on operations in the region. Airacobras operated in New Guinea throughout the duration of the war (commencing in April 1942 with D-models and ending with N- and Q-models at Tadji as late as July 1945). These Tadji workhorses conducted mopping up operations with the USAAF’s 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (TRS). Equipped with .50in calibre gun packs bolted to their wings, these aircraft attacked pockets of emaciated Japanese troops retreating along New Guinea's northern littoral. The wreck in question is Airacobra P-39Q-5-BE (serial 4219959). Assigned to the 36th Fighter Squadron (FS) of the 8th Fighter Group (FG), it was one of three P-39Qs lost on 28 October 1943 to a towering weather front. In late 1943 the 8th FG boasted the largest variety of aircraft flown by any USAAF unit in New Guinea. It was equipped with a mixed bag of fighters including Lockheed P-38 Lightnings, Curtiss P-40N Warhawks, Republic P-47D Thunderbolts and, surprisingly for this late in the war, the obsolete Airacobras. Operated exclusively by the 36th FS, the squadron's pilots were unhappy with their secondhand Airacobras while their contemporaries were operating high performance mounts such as the coveted Lightning. MAIN: A line-up of 36th FS P-39N and Q-models, at Ward’s Drome in November 1943, shortly after they were allocated identifying letters. In the foreground is P-39Q-5 42-19953. Note the .50in calibre gun pack attached to the starboard wing. This taxy area is now a street in Port Moresby’s industrial area not far from Ward’s High School.

TOP: The dark circle shows the planned patrol area, the initial route flown by the four aircraft and the three crash locations (two of which are confirmed). [Images via the author] LEFT: Pilot Bill Melville during training in the U.S. He remains ‘Missing In Action’ along with Pitonyak and Fenn. [Via Tim Streeter]

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ABOVE; A rare shot of a 36th FS P-39Q on patrol near Port Moresby in October 1943. BELOW: P-39Q-5 (serial 42-20013) was transferred from the 36th FS to the 82nd TRS at the beginning of 1944. There it was named ‘Moise II’. The previous owner’s white circular fuselage band has been retained.

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Aware of the aircraft’s lack of performance, it was decided to remove them from front line duty and instead assign them to armed reconnaissance missions. In October 1943 the squadron found itself operating from Ward's Drome (also known as 5-Mile) behind the town of Port Moresby and a long way from the threat of aerial combat. On the fateful day of 28 October 1943, four were tasked to patrol the mountainous area between Bulldog and Nadzab. It had been months since enemy aircraft had roamed over Port Moresby and it was rare indeed to encounter any south of Nadzab. Such a patrol appears superfluous, with the benefit of hindsight, apart from the purpose of maintaining pilot proficiency.

The officer assigned to lead the formation was First Lieutenant John Perkins. As they launched from Ward’s at 15:10, the sky ahead of their planned flight path was threatening. Perkins climbed his formation, split into two pairs, to 20,000 feet. On Perkins' wing was Second Lieutenant William Melville, from Edina (a suburb of Minneapolis), Minnesota. They were followed by the second flight led by First Lieutenant Francis Pitonyak and his wingman Second Lieutenant George Fenn. Perkins guided the flight over the coast to avoid a build-up of cloud over the ranges. At such high altitude, without superchargers, the Airacobras were sluggish to control. The Airacobra had a reputation of tumbling during a stall. It

At such high altitude, without superchargers, the Airacobras were sluggish to control could also enter a flat spin (and sometimes an inverted flat spin) if it was not carrying ammunition, or the equivalent ballast, for the cannon in the nose. The four had been flying for an hour when they became engulfed in high-level and pervasive cloud. The turbulence increased and caused Perkins to suddenly lose control of his aircraft. He later reported that he spun out of formation and dropped 11,000 feet before regaining control. In limited visibility, and with no hope of climbing back to locate the others, he estimated he recovered 25 nautical miles (46 kilometres) north of Bulldog in the foothills of the Owen Stanley Range. None of his subsequent radio calls to his comrades solicited any response as Perkins

LEFT: The fin of Melville's Airacobra reveal the numerals ‘219’ stenciled over an all-white fin. The yellow and red tip markings, where the white has worn away, indicate that this aircraft had previously served with both the 40th and 41st FS of the 35th FG. The white fin was an identification marking which appeared on USAAF fighters in New Guinea from late 1943. BELOW: An artist's impression of Melville briefly leading Pitonyak and Fenn after flight leader Perkins had dropped away. The white circular band around the nose was a marking unique to 36th FS P-39Qs. Around November 1943, each of the squadron's Airacobras received a white identifying letter just behind this band. The purpose of the white leading edges and white tails was to help distinguish friend from foe. [Artwork info@ aerothentic.com]

F L I G H T PAT H | 35

All alone, Melville must have tried to return to Port Moresby in parlous conditions.

headed back to Ward’s Drome where he landed at 17:05. It is unknown what the remaining three pilots did after Perkins fell away but, assuming his estimated position is reasonably accurate, conclusions can be drawn from their crash locations. Perkins had flown the route before, and had used landmarks on the coastline below as markers for the turn towards Bulldog, so it is fair to assume he had a good idea of where he was. After Perkins fell from view, the three pilots would have tried to stay together and maintain formation. It appears they sensibly decided shortly thereafter to change course for home. However Pitonyak (in 42-19987) and Fenn (in 42-20031) appear to have become separated from Melville based on the distance between their crash sites. At some point Pitonyak stalled and spun thousands of feet before crashing in swampy terrain near the Lakekamu River. When his relatively intact Airacobra was identified in 1984 his remains were missing. Perhaps he was ejected from the cockpit by the violent force of the flat spin (the flattened airframe indicates the type of vertical impact which would result from such a spin). Fenn's Aira-

cobra has not been identified but a substantial crater containing the fragmented wreckage of an American fighter is located not far from Pitonyak's wreck and is possibly the resting place of Fenn and his aircraft. If this is the case, then it appears Fenn entered a terminal spiral dive, perhaps in an effort to follow Pitonyak. All alone, Melville must have tried to return to Port Moresby in parlous conditions. He was about thirty degrees off course which tracked him over the Owen Stanleys instead of the safer conditions of the coast. This suggests he was flying in poor visibility, if not on instruments, or perhaps he simply wanted to get home via the quickest route. Judging by the distance he crashed from Pitonyak's aircraft, we can conclude he remained airborne for at least a further twenty minutes after Pitonyak and Fenn disappeared. The extreme condition of Melville's wreck indicates he entered a spiral dive from which he could not recover. The crash site was examined by the U.S. military in the 1990s. Sadly, to this day, Pitonyak, Melville and Fenn remain 'Missing in Action'.

The author holds the door of Melville’s P-39Q in September 2014. The door had been placed by villagers at the bottom of the mountainous crash site to mark a hunting trail.

36 | F L I G H T PAT H

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Lockheed’s Leading Transport Twins For many years the Lockheed Corporation of Burbank, California, ran an advertising campaign with the tagline of ‘Look to Lockheed for Leadership’. It was an apt slogan for the era of the Lockheed twins-engine transports. James Kightly takes a brief look at some of the highlights of the story of the piston-powered Lockheed Electras and their family.

T

he story starts with the reconstitution of the bankrupt Lockheed business and the successful revision of the Lockheed 10 Electra design in 1933. Rapid advances in metallurgy and engine design, coupled with more sophisticated aircraft systems enabled Lockheed to switch from monocoque wooden single engine types to a retractable twin design of then revolutionary all-metal stressed skin construction. It is easy to overlook now, but the fact that an all-metal Lockheed was effectively weatherproof while left out on an airfield, and did not required the maintenance, checks and care the contemporary wood and fabric covered types required, was one key selling point. A Lockheed 10 was much more expensive to buy, but would require far less care, last longer, and be ready to go for a day’s work more easily. Once a successful design was established, Lockheed developed it into new machines, all iterations of the original concept. Unusu-

ally, most of the development was successful parallels in both military and civil versions or types. So how did it all start?

The first Electra, the Lockheed 10

The Lockheed 10 Electra we are familiar with is now a classic design layout for transports of the era. But it didn’t start out that way. The original concept, a big leap into new territory for Lockheed, had a conventional single vertical surface, a then-fashionable undercut reversed windscreen and wing fillets. On paper, the design was sound, followed period best practice, and looked destined for success. But a model was put into a wind tunnel, and a newly-hired young engineer by the name of Kelly Johnson said: “Practically the first thing I told Chappellet and Hibbard [Lockheed secretary, & chief engineer respectively] was that their plane was unstable and that I didn’t agree with the univer-

sity’s wind-tunnel report.” After 72 more wind tunnel tests, the Electra had acquired twin tails (enabling better control for the pilots) and lost the wing fillets (and later, a more conventional ‘Vee’ windscreen replaced the unusual, but then fashionable ‘undercut’ example). The revisions made a cleaner design, both aesthetically (more important than it might at first seem in the developing airline industry) and aerodynamically. In the ‘Streamline Moderne’ era, the natural metal, highly-polished Lockheed 10 was a literal reflection of the newest engineering and art of the age, and the aircraft found a ready niche and sales. However, successful as it was, there was clearly an opportunity for a slightly smaller, faster executive version, and a larger version with the greater number of seats airlines were beginning to find practical. First came the executive’s machine, the 12.

The Lockheed Hudson was a worldwide success, with T9465 being a donation of the Lockheed Vega factory employees to the British. [Authors Collection] 38 | F L I G H T PAT H

LEFT: As in America, the UK and Europe, Lockheed 10 Electras brought reliability and speed to key parts of Australia’s airline industry, here with Ansett [VIA The Airways Museum]

BELOW: Amelia Earheart is the most famous Lockheed Electra pilot. What is often forgotten is her aircraft was ultimately intended to be a flying laboratory for Purdue University, a group of female students are seen here, with Amelia is sitting on the aircraft’s nose. [Authors Collection]

Sidney Cotton, ed 12 Electra Junior, not least khe Loc t fas the for s use l cia Many found spe eras. [Authors Collection] , was fitted with hidden cam one of whose spyplanes, G-AFTL

This atmospheric shot shows the first Lockheed 10 Electra, still with the undercut windscreen. [Lockheed Archive]

F L I G H T PAT H | 39

ABOVE: Howard Hughes’ Lockheed Model 14 on arrival back at his starting position of Floyd Bennett Field, New York after flying around the world. [Authors Collection]

The Lockheed 12 ‘Electra Junior’

As a smaller offspring, in a very American way, the Model 12 was christened the ‘Electra Junior’. The similarities of the design are so close that the Model 10 and Model 12 are often confused, but when directly compared, the 12, as well as being smaller, is clearly sleeker, with a longer nose and tapered engine cowls. It looks fast standing still. Although aimed at a real and growing market, sales were remarkably low, and both the 10 and 12 were challenged by the more successful Beech 18. Nevertheless, while the substantial numbers of Lockheed 10s has declined over the years, with very few fliers remaining today, the Model 12 has remained popular throughout, with more fliers today surviving than Model 10 and Model 14s put together. A notable gathering of Model 12s took place at EAA’s AirVenture 2014 at Oshkosh. Back in the 1930s, a very impressive looking military version, the Model 212 was offered, but few were sold, all to the Dutch military in the Netherlands East Indies. However the global nature of W.W.II meant that many Lockheed 10s and 12s were impressed into service and performed sterling work. But it was to be the next model, the 14 that was actually factory manufactured by both Axis and Allies during the war.

The Lockheed 14 ‘Super Electra’

While the Model 10 fitted a niche, it was clear aircraft with a greater passenger seating were going to be in a growing market, so the Lockheed company took the Model 10 layout and produced a larger aircraft, with a much deeper fuselage (giving greater cabin headroom) and a more complex wing with Fowler type flaps. Though the layout was the same, the development of systems and a greater demand of the ca40 | F L I G H T PAT H

pability of these aircraft to fly safely in more marginal weather than had been possible meant the aircraft was a much more complex machine than its progenitor. It was heavier, landed faster and required very precise flying with less margin for error. Additionally, the common practice of late go-arounds on aborted landings could be lethal if carried out with the huge flaps fully deployed. Fixed leading edge slots were added, and the flying guidance for the type was revised, but pre-war the Model 14 was regarded as a ‘hot ship’ (tellingly, postwar its characteristics were conventional among these later peers). The Model 14 was sold around the world, and in one of the oddest twists, a licence was granted to Tachikawa to build over 100 of a Japanese version, while Kawasaki built another hundred of a derivative version. Thus the type was not only used by the Allies and Axis powers in W.W.II but also in production on both sides. Howard Hughes chose a Model 14 to fly around the world, a remarkable record allbut forgotten with the advent of the war, but inspired by the oportunitys of rearmament, Lockheed militarised the Model 14.

Lockheed Hudson

When Lockheed management heard that the British Purchasing Commission were in America in December 1838, they quickly pulled together a proposal for a military version of the Super Electra. The British were impressed, but required numerous changes. A small team swiftly worked the revisions through for a mockup and returned the result to the Commission to the Commission staff’s surprise. Lockheed were rewarded with an order, and the name ‘Hudson’, followed by other orders by Australia, New Zealand, Canada and later still the USA. Due to

The Lockheed 10 was used in many experimental programmes, including the major modification of the XC-35, a stratospheric research aircraft with turbocharged engines and a new, pressurized fuselage. [NASA]

being developed for the British Commonwealth the Hudson is an often an overlooked Lockheed military success in America.

Lockheed Model 18 ‘Lodestar’

While the Model 14 was a sound design, the quickly changing demands of the public and newly-viable airlines meant it was simply too small in passenger capacity to compete with the Douglas DC-3. Lockheed undertook one of the earliest airline ‘stretches’ by extending the fuselage length five and a half feet (1.68 metres) which allowed four more seats. This was designated the Model 18 ‘Lodestar’ still using the star names series the company was wedded to.

Ventura & PV

As the Model 14 begat the military version of the Hudson, the Model 18, was militarised with essentially the same changes into the Ventura (for the British Commonwealth) and the PV-1 for the U.S. Navy. However RAF Venturas were used in daylight raids on occupied Europe at great cost and the heavier Ventura never achieved the crew popularity that the Hudson had, in maritime and outside European use with the RAF. However in the

The Ventura did sterling work for the U.S. Navy as the PV-1. Note the prop contrails visible on the fuselage side. [USN]

LEFT: Kelly Johnson looks over a large scale wind-tunnel model of the Lockheed 10. Notice the helmeted cowlings, which were dispensed with before production. [Lockheed Archive] BELOW: An early design study of what became the Lockheed L44 Excalibur, and which itself was supplanted by the Constellation. [Authors Collection] Pacific, the RNZAF were very happy with them. The final development of this family was a ‘toughened up’ PV-1, the PV-2, with less compromised wing structure and notably different endplate fins to the preceding Lockheed twins. Named the Harpoon, it was primarily used for submarine hunting.

Steady Work

While the military twins of the family were quickly disposed of by the militaries at the war’s end in 1945, their adaptability and design as transports meant that most were kept working in numerous civil roles in large numbers for many years. Executive versions of the bigger examples were famous as the Howard 500 series, and at the other end of the working market, many continued as water bombers and in New Zealand as top dressers. In Australia, Hudsons soldiered on in airline service, post and news delivery, survey and many other roles. We are lucky that in Australia and New Zealand there are examples of most of these types in preservation, including the world’s only flying Model 14 Hudson, and there is good representation of these types, popular with their owners worldwide. F L I G H T PAT H | 41

The 1937 Lockheed 12-A, s/n 1262, VH-HID, picture Rob Fox

Lockheed’s Twins in Colour F

rom the polished but hard working 'aluminum' of the original Lockheed 10, via the highly polished executive schemes of the 12, the British Commonwealth camouflage of the Hudson and Ventura, and to the blues of the US Navy’s Patrol Bombers, Contributing Editor James Kightly has selected a range of period and some modern images, showcasing the Lockheed twins of the thirties and forties.

In colder climes, a beautiful image of an Alaska Star Airlines Lodestar 'Star Ancorage’. [Author’s collection]

Owner Doug Hamilton brings his Lockheed 12, VH-HID in at the Jamestown Airshow in South Australia. [Rob Fox]

44 | F L I G H T PAT H

FAR RIGHT: If you asked to your aircraft sales rep in 1935 about the Lockheed 10, this is the cover of the brochure you’d get. [Author’s collection] RIGHT: A very early 'Look to Lockheed…’ advert featuring the latest styles in aircraft - with a Lockheed 12- and clothing. [Author’s collection]

The deep blue of a wartime colour image featuring a Lockheed Harpoon of the U.S.Navy. [USN]

The only Lockheed Hudson flying anywhere in the world, Temora Aviation Museum’s VH-KOY was restored by Malcolm Long, flying again in 1993. [Rob Fox]

Lockheed 12 VH-ABH ‘Silver City’ kicks up the dust at an outback Queensland fly-in. [John Freedman]

F L I G H T PAT H | 45

RIGHT: Lockheed had a major advertising campaign throughout W.W.II to keep their company’s name in front of the public. In this great poster we can see (clockwise from top left) the P-38 Lightning, Ventura, forthcoming Constellation, Hudson and Lodestar, all girdling the globe, perhaps a dig at competitor Douglas’ logo. [Author’s collection] FAR RIGHT: The rare Lockheed 212 in ‘Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger’ (Military Aviation of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army) colours.The dozen built all went to this air arm. [Author’s collection]

Seen in happier days outside at Point Cook is the RAAF Museum’s Ventura, now in store after a forced landing. [Barry Maclean]

46 | F L I G H T PAT H

FAR LEFT: This Hudson poster, based on a real event where a U Boat was captured, was produced with space for regional overprints (in red, here, for Australia). The poster series were also printed in other languages such as French (for Canada) and Spanish (for Latin America). Note how not just the RAAF get a look in, but the WAAAF and ATC as well. [Author’s collection]

LEFT: A rare example of a Spanish poster, here for the Lockheed Vega built PV-1. [Author’s collection] A newly-built PV-1 in the tri-tone U.S.Navy scheme cruises up the California coastline in 1943. [Lockheed]

Three preserved Lockheed Electra Juniors at a Fly-in held by Les Whittlesey held at Chino, Ca. in October 2007. [Frank Mormillo] LEFT: One of the dangerous roles undertaken by civil aircraft in W.W.II was operating around occupied Europe. Here, Lodestar G-AGIH, used to fly into Sweden from Scotland, is seen in British Overseas Airways Corporation colours, at the Forsvarets Flysamling, museum, Gardermoen, Norway [Paaln]

F L I G H T PAT H | 47

Lockheed’s The standards set by the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2 airliners in the mid-1930s led to the major North American aircraft manufacturers rushing to develop a successor that would capture a large share of the massively expanding air transport market. Douglas did it with the DC-3. One of its competitors, the Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar, proved to be a very capable aircraft that would become a commercial success for its manufacturer. Luigino Calario went air-to-air with one of the very active survivors of the type.

48 | F L I G H T PAT H

D

eveloped from the Lockheed Super Electra, the Lodestar inherited its predecessor’s excellent performance, which was actually better than the DC3, and was used extensively by several major airlines. Trans Canada Airlines, for example, preferred the aircraft for all of its routes transiting the Rocky Mountains. The Lodestar’s seatmile cost was, despite the improvements made to the basic Super Electra design, slightly more than the DC-3. It came down, as always, to economics, and many of the North American airlines had already committed to buy the great all-rounder that was the Douglas DC-3. Considering its performance, and the high demand for transport aircraft at the time, the Lodestar was used by the military as a fast light transport. A range of engine and interior equipment configurations were used and each was given a different designation (C-56, C-57, C-59, or C-60). The Lodestar was also used for parachute training and for towing

The West Houston CAF Lockheed C-60A over Houston Bay during an airshow rehearsal. [All image Luigino Calario]

TOP: Carrying the nose art “Goodtime Gal”, this C-60A was built in 1943 and today is based at Hangar B-5, West Houston Airport. ABOVE : The C-60A in formation with another CAF transport the C-47 “Bluebonnet Belle” of the CAF Highland Lakes Squadron based at Burnet, TX. BELOW: The Lodestar’s the two P&W R-1830 Twin Was engines help give the Lodestar its credible flight performance.

the large Waco CG-4A glider. Many of the C-60 variants were based at South Plain Army Airfield in Lubbock, Texas (the largest glider training base in the United States). The C-60A was the most numerous variant with 325, out of a total of 625, built. Many of the aircraft were sold into private hands after the war, with large numbers serving in South America with small airlines. Today, the Houston Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force operates one of the few remaining airworthy military Lodestars and regularly displays it at major air shows. The aircraft was built by Lockheed in Burbank, California, in 1943 and assigned to the USAAF with the serial 42-56005, for use as a general transport on the home front. After the war it was sold, on 6 January 1945, to Skyways International Trading & Transport. It was allotted the registration NC45330. The Lodestar was subsequently sold to Nicaragua and modified to carry passengers by F L I G H T PAT H | 49

LEFT: Aubie Pearman, who made the C-60’s post restoration flight first flights on 26 August 2011, brings the Lodestar in close over Houston Bay. BELOW: Some of West Houston CAF members. Second from left Ulf Brynjestad, the aircraft coordinator, John Cotter West Houston CAF’s Chief of Ops and C-60 pilot, and Aubie Pearman (tallest) BOTTOM: The C-60A taxying on the Ellington tarmac during one of the first official air show appearances of the C-60A.

the national airline Lanica, and given the local registration AN-ADI. In the early fifties the aircraft returned to the U.S. to operate as an executive transport. It performed this task with a number of different corporations including General Dynamics and US Steel. The Lodestar was also used by several minor airlines and companies before being employed, in the early seventies, in atmosphere and weather research. After this interesting role it changed hands several times before, while resident in Alaska in 1992, it was converted to a jump aircraft for skydivers. In mid-2002 the aircraft was acquired by the Commemorative Air Force with the intent to restore it to fly. It was ferried to West Houston Airport which was home to the then West Houston Squadron of the CAF.

50 | F L I G H T PAT H

The CAF C-60A is configured as a paratroop transport, complete with jump lights and a static line hook-up as it served during military service.

The restoration was relatively straightforward as the Lodestar was in fairly good condition. Work concentrated on confirming the various systems were in working order and repairing some corrosion found in the wings. However, due to higher priority work, the restoration was put on hold in 2004 and only restarted in April 2010 with Ulf Brynjestadt taking on the role as project coordinator. After more than a year and around 2,500 hours of work, the Lodestar made its first high speed taxi-tests in June 2011, and made its first flight on 26 August 2011 wearing a typical military livery used by the USAAF during the war. Nicknamed ‘Goodtime Gal’, the aircraft also sports nose art reminiscent of the time. John Cotter, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner pilot, is an active member of the Houston Squadron and qualified to display the Lodestar. He is certainly a fan of the Lockheed. “The L-18 was the last twin-engine transport designed by Lockheed and was designed to compete with the Douglas DC3. It did not experience the widespread use [of] the DC-3 but was a great airplane. It has Wright 1820 engines, producing 1200HP, allowing a high-speed cruise of greater than 210 knots (389 km/h). We typi-

cally cruise our C60 around 160 knots (296 km/h) while using 95 gallons (360 litres) per hour total of 100LL fuel. When flying airshows with the C-47, we normally run about 28 inches of manifold pressure while the DC-3 will be running near climb power (34 inches) for similar airspeeds. So it is very apparent that the C60 can cruise faster on less power than the DC-3 but it is smaller and has a lower payload.” “Though it is capable of a high cruise speed, it is equally capable of landing at very slow speeds. The huge Fowler flaps allow approach speeds as low as 85 knots (157 km/h) with a touch down at 75 knots (139 km/h). Our home airfield is 3,999 feet (1,219 metres) long and is more than suitable for our C60. “Compared to other aircraft of its era, the Lockheed C60 is a joy to fly. I have flown the B-24 and currently fly the B-17. Both of these large W.W.II bombers are very heavy on the controls and sluggish to respond to aileron inputs. You might say they are truck-like. On the other hand the C60 is like a sports car. It is light on the controls, responsive and well balanced. In typical Lockheed fashion, it is a pilot’s airplane.”

The authentically restored C-60A’s instrument panel. CAF pilot enthused, “It is light on the controls, responsive and well balanced. In typical Lockheed fashion, it is a pilot’s airplane.”

F L I G H T PAT H | 51

The Grey Ghosts VMF(N)-531 By Alan C. Carey

The U.S. Marine Corps’ First Night Fighter Squadron

T

he threat of night attacks against Allied forces ashore and at sea by Japanese combat aircraft required the development and deployment of radar-equipped night fighters capable of successfully tracking and engaging enemy aircraft. The Marine Corps Night Fighter Squadron 531 became the first such American unit to be deployed in the Pacific Theatre and claimed twelve enemy aircraft destroyed between November 1943 and May 1944. Japanese military records researched by historian Minoru Kamada, strongly suggest that 531’s claims are fairly accurate, with the exception of misidentifying one enemy aircraft on 14 March 1944, and in the confirmation of the last score recorded on 11 May 1944. Major Frank H. Schwable (later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel) commissioned the service’s first dedicated night fighter unit at 52 | F L I G H T PAT H

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, on 16 November 1942. The Marines selected the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura medium bomber for conversation to a night fighter as it was the only aircraft suitable at the time capable of carrying the large and heavy electronics equipment, although the Navy and Vought Aircraft were running a parallel program to fit the F4U-1 Corsair with such night fighting capability. Training for 531 was hampered by the lack of trained personnel, shortage of spare parts, radar equipment, while the conversion of the PV-1 to a night fighter required extensive modifications to the aircraft’s electrical and oxygen systems. Major Schwable’s squadron arrived at Banika in the Russell Islands on 11 September 1943 and began night patrols immediately; however, between 14 September and 27 October, 531’s aircraft attempted to

close on seventeen enemy contacts but came up empty primarily due to the inexperience of the ground controllers and enemy aircraft dropping small pieces of aluminium foil (code-named ‘window’ by the British) to disrupt American radar by creating false radar returns. The first radar-guided kill occurred during the night of 13-14 November when Capt. Duane R. Jenkins conducted a Ground Control Interception (GCI)-vectored kill of a Mitsubishi G4M1‘Betty’ bomber belonging to the 702 Kokutai based at Vunakanau, Rabaul. Jenkins and his crew were flying Night Combat Air Patrol (NCAP) over Task Force 39, approximately 50 miles (80 kilometres) southwest of Torokina, Bougainville, when GCI vectored him towards a single bogey shadowing the convoy. This time, the airground team worked perfectly, with the ground controller providing updated chang-

LEFT: Officers of VMF(N)-531 at MCAS Cherry Point, NC on 12 December 1942 in front of an SNJ training aircraft. L-R are: Capt. Ross Mickey, Capt. Raymond George, Maj. Edward Hodgson, Lt. Col. Frank Schwable, Maj. John Harsberger, Capt. William Kellum, and 1st Lt. Duane Jenkins. Jenkins and his crew would score the squadron’s first two aerial victories in the South Pacific. [Emil Buehler Library, NMNA]

BELOW: The first was the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura modified to carry airborne radar which went into combat in the Pacific with Marine Squadron VMF(N)-531. This early model was camouflaged with Non-Specular Blue Gray upper surfaces and Non-Specular Light Gray lower surfaces. The national insignia was in effect from 20 May 1942 until 29 June 1943. [Author’s Collection]

‘GERTIE THE GOON’ (BuNo 29842) par ked at Bougainville during the spri ng of 1944 was the personal aircraft of the squadron’s executive officer Major John D. Harshberger who, wit h TSgt James S. Kinne and SSgt Walter E. Tiedeman, downed four Jap anese aircraft. [National Museum of Nava l Aviation Via Thom as E. Doll]

es in the bogey’s heading and altitude. Radar Operator (RO) Technical Sergeant Charles H. Stout, monitoring the onboard radar, picked up the contact at a range of a mile-and-a quarter (two kilometres) at the same altitude of 6,000 feet with the night fighter’s speed 20 knots (40 km/h) faster than the quarry’s 160 knots (300 km/h). Moments later the bogey came into sight and Jenkins recognised it as a Betty. The time was 04:18. The PV-1 closed from behind and from 800 feet, and Jenkins gave the bomber a four-second burst with the nose guns and the enemy aircraft’s engine nacelle flamed. The aircraft then went into shallow dive, and Jenkins caught it again with a short burst into the port wing root. He fired a third burst and Sergeant. Thomas J. Glennon in the top turret joined in with a two-second burst into the Betty’s fuselage. The Japanese bomber went into a steep dive and exploded upon hitting the water. The entire encounter had taken two minutes. Jenkins and his crew were lost in action three weeks later on 3 December while providing air cover for friendly transports of TG-31.6 and ships of Destroyer Squadron 23 off Torokina, Bougainville. The PV-1 arrived on station to find the ships under torpedo and bombing attacks by an estimated 15 to 25 aircraft. At 22:11 hours, eyewitnesses saw an aircraft shot down in flames, presumably by the PV-1. A few minutes later GCI followed the night fighter chasing another bogey and watched as the two blips merged. Communication with the PV-1 was lost, presumably either the enemy plane shot down Jenkins’ aircraft or the two collided. (Two G4Ms of the 751 Ku, part of a threeplane element, went missing that night.)

Unidentified member of VMF(N)-531 standing beside GERTIE THE GOON displaying the modified nose housing four .50 machine guns and above them the AV IV radar antenna. [National Museum of Naval Aviation via Thomas E. Doll]

F L I G H T PAT H | 53

RIGHT: Eight Ball (BuNo 29811) parked at Bougainville at the end of January 1944 apparently was flown by Captain Frank Abegg Jr., with radar operator Sgt Paul W. Eagen and gunner TSgt Merritt J. La Point. [Thomas E. Doll] BELOW: A crewman pushing one of the props on PV-1 ‘Eight Ball’ (BuNo 29811) flown on Vella Lavella in 1944. On the nose is a memorial tribute to Capt. Duane R. Jenkins, TSgt. Charles H. Stout, and Sgt. Thomas J. Glennon who were killed in action on 3 December 1943. [Eugene S. “Mule” Holmberg via Tailhook Association]

The night fighter’s radar operator, Technical Sergeant James S. Kinne Jr., spotted a bogey on his scope at the same time and began giving his pilots a course for interception.

A third Japanese plane fell to the guns of a 531 Ventura on 6 December at approximately 04:00 hours five miles west of Mutupina Point. Major Harshberger, second in command, lifted-off his aircraft Gertie The Goon (named after a character in the Popeye comic strip) at 21:20 and began orbiting over Empress August Bay. The radar station at Torokina Point alerted the PV-1 at 00:35 of a bogey closing towards him from the west. The night fighter’s radar operator, Technical Sergeant James S. Kinne Jr., spotted a bogey on his scope at the same time and began giving his pilots a course for interception. Harshberger closed too fast, overshooting the target, which took evasive action by making a sharp turn to starboard 54 | F L I G H T PAT H

which caused it to momentarily disappear from Kinne’s scope. The radar operator quickly told the pilot to make a sharp 180-degree turn and the blip reappeared. Harshberger slowed to 130 knots (240km/h), closed to within 2,500 feet of the contact and identified it silhouetted in the moonlight as an Aichi E13A ‘Jake’. At a distance of 800 feet (250 metres) he, and turret gunner Staff Sergeant Walter E. Tiedeman, fired bursts from slightly below the enemy aircraft. Immediately the Jake fell away to the right in flames and then crashed into the water. (This was possibly an E13A from the 938 Ku that failed to return after departing Buka at 22:00 hours to scout south of Bougainville.) Lieutenant Colonel Schwable scored the squadron’s fourth kill during the evening of 12 January 1944, taking off from North Piva airfield at 20:05 hours in PV-1 named Chloe with Bureau Number 29854. The patrol over Empress Augusta Bay was frustrating at first with the PV-1 losing two unidentified bogies in a cloudbank after RO Staff Sergeant Rob-

ert I. Ward established contact. Ground control alerted Schwable at 21:56 to a second bogey located 40 miles (65 kilometres) from Torokina, heading northwest, approximately 12 miles (20 kilometres) from the Ventura’s location. Schwable made a 180-degree turn towards the bogey at the direction of ground control and headed for the interception. The cooperation between a well-trained ground controller, airborne radar operator, and pilot worked extremely well this time. Two minutes after initial contact the bogey was ten miles (16 kilometres) from the night fighter and the controller gave Schwable another course change to port. A minute later the PV-1 closed the distance to two miles (four kilometres) with the target moving from port to starboard; the controller then gave another course correction to starboard. Five minutes into the chase, Ward picked up the bogey on his scope. Fletcher sighted a Nakajima B5N Katesome 3,000 feet away. Closing to 500 feet (150 metres) Schwable and Fletcher fired at it simultaneously, and immediately the target exploded and burst into flames. In order

to avoid the wreckage, the pilot swung hard left and even from the enclosed space of the night fighter, he felt the scorching heat from the burning plane as the Ventura’s right wing barely cleared the flaming debris. The Kate exploded again just before it hit the water. (It has since been identified as tail code 2/46D of the 42nd Shotai from the carrier Zuikaku.) On 5 February Schwable and his crew aboard PV-1Chloe was vectored by an Army controller at onto a bogey cruising at an altitude of 15,000 feet. The night fighter above Empress Augusta Bay at 10,000 feet had to climb another 5,000 feet to meet the target; the rated altitude limit of 531’s aircraft due to the persistent problems with the oxygen system was 15,000 feet. The Army ground controller on duty continued to feed accurate information to Schwable and his radar operator as the night fighter continued to close in on the unsuspecting Japanese aircraft. Staff Sergeant Ward was able to make radar contact at a range of two miles and the keen eyes of Sergeant Fletcher in the top turret picked up the bogey flying above them 7,000 feet (two kilometres) away and informed the pilot. Schwable picked it up visually but he had to take his attention away from the bogey and focus on the instrument panel to watch the night fighter’s airspeed and rate of climb. It wasn’t too difficult to maintain eye contact with the target in the moonlight, and the pilot told Sgt. Ward to leave his scope and watch the bogey through the cockpit windscreen. When the distance closed to 3,000 and Schwable was comfortable with the aircraft’s speed and rate of climb, Ward went back to his scope and began reading off the range. The PV-1 closed to within 700 feet before Schwable could identify it as a G4M Betty (one of eight such aircraft of the 751 Ku that departed Rabual at different

hours to search Dampier Straight and bomb Mono Island). The night fighter was slightly below and behind the bomber when Colonel Schwable opened fire with the four nosemounted .50-calibre guns and Sergeant Fletcher followed suit in the top turret, hitting the bomber's fuselage. The bomber turned to starboard in an attempt to escape, only to be hit by another burst from Fletcher’s guns. A third burst sent the Betty into a near vertical spin before crashed with a tremendous explosion as it hit the water. Four days later the squadron suffered its third loss of a plane and crew when PV-1 Double Trouble (BuNo 33253) piloted by 1st Lieutenant Clifford W. Watson took off at 18:15 hours in heavy rain from Barakoma, Vella Lavella for a staging hop to Torokina. Just as the wheels left the ground at the strip’s south end, the plane crashed into the water and burst into flames killing Watson and Sergeants Jack H. Shirk and George E. Brogna; a crash boat sent to the scene failed to recover the crew’s remains. Four-and-ahalf hours after the loss of Watson’s plane, Lieutenant Colonel Harshberger lifted Gertie The Goon off the same airstrip for another patrol over Empress Augusta Bay. On 10 February, nearly two hours into a patrol, Torokina radar station directed Lieutenant Colonel Harshberger to climb to 13,000 feet and vectored him towards a bogey flying at 15,000 feet 25 miles (40 kilometres) away. Sixteen minutes later, at 03:45 hours, radar operator Technical Sergeant Kinne made contact with a bogey at a range of two miles. Gertie The Goon began climbing to 15,000 feet to match the bogie’s altitude. Closing to within 4,000 feet (1,200 metres) Technical Sergeant Kinne realised they were tracking two enemy aircraft when the large blip split in half and turret gunner Technical Sergeant Tiedeman confirmed it when he identified the two bogies as G4M

ABOVE: An unidentified member of VMF(N)-531 standing beside CHLOE which bares three aerial victory markings. A white musical scale is painted white under the black lettering and note painted over windows. [Jeff Millstein via Thomas E. Doll]

TOP: Unlike the Air Force, the Navy and Marine Corps began their night fighter program with existing aircraft in the inventory. First was the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura modified to carry airborne radar which went into combat in the Pacific with Marine Squadron VMF(N)-531. Lockheed PV-1 Ventura (BuNo 29854) CHLOE on Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands on 13 January 1944. This aircraft with tri-color paint scheme and black aircraft number 53 on the cowling was assigned to Lt. Col. Frank H. Schwable. [Tailhook Association] F L I G H T PAT H | 55

ABOVE: Flight line of VMF(N)-531 PV-1s parked alongside a coral runway at Vella Lavella in April of 1944. Each of the aircraft display the standard three-colour scheme used at the time. [Fred Price/’Mule’ Holmberg via Thomas E. Doll] LEFT: First Lietenant Marvin Notestine (right) and his radar operator Sgt Ed Benintende stand beside ‘Little Stud’. squadron number white 55 (BuNo 33247). The other crewmen where Sgt Walter Kinn and TSgt Arthur W. Guant. Notestine and crew scored - 531’s final victory in May 1944. [Ed Benintende via Thomas E. Doll]

Tiedeman swung his turret back in the direction of the bomber to the left, and fired three bursts into it

Betty bombers flying in formation (the aircraft belonged to the 751 Ku on a mission to bomb American positions on Mono Island). As Harshberger closed to within 2000 feet, both Japanese aircraft began firing their 20 mm tail cannon. Harshberger targeted the Betty to the left and opened fire with his six nose guns hitting the bomber’s belly. Tiedeman fired a short burst at the same Betty and, thinking his pilot had it under control, swung his guns around and began firing at the enemy plane on the right. At this point the PV-1 was itself hit in the nose, putting five of the six guns out of commission. However, Harshberger continued to fire with the remaining weapon. While the Ventura pilot dealt with one Betty, Tiedeman fired a burst into the tail gun position of the G4M on the right, which then peeled off out of range, leaving his comrade to fend for himself. Tiedeman swung his turret back in the direction of the bomber to the left, and fired three bursts into it. The bomber began to burn internally, the intensity of the glow rapidly increasing, and the Betty’s fuselage 56 | F L I G H T PAT H

took on the appearance of a brightly lit sieve caused by the holes punched into it from the Ventura’s guns. The stricken bomber continued to maintain its course and altitude for a few more seconds before going into a steep nosedive and then crashing into the water. With his fuel nearly gone, and his radio knocked out, Harshberger turned for home and landed safely with only 70 gallons (260 litres) of fuel left. At Piva on the night of 15 February, Lieutenant Colonel Schwable went on NCAP to cover the amphibious force assigned for the invasion of Green Islands. The primary target for the invasion force, composed of Australian and New Zealand troops, was Nissan, an eight-mile long atoll with a Japanese-built airstrip. The Allies deemed Nissan a worthwhile acquisition due to its strategic location from the major Japanese bases of Kavieng, Rabaul, and Truk. Fighter director Lieutenant Reginald Dupuy, who was operating from an American destroyer, coached the PV-1 towards a bogey in the process of dropping flares in an apparent effort to locate the invasion force. The bogey’s constant changing of direction and altitude made it difficult for Dupuy to get an accurate reading to guide Schwable, so the PV-1’s crew had to rely on non-specific information to guide them to the enemy plane. The fighter director was able to obtain a general altitude reading of 7,000 feet on the bogey, with a location of ten miles west of Nissan. Schwable took Chloe up for an interception and, based on Dupuy’s information, Sgt. Ward was able to make con-

tact on his scope. Schwable saw the plane when the Ventura closed to 2,000 feet (600 metres) and identified it as an E13A ‘Jake’ floatplane assigned to the 958 Ku on a scouting mission to locate American transport ships. The night fighter’s nose and top turret guns opened fire hitting the Jake’s engine compartment causing it to lose airspeed. It then went into a lazy left hand diving turn. The descending floatplane rapidly caught fire and the blazing mass tumbled into the sea. During the early morning hours of 17 February, the squadron’s controller Captain Owen M. Hines located a bogey on a reconnaissance mission of Nissan Island and vectored Schwable in for the kill. Staff Sergeant Ward acquired the target on his screen at a range of 5,000 feet (1,500 metres) and the enemy aircraft was spotted visually as a Jake at 2,000 feet (600 metres). Closing to within 300 feet (100 metres) Schwable fired his nose guns followed by Sergeant Fletcher’s top turret guns. The Jake literally disintegrated under the weight of fire, its wings folding up. It was the fourth and last victory credited to Lieutenant Colonel Schwable and his crew, making them the leading night fighter team in the Pacific at that time. The Colonel resumed the patrol until being relieved by 1st Lieutenant Jack M. Plunkett and his crew who went on to score the squadron’s second aerial victory of the night. Vectored by Captain Hines to nearly the same location, ten miles (16 kilometres) west of Nissan, as Lieutenant Colonel Schwable’s interception, Lieutenant Plunkett’s radar operator Staff Sergeant Floyd M. Pul-

ham picked up the bogey dead ahead threequarters of a mile away and at an altitude of 4,000 feet. Plunkett put the Ventura into a dive from its altitude of 5,000 feet, picking up airspeed as he did do, which would potentially cause the plane to overshoot the target. Pulham told the pilot to slow down and Plunkett put the plane into slowing “S” turns, dropped flaps and reduced throttle, causing airspeed to fall from 160 to 90 knots (300/160km/h). Plunkett saw the Jake from 400 feet (120 metres) away and fired several bursts. The mortally wounded floatplane nosed over into a vertical dive and hit the water exploding on impact. Japanese records show two aircraft losses in the general area – a Jake from the 958 Ku, location of loss unknown, and a Betty from the 751 Ku lost while heading towards Green Island. Ground control vectored Lieutenant Colonel Harshberger on 19 February onto a Jake, with Tech Sgt. Kinne’s expertise with radar guiding the pilot to within 300 feet (90 metres) of the enemy floatplane, whereupon Harshberger unleashed the full power of the Ventura’s six nose guns. The .50-caliber machine gun rounds tore into the floatplane’s fuselage, causing it to burst into flames and drop away in a steep vertical dive into the water (one from the 958 Ku went missing on this date while on a scouting mission). Landing back at Piva Airfield, Bougainville, Harshberger received the news that the squadron had lost its fourth plane and crew. Lost on a strafing mission in PV-1 33089 were 1st Lieutenant Thaddeus M. Banks and Staff Sergeants Burnell C.Bowers and Gilbert Jones.

Japanese air power in the Solomon Islands, by the end of February 1944, had been reduced to a handful of aircraft primarily based at Rabaul with 531 only encountering a pair of enemy aircraft between 19 February and 11 May 1944. Lieutenant Colonel Harshberger’s team on 14 March engaged one of the few surviving Japanese aircraft in the area; their fourth which tied them with Lieutenant Colonel Schwable’s crew. Fortyfive minutes after take-off, Technical Sergeant Kinne established contact at a range of 8,000 feet over Empress Augusta Bay. Closing to 1,500 feet (500 metres) the pilot identified the aircraft as an E16A1 Paul – which would have been the first such sighting of this new Aichi floatplane. Firing his guns from 300 feet (90 metres), Harshberger quickly sent the aircraft down in flames. However, the crew misidentified the enemy aircraft, as the E16A1 did not operate in the South Western Pacific Area, and the only recorded missing Japanese aircraft for that day was a Jake from the 958Ku. On 21 March, the squadron lost two aircraft and their crews when PV-1 BuNo 33079 and another named Gramps (BuNo 29870) collided in mid-air. 1st Lieutenant Marvin E. Notestine and his crew had taken off at 05:20 and patrolled until 06:30 hours, when the PV-1 headed for home. Gramps flown by 2nd Lieutenant Marion M. Pierce and Lieutenant Wilber E. Birdsall in 33079 joined up with Notestine and the trio flew in formation towards Vella Lavella. Twenty minutes later Lt Pierce's wing clipped Lieutenant Birdsall's, causing Pierce's Ventura to burst into flames and Birdsall's PV-1 to enter an unrecovera-

ABOVE: VMF(N)-531 PV-1s parked alongside Vella Lavella's coral runway in April, 1944. [Fred Price/’Mule’ Holmberg via Thomas E. Doll]

ble spin. Notestine barely avoided colliding with Gramps as both PV-ls plunged into the sea, killing all on board the two aircraft. The squadron recorded its final successful aerial victory two months later on 11 May when 1st Lieutenant Notestine and his crew (Sergeant E H Benintende and Corporal W M Kinn) claimed an interception of a Jake while over the St. George Channel. Notestine, according to the after action report, saw the floatplane pass in the opposite direction some 200 feet below him, so he turned his PV-1 around and chased the Jake into the enemy’s naval base at Rabaul's Simpson Harbour. The Jake was preparing to land when Notestine fired a burst at a range of 400 feet (120 metres) causing the floatplane to burst into flames and plummet into the harbour. Thus, the squadron recorded the unit's twelfth and final victory. In all, two crews scored eight of the squadron’s twelve victories-those of Lieutenant Colonel Schwable and his executive officer Major Harshberger. At the conclusion of 531's tour, Commander, Aircraft, Solomon Islands Brigadier General Earl W. Barnes praised the unit's record, noting that the dramatic reduction in enemy night air activity, “…has been largely due to the successful efforts of VMF(N)-531, operating with antiquated equipment and an abundance of personal effort and ability of all members of the organization.” F L I G H T PAT H | 57

HILLSON PRAGA By Neil Follett

VH-UVP at Camden Aerodrome. [VIA Camden Historical Society]

T

he Praga E.114 first flew in 1934. and was designed by Jaroslav Šlechta and built at Karlín, a suburb of Prague, Czechoslovakia. Known as the Air Baby because of its light weight, the E.114 was powered by a 36 hp (27 kW) two-cylinder Praga B engine. The second prototype flew to Heston, England, in August 1935 on a demonstration tour and attracted the attention of wood-working business F. Hills and Sons Ltd. The firm liked what it saw, despite having built just one Mignet HM.14 Pou-de-Ceil (Flying Flea) previously, and acquired a licence to build the type in England. Production began in Manchester and the aircraft was known as the Hillson Praga. The Praga engine was also built in Britain under licence by Jowett Cars Ltd. F. Hills and Sons, formed in 1921, primarily made doors and furniture. They were to be contracted by Percival Aircraft to build Proctors during W.W.II so the decision to build the Praga had a significant bearing on the firm’s future. 58 | F L I G H T PAT H

Three Pragas were brought to Australia by (and initially registered to) D. Macarthur-Onslow trading as Light Aircraft Pty Ltd (known as Light Aircraft). In an advertisement in the December 1938 issue of ‘Aircraft’ magazine, Light Aircraft stated they were the “sole and exclusive representatives and licensees in Australia” for Hills and Sons Ltd, Praga aircraft. All three aircraft were destined to have short lives in Australia.

VH-UVP

The first Praga on the Australian register was the former G-AEON (c/n H.A.20). Some sources quote its construction number as H.A.1 but it is highly unlikely that the first aircraft built was exported directly before extensive flight tests. It was registered to Hills and Sons on 3 November 1936 as GAEON. It was registered in Australia during the following April. It would appear that a replacement engine was needed for VH-UVP as, in Novem-

ber 1940, Light Aircraft purchased a used, but newly overhauled, engine from Hills and Sons. An interesting note in correspondence between Light Aircraft and Hills states “…this engine of Czech origin was received in this country and paid for by them to Czechoslovakia before 3rd September 1939. This is essential to comply with our own regulations, Czechoslovakia being a country under enemy domination and we presume the Australian Government will also require this certification…” Joseph Bowden, a sergeant and flying instructor in the RAAF, became the registered owner on 1 December 1941. It may be he had an unusual purpose in mind even then, because in February 1942 he applied to the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) for permission the sell the Praga to a Tom Barrett, of Orange, NSW, who wished to use the aircraft in connection with his frozen food business. Bowden also asked for permission to give flying instruction to Barrett.

VH-UXQ at Parafield aerodrome with line up of Royal Aero Club of South Australia aircraft. [Via Mike Milln]

DCA advised their District Superintendent at Mascot that “…Mr J.H. Bowden is a Sgt. Pilot Instructor in the RAAF and therefore would not be permitted to give instruction to civilians for reward and therefore an instructor’s endorsement to his licence is not approved. However he could be given approval to instruct Mr. Barrett only”. VH-UVP was registered to Barrett on 28 February 1942 but, on 6 May 1942, ownership returned to Bowden. At the time Bowden owned Travelair 2000 VH-UGY which was sold to Barrett on the same date. Bowden was discharged from the RAAF in September 1942 and set up Bowden Air Transport based in Broken Hill, NSW. In August, shortly before his discharge, Bowden requested approval to sell ’UVP to William Porter of Temora, NSW, who, like Barrett, intended to use it for his business. Porter was a stock and station agent. It would appear that the sale never took place as Bowden loaned the aircraft to Porter without payment. (It would not be Porter’s only dalliance with the type however.) The Praga must have eventually returned to Bowden in Broken Hill as it was destroyed in a fire at Bowden Air Transport’s workshop on 16 April 1945. Also destroyed in the fire was Percival Gull VH-UQW.

VH-UXQ

This aircraft was first registered to Light Aircraft on 13 July 1937. On 4 August Light Aircraft informed the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) that the aircraft (c/n H.A.21) had been sold to the Royal Aero Club of South Australia. VH-UXQ was involved in a minor accident on 20 May 1939 when, after a flight, a passenger was struck on the shoul-

VH-UXR at Camden Aerodrome with VH-UVP in background. [Via Camden Historical Society]

der when he walked into the propeller. Remarkably, he was not injured and the damage was to the aircraft with a broken propeller tip! In May 1941 a Howard D’Alton of Albert Park in Melbourne informed the CAD that he was purchasing the aircraft to assist in obtaining sufficient hours for enlistment in the RAAF as an instructor. It was duly registered in his name on 23 May 1941. In reply to a query by D’Alton the DCA informed him of the following: “With reference to your inquiry of 2nd June 1941, regarding the painting of your aircraft VH-UXQ I am to advise that Regulation 18 of the Air Restrictions Order states – “An aircraft shall not be used

for flying instruction or training purposes unless – (a) it is painted yellow; or (b) it has a yellow band two feet in width painted around the fuselage, and a yellow stripe two feet in width and extending from the leading edge to the trailing edge on the under surface of each mainplane.” It will not be necessary to paint your aircraft yellow or have yellow bands painted on it if it is being used for private purposes only.” There is no National Archives record of D’Alton having served in the RAAF so, unless he served as a civilian, it would appear his plans for VH-UXQ did not reach a favourable conclusion. On 13 August 1942 D’Alton wrote to DCA as follows, “I propose selling F L I G H T PAT H | 59

my Hillson Praga aircraft to Mr Jack Pater of Middle Park … The aircraft is situated at Myrtleford, uncamouflaged; would you be good enough to grant permission for the machine to be flown to Essendon or Coode Island aerodrome in its present condition (without camouflage paint). Immediately the plane arrives at its destination it will be placed in a hangar in preparation for re-painting…” DCA was advised, two months later, that the sale did not eventuate. Subsequent correspondence informed the Department that the aircraft was at Broken Hill and stored in the Flying Doctor hangar. Joseph Bowden seemed to have a liking for Hillson Pragas as he became the owner of VH-UXQ on 11 December 1943. Bowden was the Flying Doctor pilot for Broken Hill at the time. He indicated that he regarded the Praga as a supplementary aircraft for the Flying Doctor service. Ownership changed again when William Porter of Temora, NSW, clearly another Praga enthusiast, became the registered owner on 11 October 1944. Like VH-UVP, ‘UXQ came to a fiery end when it was destroyed on 19 November 1944. The local police reported the incident that was caused by a rather forgetful owner. “I beg to report that on the morning of the 19th instant William James Porter of Hoskins Street, Temora had been flying 60 | F L I G H T PAT H

when turning the propeller to start the machine the engine backfired and burst into flames, completely destroying the aircraft his Hillson Praga high wing monoplane no. VH-U.X.Q. and when landing on the Junee Road Satellite about six miles south of Temora, one of the wheels punctured. He left the machine and came to Temora to have the puncture repaired. About 11-30 a.m. he returned to the machine and after refitting the wheel he switched on the motor, and when turning the propeller to start the machine the engine back-fired and burst into flames, completely destroying the aircraft. Porter stated that when he left the machine in the first instance he forgot to turn the petrol off, and on his return the carburettor had flooded. It being exceptionally hot, it is presumed that when the engine backfired it caused the fumes to ignite. The machine was valued at £500 and was insured for £350 ground insurance only.”

Incidentally, in early January 1945, Porter made arrangements to purchase a de Havilland DH.87 Hornet Moth (VH-UUW). Porter had intended to make the Hornet Moth available for Bowden’s use but the aircraft was based permanently at Temora by May and obviously avoided Bowden’s flammable workshop.

VH-UXR

The third Hillson Praga (c/n H.A.22) was first registered to Light Aircraft on 15 June 1938. While being operated at Camden by the Macquarie Grove Flying and Gliding School it suffered two engine failures. Both failures were caused by the crankshaft breaking in flight. The School sought approval to install a Salmson A.D.9 engine instead of the Praga. This did not go ahead presumably as the extra weight of the Salmson reduced the pay-

LEFT: VH-UXQ at Parafield Aerodrome. [Via South Australian Aviation Museum] BELOW: Miss E. Bronner, a student with the Royal Aero Club of South Australia, with VH-UXQ. [Via South Australian Aviation Museum] BOTTOM: VH-UXR.

load to only 127 pounds (58 kilograms) which was insufficient for a passenger. In June 1940 Eric Condon of Wagga Wagga, NSW, purchased the aircraft on the condition that it had a Certificate of Airworthiness. After being test flown at Camden, VH-UXR was flown to Wagga Wagga by Condon as he was not permitted to store or fly the aircraft at Camden as the aerodrome had been taken over by the RAAF. On hearing about this, DCA wrote to Light Aircraft informing them that VH-UXR did not have a current C of A and that under the National Security (ships & aircraft transfer) regulations an aircraft may not be sold, let, loaned or hired without prior approval of the Minister for Civil Aviation. They also wrote to Condon informing him that the aircraft did not have a C of A and that his licence was not current. Both Condon and Light Aircraft were asked to explain their actions. The outcome of this was that Light Aircraft was warned that any future breach of regulations would not be dealt with in a lenient manner. Condon was informed that because of his breach of flying without a valid licence, renewal of that licence would be deferred for one month. The aircraft was registered to Condon on 20 September 1940. VH-UXR again came to DCA’s notice when a newspaper article was brought to their attention. The article in a Wagga paper of 11 March 1941 read, “A cross-wind landing on one wheel ended a stunting flight by F L I G H T PAT H | 61

E.E. Condon, a well-known flyer, this evening. After rolling and diving Condon was about to land on the municipal aerodrome when he saw spectators signalling frantically. They indicated that a wheel was missing from the plane. The plane travelled 50 yards on one wheel and then stopped without being damaged. The missing wheel was found on the aerodrome.” Naturally DCA wanted an explanation from Condon why he was flying an aircraft that didn’t have a current C of A, why he was performing aerobatics in a non-aerobatic aircraft and why he was performing aerobatics with a passenger on board. Condon explained that the purpose of the flight was to allow someone on the ground to take photographs of it before the aircraft was dismantled and that he did not perform any aerobatics. He sent DCA a statement to that effect signed by a Justice of the Peace. He also backed up his explanation with statuary declarations from his passenger and a witness on the ground. DCA’s reaction was to suspend his licence for three months. Eric Condon was born in 1906 and had purchased VH-UXR to build up his hours prior to entering the RAAF as flying instructor, despite this role being one allocated by the RAAF as it saw fit. He enlisted in the RAAF in May 1941 and was discharged in October 1945 with the rank of Flight Lieutenant. At the time of his discharge he was serving with 6 Communications Unit RAAF. He put his experience to good use af62 | F L I G H T PAT H

I opened the motor in an endeavour to increase the lift and the next thing I remember was sitting on the ground in the middle of wreckage ter the war as he ran his own businesses trading as Wagga Flying School and Wagga Air Taxis. Condon was a bit of a local celebrity and was known in the region as the ‘Flying Godfather’, a pretty impressive moniker for someone who died in his late forties. In July 1942 VH-UXR was sold to Mr. J.R. Pater of Middle Park in Melbourne. It was based at Coode Island aerodrome. He wrote to DCA in October 1942 to seek permission to write safety tickets for the Praga. Pater stated that he was employed by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation as an inspector and part of his duties were to sign out the company’s aircraft. He also stated that the Praga was his third machine as he had previously built a glider and owned Desoutter VH-UEE. VH-UXR came to an end on 11 September 1943. In a response to provide a statement about the accident, Jack Pater wrote; “I de-

parted from Essendon drome at approx. 1545 hrs on 11th September and proceeded to Coode Island and made a normal approach into the south and when about directly over the bank after crossing the river surrounding the field the aircraft failed to respond to the controls and continued in a dive. I opened the motor in an endeavour to increase the lift and the next thing I remember was sitting on the ground in the middle of wreckage. The speed in the approach was 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h) indicated air speed which was a good 10 m.p.h. (16 km/h) above the stalling speed of the aircraft. The aircraft is completely wrecked although the engine condition is fair.” What caused the accident remains a mystery, and thus ended the life of the third Hillson Praga to enter the Australian civil register.

LEFT: The Hillston Praga VH-UXR, possibly at Wagga Wagga NSW . BELOW: Jack Pater with his Praga, VH-UXR. BOTTOM: VH-UXR stored in a hangar, it was later wrtten off in a landing accident on 11 September 1943.

F L I G H T PAT H | 63

This detailed image shows a group of Australian 3 Squadron AFC airmen and crew of the R.E.8 aircraft at Bailleul Airfield, France. [RAAF Museum Archive]

The R.E.8 ‘Eye in the Sky’ In a two part feature on the R.E.8, Rob Langham & James Kightly explore the role of the type in action.

M

ilitary aviation evolved rapidly in the Great War, despite the impression of an endless, static trench warfare stalemate that has come down to us today. As the War developed on the Western Front in France and Belgium, more and more technology was brought in to attempt to find an advantage.  The men there saw the widespread use in warfare, for the first time, of tanks, flamethrowers, machine guns, barbed wire and gas, among other frightful new tools. However it was artillery that was the biggest killer, and the most vital weapon available to the combatant armies. Knowing what to shoot at and where to aim were challenges that artillerymen had been grappling with for a while. The answer was an ‘eye in the sky’. Aerial observation required flying above the battlefield for hours on end, directing the batteries of British artillery onto German targets in the east. It was R.E.8s and their crews from mid-1917 onwards (alongside Armstrong Whitworth FK8 ‘Big Acks’, and later the Bristol F2b Fighters) that enabled the army to have a 64 | F L I G H T PAT H

good understanding of what lay across ‘no man’s land’. Additionally, accurate and upto-date maps were crucial. These were usually based on a photo mosaic taken by these same airmen, with a new photographic run on at least a weekly basis to spot new enemy developments in any active battle area. This continual observation also resulted in finding suitable targets for artillery trenches, artillery batteries, railway junctions, supply depots, and whatever other suitable targets were within range of the guns. When the artillery ‘shoots’ were conducted, the artillery observation crews would provide another vital role, in observing the fall of the shells and relaying back the accuracy of the shooting to the gun batteries using wireless telegraphy. Prior to the war the Royal Artillery had made great strides in being as accurate as possible in using artillery in ‘indirect fire’ (firing at an unseen target obscured by the lie of the land or sheer distance), but there were still many variables that were difficult if not impossible to account for, such as the weather conditions - wind or atmospheric

pressure could mean a perfectly calculated shoot failed to actually hit anything worthwhile. Nevertheless, the obvious advantages of an observer in the air meant that the army experimented with balloons, and even man-carrying kites pre-war as well as settling on the R.A.F. B.E.2 just prior to the war as their prime aerial spotting tool, and when the difficulties of observing while under attack became all-too-evident, the R.E.8 was a revised design to address many of the B.E.’s shortcomings.

A Dangerous Job

While scouts dogfighting has been the prevailing image of the war in the skies over the trenches, it was observation aircraft such as an R.E.8 that could, in the course of one single sortie, cause more damage and destruction - and have a resulting important effect on the war on the ground - than a high-scoring ace could do in their entire career. Like any working machine in a war, observation aircraft were targeted by the enemy, desperate to disrupt its tasks, and many were shot down as a result. They were also

LEFT & BELOW: The photograph taken in France of an AFC R.E.8 and personnel was recreated in the Omaka Heritage Centre display with their static replica R.E.8. [RAAF Museum Archive & James Kightly] ABOVE: Believed to be the result of a mid-air collision, resulting in damage to this 3 Squadron AFC R.E.8’s top wing and fuselage. [RAAF Museum Archive] TOP LEFT: An airman uses a fire extinguisher on this crashed R.E.8 seen in front of a typical Bessenau hangar. [RAAF Museum Archive] BOTTOM: A captured R.E.8 with a crowd of curious German soldiers. [TVAL]

F L I G H T PAT H | 65

targeted by anti-aircraft fire from the ground, known then as ‘Archie’. Meandering over the enemy lines while remaining in visual range of a fairly small area may not sound like a particularly tempting role, but there were indirect protections as well. The fact the crews were in contact with artillery batteries brought some security - anyone unwise enough to shoot at the R.E.8 could find themselves on the receiving end of some of the Ministry of Munitions’ latest produce.  Some crews found they could, with a great deal of effort and luck, dogfight with enemy fighters, and even, on occasion were able to knock down their attackers. The observer in the back was primarily meant to watch out for enemy scouts and, in a fight, use his single or twin Lewis guns to keep them off their tail. However many R.E.8s, flying a predictable figure of eight LEFT: A rare, tragic image of an R.E.8 coming down with the ailerons torn off and trailing in the dive. FAR LEFT: A famous Frank Hurley magnesium flash night shot of a crew loading up incedury bombs to the R.E.8. TOP: This image shows the close co-ordination possible with the crew. BELOW: Joesph Simpson’s illustration of the “Ghost ’Plane” story (see overleaf) for the Illustrated London News. [All RAAF Museum Archive]

66 | F L I G H T PAT H

course between ‘their’ artillery battery and its target, or a line above the trench system were easy to stalk and attack particularly from out of the sun. Many R.E.8 crews never saw what hit them. There were other dangers too. Flying between the guns and target would mean they were liable to be buffeted or even hit by ‘friendly’ shells with usually fatal consequences. Crews reported actually seeing shells at the apex of their trajectory!

The Ghost ’Plane

One of the most remarkable stories of the war also involved a 3 Squadron AFC R.E.8, A3816, on 17 December 1917. Lieutenant J. L. Sandy and Sergeant R.F. Hughes were ranging an 8 in Howitzer battery flying between Deulemont and Armentieres when they were attacked by a group of German Albatros scouts. A grand melee followed, with other R.E.8s coming to assist their compatriots and an Albatross diving out of the battle to make a forced landing in front of the Australian lines. Complete, this aircraft, D.5390/17, was recovered on a freezing night, and eventually ended up at the Australian War Memorial. [See Flightpath

like any working machine in a war observation aircraft were targeted by the enemy

Vol.20 No.3]. Sandy and Hughes had been seen still flying by another R.E.8 crew after the battle, but did not return to the airfield. No word of them came in until it was reported to the squadron that the aircraft had been found in a field at St Pol, 50 miles (80 km) from the battle. Although the aircraft was essentially intact (the undercarriage being broken in the landing) both of the airmen were dead, killed by a single armour piercing bullet that had obviously been fired during the battle. With their R.E.8 trimmed to fly straight and level, and being a particularly stable type, it was obvious that the machine had simply continued to fly until it came down to earth with its dead crew.

Vale

Despite being a mostly forgotten type, overlooked since the War, its crews successfully undertook a dangerous, repetitive, and vital set of tasks that ensured the Allied power’s military force was applied as effectively as possible. This somewhat ungainly aircraft, which has never seemed to have shrugged off the reputation it received early on from accidents when it first entered service, was in fact one of the most deadly aircraft in terms of enemy killed and equipment destroyed of the First World War. In the next issue, the authors will look at the R.E.8’s design and development; accounts of flying them; the two surviving examples; and Australia’s ‘lost’ R.E.8.

TOP: A rare air to air shot showing an R.E.8 heading out over the landscape of France. [RAAF Museum Archive] RIGHT: The Vintage Aviator Limited’s staff member showing how a camera was used for occasional over-the-side mapping photography to supplement the fixed camera inside. [TVAL] F L I G H T PAT H | 67

Building a

‘Harry Tate’ The RAAF Museum’s newest aircraft

ABOVE: The second airworthy R.E.8 recreated by TVAL flying near RAAF Point Cook. [Rob Fox] LEFT: Swinging the large four blade mahogany propeller to bring the R.A.F.4a V12 engine into life. [Rob Fox] RIGHT: Pilot Gary Yardley brings the R.E.8 in close while observer Bevan Dewes swings the Scarff ring mounted Lewis gun into action . [Rob Fox]

By Rob Fox

T

he Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8, like its stable mates in the F.E. and B.E. series, was built in huge numbers during W.W.I. Despite this, and as with most types from this conflict, precious few have survived the ages. The R.E.8 ‘Harry Tate’ was the mainstay of the Royal Flying Corps’ reconnaissance force, and more than 4,000 were built. Its operational history spanned a major period of the Great War, so building an example was always going to be on the worldrenowned The Vintage Aviator Limited’s (TVAL) build schedule. The commission to build an exacting static display replica for the opening of the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre in New Zealand in 2007 was the cue TVAL needed to reproduce an authentic flying replica of this historically significant and rare type. General manager and chief test pilot for TVAL, Gene De Marco, detailed how TVAL’s artisans tackled the task of recreating an authentic piece of early military aviation. 68 | F L I G H T PAT H

“The static R.E.8 project gave us a valuable opportunity to put our research to good use and really ‘test drive’ how much information we had and how much we still needed! We had fortunately been researching the R.E.8 for some time and had gathered a large, but incomplete, set of original drawings.” There was not quite enough to build an R.E.8, however, but TVAL was given access to the Imperial War Museum’s example at Duxford as it neared the end of its restoration. “We also had copies of photographs taken during previous restorations. Musee Royal de l’Armee in Brussels, Belgium, was equally helpful and allowed us access to measure and photograph areas of their surviving aircraft, that were missing from our drawings.” Being a Royal Aircraft Factory (R.A.F.) design, many of the construction techniques and designs were similar or identical to other aircraft built by the company. “It's incredible just how many parts, big and small, are shared between the S.E., F.E., R.E. and B.E. series of aircraft. In fact we discovered that the wings and horizontal stabiliser and elevators used

on the R.E.8 were essentially B.E.2e components. That was a stroke of luck because we were working on the restoration of an original B.E.2e and had a set of reproduction wings built in the UK for that project. These had the correct R.A.F. 14 profile airfoil but we had deemed them non-airworthy due to various diversions from the original designs.” However, like so many types of that period, it would be procuring a powerplant that proved to be the major obstacle to seeing an R.E.8 in flight. With no flying R.A.F. 4a engines in existence, the only option for TVAL to secure them for the projects was to borrow an original engine, reverse-engineer it, and then build new ones. “Although in a relatively poor state, the borrowed engine was an excellent source of the engineering data required, and enabled our engineers to reproduce all parts as closely as possible to their original specifications,” said Gene. Absolute authenticity is TVAL’s philosophy. By not altering any items in the design of the airframe or engine, their aircraft are a true reflection of the original designs.

BELOW: Original drawings were used to recreate the tinned steel fuel tanks which are brass riveted and soldered to seal them. [TVAL]

ABOVE: A close-up view of the authentically reproduced cockpit and instrument panel. [Rob Fox]

F L I G H T PAT H | 69

LEFT: A trial fitting of the new build R.A.F. 4a V12 engine. The aluminium crankcase is built up from four individual parts. [TVAL] BELOW: The TVAL R.E.8 taking off at Avalon as part of the airshow’s W.W.1 senerio. [Rob Fox]

ABOVE: TVAL’s first flying R.E.8 project in the final stages of assembly. [TVAL] TOP: The attention to detail is clearly evident when the cockpits are viewed up close. [Rob Fox]

The R.A.F. 4a is an air-cooled twelve-cylinder, upright, sixty-degree Vee engine, based largely on the eight-cylinder R.A.F. 1a engine. Naturally, it incorporates a number of parts and design features from its predecessor. It was designed by the Royal Aircraft Factory and produced by both Daimler and Siddeley-Deasy. “As with most of the in-line engines of this period, the crankcase is of cast aluminium construction and is in four parts: the upper, lower, front and rear housings. The propeller is driven at half crankshaft speed, taking its drive from a large straight-cut gear which also drives the camshaft. This front housing is of a fairly robust construction as it must endure a load imposed by direction change of the aircraft and also incorporates a double thrust bearing which enables the engine to be used in both tractor and pusher applications. In fact a number of R.A.F. 5a engines (the pusher version of the R.A.F. 4a) were used to power R.A.F. F.E.2B aircraft. The cylinders used on the R.A.F. 4a are again the exact same unit as used on the R.A.F. 1a engine. These are cast iron with the exhaust valve above and intake valve below the combustion chamber.” “The R.A.F. 4a engine has some unusual features such as exhaust preheating of the intake air to prevent carburettor ice and help atomise the fuel/air mixture. The engine also employs two magnetos to provide ignition but they are two six-cylinder magnetos. 70 | F L I G H T PAT H

Each one provides spark to only half of the engine! It is not equipped with dual spark plugs or any redundancy at all. As with most engines of this era, it requires a great deal of periodic maintenance, including manually lubricating each exhaust rocker prior to and after every flight, and also lubricating the front main thrust bearing before every flight through the crankcase breather. The twelvecylinder engine is extremely long, making some means of controlling the oil in the sump necessary. The R.A.F. 4a uses a series of one-way ‘trap doors’ in the lower half of the crankcase to ensure oil remains around the oil pick-up when the aircraft is in a nose down attitude.” Building the 4a was a very challenging exercise, and the TVAL engineers spent thousands of hours researching and creating drawings for every single part and then an equal amount of time spent in both manufacture and assembly. “Without training on the type, the actual assembly of the engine was a bit like a jigsaw puzzle with a few pieces missing! This is always a danger when working from engines or components of unknown origin. In our case, there were four small oil restrictors missing from the engine we reverse engineered. We noticed a problem on our first test run and were able to rectify it without too much trouble.” “Another bonus of our rigorous test program is running each new type for many hours on our purpose-built engine test rig

and then inspecting the engine at various times during the test program. We can assess the condition and check for wear, generally make sure everything is functioning properly, and also learn about its operation at the same time. There are many areas that require a lot of care and attention when assembling one of these engines, and the machining required is a testament to the ability of the engineers all those years ago.” TVAL have built only three airworthy R.E.8 replicas and have retained one. As they have other Great War types on the ‘to build list’ there are no plans to construct another R.E.8 in the future. With the 100-year anniversary of its design approaching later this year, the R.E.8, although built as a benign reconnaissance and artillery spotting aircraft, it is credited with fifty air victories in twelve months of operations over France, with the Australian Flying Corps’ 3 Squadron. The squadron was the first Australian squadron to move to France, and by the end of the war had flown more than 10,000 operational hours in support of the ground forces. The R.E.8 is immensely significant to our military history and it is outstanding to report that this important type is now part of the RAAF Museum’s Heritage Collection. Let us hope this stunning example can remain flying, and continue to foster the rich and diverse history of our Australian Flying Corps and military airmen.

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Fagen Fighter’s P-51 Mustang Twilight Tear and their latest acquistion the B-25 Mitchell Paper Doll.

Fagen Fighters World War II Museum ‘A Tribute Like No Other’ David Leininger tells the very American story of the Fagen family’s heritage and W.W.II militaria collection.

D

riving through the rich farmland of southwest Minnesota, where the countryside rolls with row after row of golden corn stalks, travellers will eventually come to the town of Granite Falls. Approximately 115 miles (185 kilometres) southwest of the city centre of Minneapolis, Granite Falls is a bustling small town and home to one of the finest collections of W.W.II artifacts in the midwest United States. The Fagen Fighters W.W.II Museum is home to an incredible collection of period vehicles, memorabilia and award-winning aircraft. The Fagen family’s passion for aviation and flying began after the end of W.W.II 72 | F L I G H T PAT H

when Ray Fagen, his youthful years stolen by war, returned home a war weary but proud American soldier who had served his country well. As part of the 4th Infantry Division, Ray would often look skyward at the Allied fighters providing support to the advancing armies. Ray would often recall a period during his service when his unit was pinned down by a particularly stubborn German Army unit. With casualties mounting on both sides, Ray distinctly remembered one Lockheed P-38 Lightning making a single pass to strafe the German positions. Ray said the Lightnings saved his life and the life of his sergeant. They were the only members of their unit remaining at the end

of the day. The P-38 Lightning in the Fagen collection is symbolic of that event and is an important exhibit in the museum. Ray returned home after the war and completed the pilot training he had started before the war. He built a business as a cattle buyer, while raising a family, but remained involved in aviation and taught his children how to fly during trips to cattle ranches. Ray's son, Ron, was captivated by aircraft and was very keen to learn to fly. “My dad always had an airplane,” he said. Ron learned the basics of flying from his father at a very young age in an ex-military Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper. Chuckling a bit, Ron admitted, “It’s not something I should

BELOW: This bronze statue depicts Ray Fagen, Ron Fagen’s father, leading a group of his Fourth Infantry mates as they storm Utah Beach on 6 June 1944. This tribute is not just to his country but to all veterans who have fought for the ideals of freedom.

ABOVE: Ron and Diane Fagen, with son Evan, in front of one of three massive hangars built to house the collection of Grand Champion Award winning aircraft . LEFT: Fagen’s Fairchild PT-19 Cornell finished in USAAC colours is powered by a Ranger L-440 six-cylinder engine.

be proud of, but I flew quite a bit early on, until about the age of sixteen, without formal training.”

Charmed by Warbirds

Ron served his country in Vietnam and returned home in the mid-seventies. His interest in warbirds never diminished. In 1976 he and some friends flew a Mooney to Central America because he had heard that a number of countries were disposing their W.W.II period fighters. Ron set out to fulfill his dream of flying one of these old fighters home. Once he arrived, Ron soon realised he was a couple of months too late. All of the aircraft had been purchased and ferried out

of the region. Ron sees his misfortune as a real blessing. He believes that, had he been successful in purchasing one or several of the exported fighters, and with no formal training in flying high performance aircraft, he would probably have killed himself ferrying the aircraft home. With the desire still burning inside him, Ron seized an opportunity in November 1994 when he purchased a P-51 Mustang named Platinum Plus. In 1993 Ron discussed his desire to purchase and own a Mustang with a current owner, Harry Barr. Harry’s advice to Ron was to enroll in an orientation program offered by Lee Lauderback of Stallion 51. Barr emphasised that any-

thing less than Ron enrolling into that program would result in his killing himself with an aircraft like the Mustang. Ron considered Barr a ‘pilot’s pilot’ and took his advice seriously. He enrolled into the program and earned his type rating in the Mustang. That first warbird purchase was the cornerstone of the Fagen collection. Repainted and renamed Sweet Revenge, it is beautifully restored and bears the markings of the 4th Fighter Group. The aircraft became the benchmark for future projects restored at the Fagen facility. Since the acquisition of the Mustang, Ron has assembled a collection of award-winning aircraft and, with each restoration, the bar is set a little higher. F L I G H T PAT H | 73

The second opportunity to purchase a warbird came on a Thanksgiving Day when, thumbing through the pages of Trade a Plane, Ron saw a Curtiss P40E Warhawk for sale. After telephoning the owner of the aircraft, he and his father immediately flew to Canada to have a look. Ron admits he was excited to see the fighter in its Flying Tiger paint scheme but realised it was less than what he had envisioned. The aircraft was not complete and was pieced together with components from other aircraft. It fell short of what a Warhawk should have been. After obtaining the project, Ron, undaunted by AK753’s condition, began rebuilding the fuselage and tail section. The original wings were used and, after completion, Ron flew the Warhawk, registered N4420K, for a number of years. In 2009 the decision was made to completely dismantle the airframe, build a new set of wings and give the Warhawk a fresh, new look. Rolled out, looking newer than the day she rolled off the assembly line, the Warhawk was painted in the markings of the 325th Fighter Group. It is affectionately nicknamed the Desert Shark in the collection, as a nod to the desert scheme and shark’s mouth it wears. The initial build and subsequent rebuild of this aircraft provided the Fagen’s with the necessary templates, understanding and experience to rebuild several fine examples of the Curtiss fighters, and have led to award winning results. The latest to be completed by Ron’s talented group at Warhawk Inc. is the Aleutian Tiger. This is the second aircraft finished in the familiar Aleutian scheme (worn by the 343rd Fighter Group’s Warhawks) and was completed just in time to attend the 2013 AirVenture at Oshkosh. This P-40K model (42-10083, N402WH) is the latest of the collection to bring home the Warbird Grand Champion and Golden Wrench awards. (Ron has enough airframes to build more than four of the Curtiss fighters, and the next Warhawk project was underway shortly after the team returned from their success at Oshkosh.)

A hangar evolves into something else

As the collection grew in both quantity and value it became necessary to build additional hangar space. The goal of the second hangar was to expand storage space as well as provide long term and safe storage. In April 2011 the Fagens broke ground on the second hangar. What was originally planned as a hangar to protect the collection soon became much more. Designed, engineered, and constructed by Ron’s company, Fagen Inc., the ‘Fighter Hangar’ can withstand weather up to a category five tornado and Ron is extremely proud of the completed facility. Another feature of the new hangar is the fact it is completely fireproof. “Underneath the 357th Fighter Group Quonset hut is an 80,000-gallon (302,833-litre) water tank buried underground. That tank charges the foam system which, in case of a fire will discharge – in seven minutes – filling the build74 | F L I G H T PAT H

ABOVE: This Quanset hut briefing room was built to exacting reproduction based on input from double ace Col. Clarence “Bud” Anderson, whose bronze statue stands in front of the building. RIGHT: The Fagen Fighters Collection’s P-38 “Ruff Stuff” sits quietly in the hangar . The Lightning was Ray Fagen’s favourite aircraft and he gratefully recalled the day a P-38 saved him and many of his fellow soldiers from the stubborn German resistance.

ing to the rafters with foam retardant to smother out the fire,” Ron explained. With the construction progressing, Ron and his wife Diane would walk around inside the structure during the evenings and it became clear to them they had an opportunity to construct more than a hangar. They could build a lasting tribute, not simply to honour all veterans of W.W.II, because one very special man whom, since his passing, lived on in their hearts. Ray Fagen had, along with his fellow army mates, stormed Utah Beach during the Normandy D-Day landings and was wounded in combat. Diane Fagen would use her vision to build a place of honour for the ‘greatest generation’. As Diane explained, “We were getting a late start. We felt that time was slipping away to honour remaining W.W.II veterans." Ray seldom talked about his war experiences but, through the years, the family pieced together his travels and the battles he participated in. The new ‘Fighter Hangar’ incorporates many of Diane’s ideas, including the addition of a second floor to facilitate a library and offices. The focal point within the ‘Fighter Hangar’ is a display featuring a large bronze sculpture of Ray and his 4th Infantry mates running onto Utah Beach. To give the scene realism, a mural on the back wall behind the display depicts the grand scale of the landings. Several thousand pounds of sand from Utah Beach was shipped to the museum and used in the DDay display. (An addition to the Utah Beach

Museum in Normandy required the removal of the sand and had made it possible for the Fagen’s museum to purchase it. It was simply a case of making a request at exactly the right moment.) A 0.30-in calibre machine gun, used during the assault, is positioned as part of the display. It is a fitting tribute to a father, grandfather and family hero and all those who stormed the beaches to help free the world from tyranny. In June 2012 the ‘Fighter Hangar’ was completed and the museum officially opened soon after. An ongoing project of the museum is the mural paintings that adorn the walls of the hangar. The use of murals depicting the types of aircraft positioned within the hangar was also an idea of Diane’s. The reason is two-fold. First, the paintings would serve as a representation of the aircraft positioned in that spot. “The second reason," said Diane, "is when an aircraft is vacant from a spot, whether it is out for maintenance or participating in an event, visitors will have more to look at than a vacant parking place. The mural gives them an idea of what the aircraft looks like and a depiction of the type of action the aircraft would be involved in.” More murals will be added to the walls when the artist can be scheduled to complete them. Diane sees the museum connecting many generations and educating people about a period of time that she feels has been lost in today's education curriculum. She notices the younger generations visiting the museum lack knowledge when it comes to this period in history. “They don’t know what countries

The collection’s Warhawk is painted in the markings of the 325th Fighter Group. It is affectionately nicknamed the Desert Shark.

were involved and how important this war was to the history of mankind,” Diane said. “When they listen to the history being presented, I see the excitement come over their faces as well as a real interest in the information. Exposing today's youth to a unique time in our history when a culture set aside its differences and put a single goal above everything else, and became united as a country, is the only way to preserve the history of the greatest generation this world has ever seen,” she said. “They do not experience these types of values and sacrifices with today’s political examples or media exposure.” A third hangar was built in time for the delivery of their latest acquisition the B-25 Paper Doll. The Fagens acquired a North American B-25 Mitchell in June 2014 and it was restored to the same standards as the other aircraft within the museum’s collection. The new ‘Bomber Hangar’ honours all bomber units and personnel for the maximum effort and sacrifice they made while pressing forward with bombing raids deep into German and Japanese territory.

Quonset hut and an authentic tower

You cannot become passionate about aviation and collect, restore and pilot these aircraft without embracing the men and women who made history with them. Through his association with the warbird community, and the respect he garners for his efforts in preserving its rich history, Ron has met many living legends. One such legend is Colonel Clarence ‘Bud’ Anderson, a triple ace and veteran of W.W.II. Ron has built a lasting relationship with ‘Bud’ Anderson over the years and, when the shift of direction focused on building a museum, the Fagens turned to him with the idea of building a Quonset hut as a recreation of the briefing hut of the famed 357th Fighter Group. Anderson gladly accepted and was invited to Granite Falls to

work on plans to erect the building. With his help, a lone Quonset hut stands just a short walk from the ‘Fighter Hangar’. The interior is arranged to depict 14 January 1945, a day Anderson refers to as ‘The Big Day’. A lifesized bronze statue of Colonel Anderson, that pays tribute to him and the rest of the 357th Fighter Group, stands outside the hut. A few steps away is an authentic W.W.IIera control tower complete with all of the correct period equipment – radios, a teletype machine, weather equipment and manuals. The tower is open to all visitors, weather permitting.

Eye Candy

Visitors to the museum are treated to some of the highest quality restored machines of their kind to be found anywhere. In many instances the aircraft and support vehicles seen at the museum are a better representation than those that rolled off the assembly line. Ron said one of the distinctions the museum offers is that all of the exhibits are operational and, on any given day, a visitor may be treated to seeing some of the aircraft flying or vehicles being driven around the airport. A fitting tribute to the collection, and to the level of workmanship demanded by the Fagen family, is the rapidly growing accumulation of awards. Each aircraft within the collection has been presented with a major award. Both P-51 Mustangs, all three P-40 Warhawks and the Vultee BT-13 Valiant trainer have all come away from judging as Grand Champions. Both the Fairchild PT-19 and Fairchild PT-26 Cornell have been awarded Best W.W.II Primary Trainer awards, and the P-38 Lightning has collected the Judges’ Choice and Phoenix awards, all obtained at AirVenture. Additionally, in conjunction with each major trophy awarded to the aircraft itself, a second award is presented to distinguish the exceptional workman-

ship that goes into the restoration. Each of the Fagen aircraft has been awarded either a Golden Wrench or Silver Wrench award. Ron and Diane’s son, Aaron, supervises the vehicles of the collection and he has set the same demands for standards with the vehicles that Ron places with the aircraft. One of the unique items on display is the Willys Jeep that General Omar Bradley used during the D-Day invasion. Other pristine examples include an anti-aircraft version (M16) of the well-known White half-track, a GMC CCKWK Troop Carrier (Deuce-and-aHalf), a Harley Davidson WLA Escort Motorcycle, a Cushman Model 32 Scooter and a WC54 Ambulance.

Hope through the generations

Ray Fagen lit a torch with his patriotism, courage and passion for aviation. Ron and Diane are carrying that torch with this lasting tribute designed to accomplish more than honour the ‘Greatest Generation’ who put aside their differences and secured freedom. Their sons, Evan (the museum’s chief pilot) and Aaron help carry the torch with their support of this personal endeavour to keep the memory of their grandfather and all veterans from fading away. It is becoming clear the torch will stay lit for many more years to come, because Connor and Ethan, Ron and Diane’s grandchildren, have taken a very enthusiastic interest in the aircraft and their history. The hope that still shines bright within the Fagen family is the continued preservation of history and the desire to educate. Connor and Ethan, armed with the knowledge and understanding of history’s lessons, carry with them the hope of educating their generation that the freedoms and liberties we have today were won at a heavy cost and should never be forgotten. Time will tell, but the Fagens are doing their part to ensure future generations learn the lessons from our past. F L I G H T PAT H | 75

Airshows

Omaka’s Fighters John Freedman

T

he Blenheim region in New Zealand once again played host over the Easter weekend to the 2015 Classic Fighters airshow held at Omaka airfield. This year featured many firsts with three Spitfires, eight Fokker Dr.1 replicas flying together, the Avro Anson dropping bombs and poppies and a large-scale, radio-controlled V-1 Flying Bomb. With the centenary of the Gallipoli landings approaching, the Great War displays held even more significance and made up a major part of the program. The highlight for many, among the re-enactors on the ground and the dogfights in the sky, was the mass Fokker Triplane formation. Two Yak-3s, two Kittyhawks, five Nanchangs, several Harvards and Yak-52s, three

76 | F L I G H T PAT H

DC-3s, a TBM Avenger and a Mustang and Corsair also attended along with two L-29 Delfins, a Strikemaster and de Havilland Venom. John Romain and Keith Skilling, two of the most experienced warbird display pilots in the world, flew an incredible aerobatic pairs routine in the Kittyhawk and Corsair (both owned by The Old Stick and Rudder Company) respectively. The Sunday display was opened by the three Spitfires. This was the first time three privately-owned Spitfires had flown together at an airshow in the Southern Hemisphere. Classic Fighters is renowned for making the extra effort to create imaginative set-pieces or props and, as usual, the 2015 show did not fail to impress. Many of the record crowd are already looking forward to Easter 2017!

ABOVE: The first display of Murray Miers’ Griffin powered Mk XIV Spitfire. RIGHT: TVAL’s latest Albatros D.Va finished in the colours of Paul Baumer. BELOW: John Romain and Keith Skilling in the Curtiss P-40E and Goodyear FG-1D performing dissimilar aerobatics.

Airshows

ABOVE: Bombs away, two 100lb bombs fall away from Bill and Robyn Reid’s immaculate AVRO Anson Mk.1. ABOVE LEFT: European foes, the Yak-3Ua flown by Graham Frew and the Flug Werk FW-190A-8/N flown by Frank Parker. LEFT: John Luff’s De Havilland DH 112 Venom. FAR LEFT: A sight not seen sice 1918, eight Fokker Dr.1s and the Fokker D.VII replicas. BELOW: TVAL’s Airco DH.5 and Fokker Dr.1 Triplane in the early morning light over Omaka. [All John Freedman]

F L I G H T PAT H | 77

Airshows

St. Barths Bucket Airshow By Andy Wright

T

he French territory of Saint Barthélemy hosts the annual Bucket Regatta that attracts some of the world’s largest sailing yachts. This year’s event, however, featured visitors with a bit more horsepower. Two Texas-based warbird collections, the Texas Flying Legends Museum and Lewis Air Legends, flew eight aircraft to the small Caribbean island. It was a journey of 2,200 miles (3,540 kilometres) and involved stops in Alabama, Florida, Turks & Caicos, Puerto Rico and Anguilla. The aircraft performed a one-hour airshow on 21 March and flyovers throughout the four days of the Regatta. Rod Lewis, owner of Lewis Air Legends, flew North American B-25J Mitchell ‘Russian To Get Ya’ (44-30456, N747AF) alongside the Texas Flying Legends’ B-25J ‘Betty’s Dream’ (45-8835, N5672V). Lewis also provided two Grumman F7F-3P Tigercats in the form of N700FM (BuNo 80390) and N747MX (BuNo 80503). The latter was flown by Steve Hinton. Naval aviation was also represented by the Grumman TBM Avenger (BuNo 85938, N7226C), Chance Vought FG-1D Corsair (BuNo 92489, N209TW) and the Nakajimabuilt Mitsubishi A6M2 ‘Zero’ (#5549, N8280K) operated by the Texas Flying Legends. The only fighter to fly the flag for the USAAF was the Flying Legends’ Curtiss P-40K Warhawk (42-10256, N401WH) painted in the 343rd Fighter Group’s ‘Aleutian Tiger’ markings. The aircraft and their crews were rightly honoured, during the Regatta’s closing ceremonies, for one of the more ambitious warbird expeditions conducted in recent times.

Texas Flying Legends FG-1D Corsair makes a low pass down St. Barth’s main runway.

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ABOVE: The Texas Flying Legends Museum’s WWII Fighters. Note the ferry tanks and large registrations applied for the overseas flight. BELOW & LEFT: School children and families visited the aircraft at each stop along the route. Most would not have seen warbirds before.

June 1944, on the sky of Normandy

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Airshows

Avalon Heroes Of The Sky T

he 2015 Australian International Airshow, held between February 27 and 1 March, commemorated the “Centenary of ANZAC” with a strong W.W.I presence amid the modern hardware. Proceedings were opened by the RAAF Heritage Trainers Formation Display Team with their CAC Winjeels and CT-4s. Other than Temora Aviation Museum’s (TAM) Lockheed Hudson, Jeff Trappett’s Douglas C-47 and the HARS Caribou, old aircraft fans had to wait until after the RAAF’s air power display. Senses happily assaulted, the crowd was treated to W.W.I aircraft filling the sky with a beautifully choreographed performance. New Zealand’s TVAL attended with ten aircraft and The Australian Vintage Aviation Society (TAVAS) brought three. This was a first for

an Australian airshow. Due to an unfortunate administrative error, Sunday’s W.W.I display was cancelled just before they flew. The RAAF Museum/TAM CAC Sabre and Gloster Meteor flew with an RAAF F/A-18 Hornet before the warbird displays late in the afternoon. Sadly, no new attendees were booked. Again, it was HARS with their Catalina and Lockheed Neptune, TAM’s Boomerang and Spitfire Mk.VIII, Trappett’s Mustang and Alan Arthur’s P-40 that entertained the crowd. On the ground was an extensive display of classic aircraft provided by the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia members. TVAL, TAVAS and the RAAF Museum allowed visitors to immerse themselves in W.W.I with the latter displaying an impressive array of artifacts.

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The RAAF jet fighter Heritage flight of the RAAF Museum/TAM CAC Sabre, TAM’s Meteor and RAAF F/A-18 Hornet. Due to ejection seat issues this was the last flight of the Sabre for the foreseeable future. [Rob Fox]

Members of the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia met at historic Woolamanata homestead before their mass fly into the show. [Rob Fox] 80 | F L I G H T PAT H

Warren Manuel’s DH 82a Tiger Moth sported a portrait of his grandfather WW1 ace Roby Manuel and this year’s airshow theme. [Rob Fox]

Airshows

LEFT: The SE.5a, flown by Andrew Vincent was one of The Vintage Aviator Limited’s fleet of WW1 aircraft they brought across from New Zealand. [Rob Fox] BELOW: The Lockheed Neptune operated by HARS touches down following its display. [Rob Fox]

Shortstop Jet Charter’s ‘Melbourne Gooney Bird’ VH-OVM. [John Freedman]

Four local DC-3/C-47s were present including, the former TAA DC-3 ‘Hawdon’ parked with Qantas’ retro B737. [Rob Fox]

Jeff Trappet’s C-47 ‘Spooky’ gunship. [Rob Fox]

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Airshows

Antiquer’s National At Echuca T

he Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia had another highly successful annual National Fly In hosted by the proactive Echuca Aero Club at Echuca, Victoria on the weekend of the 27-29 March 2014. There were over 130 attendees, including many regulars, and representation of aircraft and attendees from most states. Pleasant sunny weather and low winds ensured that a good deal of flying was undertaken. Among a wide variety of deserving awards the judges chose Lyn and Di Forster’s CAC Winjeel VH-WMK A85-423 as the Grand Champion, Steve Carter’s Ryan SCW as Reserve Grand Champion, and the President's Choice was Maurice and Paige Rolfe’s DH Dragon Rapide VH-UXZ. James Kightly

Grand Champion, Lyn and Di Forster’s CAC Winjeel VH-WMK A85-423. [All J Kightly]

A rare chance to have three Auster Mk.III aircraft together, and representing the mark’s three Australian-worn military schemes. 82 | F L I G H T PAT H

Maurice and Paige Rolfe’s DH Dragon Rapide VH-UXZ, in front of the Echuca Aero Club building.

Airshows

Steven and Jane Guilmartin’s Auster Mk.III was recognised with the Best Auster award.

Mark Fitzgerald’s DHC Chipmunk was one of five attending, including the much missed VH–RSK.

Steve Carter’s Ryan SCW won Reserve Grand Champion.

The Navy, Stinson OY-1 ( L-5E-1) Sentinel VH-NOY

The Stinson 108-2 Voyager VH-RDR

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2015

w o h s r i a g n i n e v e 5 1 0 2 h t 0 2 r e b novem

full day airsho w november 21st 2015

Since 2011 the Temora Aviation Museum has captivated spectators with Australia’s premier Warbird airshow, Warbirds Downunder. Every two years this event triples the population of Temora as aviation enthuisiasts and families arrive to experience: • Action-packed flying displays, including the Australian Defence Force, private owners and the entire Temora Aviation Museum collection • Ground exhibits, ex-military vehicle displays, reinactors and entertainment • Grandstand and premium seating options • Airfield camping and caravan park, including Squadron Tent Barracks • A variety of food vendors • Activities for the kids including face painting, jumping castle and kids korner

TICKETS ON SALE MAY 5th, 2015 EARLY BIRD ADMISSION PRICES:

Friday Only: Adult $25 Child* $10 Saturday Only: Adult $40 Child* $10 Two Day Pass: Adult $60 Child* $15 *Child 5-16yrs, Under 5yrs Free

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