Flightpath 2015-08-10

SPECIAL: W.W.II – SEAPLANES OF THE PACIFIC WAR

THE GALLIPOLI FIGHTER Fokker Eindecker in Australia

Seaplane Samurai – the Imperial Japanese Navy Grumman J2F Ducks Allied Watercraft of the War Sky Galleon – Type 97 ‘Mavis’ Australia’s Martin Mariner Catalina Round Up Grumman Twins

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The R.E.8 ‘Eye in the Sky’ Part 2

NEWS FW 190 here ✪ A-20 Havoc flies ✪ Kingfisher ✪ P-39 ✪ Seafire AIRSHOWS La Ferté Alais ✪ Shuttleworth ✪ Chino ✪ Duxford and more

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Contents Volume 27, Number 1, August – October 2015

20 The Australian Sopwith Gnus From the Aviation Historical Society of Australia’s archives, details of the 1919 Sopwith Gnus sold to Australia.

26 An Aviation Graveyard – the Portsea Lord Mayor’s Children’s Camp During its early days, the LMCC used surplus RAAF aircraft as playground equipment. Neil Follett reviews the six aircraft that passed through the camp.

30 50 Years of Aviation History The Australian National Aviation Museum, Moorabbin. Starting from the first days of the Australian Aircraft Restoration Group (AARG), we present a look back through the years.

Seaplanes of the Pacific War 34 Seaplane Samurai Michael Claringbould reviews the floatplanes, and tactics, of the Imperial Japanese Navy in W.W.II.

40 Grumman Duck

54 Australia’s Forgotten Mariner Andy Wright looks at the RAAF’s brief use of Martin’s wartime flying boat.

67 Catalina Round Up Andy Wright reviews the significant Consolidated Catalina population on public display in Australia and New Zealand.

70 Grumman’s Twins Roger Cain presents a photo collection of surviving Grumman amphibious twins flying and ‘sailing’ in southern California.

60 The R.E.8 ‘Eye in the Sky’ In Part 2, Rob Langham and James Kightly look at crew experiences plus the surviving examples, replicas and Australia’s ‘lost’ R.E.8.

70 The Jet Age Museum Gary R Brown introduces The Gloucester Aircraft Collection located in the Cotswolds, England.

72 The Gallipoli Fighter Flightpath editor Rob Fox looks at the first E.III in Australia.

Regulars

A photo essay of Grumman’s amphibian J2F Ducks flying today.

44 Flying Boats – The Allied Airborne Watercraft of the Pacific War James Kightly summarises the diverse types and roles of Allied maritime aircraft.

50 Sky Galleon The Japanese called their mammoth, four engine Type 97 Flying Boat H6K shikihikoh-tei. To the Allies it was the ‘Mavis’.

COVER: The Fighter Factory’s 1943 PBY-5A Catalina (N9521C) over Virginia Beach, USA. [Luigino Caliaro]

04 News 24 Personal Effects 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]

Focke-Wulf 190 Downunder

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

The Focke-Wulf 190 A-8 (N4190) flying in the USA. It is painted as ‘Red 1’ as flown by Luftwaffe Ace Hans Dortenmann. [Via Hazair]

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An exciting chapter of the Australian Warbird movement began when a Focke-Wulf 190 arrived at Hazair, in Albury, NSW, in July for reassembly and eventual test flying. The Focke-Wulf 190 A-8 (N4190) was purchased by Melbourne based Raptor Aviation in late 2014. The reconstructed fighter flew for the first time on 9 October 2011 in Louisiana, USA, after a ten and a half year rebuild. The aircraft was manufactured in Cottbus, Germany, in 1944. In late July/early August 1944, it may have been assigned to Gruppe I of Jagdgeschwader 11 (I./JG11). It was later discovered, in a railway yard in Reims, France, after being stripped of many parts by the German military. The restoration began in 2000 when the aircraft was owned by Don Hansen. His engineering firm, PAI Aero at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, sourced major airframe components from FlugWerk (the manufacturer of new build FW 190s) and a 1,900 horsepower (1417 kW) Russian Ash 82T. An original BMW801D engine was available at the time but was deemed too complex and unreliable in comparison. Following the lengthy rebuild, RIGHT: The original data tag suggest it was manufactured in Marienburg, Germany however this plant was destroyed in an air raid in October, 1943 while producing Fw 190 G-8 long range fighter bombers. It is believed a number of aircraft sub-assemblies were rescued and transported to Cottbus for final assembly. BELOW RIGHT: The Focke-Wulf moved into Hazair’s Albury facility. [Hazair] BELOW: The ‘Butcher Bird’ arrived at Hazair in Albury last July for reassembly and test flying. [Hazair]

Klaus Plasa, FlugWerk’s main test pilot, flew the aircraft through its testing regime. The Focke-Wulf is painted as ‘Red 1’ flown by ace, and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, Hans Dortenmann. He was credited with 38 victories including eighteen on the Fw 190 D-9. “The aircraft will be based in Albury for the foreseeable future while Hazair and the owner become familiar with the equipment”, commented Hazair’s principal Steve Death. “As this will be a first of type in Australia, Australian Warbirds Association Limited will be involved, as the CASA administering body of Limited Category Warbirds in Australia, in the assessing, processing and issue of the Limited Certificate of Airworthiness. “In due course the cockpit will be returned to its original condition, including all original German instruments, and the aircraft will be repainted in a matt version of the current scheme.” The addition of this famous W.W.II fighter to the Australian Warbird scene will be an exciting comparison to the current fighters we see at airshows around the country. Rob Fox

News

A-20J Havoc flies at Chino A Douglas Havoc has flown after a more than seven year restoration by Aero Trader at Chino Airport, California. The inaugural flight, on July 15, was the first by an A-20 variant in 27 years and the aircraft is the world’s only airworthy example. The Lewis Air Legends’ Havoc was built as an A-20J (43-21709). It has been restored as an A-20G with a gun-equipped nose and dorsal turret. Aero Trader originally commenced the project for the late Steve Searle who had the A-20 transported from Texas. The Havoc had changed hands regularly post-war until acquired by clothing manufacturer William Farah of El Paso, Texas, in 1970. It attended events in the U.S. before being displayed at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas, in 1991 from where it was acquired by Searle. Steve had acquired it for his growing collection at Wirraway Station near Beaudesert, Queensland. Rod Lewis bought the A-20 via Platinum Fighter Sales in August 2010 prior to Searle’s passing in late 2011. While its original serial number is evident on the tail, N747HS wears basic markings of the 312th Bomb Group. There is currently no identifying Bomb Squadron insignia or an example of the colourful nose art the unit was known for. The 312th BG flew Havocs in the south-west Pacific from early 1944 to mid-1945. This is an important and rare aircraft to have back in the air and a fitting memorial to the thousands of men who operated the type in this region. Andy Wright

LEFT: Reno race pilot Stewart Dawson eases the Havoc into the sky. [Keith Charlot]

BELOW: With both Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone radials running, the A-20 taxies out for its first post restoration flight. [Keith Charlot]

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News

Kingfishers & Airacobra in NZ Pioneer Aero Ltd, of Ardmore, New Zealand, have recently taken on a pair of Vought O2SU Kingfisher projects and a Bell P-39Q Airacobra, all previously at Wangaratta, Victoria. The primary Kingfisher project is construction number 2475 and was allocated the US Navy BuNo 5985 but shipped to the Netherlands East Indies. On the fall of Java, it was taken over by the RAAF in 1942 and allocated serial A48-2 at Rathmines. Postwar it went through the Mildura Museum, NSW before going to Whaleworld, at Albany, WA. It was sold at the auction of Whaleworld aviation museum assets to the late Murray Griffiths of Precision Aerospace and trucked to Wangaratta for restoration in 2004. Paul McSweeny of Pioneer said: “It is fair to say that the plans for these aircraft are evolving as we go. The intention is to initially focus on the P-39, sorting out the work remaining and the parts that are still required. Once this is done we will start looking at the Kingfisher. These are the two aircraft that we currently have on site that belong to American Jerry Yagen. We also have parts of a Kingfisher for Kermit Weeks, but this is primarily fuselage and wing sheet metal, on which little assembly has been carried out.” The P-39Q, built from the remains of two aircraft Jerry recovered from Russia in the mid 90’s by Precision Aerospace, as a project restoration eventually for Jerry Yagen’s Fighter Factory. Paul added: “The P-39 is largely structurally complete, but most of the systems require work and items such as the bladder

fuel tanks of which there are twelve still to manufacture. We have a fairly comprehensive suite of drawings and publications for the P-39 and have yet to delve fully into the Kingfisher books but there is a substantial pile of them. We are extremely pleased to have these projects and are looking forward in the coming months to getting our teeth into them.” James Kightly

TOP RIGHT: The P-39 coming out of the container. [Pioneer] TOP LEFT: The inverted Kingfisher fuselage in the jig coming into the hangar. [Pioneer] ABOVE: The rare Kingfisher seen at Whaleworld, Albany, WA in 2002. [J Kightly]

Monospar magic at Newark The restoration of the only surviving General Aircraft Monospar is making rapid progress at the Newark Air Museum in Nottinghamshire, England. The aircraft, a fixed undercarriage ST-12 (c/n ST12/36), arrived in Australia in 1935 and was registered VH-UTH. It was operated by New England Airways Ltd and Airlines of Australia before passing through the hands of a number of flying schools. Its final Australian-based owner, Dr. John Morris, flew the aircraft back to England in 1961. There, it was eventually dismantled and stored before moving to the museum. The Monospar derived its name from a patented lightweight wing design developed by Swiss engineer Helmut Stieger. The single spar was reinforced by a system of thin wire bracing and compression struts. The Monospar Company Ltd was formed in 1929, when Stieger was 27, to develop this design and the prototype Monospar ST-3 flew in 1931. Most of the 45 aircraft built 6 | F L I G H T PAT H

were powered by Pobjoy radials. The ST-11 and ST-12, however, received de Havilland Gipsy Majors. Recent work has concentrated on applying the fabric to the starboard wing. The complex structure can be seen through the fabric and it is likely the museum will take full advantage of the wing folding mechanism to showcase the different engineering aspects of the aircraft. Some work is still to be completed on the ‘top hat’ longerons on the fuselage but once this is done the fuselage fabric will also be applied. All of the rebuild work is being completed without any working drawings or airframe plans. Howard Heeley and Andy Wright

The starboard wing of the Monospar has been fitted and painted ‘Peacock Blue’ which the aircraft wore when it arrived in the UK. [Howard Heeley]

News

Swordfish Airborne! Fairey Swordfish W5856 made its first flight from Yeovilton, Somerset, UK, in the hands of Lieutenant Simon Wilson, RN, in the early evening of Friday 19 June 2015 – almost twelve years since it was grounded following the discovery of suspected corrosion in the wing spars. Since then the aircraft has undergone a thorough rebuild with the restored wings featuring brand new spars and an engine that has re-manufactured pistons and cylinders – the first time Pegasus engine parts have been put back into production. In order to prove the engine’s reliability, the aircraft had to undergo eight hours of flight testing over Yeovilton. Operated by the Royal Navy Historic Flight (RNHF), this Blackburn-built carrier biplane is currently the only airworthy example. The testing programme included Public Display Authorisation sign-off for both Lieutenant Wilson and Lieutenant Commander Chris Götke AFC RN, the Commanding Officer of RNHF, who made his first flight on type earlier in the day. It is hoped that the RNHF’s second Swordfish, Mk.II LS326, will join its stablemate later this year on receipt of its rebuilt Pegasus engine.

Previously seen in pre-war colours, the Swordfish is now resplendent in a more appropriate wartime scheme depicting a 820 Naval Air Squadron Swordfish that famously attacked the battleship Bismarck in May 1941. [Lee Howard, RNHF]

Dragonfly Moves The Temora Aviation Museum (TAM) has acquired another ex-Vietnam A-37B Dragonfly (71-793). The combat veteran jet (VH-CPD) had been Pay’s Air Services’ own longterm restoration project at its Scone facility. TAM’s Chief Executive, Kenny Love, told Flightpath, “The museum has acquired this and another A-37B project to support the restoration of VH-XVA [68-10779] and to return it to flying status. Our other A-37B, VH-DLO (68-10805), has been flying since 1992 and, although well maintained, it will be retired and enter a deep restoration program and the projects will furnish hard to get parts for this too. Presently, we intend to only ever have one Dragonfly flying at the museum at any one time.” Last year TAM also acquired 687958, another partly restored A-37B, from France, via Ireland. This was in addition to 67-14810 which TAM acquired from Lynette Zuccoli in 2000. TAM’s prudent acquisitions go a long way to guaranteeing we will see an example of the Cessna combat jet flying for many years. Rob Fox

The Cessna A-37B Dragonfly (71-793) at Scone NSW prior to moving to Temora. The jet is one of a number were Pg recovered Vietnam by Col Pay and Noel Vinson 0153-C AVBthat Quart Marchfrom 2015.qxp 23/03/2015 12:39 pmin 1989. Page 1

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W.W.II Barn Find

Auster Mk III A11-8 flying in New Guinea in 1945. [via Andrew Carlile. Collection] A W.W.II veteran Auster Mk III project, stored in a farm shed in Victoria’s Yarra Valley since 1994, has been acquired by the RAAF Museum. The former RAAF Auster, A11-17, was constructed by Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited, near Leicester, England, in April 1943 and taken on charge by the RAF as MZ249. It served with several RAF squadrons before it was acquired by the RAAF and shipped to Australia in November 1944. The Auster was received at No. 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW, and allocated to No. 16 Air Observation Post Flight (16 AOP) at Lae, New Guinea, in March 1945. By April, 16 AOP were operating from Tarakan. A11-17 was involved in the dramatic rescue of eleven USAAF airmen from two B-24 Liberators that were shot down over Brunei Bay in November 1944. The airmen were rescued and hidden in the Bawang Valley of mountainous Borneo by Dyak head-hunters until March 1945. Plans were formulated for the rescue of the airmen and a USN Catalina flew the route, circled the village and dropped 100 gallons (379 litres) of fuel for the Austers. The Dyaks constructed a split bamboo runway with one end leading into mud and the other to the edge of a thirty foot (nine metre) ravine. Two Auster Mk IIIs from 16 AOP flew into the Bawang Valley on 7 June 1945. Both landed safely but, when it attempted the first take-off, A11-17 crashed

ABOVE: The completely disassembled Mk III stored on the Toolangi property. [RAAF Museum]

RAAF Auster Mk III A11-14 being assembled at Sepingan, near Balikpapan, Borneo, in August 1945. The subject aircraft A11-17 awaits the engineers attention. [AMW, Geoff Goodall]

off the end of the short runway. The airstrip was then lengthened and the second Auster took off next morning with a seriously ill American airman on board. A11-17 was repaired using bamboo, telephone wire and a strip of metal dropped by a Catalina. The repaired aircraft evacuated two more airmen while the remaining eight Americans were recovered to Tarakan. The Auster was placed in storage in March 1946 and was sold off through the Commonwealth Disposals Commission in April 1947. Since then, firstly as VH-BGU

and then VH-FAE, it has had ten owners. It then became a planned restoration project until the last owner, Mr John Marshall of Toolangi, who has owned the Auster since 1994, donated the aircraft to the RAAF Museum in April. Although completely disassembled, the Mk III is complete and the museum plans to restore the veteran Auster to its original W.W.II livery. With a colourful W.W.II history from the SWPA of operations, this Auster project is a significant addition to the aircraft collection of the RAAF Museum at Point Cook. Rob Fox

Learmonth Airport Windows Unveiled

Flight Sergeant Shane Cheney (L) and author Charles Page (R) unveiling the memorial plaque at the Charles Learmonth Memorial Windows ceremony. [Branwen Smith] 8 | F L I G H T PAT H

On 24 April 2015, the Charles Learmonth Memorial Windows were unveiled at Learmonth RAAF & Civil airport, near Exmouth, WA. The airport was named after Wing Commander Charles Learmonth DFC and Bar, who took part in the search for HMAS Sydney, the air war in New Guinea, and the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. After his return from New Guinea, Learmonth was appointed commanding officer of 14 Squadron, Pearce, but on 6 January 1944 he was killed when his Beaufort crashed into the sea near Rottnest Island, after a broken control rod caused the elevator trim tab to jam. In his last moments, Learmonth radioed the cause of the problem, and this helped

News

Qantas Founders Museum Expansion The Qantas Founders Museum (QFM) in Longreach, Queensland, unveiled its Consolidated Catalina on 23 May after an almost four year refurbishment. The event marked the beginning of an exciting period of expansion for the award-winning museum. Although a PBY-6A amphibian (Bu46644), the Catalina represents ‘Antares Star’. This was one of the five flying boats used by Qantas Empire Airways for the non-stop ‘Double Sunrise’ flights between Perth and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to re-establish the Australia-England air route. By 18 July 1945, after two years, 271 flights had been completed without loss. The aircraft is open to visitors who can listen to an audio presentation of what the Indian Ocean flights were like. Consideration was given to converting the aircraft to a flying boat but the cost of doing so, not to mention the convenience of having the aircraft on wheels, could not be justified. The Catalina will soon be joined by what will be a very popular exhibit. A long-term derelict resident of Manila International Airport, Lockheed Super Constellation N4247K, a former USN transport and civilian seafood hauler, was acquired in September 2014. The aircraft was dismantled over three weeks in early 2015 and stored pending its relocation. The recovery team, often numbering more than twenty personnel, included local and former Qantas engineers, the Qantas Airways Engineering Aircraft Recovery Team and local businesses. The ‘Connie’ was Qantas’ first pressurised aircraft and established the airline’s reputation as a long distance carrier. With so few potentially available airframes left, N4247K is an important addition to the collection and bridges the gap between the smaller aircraft and the jet airliners. It should be in the country by October and, as with the Catalina, a team of volunteers will brave the outback Queensland weather to restore the aircraft when it eventually arrives in Longreach. Museum CEO, Tony Martin, said the interior fit-out is currently being planned. “We would like to have an example of the original cabin fit-out complemented by various audio visual displays and signage”, he said. It may even be a walk through Constellation museum in its own right. A fundraising initiative has been launched to help raise the more than $1 million required for the restoration. The QFM is also seeking tax-deductible donations to build a roof over the outdoor exhibits. This will protect the aircraft from the harsh Queensland sun. The $7 million project is, according to Tony Martin, “almost at the shovel ready phase”. “It has always been the vision for QFM to have these nationally and internationally significant aircraft undercover to preserve them for future generations”, he said. The roof project is a major development for the QFM and will be of enormous benefit to the exhibits and reputation of this world-class aviation attraction. Andy Wright solve what had been up until then, unsolvable Beaufort crashes. Surprisingly, in 2008, some local businessmen suggested changing the airport name from Learmonth to Ningaloo. However, this was not approved by the Shire of Exmouth, and now to its great credit, the Shire has installed the memorial windows in the airport terminal. The project was coordinated by airport manager Jenny Kox, and the windows were designed by Jesse Brampton, using illustrations from the book Wings of Destiny and artwork by Lionel Thompson. The unveiling ceremony was hosted by Shire President Turk Shales, who stated, “The people of Exmouth pride themselves on showcasing what is the very important history of the town”. The windows were unveiled by Wings of Destiny author Charles Page and Flight Sergeant Shane Cheney (OIC RAAF Learmonth). In a further tribute, a large model of the Boston aircraft flown by Charles Learmonth in New Guinea, will be constructed by the local Men's Shed, and suspended from the airport ceiling.

LEFT: The museum’s Catalina PBY-6A painted to represent ‘Antares Star’ (G-AGIE), one of the five flying boats used for the Double Sunrise flights between Western Australia and Ceylon. [QFM] BELOW: The Super Constellation, with engines, undercarriage and tail removed, during the dismantling process at Manila International Airport. [QFM]

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News

Phantom Reclamation Among the hundreds of aircraft stored at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC), on Davis Monthan Air Force Base, in Tucson, Arizona, are two McDonnell Douglas F-4G Phantoms (69-7212 and 69-7216). The Phantoms served with the RAAF and they may be returning to Australia. The Queensland Air Museum (QAM) is currently in discussions with AMARC to acquire the aircraft and save them from destruction. If successful, QAM will return An F-4E Phantom (69-7219) at RAAF the Phantoms to F-4E standard (where possible) Williamtown in 1973. [Queensland Air Museum] and RAAF livery. The RAAF leased 24 F-4E Phantoms in the 1970s while waitThis former 1 Sqn RAAF F-4E (69-7216) may be returning to ing for the delayed delivery of the GenAustralia. Retired from service in January 1992, it was moved to eral Dynamics F-111. The RAAF F-4s AMARC following fifty missions during Operation Desert Storm. were assigned an out-of-sequence A69 designation. In October 1972, 69-7212 was returned to the USAF and 69-7216 followed in June 1973. Both went on to fly more than fifty and sixty missions respectively during Operation Desert Storm. Today, 69-7216 appears more complete than 69-7212. If the museum is successful in its negotiations, the two Phantoms will be a significant addition to the QAM’s already impressive collecRIGHT: A McDonnell Douglas F-4E tion and the Australian preservation (69-7201) in service at RAAF Amberley scene. With thanks to DMAFB and TSgt in 1973. [Queensland Air Museum] Courtney Richardson. Phil Hosking

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ABOVE: One of the F-4Es (69-7212) in open storage. It was delivered to 82 Wing and served with 6 Sqn RAAF. Credited with five Iraqi radar kills during Operation Desert Storm, over sixty combat missions, it was retired in December 1995 and moved to AMARC. [Phil Hosking]

Experience WOW Some of the best aviation action New Zealand has to offer will be on show during Easter 2016. The world renowned Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow will once again feature many exciting air and ground events celebrating classic aircraft and warbirds, modern jets, sport aircraft and many more aviation attractions. Military vehicles, vintage trucks and aviation trade stands will add to the incredible variety of displays on offer. Via Grand Pacific Tours, you can take a fully escorted thirteen day tour that includes a 3 Day Gold Pass to the airshow. The tour will also bring together the culture and history of the North Island with the dramatic scenery of the South Island. Combine your passion for aviation with the opportunity to experience some of New Zealand’s spectacular regions and popular attractions. For more information call 1800 622 768 or visit www.grandpacifictours.com The Old Stick and Rudder Company’s ex RNZAF FG-1D Corsair will be one of the many resident warbirds featured in next year’s show. [Rob Fox]

News

Heritage listing for Darwin’s Catalinas The Northern Territory government has BELOW: The wreck of the RAAF’s first Catalina, A24-1, proposed adding Darwin’s three RAAF seen from a helicopter during a very low tide in 2014. Consolidated Catalina wrecks to its Heritage Register. Six Catalina wrecks can be found in Darwin Harbour’s East Arm. The other three are the PBY-4s of the USN’s Patrol Wing 10, destroyed during the Japanese air raid on Darwin on 19 February 1942. These wrecks were added to the Register earlier this year. All of the Catalinas were nominated for heritage listing in 1998, and since then have been threatened by harbour expansion and dredging work. The RAAF aircraft were destroyed in accidents in 1945, but are historic airframes in their own right. A24-1 was the first Catalina taken on strength by the RAAF while A24-69 was the first amphibian variant received. A24-206 was destroyed when a depth charge fell off during loading and detonated as it sank. Two airmen were killed when the remaining depth charges exploded as the aircraft sank. The wreck is the only known RAAF PB2B-1 variant surviving in Australia. The decision to finally register the wreck sites may be the only good news for the area’s W.W.II heritage. The remains of the nearby 20 Squadron RAAF flying boat base and ‘Z’ Special Unit base on Quarantine Island are to be demolished for future wharf development. Little is left of either base. It has taken seventeen years to officially protect the Catalina wreck sites but it is hoped that the remains of the two bases can follow suit within a prescribed heritage zone. Dr Silvano Jung and Andy Wright

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ABOVE: The RAAF’s first Catalina A24-1 in the U.S. prior to its delivery flight in January 1941. Geoff Nicholl and P.G. Taylor are second and third from the left but the other RAAF men, and four Consolidated employees at right, remain unknown. [all images, via Dr Silvano Jung] LEFT: Catalina A24-69 undergoing maintenance at an RAAF onshore facility. It was the first Catalina amphibian received by the RAAF.

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For a brochure call Grand Pacific Tours on 1800 622 768 or visit www.grandpacifictours.com *Conditions apply. Prices valid ex SYD, MEL, BNE & OOL and include pre paid taxes. Prices and taxes are subject to change.**Discount and Jacket are per person. Travel Guide is per household. No other special offers or discounts apply. Not valid on special group departures. Special offer applies to new bookings only until 31 October 2015.

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News

Bata Lockheed 10 Returns The original Lockheed 10 operated by Czech shoe company Bata has flown back to its home LetištěToč náonce (Tocna Airport) again, arriving to great public interest on 28 May 2015. Bata are celebrating the 120th Anniversary of the company and the 1937 Lockheed L.10A (Construction number 1091) OK-CTB is a part of the story. Chosen by a company well aware of the benefit of executive aviation, and the merits of having a flying ambassador, Bata only had two years use out of it before the aggression of Nazi Germany and the outbreak of W.W.II resulted in the aircraft being impressed by the British, and going on to serve with the RCAF, before being sold off in May 1946. Passing through the hands of multiple owners, including film star Margaret O’Brien, it Flying the was acquired in 1972 by the Czech flag on penultimate owner, Dr James arrival in the Almand of Grand Prairie, TexNetherlands. as, who had the aircraft, regis[Tocna Airport] tered N241M, airworthy for many years as ‘RCAF 7656’. After re-acquisition by Bata in 2010, a major restoration by Wichita Air Services in Newton, Kansas, USA was completed and the aircraft flew again, in March 2015, as one of only two currently airworthy Lockheed 10s worldwide. Much new skin was required and a modern instrument panel was chosen as well as a full cabin fit out to current standards. Painted as ‘OK-CTB’, it currently retains the registration N241M as its original Czech registration is not available. The aircraft was then flown by the crew of Nikola Lukačovič, Milan Vacík and Vaclav Bejcek (project leader and mechanic) from the USA to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, for a check over in the Canadian Warplane Heritage hangar, before departing to the Czech Republic via Greenland, Iceland, Wick (Scotland), Duxford (England) and Lelystad in the Netherlands. The aircraft is now the star of regular open days at its home base. James Kightly

Overflying the Greenland glacier. [Tocna Airport]

In front of the replica 1930s ‘Amsterdam Schiphol’ terminal building at Lelystad. [Tocna Airport] The Bata Lockheed 10 seen at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, UK, on its journey back to the Czech republic with the escort Cessna Citation OK-ILA behind. [Mike Shreeve]

ABOVE: As Lockheed 10A N241M in RCAF markings at Denton Airport, Texas, in 1986 [RuthAS] LEFT: As first delivered, in front of its hangar in the then Czechoslovakia. [Via Bata] 12 | F L I G H T PAT H

News

First Huey Restoration The very first of the Bell Huey helicopter family has gone into restoration. Bell XHU-1 Huey 55-4459, construction number ‘One’ was one of the prototype XH40 turboshaft powered helicopters that were to revolutionise military air support, and the very first of more than 16,000 Hueys produced by Bell. It is the last surviving prototype. Kept in covered storage at the U.S. Army Aviation Museum, Fort Rucker, Alabama, USA for many years after a period as a gate guard, it was taken in June 2015 from the museum by staff of Blast Off Inc., of Atmore, Alabama, who will fully restore the machine over a year back to its original configuration for the museum. The restoration has been made possible by donations by members of the public. Blast Off has restored dozens of aircraft over the past quarter century including the Douglas R4D-5L ‘Que Sera Sera’, first to land at the South Pole, now at the American National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, Florida. Robert Mitchell, the Army Aviation Museum’s curator explained that this prototype “Happens to be the only one of these left in the world. This aircraft is a pretty big deal.” He added that the job for Blast Off was “… to take this aircraft in, strip all the paint off it and basically take the aircraft apart,” then, with “drawings, photographs and archival material, they will begin to reassemble the aircraft in its original configuration.” The prototype Bell XH-40 flew in October 1956 and entered service with the US Army in 1959 as the UH-1 Iroquois, quickly nicknamed the ‘Huey’ from its designation. The UH-1B model was ordered in April 1961 by the RAAF, originally for search and rescue with 9 Squadron, serialled A2-384 to

One of the other prototype XH-40 helicopters with the revolutionary Bell rotor system and turboshaft engine. [Via Author]

LEFT: Bell XHU-1 Huey 55-4459 in store at Fort Rucker, before going to Blast Off Inc. for restoration. [Alan Wilson] BELOW: The tail still just wears the serial that gives away the historic status of this machine. [Army Aviation Museum]

A2-391. It was in the Vietnam War that the Huey was to become the iconic military helicopter, thanks to media coverage of its extensive use by the American armed forces. Both the RAN and Army also were to operate various models of the Huey right into the Twenty-First Century, while the developed design has been used by dozens of armed forces and hundreds of civil operators for a multitude of roles worldwide. James Kightly

W IN

NER 2014

MUSEUM FEATURES ibition • Qantas Founders Exh 22 19 ted Lis • Heritage Qantas Hangar rs • 747 & 707 Air craft Tou Tours ck De • Wing Walk & Flight • PBY Catalina Simulator s • WW1 and F35 Flight nt • McGinness’ Restaura • Founders Gif t Store • New Exhibit s Coming

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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 | 13

News

VH-ABR to fly again

Australia’s second oldest Douglas DC-3, the well-known VH-ABR, is currently undergoing a thorough inspection and overhaul prior to returning to the air. The new owner, Paul Little’s Melbourne Aviation Precinct, is having the work completed at its base in the former Ansett Airlines maintenance hangar at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport. The aircraft (c/n 2029), completed in September 1938, arrived in Australia six weeks later and flew its first revenue flight with Australian National Airways (ANA) on 31 October. It was the third DC-3 imported into the country. ‘Kanana’, as it is still known, was impressed into RAAF service at the start of W.W.II but was back with ANA by May 1940. It suffered four serious accidents between February 1942 and October 1948. Three of these accidents related to engine failures but each time the aircraft was repaired despite having its port wing, outboard of the offending engine, almost torn off in the 1948 forced landing. This aircraft is a survivor. It flew with Ansett-ANA for a time and, in late 1961, began services with Airlines of South Australia (ASA) before a brief period of storage at Essendon Airport in 1971. Several weeks later, in April, it was back in action after one of ASA’s ‘modern’ aircraft, an F-27 Fokker Friendship, was destroyed in a fire. The DC-3 was retired again in October but was flying with Ansett by the end of the year before being relegated to charter flights. Its flying days appeared over, having been in storage since 1975, when it was moved by road to Tullamarine and put on display outside Ansett’s maintenance facility in August 1981. Soon after, however, the decision was made to restore ‘ABR, still in its red and white Ansett ‘Delta’ scheme, to flight. This was achieved in late 1988. The DC-3 was used for special charter flights, usually carrying Ansett employees, and attendance at airshows. A small group 14 | F L I G H T PAT H

of passionate volunteers maintained ‘ABR, even after the collapse of Ansett Airlines, and will continue to do so today, under the auspices of the R.M. Ansett Historical Aircraft Society (RMHAS). It is this group of volunteers, ably supported by the new owners’ staff, that is responsible for returning ‘ABR to the sky. The aircraft has not flown since early 2009. The cost of ongoing maintenance had, by then, become too much for the volunteer team so the aircraft entered storage yet again. Despite this being outside, although hangar space was occupied when it was available, ‘ABR has held up well. There have been no big surprises to date with corrosion being mainly limited to the cowls. The aircraft was built with Wright Cyclone 1820 engines so the cowls are a little different to the more common Pratt & Whitney powered aircraft. To make things more of a challenge, ANA reverse engineered Lockheed Hudson cowls to fit the surplus B-17 Flying Fortress engines purchased after the war. The DC-3’s familiar painted cowls have been stripped back, repaired and brought back to a polished metal finish. The carburetor intakes, on the tops of the cowls, have also received the same treatment. To help with the restoration the Australian National Aviation Museum, at Moorabbin Airport, donated brackets from Hudson cowlings it had in storage. Many of the airliner’s interior fittings and floor have been removed to allow access to, and replacement of, all of the primary control cables. Components are neatly stored in the former Ansett sheet metal shop to the rear of the hangar. This area serves as the team’s workshop. At present the aircraft is sitting on jacks with its engines removed. In service on ‘ABR since the 1960s, the Wright 1820s have been sent to Anderson Airmotive in Idaho, USA, for rebuild. Peter Carmody, the quality man-

ager for RMHAS, said the Wrights just kept plugging away. “We are interested to get a strip report to see what the engines are like,” he said. “I reckon they will only find normal wear and tear.” Anderson Airmotive was selected from several US-based workshops as no-one in Australia is rebuilding 1820s. The ‘ABR team are well-stocked with engine parts and almost have enough to build up a Quick Engine Change (QEC) pack. The spare engine will be sent to Andersons once the aircraft is flying again. As much work as possible is, of course, being performed locally. The propellers have recently returned from Moorabbin after a complete overhaul and the volunteer team have recently inspected and refurbished the undercarriage. While it is intended for the aircraft and crew to replicate flying in the 1940s, ‘ABR will be fitted with some modern necessities. Modern amenities at the rear of the aircraft will be installed and, up front, adding to the existing partial Boeing 727 instrument layout, an avionics upgrade, to bring the cockpit up to current standards and requirements, will be carried out. The intention for ‘ABR is, in Peter Carmody’s words, “Get it flying and keep working on it”. A ‘Kanana Club’ will be created to preserve ANA heritage with the centrepiece being the DC-3. The aircraft’s new owner is keen to preserve part of Victoria’s aviation heritage and allow people to get involved with its preservation. The workshop is also being run along the lines of a ‘Men’s Shed’ and allows skilled hands and minds to be put to work again for the benefit of all involved. When VH-ABR flies again, hopefully by the end of the year, it will be the fifth active DC-3 in the greater Melbourne area. As the oldest flying example in the country, it will be a most welcome sight and sound in this anniversary year. Andy Wright

News

CLOCKWISE: The DC-3 in the massive former Ansett Airlines maintenance hangar at Tullamarine; the aircraft’s engines and wheels have been removed for overhaul; John Von, a former Ansett employee, working on one of the engine dishpans; The cockpit will be upgraded to meet current standards; Brian Girdwood, another former Ansett man, inspects the tail wheel assembly.

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www.VintageAeroWriter.com 0424 745104 or [email protected] F L I G H T PAT H | 15

News

Museo de Fuerza Aérea Colombiana TOP: The North American A-26C Invader and a DHC U-6A Beaver, FAC 108. BELOW: Displayed outside, the Republic P-47D-30-RA Thunderbolt FAC861.

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The Fuerza Aérea Colombiana (FAC) Museum in Bogota, Colombia, will be relocating in the near future. It is currently located on the military side of Bogota’s El Dorado international airport and resides within the grounds of Comando Aéreo de Transporte Militar (CATAM) or Military Transport Air Command. Land has been acquired at

Parque Jaime Duque, a theme park located about 37 kilometres north of central Bogota, to make the museum more accessible to visitors. Since its opening, in 2000, approximately 400,000 people have had the opportunity to appreciate the superb collection. Tours must be booked with at least one week’s notice via the museum’s website. A gallery of portraits of the major contributors to Colombian military aviation welcomes visitors to the museum. There are many historical photographs, models, uniforms and storyboards describing the evolution of the FAC. A section is also dedicated to the Peruvian conflict of 1932-33. Another describes how W.W.II affected the diplomatic relations between Colombia, Germany, Italy and Japan. Twenty-five aircraft are on display outside. Some of the rare aircraft include a Junkers W34 and Ju52 that participated in the Peruvian conflict. Other aircraft include a former presidential Douglas DC-4 Skymaster, Douglas A-26C Invader, Canadair CL-13B Sabre 6, de Havilland Canada U-6A Beaver, Fairchild C-26B Metro III, Gavilan G358M, Hiller OH-23B Raven, Howard 400, Lockheed C-130B Hercules, Lockheed P-80C Shooting Star, and a Republic P-47D Thunderbolt. The opening of the new facility at Parque Jaime Duque is anticipated to coincide with the centenary of the air force in 2019. Phil Hosking

News

ABOVE: FAC-2223, the Fuerza Aerea Colombiana North American Rockwell OV-10A Bronco LEFT: The Dassault Mirage 5COA FAC-3027.

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News

On 3 June 2015, the de Havilland Moth Club organised a DH.60 ninetieth birthday gathering at the Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden, Bedfordshire, UK, to commemorate the beginning of the Moth success story. As well as being the founder of the Moth lineage, in 1929 it was estimated that 85 out of every 100 aircraft in the UK were Moths of some type. Despite inclement weather on the day, visitors included [RIGHT]G-AXXG, the Racing Moth, G-AAWO and G-AAJT along with the four locally based examples [ABOVE] G-AANV, G-ABAG, G-EBWD and G-EBLV.

[Photos, Mike Shreeve]

Moth’s Ninetieth at Old Warden

Stunning Seafire

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On 15 June the culmination of a protracted, 25 year restoration was reached with the first flight, in the hands of Richard Grace, of Seafire III PP972 from Bentwaters in Suffolk. It was the first time a Merlin-powered Seafire had flown since the Irish Air Corps retired their remaining examples in 1954. This particular aircraft served with the Fleet Air Arm's 809 Squadron in the Pacific in 1945 on board HMS Stalker and at RNAS Trincomalee (HMS China Bay) in Ceylon. After returning to the UK at the end of the war, it was sold to France in early 1948 and served briefly off Indochina with the carrier Arromanches. Upon retirement in 1949, PP972 was used for technical training and eventually ended up derelict at Gâvres from where it was recovered by Jean Frelaut in 1970. He restored it to static condition before selling it to Englishman Doug Arnold in 1988. Registered as G-BUAR, the project passed through several restorers, coupled with periods of inactivity and storage, until ending up with Air Leasing at Bentwaters in 2012 for completion. The Seafire made its public debut at Duxford's 2015 Flying Legends in July. Mike Shreeve

News

Shuttleworth Military Pageant

Pilot Martin Willing put the Avro Vulcan XH558 through its paces.

The recently completed Northern Aeroplane Workshop Sopwith Camel.

Always one of Old Warden’s most popular events, in the thirty-plus years that I have been attending this Military Pageant, I have never seen such a turn-out for one item before. With a full house in the public arena and hundreds outside, pilot Martin Willing put the Avro Vulcan XH558 through its paces in a sensational display tailored to suit the confines of Old Warden, even including a banked pass around the Aerodrome’s legendary bend. XH558 is due to cease flying at the end of this season and begin its new life as an educational tool at Robin Hood Airport, Doncaster, so this display will definitely be the last one at Old Warden, and will be long remembered. Other highlights included the newly-restored Bristol Blenheim G-BPIV which was flown in from Duxford by John Romain, joined by Peter Teichman in his Spitfire PR.XI PL965. John Beattie was in the newly-repaired Seafire XVII SX336, and flew with the Collection’s Sea Hurricane G-BKTH. The BBMF were also in attendance with the newly rebuilt Spitfire Vb AB910 which has been a regular visitor to Old

Peter Teichman landing Spitfire PR.XI PL965. Warden for over fifty years. Hopefully 2016 will see the Collection’s Spitfire Mk.Vc AR501 return to the air following an eight year rebuild. Sadly the wind kept the Edwardian and W.W.I aircraft grounded, and the remembrance poppy drop was performed by the Piston Provost rather than the Bristol F2b. Highlight of the static dis-

plays included the recently completed Northern Aeroplane Workshop Sopwith Camel and the new Bristol Scout reproduction, along with the largest collection of W.W.I trucks and buses ever assembled in the UK. The Military Pageant was a tremendous success and helped top-up the coffers after last year’s washed out displays. Gary R Brown

Californian Airship Hangar Stripped & Saved The future of the historic and rare Hangar One airship shed at Moffett Field, California, USA, is assured thanks to an agreement between the owners, NASA, and a subsidiary of local technology giant Google. NASA signed a sixty-year lease in November 2014 with Planetary Ventures, LLC to manage Moffett Federal Airfield and rehabilitate the airfield’s historic hangars. The U.S. Navy completed Hangar One in 1933 for the USS Macon airship. Hangars Two and Three were completed in 1943 for blimp use. Carcinogens were discovered leaching into local wetlands in

the early 2000s so the covering of Hangar One was removed in 2012. Neither the USN nor NASA, however, could afford to replace it. Planetary Ventures will rehabilitate the hangars and create an educational facility about the site’s legacy and the role of technology in the history of Silicon Valley. Google, one of the few users of the airfield with its business jets, will continue to use the site for experimenting with advanced technology such as kites that use wind power to generate energy. James Kightly

Aerial view of Hangar One at Moffett Federal Airfield, taken in 2012, when work was underway to strip the hangar of its outer covering. [Nelson Minar] F L I G H T PAT H | 19

The Australian

Sopwith Gnus By Douglas T. Pardee

B

uilt by Sopwith Aviation & Engineering Co. at Kingston-on-Thames in 1919, the Gnu was a two-bay threeseat biplane of wood and fabric construction. The pilot sat in an open cockpit under the centre section (one panel was left uncovered to improve his field of vision) while the passengers sat in a cabin that was level with the trailing edge of the upper main plane and featured a hinged, glazed roof. The type incorporated a slight

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stagger on the mainplanes. The prototype was powered by a Bentley B.R.2 Rotary engine rated at 200 hp (149 kW). Harry Hawker, with his wife as passenger, flew the aircraft, registered K.101, from Brooklands to Hendon, accompanied by a 110 hp (82 kW) Le Rhone-powered machine (K.136), on 29 May 1919 to attend the reception given to the crews of the American Curtiss flying boats NC.1, NC.2 and NC.4 (NC.4 had just completed the first transatlantic flight between North America and the United Kingdom). The prototype Gnu

then went to Southport where, for the next few days, it was flown by C. Barnard on a series of pleasure flights. On 10 June, however, it was completely written-off in an accident but, fortunately, without injury to the pilot. Three Gnus were sold to the Australian Larkin-Sopwith Aviation Co. of Melbourne but only two received Australian registrations, G-AUBX (ex G-EAHQ – Le Rhone) and G-AUBY (ex G-EAIL – Bentley), while the third (ex G-EAIM) was believed to have been used for spares.

LEFT: G-AUBY with its original Bentley engine. Note the ailerons on both upper and lower mainplanes. [The collection p6818-0041] BELOW: G-AUBY showing the modified canopy, original fuel tank and ‘Gnu’ motif. The uncovered panel, providing improved visibility for the pilot, can be seen to the right of the fuel tank.

VH-UBY is seen here with the uncowled Wright Whirlwind installed.

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The larger fuel tanks feature prominently in this photo of VH-UBY.

LEFT: This is thought to be G-AUBX at Mornington, Victoria. Compare the cabin canopy arrangement to later photos of ‘UBY. [John Hopton Collection]

Keith Farmer flew VH-UBY in the 1929 Sydney to Perth Centenary Air Race G-AUBX was sold to the Fulham Air Transport Co. but, in March 1922, was involved in a crash at Mildura, Victoria, that severely injured the pilot, J. Fullarton, and resulted in the death of his passenger. G-AUBY was operated by Australian Aerial Services out of Hay, NSW, but was badly damaged at Balranald on 23 May 1924 and was out of action for almost a year. In 1928 it became VH-UBY and was sold to Keith Farmer who, after replacing the Bentley engine with a Wright J5 Whirlwind of 200 hp (149 kW), flew it in the 1929 Sydney to Perth Western Australian Centenary Air Race. He finished the race in eleventh place with a time of 31 hours and 35 minutes. Farmer, a

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VH-UBY presumably somewhere over Melbourne.

veteran of the Australian Flying Corps, later modified the Gnu to carry three passengers. The final modification was carried out in early 1932, by Hart Aircraft of Essendon, when larger fuel tanks were fitted. When inspected on 28 June, by Civil Aviation Board (CAB) inspector W. Ellis, it was reported as being somewhat tail heavy. Pioneer Air Services of Melbourne made a tentative offer to purchase the aircraft in March 1932 but the sale did not proceed. The aircraft was inspected three years later by CAB inspector J. Pethbridge and again in March 1939 when its logbook showed 1250 hours. Some further flights were made before the war in the Pacific terminated al-

most all private flying. The aircraft was then dismantled and the engine and propeller sold to Ansett Airways. The airframe was bought by a Mr. Tay of Preston in Melbourne. It was struck off the register on 22 August 1945. After the war it was rebuilt by L. Sherrah of Hawthorn but, when he applied to the Department for registration on 5 May 1946, he was informed that the aircraft would have to be treated as a new aircraft type. Due to the expense involved with this procedure it was not considered worthwhile to proceed. His application was withdrawn and the aircraft was stored in a hangar at Essendon where, on 19 April, it was badly damaged by a freak windstorm

VH-UBY in its original passenger cabin configuration.

The uncovered section of the upper mainplane was also useful for refuelling access as can be seen here. ‘Miss Johnson’ may refer to Amy Johnson who completed her epic England to Australia flight in late May 1930.

THE AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA while out in the open. Some of the remains were later used by Keith Farmer in the construction of his Bumble Bee pusher biplane but this was destroyed in a bushfire not long before its completion. It is believed that the third, unregistered Gnu owned by Larkin-Sopwith was the one sold to Clement John de Garis, a restless entrepreneur who saw aviation as his next great challenge, in July 1920 to replace his Boulton Paul P.9 which made a forced landing on 9 July 1920 at Glenroy, Victoria. The de Garis Gnu, unregistered (Australian registrations did not come into force until 1921), crashed at Berri, South Australia, in August 1920 and was not rebuilt.

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”, and 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]

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Personal Effects

A Quiet Country Town

B-24 Liberator in RAF Coastal Command Service with Focus on aircraft of No.311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF Pavel Turk and Miloslav Pajer’s latest work may have a somewhat unwieldy title but it is by far the best B-24 book to be released in the past ten years. Published and printed in the Czech Republic (in English), the hard-bound 320 page work contains seventy colour profiles of the aircraft and an enormous number of photographs (at least 550). Every unit is given a ‘potted’ history and every Liberator assigned to 311 Sqn has an indepth history. Many years, and a prodigious amount of research, have gone into this history. It will be the ‘bible’ for future researchers of the RAF and deserves to be on the bookshelf of everyone with an interest in the B-24. This is only one volume of a series on the Liberator being prepared by the authors. The reviewer needs to declare a propriety interest in the book. Two of the units covered are those in which my father served and I provided one or two of the published photographs. (reviewer: Bob ‘OZ’ Livingstone) Pavel Turk and Miloslav Pajer, £59.99 plus p&p, The Aviation Bookshop, www. aviation-bookshop.com/hub. htm 24 | F L I G H T PAT H

The town of the title is Yeovil, Somerset, in England, and home to Westland aircraft’s various aeronautical guises for a century now. David Gibbings (former Fairey and Westland flight test engineer and too modest to list his MBE in the book) has brought together a wide range of stories from many authors, some of great eminence, to give a remarkably personal and human account of Westland Aircraft’s start in the early days, as a brave but unknowing subcontractor of Short seaplanes, to today’s AgustaWestland helicopter company. Most of the company’s aircraft are represented including beasts like the Wyvern, workhorses like the Wapiti and oddities like the Pterodactyl. But it’s the people that shine through, from the test pilots and designers, to the often overlooked workforce, and right back to those pioneering westcountry men who took on a whole new industry and founded a company. Each entry is headed by a delightful little pencil sketch of the subject by the author. These touches, and the evident care with which the book has been brought together, make it a special, exceptional title for the shelf, as its peers are more often filled with dry facts. It’s not the same business, and today it’s a multi-national, but few aircraft builders can claim such a clear lineage and the occupation of one, notable airfield near a quiet country town. (Reviewer: James Kightly) David Gibbings, £16.99 plus p&p, www.thehistorypress. co.uk

Flying Fun Well known UK display pilot Rod Dean has finally put pen to paper to record the exploits from his remarkable flying career. Rod principally flew the Hunter, Jaguar and Hawk in the RAF, but also managed to get some hours in one of the last Meteors in service. He even flew the famous Meteor F8 ‘Winston’ which now resides at Temora. Rod is perhaps better known to aircraft enthusiasts for his warbird flying, initially with Spencer Flack’s beautiful Mustang, and the powerful displays leading the Spitfire tail chase at Duxford in the Griffon powered Spitfires that Historic Flying rebuilt and operated. The light hearted nature of the book covers many of Rod’s RAF jolly japes and escapades that came with service life as well as giving a fascinating insight into the world of warbird flying. The only criticism with this delightful book was that it felt as though Rod had many more stories to tell. Hopefully this fault will be addressed in Volume II! [Reviewer: Gary Brown] Rod Dean, £20.00 plus p&p, www.grubstreet.co.uk

Japanese Secret Projects 2 This is the second in a series on Japanese prototypes and secret projects and covers pre-war ‘Xplanes’ through to the end of W.W.II. However, whereas Volume 1 highlighted previously overlooked and often unknown advanced projects, this book covers more conventional types.

It details the influence of German designs like the Hitachi ‘He-type’ heavy bomber which was a He 177 powered by four radial engines instead of the coupled DB 601As. Analyses of two Aichi designs open the work. The B8A Mokusei (a smaller B7A “Grace”) and the twin-engine night fighter S1A1 Denko were both ordered into production but the prototypes and the factories were destroyed by B-29 raids. The reader is taken through to the giant, twelve turbo-prop, Kawanishi KX-3 flying boat. With a length of 162 metres, and a wingspan of 180 metres, it was estimated that it would have a range of more than 17,700 kilometres at a fully loaded weight of 417,300 kilograms. It would have dwarfed anything built (including Hughes’ H-4). In all, 38 types are covered in this volume and quality reproduction of colour plates, detailed specifications and rare images make this a natural compendium to its predecessor. (reviewer: Rob Fox) Edwin M. Dyer III, $59.95 plus p&p, DLS Australia Pty Ltd, www.dlsbooks.com

Radar Gunner by Dick Dakeyne DFC The late Dick Dakeyne left a superb account of his two tours with the 90th and 380th Bomb Groups of the USAAF. This lovely hardback of 143 pages covers Dakeyne’s childhood in outer Sydney, his wartime service and, briefly, his work as a geographer studying the people of New Guinea. As an RAAF airman, he was trained as a Wireless-Air Gunner and

Personal Effects

selected to join the top secret Section 22. This later became the RCM (Radar Countermeasures) Unit and included personnel from Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the United States. Dakeyne’s main task, crouched in the small space above the Liberator’s bomb bay, was to use the Australian-designed SN2 receiver to detect enemy radar transmissions. He also manned a waist gun or the ball turret. In this role, Dakeyne flew from outback Western Australia, Fenton (south of Darwin) and Biak Island in north-western New Guinea. Radar Gunner is a pleasant, flowing read that is over far too soon. This is due to the author’s easy-going style of writing and his ability to tell a story. There’s not a lot of intricate mission detail but the reader is left in no doubt what it was like to serve and fly with the Americans and live during that time. There is barely a page without an illustration of some sort and the majority of the excellent photos come from the author’s collection. This is one of the best RAAF memoirs to be published in some time and is excellent value for money. (reviewer: Andy Wright) Dick Dakeyne DFC, $25.00 plus p&p, www.darwinsairwar.com.au or the B-24 Liberator Memorial, Werribee.

Hurricane Squadron Ace by Nick Thomas ‘Pete’ Brothers learned to fly at sixteen and joined the RAF in early 1936. He joined 32 Squadron RAF later that year and re-

mained until it was stood down, due to losses sustained during the Battle of Britain, in September 1940. During that time, Brothers shot down several German aircraft and proved himself as a fighter leader. After some time with 257 Squadron RAF, he became the first commanding officer of 457 Squadron RAAF in June 1941. He was in charge for almost a year and led the squadron over Occupied Europe. Brothers was posted to briefly lead 602 Squadron RAF, instead of going to Darwin with 457, before becoming Wing Commander (Flying) of the Tangmere and Culmhead Wings. He left the RAF after the war but returned and finally retired in 1973 and became a well-known advocate for his wartime colleagues. This is a well-presented hardback with a good index and photos. It is not, however, an in-depth biography. It is more of an operational history of the squadrons during the time Brothers served with them. Combat reports from many of his comrades abound. The frenetic action of the Battle of Britain is evident but it’s hard to develop an affinity with Brothers when there are large tracts of text where he is hardly mentioned. When the narrative does focus on Brothers, and includes his memories, or analyses a situation or event, it is an enjoyable read. It can be hard going, however, to get to these pearls. (reviewer: Andy Wright) Nick Thomas, £20.00 plus p&p, www.pen-and-sword. co.uk

Calendar of Aviation events SEPTEMBER 12 Wings Over Warwick, presented by the Queensland RAA and Warwick Aero Club. Visit www.qraa.info/ 25 AAAA Spring Fly-in, Cowra, NSW. Held by the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia. Visit www.antique-aeroplane.com.au OCTOBER 10 Nhill Airshow, Nhill Airport, Victoria. Visit http://www.nhillairshow.com.au/ 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.antique-aeroplane.com.au 25 Rathmines Catalina Festival, Rathmines, Lake Macquarie, NSW. Visit www.rathminescatalinafestival.com/ 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/ MARCH 2016 06 Busselton Aerofest 2016, WA. Visit http://busseltonaeroclub.com.au/ 13 Tyabb Airshow - Winged Warriors, hosted by the Peninsula Aero Club, Tyabb, Victoria. Visit http://www.tyabbairshow.com/ * 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.

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An aviation graveyard – the Portsea Lord Mayor’s Children’s Camp By Neil Follett

P

ortsea, sixty kilometres south of Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, is a popular holiday spot and a playground for the city’s ‘rich and famous’. In 1947, however, a seven acre (3 ha) site between Nepean Highway and Port Phillip Bay was set aside for country Victoria children to enjoy. It now focuses on providing holidays for disadvantaged children and those with special needs. To provide playground activities for the children, various pieces of equipment were provided. These have included a Bren Gun Carrier, an old Melbourne tram, a steam locomotive, several fire engines and six aircraft. All of the aircraft were ex-RAAF and supplied as Treasury Free Issue.

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The first aircraft to arrive at Portsea appear to have been an Airspeed Oxford and a CAC Boomerang. Both aircraft, according to RAAF records, were issued to the Lord Mayor’s Camp on the same date.

Airspeed AS.10 Oxford Mk.I, X6691, c/n 0129

Built in England by Airspeed Ltd, and allocated to the RAAF under the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS), it was one of 391 Oxfords that came to Australia. It was taken on charge by the RAAF in April 1942 and, after assembly, it served with No 1 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) at RAAF Point Cook, No. 3 Bombing and Gunnery School (BAGS) at RAAF West Sale, and No. 6 SFTS

BELOW: Beaufighter A8-291 while in RAAF service. Note ‘Bourke’ painted on the nose. RIGHT: This photo was probably taken soon after arrival in 1948 as evidenced by the lack of damage. ABOVE RIGHT: The fabric control surfaces of A8-291 were, naturally, easily damaged. FAR RIGHT: Newly arrived migrants posing on A8-291.

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The second Beaufighter at Portsea, A8-328, when first inspected by members of the AHSA in early 1962. Note the words ‘Royal Mail’ on the roundel.

What remained of the Boomerang A46-11 was returned to RAAF Point Cook (c.1949) [A.H. Carter, via N. Follett] at Mallala, South Australia, before returning for storage in May 1944. In May 1945 it was sent to Ansett Airways at Essendon for a complete overhaul before returning to Point Cook in August of that year. It was selected for post-war use to be stored at Point Cook. However, on 18 December, it was approved for free issue to the Lord Mayor’s Camp at Portsea. It was issued to Portsea on 13 May 1948 but an article in the Melbourne Argus newspaper of 18 December 1947 mentions children playing in “real live Oxford and Boomerang aircraft.” No photos of the Oxford at Portsea have been located, despite an extensive search, and its fate is unknown. Being an all wood aircraft, and with up to 300 children at the camp at any given time, it is not hard to imagine its fate considering the damage later inflicted on two all-metal Beaufighters.

CAC CA-12 Boomerang, A46-11, c/n 834

On 18 December 1947, A46-11 was granted free issue to the Portsea Camp as per the Argus newspaper on that date. However, on 15 December 1948 it was received back at Point Cook. It was sold on 20 August 1951 to a H. Chrisfield for £7-10-00 (~$15.00).

DAP Beaufighter, A8-291

Built at Fishermen’s Bend in Melbourne, it was received by the RAAF in July 1945 but was too late to see active service. In September 1940 the NSW outback town of Bourke formed The Bourke Spitfire Fund with the intention of purchasing a Spitfire for the war effort. They won a state-wide competition as the town that raised the most money. A large trophy was presented and the name ‘Bourke’ was painted on the nose of Beaufighter A8-291. It was issued to the Portsea camp on 30 November 1948. It is not known how long A8-291 remained at Portsea but it can be assumed it was reduced to a dangerous state by the children and disposed of to make room for a second Beaufighter. 28 | F L I G H T PAT H

DAP Beaufighter, A8-328

This aircraft followed closely behind ‘291 as it left Fishermen’s Bend and was received by the RAAF in September 1945. It was in storage at Tocumwal, NSW, in October 1946 before being fitted out for target towing duties in November 1950. It performed this role for several years before returning to Tocumwal in February 1956 for another period of storage. In November 1956 it was approved for issue to the Portsea Camp and by 1962 had suffered the same fate as ‘291 at the hands of the playful children. A group of Aviation Historical Society of Australia (AHSA) members, on hearing the aircraft was to be sold for scrap, hastily formed the Australian Aircraft Restoration Group (AARG) and were donated the Beaufighter. It was stored in three locations before the AARG obtained a lease of land at Moorabbin Airport and established the Moorabbin Air Museum. It was restored over a number of years and today takes pride of place at the Museum.

de Havilland Vampire FB.31, A79-422, c/n 4060

Its original serial number, A79-622, clashed with a Vampire trainer, so A79-422 was allocated. Built by de Havilland in Sydney, it was issued to the RAAF in July 1952. It served with Nos. 22 and 21 Squadrons RAAF until approved for disposal in April 1960. Initially intended for fire training at Point Cook, the Vampire was diverted to Portsea to replace the rescued Beaufighter. It is believed to have arrived at the Camp in March 1963. The children and the weather made short work of the aircraft, particularly the wooden fuselage pod, so once more the AARG came to the rescue and transported it to their now open museum where restoration began. In 1967 the Museum acquired a Fairey Firefly, WD828, which was flown into Moorabbin by Terry Brain. A decision was made around 1972 to put the Firefly back in the air. To assist that project with a ready source of spares, the Vampire was swapped

The Vampire A79-422 at Portsea in December 1963 before being acquired by the AARG.

Children playing in the cockpit of the Beaufighter A8-291.

The Canberra A84-501 at Portsea. Note the brickwork and tie down chain.

for Firefly WD827 owned by the Blacktown Air League in outer Sydney. A79-422, on display with the Air League, was severely damaged when a drunk driver drove through a fence and smashed into the Vampire. It was noted at The Oaks airfield in 1984 in a very derelict condition.

Beaufighter A8-328 after restoration by the Moorabbin Air Museum.

English Electric Canberra T.4, A84-501

Built in England by the English Electric Company, it received the RAF serial WT491 before being flown to Australia in April 1956 where it became A84-501. It served with various RAAF units. It was allocated to the Portsea camp in November 1966 after a period of storage at RAAF Laverton. It is believed to have been scrapped after it was reduced to a dangerous condition. It is interesting to note that, over a twentyyear period, the Portsea camp received six complete, and perhaps virtually airworthy, aircraft at no cost only to have all of them reduced to derelict wrecks. During that period organisations such as the AARG applied for the same consideration for obsolete aircraft but had to compete with scrap metal dealers to purchase them. While very much a case of what might have been, it can only be hoped that the aircraft stirred an interest in aviation among some of the children. F L I G H T PAT H | 29

50 Years of Australian Aviation History

The Australian National Aviation Museum, Moorabbin The historic aircraft collection at Moorabbin Airport, now known as The Australian National Aviation Museum, earlier this year celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. Today it is the finest collection of Australian designed and built aircraft extant. Starting from the early and remarkable days of the Australian Aircraft Restoration Group (AARG) inspired by the rescue of the Beaufighter from the Lord Mayor’s Children’s Camp at Portsea (as outlined in the previous feature) we present a look back through the years of the museum’s development with photographs from the Museum’s collection and the editor’s, with the story by current ANAM staff.

The Museum’s Bristol Sycamore was used at Woomera as a communications aircraft for the British atom bomb tests at Maralinga. Retired from the military, it was sold to Jayrow Helicopters at Moorabbin Airport. In 1967 it suffered a serious accident at Falls Creek and was badly damaged in the crash. It was donated to the Museum and is currently undergoing its second rebuild.

The original intention of the Australian Aircraft Restoration Group was to save aircraft in anticipation of a government funded national aviation museum, but that never eventuated. Here are a number of the AARG’s rescued aircraft in outside storage at Wandin, Victoria in 1963. [ANAM Collection, unless otherwise listed]

The Department of Aircraft Production Beaufighter Mk.21, A8-328 as it appears today; one of only six complete examples surviving world wide. The Beaufighter had been used as a children’s plaything at the Lord Mayor’s Children’s Camp at Portsea and was extensively damaged, but was eventually recovered (as seen here) and restored. It rightly remains the jewel in the collection’s crown. 30 | F L I G H T PAT H

A spectacular photo of the Museum’s GAF Mirage IIIO A3-45 while in RAAF service. On retirement the Mirage was allocated to the Aeronautical Research Laboratories for various tests before being transferred to Aerospace Technologies of Australia for service as a gate guardian at Avalon Airfield. Never used for this purpose, the Museum acquired the Mirage in 1992, becoming another unusual sight on Victoria’s roads when brought across the Westgate Bridge for delivery to the Museum. BELOW: The collection continued to grow. Curtiss Kittyhawk A29-53 was found in a farmer’s paddock at Colac in 1965, and is currently undergoing a complete rebuild, including the required wings, but is seen here set for ground running with a static club propeller. [Rob Fox]

One of the most significant of the Museum’s early acquisitions was CAC Wirraway A20-10, towed from the CAC factory in 1964. This is the oldest example of an Australian mass produced aircraft; built in 1939, and of national historic significance. In 1971 the Wirraway was refurbished in a wartime scheme and used as the centrepiece of the RAAF’s 50th Anniversary Air Show at RAAF Laverton, Victoria. Decades later, for the Wirraway’s 75th birthday in 2014, the aircraft was restored back to its original pre-war configuration. These refurbishments were never easy. This 1968 image shows the Wirraway with the volunteers working in the harsh outside conditions they have endured for many years. The museum has always been run on a volunteer basis. [Rob Fox]

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ABOVE: The most spectacular Museum arrival occurred in 1967 when Fairey Firefly T.T.6, WD828, was ferry flown to Moorabbin to join the Museum. RIGHT: What would the commuters think? The Museum has been responsible for many bizarre sights on the States roads throughout the years. Here is the Museum’s Fairey Gannet passing through the South Road railway gates at Brighton Beach, in transit to the Museum, circa 1968. BELOW: The collection lined up for an early open day in 1968. Visible in the photograph, left to right is the Fairey Firefly, with the CAC Mustang behind (now airworthy as VH-JUC). The collection’s DH Vampire is almost hidden by the DH Tiger Moth with the Museum’s CAC Wackett (currently undergoing a rebuild) the Wirraway and the nose of the Gloster Meteor. [Rob Fox]

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RIGHT: By 1965 the collection had grown to such an extent that it could no longer be financed out of AARG members’ pockets. Land was leased and fenced at Moorabbin Airport, and several aircraft moved on site. The Moorabbin Air Museum opened for business in May 1965. For many years the Museum participated in various Government studies regarding a National Aviation Museum. When these bore no fruit the Museum built a display hanger from its own resources, currently housing the Beaufighter and other aircraft. BELOW: The Museum’s CAC Ceres crop duster VH-WOT saw many years service, until it suffered a catastrophic accident which all but destroyed it in 1975, and the remains were dumped at Cootamundra Airfield’s wreck pile. Often described as ‘two tons of resurrected junk’ here is the Ceres as it appears today; the result of an eight year rebuild. [J Kightly]

Douglas DC-3, VH-ANH flew with Ansett Airlines for many years. It was donated to the Museum in 1970 and was the second aircraft delivered by air to the Museum, with a total of 45,000 flying hours – over five years solid of flying time.

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This is a ‘Pete’ from the seaplane tender Sanyo Maru. This tender served as second ship in No.12 Air Unit until the 3 March 1942 reorganisation of the Southwest Area Fleet. Until that time the unit’s seaplanes carried the tail code “ZII-XX”. The codes were changed to “P-XX” after the reorganisation.  On 1 April 1943 all aircraft in Sanyo Maru’s air unit were transferred to the Rabaul Area seaplane unit, the 958th Naval Air Group.

Seaplane

Samurai

By South Pacific Correspondent Michael John Claringbould

T

he waving of a red flag on the bridge of any ship will attract attention. Such modus operandi set the scene on seaplane tenders of the Imperial Japanese Navy in W.W.II. Once the aircraft was ready for launch on the deck below, the flight commander signaled to the bridge that all was ready. The bridge officer then raised a red flag once above his head, snatched it downwards and the seaplane was launched. The catapult, powered by a powder charge detonated in an elongated firing chamber, launched the aircraft over the side of the ship. This was the launch sequence on Japanese seaplane tenders fitted with a ‘launch re-loader’ equipped with rails. The fundamentals of such launches changed little throughout the war, although the captains of these specialist tenders took delivery of upgraded custom-built trolleys in April 1942.

Changing Perceptions

While the popular impression of the Pacific aerial war is that of ‘Zeros’ mixing it with their Allied counterparts, there is another historical dimension to the conflict. Japan was the only power in W.W.II to use seaplane 34 | F L I G H T PAT H

fighters in substantial numbers. The seafaring mentality of the Imperial Japanese Navy, much moulded and tutored by the Royal Navy between the wars, saw rapid development of the concept of fighters at sea. Thus it was that Mitsubishi and Nakajima Industries cast their talents towards designing fighters that could be launched and recovered at sea. This produced, among other things, two aesthetic and effective designs that were more ubiquitous in the early Pacific campaign than has generally been credited. If properly deployed, both could be lethal, and are in fact responsible for many kills wrongly blamed by the Allies upon Japanese land-based fighters. Arguably the sleeker of the pair was the armed F1M Observation Seaplane, later codenamed ‘Pete’ by the Allies. Meanwhile, Nakajima placed an A6M2 Zero on floats (codenamed ‘Rufe’). The ‘Pete’ was armed with two forward-firing machine guns and one covering the rear fired by an observer/gunner, whereas the single pilot ‘Rufe’ boasted two fuselagemounted machine guns and two wingmounted cannon. The compact catapult system meant that both of these fighters could

also be stationed on larger warships such as cruisers. Even the mighty battleship Hiei carried two ‘Petes’ to fulfill an armed reconnaissance role. Fighters were catapulted from vessels underway at lower speeds and in moderate swells. The preferred method at anchor was to lower aircraft over the side by crane, with the engine running, to perform a normal take off in calm seas. It was during the early stages of the Pacific war, when Japan was short of the essential strategic commodity of airfields, that seaplane fighters came into their own. During the Guadalcanal campaign, another solution was to deploy the aircraft via forward anchorages. The most substantive seaplane fighter base was the Shortland Islands group. Located on Bougainville’s southern tip, the island anchorage provided more viable operating conditions than any of Bougainville’s crude runways ever would. Seaplane fighters from the Chitose Naval Air Group, and tenders Kamikawa Maru, Kunikawa Maru, Sanyo Maru and Sanuki Maru, began operating from here towards the end of 1942. Rekata Bay, much closer to Guadalcanal, was also established as a forward operating base and

A Jake reconnaissance seaplane patrols Choiseul Island in the Solomons early in the war, looking for Allied forces. It was this type that shot down RAAF Catalina A24-20 on 6 May 1942 in the lead-up to the Battle of the Coral Sea. Delivered to the RAAF in March 1942, A24-20 sported an unusual fawn and green camouflage scheme as it had originally been assigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force. [Artwork [email protected]]

A ‘Pete’ launches in calm seas from Kiyokawa Maru. The launch platform was swung into the wind for such purposes but weather condi tions predicated the ‘go’ or ‘no go’ decision to launch. [Artwork info@aerothentic. com]

also served as an emergency ditching bay for crippled bombers unable to return to Rabaul. The first time the ‘Rufe’ appeared in the Southwest Pacific was when the Yokohama Naval Air Group launched thirteen for a test flight, early in the morning of 6 June 1942, from the scenic Maruki seaplane base in Rabaul’s Simpson Harbour. Shortly thereafter they established base at Tulagi before being ousted during the U.S. invasion of Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942. For the rest of 1942, Japanese fighter seaplanes figured prominently in the Solomons theatre and were, at times, fully engaged in war-fighting. In the five week period commencing September 1942, fourteen ‘Petes’ fell in

combat. The Chitose air group lost six, Kamikawa Maru one, Sanyo Maru three, Sanuki Maru two, and Kunikawa Maru two. Seaplane fighters played key roles in many landmark engagements during the Guadalcanal aerial campaign. A good example is the major combat off Guadalcanal of 14 November 1942 during which Lieutenant Colonel Harold Bauer was lost (Bauerfield in Vanuatu is named after him). Japanese opposition comprised six 204th Air Group A6M3 ‘Zeros’ and a hodgepodge of eight ‘Petes’ based at Rekata Bay, but from a collection of disparate units: three from Sanyo Maru, two from Kunikawa Maru, one from Sanuki Maru and two from the battleship

Hiei which had been sunk the day before. Losses for the day were two ‘Zeros’, three ‘Petes’ and two F4F-4 Wildcats (including Bauer’s).

Norton’s Mystery & Staff Officers

A popular dive site is a Boeing Flying Fortress in the Solomon Islands that lies in relatively shallow waters west of Honiara. However, until now, little has been determined about how B-17E (41-2420) ‘Bessie the Jap Basher’ became a casualty on 24 September 1942. Digging into esoteric Japanese floatplane records reveals the answer. Relevant U.S. squadron records state simply, “On this date Lt Norton and crew were reported as missing in action. They were never F L I G H T PAT H | 35

heard from”. The Fortress returned from bombing shipping in Shortland Harbor and it ditched offshore Guadalcanal behind Japanese lines. The wreckage was discovered sixteen months later after the Japanese had evacuated the island. Japanese records reveal that Norton’s assailants were ‘Rufes’ and ‘Petes’. The former were from Kamikawa Maru. Its log contained a detailed action report (times in Japanese standard): “Undertook air patrol over the anchorage from 08:00 to 16:30 with a total of seven Suisen [‘Rufe’] sorties.  At 09:40, four B-17s attacked the anchorage from the southeast at an altitude of 4,000 metres.  These planes split up and made individual runs on ships at anchor (authors note: mainly Shortland anchorage) under heavy AA fire and withdrew separately to the northeast and southeast.  Two Suisen on patrol (FPO1/c Kawai and FPO1/c Maruyama) immediately spotted the enemy aircraft upon seeing our AA bursts.  Maruyama scored effective hits on one plane, causing small fire, which withdrew on a heading of 50 degrees.  Two additional Suisen scrambled off the water as the enemy were spotted, and attacked the trailing enemy along with Kawai and Maruyama, together with a flight of Petes from Sanyo Maru, Sanuki Maru and Chitose.  Effective fire from Kawai’s plane caused the left undercarriage of the enemy to extend, greatly slowing its speed.  All aircraft then concentrated their attacks on this plane, pursuing it to a distance of approximately fifty nautical miles southeast of the anchorage.  Damage inflicted on the enemy increased greatly, with inboard engines on both the right and left sides stopped.  The plane withdrew heading 120 degrees at an altitude of approximately 30 metres and speed estimated at 130 knots [241 km/h].  All our aircraft expended all ammunition, and although we were unable to shoot it down, all enemy aircrew aboard their plane except for the pilot/s, appeared incapacitated.  Judging from the great damage inflicted, it is concluded that this plane definitely crashed.” The Japanese assessment indeed proved correct. Norton ditched his bomber behind Japanese lines. We do not know how many of the wounded crew survived the ditching, although from Japanese records we know at least two made it ashore. There were numerous seaplane fighters airborne in Bougainville skies that day. In addition to the ‘Rufes’, Sanuki Maru and Sanyo Maru launched seven ‘Petes’ into the combat. The Japanese ledger provides unique insight into their own losses: one ‘Rufe’ and a ‘Pete’ from Chitose were forced down on the water. American reports citing two aircraft going down therefore vindicate the observations of relevant Fortress crews. In fact, the ‘Rufe’ pilot was slightly wounded but both he and the ‘Pete’ crew were picked up by a ‘Mavis’ flying boat and returned to base. On this occasion ‘Rufes’ and ‘Petes’ dropped air-to-air phosphorus bombs during combat but these mostly proved ineffective. 36 | F L I G H T PAT H

An F1M2 cruises the Pacific skies in mid 1942. The 958th Naval Air Group was formed at Rabaul on 1 December 1942 and allocated the tailcode P3-XX. This group inherited its floatplanes then deployed to the South-West Pacific. By then they were painted green with yellow wing leading edges to discern between friend and foe. [Artwork [email protected]]

One of the earliest Allied encounters with a ‘Rufe’ threatened a Flying Fortress carrying two senior staff officers. This meeting at close quarters unfolded on 17 July 1942 when an unnamed B-17E of the 435th Reconnaissance Squadron was dispatched to reconnoiter Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Savo Island. After departing Garbutt (Townsville), it refueled at 7-Mile Drome (Port Moresby) before heading east towards Guadalcanal. The two senior U.S. Marine Corps officers aboard, Lieutenant Colonel Merrill Twining and Major William Kean, were strategic planners stationed in Wellington, New Zealand. Shortly after arriving over the target the relevant U.S. report states that “three floatplanes seen taking off from Mbangai Is [off the tip of Tulagi]. One floatplane seen to crash and one descending in smoke and flames”. The appearance of the floatplanes was an untimely coincidence for the Fortress for, on this particular day, the Yokohama Air Group based at Tulagi launched their combat air patrols, comprising six sorties, later than usual, from 10:20 to

In addition to the ‘Rufes’, Sanuki Maru and Sanyo Maru launched seven ‘Petes’ into the combat

ABOVE: Former Japanese floatplanes wound up in interesting locations. This is a disassembled Mitsubishi F1M2 ‘Pete’ in Indonesian markings at Surabaya, Indonesia, in January 1946. In the background appears the final generation of Japanese floatplanes - Kawanishi N1Ks - codename ‘Rex’. LEFT: A captured ‘Pete’ (background) contrasts with a ‘Jake’ as seen post war at the Glugor seaplane base near Penang in (then) Malaya. F L I G H T PAT H | 37

15:05 hours. Three ‘Rufes’ fired 100 x 20mm cannon rounds and 650 x 7.7mm machine gun rounds when attacking the Fortress. They subsequently claimed the Fortress as a kill but it escaped unscathed. The mission became historic for another reason. The engagement saw the first combat loss of a ‘Rufe’ in the Pacific theatre when the aircraft flown by PO1c Hori Tatsuo was shot down.

David and Goliath

This is a deck scene on the Kamikawa Maru, in June 1942, heading for the cold Aleutians to the west of Alaska. Tailcodes for Japanese floatplanes are unit and time dependent. For example, those assigned to Kiyokawa Maru followed two distinct phases: from December 1941 to June 1942 they were allocated “R-XX” and from then until November 1942 they were changed to “RI-XX”. ‘Jakes’ were allocated squadron numbers 1 to 9, ‘Petes’ 10 to 19 and ‘Daves’ 20 to 29.

Apart from seaplane fighters the Japanese deployed a variety of reconnaissance seaplanes too. The most ubiquitous in the Southwest Pacific was the Aichi E13A ‘Jake’, although the Nakajima E8N ‘Dave’ also put in a cameo appearance early in the piece. These were also flown from seaplane tenders, battleships and cruisers alongside their fighter counterparts. Unusually, they are a reconnaissance seaplane, not a fighter type, and responsible for an important early RAAF loss. Like so many others lost in the vast expanses of the Pacific conflict, it appears that the fate after capture of Squadron Leader Godfrey Hemsworth and his Catalina crew will never be known. Hemsworth was particularly unlucky, for his green and fawn Catalina was shot down not by fighters, as was reasonably supposed at the time, but by a solitary machine gun fired from the rear mount of a reconnaissance seaplane.

Wakamiya was Japan’s first aircraft carrier that was converted from a transport ship and commissioned in August 1914. Here one of four Japanese-built French Maurice Farman seaplanes is winched over the side for launch. In September 1914 Wakamiya conducted the world’s first navallaunched air raids.

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A ‘Pete’ is launched from Kamikawa Maru somewhere in the Pacific in 1942.

ABOVE: The superseded Type 95 ‘Dave’ reconnaissance seaplane served sparingly in the early stages of the Pacific war. An even earlier model, a Type 94 seaplane, cruises in the background. Hemsworth’s early part of the war was arduous. Based in Port Moresby’s Fairfax Harbour, the Catalinas of 20 Squadron RAAF regularly flew night operations over Rabaul. During this period, fighter pilots of the Imperial Japanese 4th Naval Air Group devised an innovative and unusual method of countering the attacks. They teamed up with searchlight crews and intercepted the Catalinas with their obsolete but nimble A5M4 ‘Claude’ fighters. On the night of 3/4 February 1942, Hemsworth’s Catalina was heavily damaged by such fighters, forcing his crew to limp the Cat back to Port Moresby around the eastern tip of New Guinea. In the event, total flying time for the eventful sortie extended to just over 24 hours (including a night landing off Salamaua to refuel). The operational pace for the squadron at Port Moresby continued unabated and, on 6 May 1942, Hemsworth’s crew found themselves guiding Catalina A24-20 on a daylight reconnaissance mission in the vicinity of Misima Island. At 14:22 hours local, Hemsworth signaled that he had sighted two Japanese destroyers but was under aerial attack. Hemsworth had in fact spotted part of the Port Moresby invasion convoy and the Japanese would do everything they could to deter intruders. The operating log of Japanese seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru again provides detail of the action: “[14:00 local] Reached the vicinity of Deboyne and found one enemy Lockheed bomber and one Consolidated-type twin engine flying boat that had been making contact. Three observation planes were launched for an immediate attack. The Lockheed bomber escaped out of sight to the west, but the Consolidated flying boat was attacked by the three observation planes and one reconnaissance plane returning from Mission One, above. The flying boat was shot down at [14:40 local] to the west of Misima Island.”

The Kamikawa Maru fighter squadron was created mid-August 1942 at Yokosuka. It departed Japan on 23 August 1942 with its full complement of eleven A6M2-N ‘Rufes’ (as seen here), and two F1M2 ‘Petes’. It arrived in the Shortland Islands on 4 September 1942 and commenced combat operations immediately.

A detailed account of the eighteen minute air battle ensues, however Japanese credit for the dispatched Catalina is allocated to a “Rei Suitei”, an E13A ‘Jake’ reconnaissance aircraft with crew of three. With the only offensive weapon being a rear-firing machine gun, the outgunned ‘Jake’ nonetheless downed the Cat and then dropped 60 kilogram bombs on it after it had ditched. Japanese Navy records show that the RAAF crew of nine was rescued by the destroyer Yubari and transferred to the transport Matsue Maru the following day. The crew was incarcerated at Rabaul, that much we know, however they then disappear from the records. Their death is presumed officially as on or after 7 May 1942.

Limited Success

The combat success of Japanese fighter seaplanes in the Pacific might be best described as limited. Several extenuating factors contributed to this situation. Extraordinarily, a cumbersome chain of command placed the seaplane units in the South-West Pacific un-

der ultimate control from the distant Marianas which were an impractical distance from the frontlines of Rabaul and the Solomons. More critically, unlike their landbased counterparts, most seaplane pilots lacked combat experience and this essential quality became particularly evident during engagements. A lack of warning posts provided insufficient time for intercepting seaplanes to scramble. Furthermore, the aircraft required more maintenance than their land-based counterparts and this challenged all forward combat units. Indeed the average operational rate of aircraft rarely exceeded fifty per cent at any given time at the Shortland and Rekata Bay bases. Finally, insufficient numbers of seaplanes were available to conduct effective combat air patrols over bases. The Japanese Navy never raised the strength of any seaplane fighter unit higher than squadron level which reflected more the limited availability of replacements rather than shortfall in strategic planning. F L I G H T PAT H | 39

Grumman Duck T

he amphibian J2F Duck, with its streamlined central float uniquely built as an integral part of the fuselage, was the brainchild of Grumman designer Charles Tilgner. In 1937 a J2F-1 set an amphibian speed record of 191 mph (307 km/h). Various models went on to be used by all services of the US military. In W.W.II the type, besides its general utility and light transport work, flew anti-submarine patrols, air-sea rescue, mapping and photographic surveys, reconnaissance and even towed targets. Contributing Editor James Kightly, with Luigino Caliaro and Frank B Mormillo, presents a photo essay of today’s flying Ducks.

Grumman’s approach to the design of the Duck was very much developmental and incorporated some design features from its successful FF-1. The family resemblance can be seen here as it flies at Chino alongside the Grumman F2F-2 Naval fighter. [J Kightly]

Now hangared for the new owner, this J2F-6 is painted as a USAAF OA-12 and was restored in Alaska by Lindsay H Ketchum. It flew again (as seen here) in October 2007. [Jack McCloy]

Kermit Weeks’ J2F-6 Duck No.33549 (N1214N) represents the only J2F-4 to survive a Japanese air raid on January 5 1942 at Mariveles Bay in the Philippines. Nicknamed ‘Candy Clipper’, it was used to ferry badly needed supplies during the battle then, with six on board, was the last aircraft to escape Bataan on April 9 1942. [Frank B Mormillo] The Duck’s main undercarriage retracts flush into the main float. Its narrow track design, however, does produce tricky ground handling. [Luigino Caliaro]

With the aircraft sitting deep in the water, Kermit Weeks taxies his J2F-6 ‘Candy Clipper’ after landing on Lake Agnes, Florida. [Frank B. Mormillo] 40 | F L I G H T PAT H

Formerly with Kermit Weeks, J2F-6 No.33594, NL55F, went to Tom Friedkin’s Comanche Warbirds collection and was restored to flying condition by Fighter Rebuilders at Chino, California. [Frank B Mormillo]

Chuck Greenhill says: “I like flying the Duck because it give me pleasures that the other aircraft that I fly cannot. It isn’t fast, but is pleasant to fly, and therefore allows you to feel the wind, the water, and the runway, offering sensations that other warbirds can’t.” [Luigino Caliaro]

The Duck’s greatest cinematic role was in the 1972 film ‘Murphy’s War’. Famous movie pilot Frank Tallman showed just what could be done at the edges of the aircraft’s performance. Two Ducks and a mock-up were used in the film. [BFI Stills, Posters & Designs]

Rob Patterson landing the Comanche Warbirds J2F-6 Duck at the Charles M. Schultz Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, California. [Frank B. Mormillo]

Chuck Greenhill’s Duck, BuNo 1649, N63850, is a J2F-4 built by Grumman in 1939. On 7 December 1941 it was with utility unit VJ-1 at NAS Pearl Harbor. The aircraft was one of the few to remain undamaged and was later used for patrol missions along the Hawaiian coast that same day. [Luigino Caliaro]

F L I G H T PAT H | 41

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Grumman J2F-4 Duck, BuNo.1649, N63850, picture Luigino Caliaro

F L I G H T PAT H | 43

‘Flying Boats’ The Allied Airborne Watercraft of the Pacific War

Contributing Editor James Kightly summarises the remarkably diverse types and roles of Allied maritime aircraft, including floatplanes, flying boats amphibians – and oddities.

W

orld War Two was a remarkable war for technological development and diversity, but one aspect often overlooked is the move from multiple marine aircraft types and roles to almost entirely land based aircraft use. The greater Pacific theatre was the greatest opportunity for all kinds of maritime aircraft, given the huge size of the theatre and vast water-covered distances between often harsh-environment land masses. However, for various reasons, both the Japanese, and later the Allies, put huge effort into creating a remarkable complex of land base airfields, as well as building the greatest number of aircraft carriers the world has ever seen. Though both sides developed a range of maritime aircraft to fill any role, it proved to be the swansong of the marine aircraft era. The earliest use of maritime aircraft was a variety of capital ship-based seaplanes in the Indian Ocean in 1940, while the Japa-

ABOVE: Wartime advertising, here by rubber company B.F. Goodrich, focussed on some rarely noted types like the Consolidated PB2Y Coronado, an unsung transport type.

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nese had been using theirs off China and the other territories they had been fighting since 1930.

WATER WEIGHTLIFTERS

The expectation of needing to move vast quantities of materiel as well as personnel by marine aircraft never eventuated as the planners expected, because of the land-bases carved out of jungle or coral took the vast bulk of the air movement requirement. Nevertheless, multi-role aircraft like the Consolidated PBY Catalina shared the load, while the Martin Mariner (see page 55) was also used in that way. In the desperate first days of the Pacific War, the RAAF had operated impressed Short Empire flying boats, while the RAAF’s much-delayed Short Sunderlands, ordered to arrive in 1939, finally made it in 40 Squadron RAAF’s hands in 1944, and rather than patrol, were used mainly for transport. The Short Seaford and

LEFT: This preserved Dornier Do 24T has been restored to represent the Dutch operated ‘Old Soldier’ of the Netherlands East Indies campaign. [Roger Soupart] BELOW: The Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk was a rare single-seat scout floatplane in actual service. It is seen here being caught on the mat-retrieval system used by the US Navy [USN]

BELOW LEFT: Four years later than planned, RAAF Sunderlands arrived at Sydney’s Rose Bay in 1944.

This Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina of the US Navy VP-61 flying on a rare, clear day in one of the war’s harshest environments, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1943. [USN] F L I G H T PAT H | 45

Shetland were wartime designs which only arrived post war, and filled only very specialist airline type niches. Bigger still were the designs anticipating this need, notably the Martin Mars, too late for the war, and the Hughes HK-4 Hercules, known by the inaccurate nickname the ‘Spruce Goose’. Another stillborn transport idea was the Douglas C-47C Skytrain on floats, which, while able to be used in a flexible way was simply too unwieldy in practice. Even odder was putting floats on bombers; tried with a Fairchild (Bristol) Bolingbroke and a Curtiss XSB2C-2 Helldiver. A pre-war assumption that was tragically proven false was the idea that long range maritime patrol aircraft would only very rarely encounter fighters. It was anticipated that the pre-war range of land based fighters and the small numbers of aircraft carriers meant that heavy aircraft would range widely without enemy air interference. Some of this was a false expectation of low numbers of carriers, aircraft

and bases, all of which were to grow hugely during the war. But advances in radar and communications also meant that aircraft were rarely able to proceed unobserved. The Short Singapores of the RNZAF were obsolete, but sank one Japanese submarine before being replaced in 1943 by the Catalina.

WEB-FOOT FIGHTERS

Most nations anticipated the need for waterborne fighters, and many were land-based examples adapted to floats. This is a fascinating area in itself, with really only the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2-N ‘Rufe’ floatplane fighter (based on the Zero) entering service in numbers, while later, on the allied side,the US Navy used the Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk, a fighter-configured scout. Meanwhile the Allies developed, but did not use, everything from Supermarine Spitfires and Grumman Wildcats on floats to the post-war Saro SRA-1 - a remarkable oddity as a jetpowered flying boat fighter.

One of the most unlikely ideas was a floatplane dive-bomber. However the purpose of putting the Helldiver on floats was as a scouting reconnaissance type, not for dive bombing. It was not needed.

The Saro SRA-1, seen here at IWM Duxford in the 1980s, was a wartime idea brought to fruition despite the inherent problems of the concept. [J Kightly]

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ABOVE: The role of the RCAF in the Pacific was is sometimes overlooked, here we have a Grumman Goose in Vancouver Harbour during the war. [Jack Lindsay City of Vancouver Archives]

BELOW: One of several land-based fighters trialled with floats were the Mk.V and here Mk.IX Spitfire. Like several other marine concepts it simply lacked performance and actually was never needed.

A Marine-Luchtvaartdienst (MLD, Dutch Navy) Ryan STM-S2 trainer before delivery, in San Francisco Bay in 1940. [SDASM Archives]

Usually overshadowed by its older brother, the Supermarine Sea Otter (seen here at Kemajoran, Java, in the Dutch East Indies) did good work in the Pacific with the Walruses in air-sea rescue [Alan Rye collection]

A trial coastal-patrol type, the Fairchild Bolingbroke on floats was not found successful, with only one example converted.

A most remarkable swansong, the AichiE13A ‘Jake’ continued after the war in French Naval service.

LIFTERS &LOOKERS

At the beginning of the war, and up to the start of the war in the Pacific, most navies used spotter aircraft for reconnaissance, gunfire control and other utility roles. Most of these were supplanted by ship radar by the war’s end, their place and catapults on the large ships being taken by more antiaircraft guns, so the float-equipped Fairey Seafox and Swordfish were retired, while many of the types such as the Supermarine Walrus and Sea Otter, the Vought Kingfisher and Grumman J2F Duck (see page 40) were essentially seconded to air sea rescue work (a badly neglected task pre-war) or liaison. Larger aircraft like the capable PBY were vital for rescue missions as well. While the main allied air arms in the Pacific were the British Commonwealth nations and the swiftly growing United States forces, there were also a few French Aéronavale aircraft operating in the Indian Ocean area, several Potez 542s based on ships operating from Saigon in 1939-40, as

well as the Loire 130 in Indochina, with a remaining example operational at the end of 1949! Additionally, the Dutch presence in the Netherlands East Indies had a remarkably mixed bag of types in 1941, with the German-designed Dornier Do 24, the American Ryan STM-S2 on floats and the Dutch Fokker T.IV, with the Dorniers and Ryans ending up in Australian service. While the heavy-lifters did find a number of niches, there were a huge range of twinengine types used for all sorts of utility roles from impressed civilians like the Douglas Dolphin [See Flightpath Vol.26 No.2] and military variants of civil amphibians like the Grumman Goose and Widgeon, and the Sikorsky JRS-1. Some types soldiered on post-war, and for a brief period ex-Japanese types were used by the Allies, despite a huge and fascinating range of water-borne machines being deployed and tried during W.W.II, the marine aircraft, except for a very few flying boats in specialist use, ultimately lost out to the landplane.

A flight of Dutch Fokker T.IV floatplane bombers is escorted by several Ryan STM-2 floatplanes at the time of the outbreak of the Pacific war. [SDASM Archives]

One of the most ungainly types in our list, the Loire 130, here on a French Navy catapult, survived in use until 1949.

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One of the Australian operated Vought Kingfishers operated from RAAF Rathmines.

LEFT: US Naval seamen working on OS2U Kingfishers aboard the USS South Dakota, probably at Ulithi, Caroline Islands, 1945 [USN] RIGHT: Even during the development of the Mars, the Glenn Martin company were thinking of post-war publicity. BELOW: Perhaps the most widely used maritime type of the Pacific War, here we see an RNZAF PBY-5 Catalina at Halavo Bay, in the Solomon Islands. [USN]

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SkyGalleon By South Pacific Correspondent Michael John Claringbould

A No. 14 Naval Air Group ‘Mavis’ cruises over the New Britain jungle in December 1942. The yellow leading edges served to identify ‘friend from foe’ and were instituted via Naval orders around September 1942.

An H6K4 anchored in Simpson harbor at sunset. The ‘Mavis’ could be towed ashore for servicing after bolting beaching gear to the fuselage sides. These could be stowed aboard.

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O

ne of the most unusual air raids ever must be the attack by a flight of nine Japanese ‘Mavis’ flying boats on 1 February 1942 as they lumbered into New Guinea’s expansive Wau Valley and swept over the town at low altitude with machine guns blazing. As the formation banked for a repeat performance, Australian civilian pilot Clive Bernard leapt from his slit trench alongside Wau’s runway, jerked away the wheel chocks from Lockheed Super Electra ‘Caronia’, pumped the cockpit controls and launched for Port Moresby. Bernard had flown the Lockheed to New Guinea only three days prior with ministerial authority to return civilians to Australia. Two evacuation runs from Wau had taken place in as many days but saving the aircraft during the attack led to an empty departure. Bernard was briefly pursued by several of the Japanese aircraft but the Lockheed pulled away. The flying boats banked away to bomb and strafe the small town again while a shaken Bernard eventually proceeded to Cairns that same afternoon after refueling at Port Moresby. It had been two RAAF Wirraways, however, of all types, which, two weeks prior, had first encountered the Japanese leviathan codenamed ‘Mavis’ by the Allies. At the frustrating distance of only one thousand yards, the four engine flying boats, which had just

bombed Rabaul, resembled Catalinas to the two Wirraway pilots. The range, which they could not close due to the faster speed of the escaping Japanese, remained outside the effective range of .303in calibre ball ammunition. It was 15 January 1942 and a squadron of the flying boats had just pattern bombed the RAAF base at Lakunai Airfield and destroyed stockpiles of fuel, flares and bombs. The Wirraways of 24 Squadron RAAF had scrambled in ambitious pursuit of a speedy quarry. The following day, in a separate incident, the Commanding Officer of the squadron, Squadron Leader John Lerew, also flying a Wirraway, attempted to intercept a sole Mavis near Kavieng and experienced the same inevitable result.

Mighty Mavis

The Japanese called their flying boat the Type 97 Flying Boat H6K shikihikoh-tei which was abbreviated to the Type 97 taitei. A total of 212 would eventually be built. Flown by a crew of up to nine, and despite its mammoth forty metre wingspan, this machine could cruise at just over 125 knots (231 km/h) and had a maximum speed of just over 200 knots (370 km/h). The German Dornier series of flying boats influenced the type’s design. However the systems of the Kawanishi-built aircraft had more in common with its Allied counter-

parts. At the commencement of hostilities, the Mavis was the only viable long-range reconnaissance flying boat in Japanese military service. It had excellent endurance and was well-armed, but the Achilles heel of the first variants was the same as that of nearly every W.W.II Japanese design. It did not have self-sealing fuel tanks. The four engines were mounted in parallel across the wing which was supported above the fuselage by struts. The hull portended a slender fuselage ending with a twin vertical tail. Defensive armament boasted up to four 7.7mm machine guns located in the open bow, dorsal and paired beam blisters. A 20mm cannon turret defended the aircraft’s tail. Such a large wing was able to mount just over 2,000 kilograms of ordnance including the option of two torpedoes. Dedicated transport variants (designated ‘L’ models by the Japanese and termed ‘Tillie’ by the Allies) were developed from the H6K2 and the H6K4 models. From early encounters it was painfully evident that the type was highly vulnerable to enemy fire. This spawned the improved H6K5 series. This later model featured self-sealing fuel tanks and armour protection for both crew and systems. Nonetheless such a large aircraft remained easy prey for the more advanced types of Allied aircraft that eventually roamed Pacific skies.

This is the Super Electra that pilot Clive Bernard successfully withdrew to Cairns on 1 February 1942 after the attack on Wau Airfield. This photo was taken in Sydney several months prior to the event.

F L I G H T PAT H | 51

While no ‘Mavis’ flew over the Australian mainland, they did come very close. One launched from Ambon, at 04:00 on 15 February 1942, to shadow the ill-fated USS Houston convoy. Aboard the convoy bound for Koepang in Timor, and escorted by the American cruiser, was an AIF Pioneer Company and U.S. Army National Guard Artillery Regiment to protect the airfield. A ‘Mavis’ located the convoy at 10:30 and loitered within sight of the nervous seafarers for about three hours. When the convoy was about 120 nautical miles (222 kilometres) west of Darwin, the loitering ‘Mavis’ unsuccessfully attacked the convoy with bombs before heading for home. Meanwhile the Houston’s captain had requested the USAAF base at Darwin to scramble pursuit aircraft to intercept the lurking flying boat. Fortuitously, two pilots, Second Lieutenants Robert Oestreicher and Robert Buel, had been stranded in Darwin with two temporarily unserviceable Curtiss P-40E Warhawks while their 3rd Pursuit Squadron comrades had proceeded to Java on 10 February 1942. When USAAF Darwin received the request, both Buel and Oestreicher were airborne on patrol but only Buel could be contacted by radio. Buel located and attacked the ‘Mavis’ from the rear but was shot down by its rear gunner. Buel’s smoking Warhawk dove into the sea but he had scored 52 | F L I G H T PAT H

fatal hits on the flying boat which crashed into the sea with the forward fuselage ablaze. The radio operator was killed but the rest of the crew, listed as Takahara (commander), Amamoto, Okimoto and Sichishima, clambered into a life raft. Sichishima died from his injuries as the crew floated in the raft for several days. The remaining three stranded aviators were eventually captured and interrogated and spent the remainder of the war in the Cowra POW Camp. This encounter so close to Australian shores was a landmark in that it marked the first time a ‘Mavis’ was destroyed by Allied air power.

ABOVE: Indonesian nationalist leader Sukarno declared Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945. Several days later, the Air Division of the Indonesian People’s Security Force was formed to undertake security duties even though there was only one Indonesian national holding a multi-engine pilot licence at the time. The Air Division used former Japanese planes, including seaplanes, scattered throughout Java and were assisted by several Japanese aviators who decided to stay on in Indonesia! Here a ‘Mavis’ undergoes maintenance with the fledgling Security Force during this transition period. Not surprisingly, their commission was short-lived due to a lack of spare parts.

Transport & Reconnaissance

Helpfully too, the report records the tail code L-06 which indicates a rare ‘Mavis’ indeed. It was a transport version (‘Tillie’) attached to No.4 Kantai Headquarters. In the following month, on 8 July 1942, when a small group of senior Imperial Japanese Navy staff officers were projected into Bougainville skies aboard a ‘Mavis’ from No. 14 Naval Air Group (NAG). Also on board was the commanding officer of the Group who was to personally inspect Kieta Airfield for its suitability as a forward base. The ensuing Japanese report notes that an 800 metre airstrip was located six kilometres southeast of the town. That very evening Rear Admiral Yamada Sadayoshi sent his conclusions to his Commander in Chief Vice

The big flying boats soon began appearing all over the theatre including in remote locations such as Salamaua where, on 26 June 1942, a surprised Australian patrol witnessed a small commando force being put ashore. The patrol later reported, “a four-engined Japanese Flying boat alighted in Salamaua harbour at 1220 hours . . . of the eleven men that went ashore six took their belongings and remained in Salamaua. Later five returned to flying boat and took off.” The very detailed report included observations that the gear unloaded included six straw-coloured suitcases, six round bags and a white cloth-covered box nursed by one crewmember to the Commander’s house.

BELOW: The Japanese Navy took naval aviation seriously and was heavily tutored and advised by the Royal Navy between the wars. This Imperial Japanese Navy crew poses for the camera with their pilot (lower right) in the 1920s.

BELOW: A ‘Mavis’ force-lands on the China Sea after being shot down by a USN aircraft. The 1944 photo reveals that the port outer float has collapsed in the process.

F L I G H T PAT H | 53

The ‘Mavis’ could carry two torpedoes and/or bombs in racks which were bolted to the wing struts. A civilian version of the ‘Mavis’ is framed by a torpedo over Japan early in the war

Admiral Tsukahara Nishizo. He said, “as a result of this intelligence, it is anticipated that one runway can be completed by early September using the main strength of No 14 NAG currently at Rabaul. However, even completion of the airfield would not enable its use as an emergency strip for bombers owing to obstructions on the runway periphery and poor drainage. There is no room for expansion of the airbase, so there is absolutely no prospect for using this site according to requirements.” Perhaps the most poignant statement lies in the report’s conclusion that “no suitable sites for an airbase have been located on Bougainville”. Thus it can be seen that such ‘Mavis’ missions later proved instrumental in formulating Japanese attempts to construct viable forward airfields to project airpower over Guadalcanal.

Sky Galleons

Perhaps the most unusual history created by the ‘Mavis’ was its frequent encounters with Flying Fortresses over the Solomon Islands throughout late 1942 and early 1943. Ensuing battles pitted one four engine aircraft against another in what must constitute the aerial warfare equivalent of a battle between galleons. A good example occurred on 23 October 1942 when First Lieutenant Edward Loberg of the 26th Bombardment Squadron was credited with shooting down a ‘Mavis’ at 13:15 hours. The battle lasted 45 minutes. His unnamed B-17E (41-2433) successfully returned to Espiritu Santo (New Hebrides) some three and a half hours later with two wounded aboard. The bombardier was repatriated to New Zealand aboard USS Solace but for the crew of the 14th NAG ‘Mavis’, then based at Bougainville’s Shortland Island base, there was no such luxury. Aircraft commander FPO1 Shimoyamada and crew were dispatched to oblivion (unusually, Catalina 51-P-9 also witnessed the com54 | F L I G H T PAT H

bat from a distance.) Loberg’s report, however, was short if not modest. He reported, “Sub patrol over Indispensible [sic] Reef. Shot down 4 engine Jap. flying boat at 1315 after 45 min Battle. Landed at 1655. Lt. Mitchell and Lt. Spitzer slightly injured.” Nonetheless the same Fortress was airborne the following day with a different crew as was the efficient wont of the USAAF of the time. The combat had been intense and Loberg’s B-17E alone had fired nearly 5,000 rounds of .50in calibre ammunition and exhausted the ammunition of its two forward .30in calibre guns. Interestingly, this Fortress had been one of the aircraft approaching Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. We are fortunate to have a perspective of a similar encounter from the Japanese side. Hitsuji Tsuneo was both the flight commander and pilot flying a ‘Mavis’ on 21 November 1942 when it crossed paths with another 11th Bombardment Group Fortress. Hitsuji’s ‘Mavis’ was cruising south of Guadalcanal on a long-range patrol as the breaking dawn lit the green interior of his flying boat. The second half of 1942 in particular saw many of the flying boats shot down in the same area. The much faster Fortress positioned itself above and to the right of the ‘Mavis’ but, after a brief exchange of gunfire, it broke away. Shortly afterwards another appeared on the port side and the Japanese crew prepared themselves for another engagement. This Fortress made broadside passes with no perceived hits to either aircraft. Hitsuji wrote, “the faster enemy then caught up quickly and criss-crossed our path, attacking as it passed. We were very low and the sea below whitened with machine-gun fire”. On the fourth pass things became much worse, “I heard someone swear and smelled smoke at the same time. I turned around and two men were down on the floor. Our main radio man FPO2 Watanabe’s left

arm was hanging limp from his shoulder, and blood was shooting up to the ceiling. Flight engineer Nakano was down on the floor holding his left arm, and shouting “Petrol, petrol!” He was yelling to the radioman because the spark from the Morse key could easily ignite fuel vapor. But the injured radio man continued to transmit that we were being attacked.” Hitsuji threw his scarf to assist the wounded man and pumped carbon dioxide into the ruptured tank to reduce the fire risk. With all four engines at full power, Hitsuji guided the wounded flying boat towards the cover of a squall. A thirty centimetre hole appeared in the bow and Hitsuji, who was now convinced that all was lost, determined he would try to ram the Fortress next time it attacked. His co-pilot suddenly placed the ‘Mavis’ in a nose dive that almost resulted in a collision. The Fortress, out of ammunition, flew alongside for a while but then broke away towards Guadalcanal. Hitsuji’s ‘Mavis’ made it back to the Shortland Islands where it was beached before it sank. The ‘Mavis’ truly was a boat of the skies and served the Japanese well in the early stages of the war. Although production of the type ceased in 1945, the ‘Mavis’ saw its last days in the service of the Indonesian Air Force. Regrettably, no intact examples survive although Pacific waters are dotted with many aircraft that were sunk at anchor. Sources and also thanks to: 11th BG and 26th BS microfilms, www.pacificwrecks. com, Saigo no Hikotei (The Last Flying Boat), Gordon Birkett, 24 Squadron RAAF flight logs, Gunreibu Gun Kyokuhi (Imperial Japanese Navy Orders), No. 14 Kokutai kodochosho, and the book ‘Golden Gateway’ by James Sinclair.

Australia’s Forgotten Mariner Andy Wright looks at the RAAF’s brief use of Martin’s wartime flying boat

A

s the Japanese retreated across the Pacific, Australian supply lines grew longer so the need for more transport aircraft was paramount. Aircraft like the Douglas C-47 were in high demand but, in 1943, the RAAF was intent on massive expansion so it needed to cast the net wider. It needed a large and spacious modern flying boat to supplement its ageing Empire flying boats and Dornier Do24s. Twelve Martin Mariners were included in the 475 aircraft added to the existing 1943 allocation from the United States. It was the beginning of a very small part of the RAAF’s rich history.

Mini Mariner

The Glenn L. Martin Company was no stranger to the world of flying boats. Some of its early flying boats were developments of existing designs that were standard fare for

the time – biplanes or strut-mounted high wing monoplanes with relatively small fuselages. Martin broke the mould, however, when answering Pan Am’s call for an airliner capable of crossing the Pacific. The Martin Ocean Transport, the M-130, colloquially known as the ‘China Clipper’, was a large, four engine, all-metal monoplane. Only three, and one related M-156, were built but they performed well until replaced by the legendary, and larger capacity, Boeing 314. Martin, in its pursuit of the glamorous ‘Clipper’ contract, had turned its back on the military market. As Boeing cut Martin out of the lucrative commercial flying boat business, Martin, with the experience and capabilities developed in designing and producing the M-130, set to developing a four engine maritime patrol bomber. Common sense prevailed for the cash-strapped com-

pany, however, when it decided, possibly partly influenced by the success and capabilities of the Catalina, to re-design the new aircraft as the two engine Model 162. The Navy liked what it saw and, with a war in Europe looming, ordered a prototype. The company had, however, wanted to prove the design so, with financial issues still prevalent, built the Model 162A scale prototype. It resembled the future Mariner but had a crew of one and, despite having two apparent engine nacelles, was actually a single engine aircraft with a Martin-Chevrolet light aircraft powerplant mounted in the fuselage driving the two propellers via a series of belts and pulleys. The performance of the ‘Tadpole Clipper’ was enough to generate the required government order and the full-scale XPBM-1 finally flew on 18 February 1939. It was a TOP: A well-known image of A70-8. Note the watermarks up the side of the hull and how the gull wing lifts the engines above the extent of that spray. [RAAF Museum] An unidentified Mariner rests on its beaching gear. The box on the leg is a watertight duralumin structure that allowed balanced flotation as the beaching gear was attached. [Flightpath collection]

F L I G H T PAT H | 55

streamlined, all metal aircraft like the earlier ‘China Clipper’. A first impression of the prototype was that it incorporated some improvements over the Catalina. It was a larger aircraft by a considerable margin with a deep and spacious hull. Rather than mount the wing on a pylon, the prototype had a gull wing that lifted the engines above the water spray. This feature also eliminated the need for supporting struts and the inclusion of bomb bays behind the engine nacelles served to reduce drag further. The wing floats retracted inwards after take off to settle just outboard of the nacelles. The first PBM-1s entered service in late 1940. They were engaged in Neutrality Patrols in the Atlantic before the United States’ entry into the war. By that time the more powerful and more heavily armed PBM-3 had been ordered in significant numbers.

These were built with fixed wing floats for greater strength when on the water. The PBM-3 was developed into a number of variants including the -3C (improved patrol version with radar), -3R (unarmed and unarmoured transport), and the -3S (lightened, dedicated anti-submarine version). The Mariner, as the PBM became known after the RAF briefly had the type on strength in 1943, excelled in the variety of roles it undertook. It was a successful Uboat hunter and the transport versions proved their worth with their impressive payloads and internal space. The PBM-5, the ultimate Mariner flying boat, was operational from 1944 and Pacific-based examples even bombed targets in Japan. It became the principal USN flying boat after the war. Unlike the Catalina, an amphibious variant was not developed in conjunction with the flying boats. The PBM-5A did eventually enter service in 1948 and would fly alongside the flying boats during the Korean War. The Mariner was ul-

ABOVE: The crew of A70-3 after the ferry flight from the U.S. to Lake Boga. There would be a fair bit of relief in those big smiles after their two hour single engine ordeal between California and Hawaii. [RAAFA Museum] ABOVE RIGHT: The men on the port wing provide a good indication of how large the Mariner was. [Flightpath collection] BELOW: A70-5 moored at an unknown location (possibly Port Moresby). [RAAF Museum]

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timately replaced by the Martin P5M Marlin and the last PBM left the USN in mid-1956. The type soldiered on with the U.S. Coast Guard until 1958 but had already been replaced by the Marlin and Grumman Albatross. The Dutch retired their accidentprone aircraft in 1959. These had outlasted the few Mariners that entered the civilian market as they were all derelict, stripped or destroyed by 1958.

Dirty Dozen

The RAAF originally bid for Mariners because of the dire need for “Sea Transport Aircraft”. The obvious solution was to request the PBM-3R variant that had, being a specialist transport, plywood flooring and a large loading hatch in the upper waist position. The problem, however, was that there were none of this variant available for delivery. The USN suggested, to keep to the delivery schedule, the supply of twelve low hour PBM-3C machines that would be modified by Martin at its Baltimore, Maryland, factory, to PBM-3S standard. The PBM-3S was the lightened specialist anti-submarine variant mentioned earlier. This development led to subsequent enquiries about the aircraft being delivered armed, and equipped with radar, so they could be employed on patrol duties

should the need arise. These enquiries were met with firm rejections. According to the Americans, the Mariners were ordered for transport work so the RAAF would receive unarmed transports. To change the order to armed aircraft would require starting the entire procurement process again. Even the argument that the radar would be an excellent navigational aid was rebuffed as, apparently, the equipment was critical and could not be made available for lowly transport aircraft. It was more a case of the RAAF trying to play the advantage when it learned it would be receiving the PBM-3S. Logic dictated the aircraft arrive sooner rather than later so a rather unique group of Mariners was accepted into service. The aircraft were, however, decidedly secondhand. Flight Lieutenant Harry Tamblyn DFC, one of the flying boat captains who had converted to Mariners with their crews at Banana River in Florida, inspected five Mariners and found four required a number of rivets to be replaced while the fifth, the intended A70-10, had a dam-

aged hull. This damage would take a month to repair, so a replacement aircraft was immediately sourced. This aircraft was found to be in the best condition of the twelve that would eventually fly with the RAAF! Martin stripped the aircraft of their guns and radar and installed fuel tanks in the bomb bays aft of the engine nacelles. These, coupled with the auxiliary tanks in the fuselage (despite the reduction of cargo space) gave the RAAF Mariners a greater range than the specialist PBM-3R transports. The first Mariner to depart for Australia left Norfolk, Virginia, where the aircraft returned to after conversion, on 5 November 1943. It arrived at RAAF Rathmines on 20 November and, after some local conversion training, departed for the Lake Boga repair depot, near Swan Hill, Victoria, three days later. This final leg was not without drama, however, as the starboard engine started leaking oil. It was shut down and only restarted prior to alighting on the lake. The Wright Cyclone R2600-12 engines that powered the PBM-3 series of aircraft were regarded as troublesome and unrelia-

ABOVE: Mariner A70-12. Note the crudely painted out U.S. star and bar insignia on the nose. This photo was possibly taken on the aircraft’s delivery flight as the Mariners arrived in their original USN scheme before being re-painted in RAAF Foliage Green. [RAAF Museum] BELOW: Two Mariners undergoing maintenance at an unknown location. The first aircraft is A70-11 ‘Ah Sweet Mystery’ while the second Mariner may be A70-10 ‘Jaquinot Jane’. [Flightpath collection]

ble and were eventually replaced by the R2800 on the PBM-5. The men of A70-1 were not the only ferry crew to suffer engine problems on their epic delivery flight. Between California and Hawaii, at the point of no return, A70-3 lost an engine. For the next two hours, as the aircraft lost height, the crew struggled with the problem until the engine was eventually started again. The final aircraft, the replacement A70-10, arrived in Australia on 15 January 1944. The Mariners were first allocated to 41 Squadron RAAF and were a breath of fresh air compared to the unit’s ageing Dorniers which were eventually completely replaced several months later. The only other units to fly the type were 40 Squadron RAAF and 114 AirSea Rescue Flight. The former received four aircraft in July to supplement its Short Sunderlands. The Mariners ranged far and wide over the Pacific and were often flown by veterans of the war against the U-boats. Rather than a load of depth charges, the crews became very familiar with a self-loading cargo. The spacious fuselage could accommodate more than forty passengers sitting on the freight or on their own seating.

ABOVE: The rear of an unidentified Mariner. The small airfoils were known as the Shannon Vortex Airfoil and solved the tail flutter problems the Mariner continued to have after the prototype’s horizontal tail surfaces were replaced on the production line by the marked dihedral evident in the photo. The airfoil was the brainchild of Martin test pilot Ellis Shannon who received the ‘Order of the Purple Martin’ in recognition of his achievement. [RAAF Museum]

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Short Service

The first Mariner to be retired was A70-10 which had been regarded as the best of the lot. It arrived at Lake Boga in late December 1945 less than two years after its arrival in Australia. Only a few days before, on 19 December, bound for Queensland from Port Moresby, the electrical feathering gear on one of the engines failed. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Noel McKnight, skillfully stalled the aircraft onto rough, open water south of Bundaberg. The five crew and 25 passengers had to stay on board for the rest of the day and the entire night which, with no horizon to focus on, must have been an unpleasant experience. The Mariner was eventually towed to Bundaberg the next day, repaired and flew on to Victoria for its final landing. The same aircraft lost an engine on take off after delivering commandos to Aitape, New Guinea, as the Aitape-Wewak campaign was warming up a year earlier. The crew was forced to wait for a replacement to be delivered and also had to deal with a lame Mariner afloat in rough water. Some of the RAAF Mariners’ early engine problems were traced to locally produced replacement cylinder head bolts. Once these were replaced, and with smooth handling, the engine reliability issues were significantly reduced. The delivery of Army personnel was all part of the Mariners’ regular service along the east coast of Australia, up to New Guinea (and through the Owen Stanleys!) and even east to the New Hebrides. Landing in the interior regions of New Guinea, on lakes and the vast rivers the country is known for, was a hazardous venture and navigating debris and floating logs was par for the course. No doubt both aircrew and passengers would have also felt more at ease had they had an armed aircraft that could potentially fight its way out of a sticky situation if operating behind enemy lines. It was not to be, of course, which adds even more weight to the well-deserved credit owed to the unsung Mariner crews.

With its engines removed, this unidentified and forlorn Mariner floats tail heavy on Lake Boga as it awaits its fate. [RAAFA Museum]

The last RAAF Mariner flight, by A70-8, was on 1 May 1946. One of the fleet’s final operational duties, and perhaps its most important, was the repatriation of former prisoners of war. The Mariners, although operational in Australia for barely two years, were well worn and this may have contributed to their sad fate. Many of the Catalinas were in a similar condition but fared better due to their considerably larger numbers and the spares that could be generated by the partial scrapping of the surviving population.

Little Left

All of the Mariners were disposed of at Lake Boga and at least two were sold to farmers and towed away. One, A70-6, was towed to a farm in Victoria where it was used for storage and building materials. It, however, was eventually scrapped. Two Mariners, A70-2 and A70-3 (also referenced as A70-8), were converted to caravans by having the nose section mounted on a chassis. Both travelled the country and one, A70-3/8, was eventually donated to the RAAF Association Museum at Bull Creek in Western Australia. It was displayed between the north and south hangars and still had its windscreen frame in place. Other than the rear fuselage of A70-12 stored at Goolwa airfield

in South Australia, the ‘Maravan’ was the most substantial piece of RAAF Mariner left (there is only one complete Mariner, a PBM5A, on display in the U.S.). Amazingly, according to the museum’s records, it was disposed of in late 2008 due to its bad condition. Its survival is doubtful as it appears more than likely to have been scrapped. Other Mariner remnants include the flight deck of A70-12 and the nose art from A70-2 at the Ballarat Aviation Museum, an engine standing at the doorway of Lake Boga’s Commercial Hotel and outer wing sections on display at the Australian National Aviation Museum, Moorabbin. Not much to remember a sterling aircraft and its crews by. As pure flying boats, the Mariners’ use post-war was limited and so, therefore, was their potential survival. The aircraft wasn’t the most attractive nor the most numerous in the RAAF’s inventory but its range and cargo capacity rivaled that of the few Short Sunderlands operated in the region. Little has been written about the Mariners’ service with the RAAF and it is now almost too late to record the experiences of the men who are left. There are stories to be discovered, and more work to be done, to ensure the Mariner is no longer the RAAF’s forgotten flying boat.

The RAAF’s largest types of flying boats, in the form of three 40 Squadron RAAF Sunderlands and a single, unidentified Mariner, can be seen in this photo taken at Port Moresby in 1945. [RAAFA Museum]

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The R.E.8 ‘Eye in the Sky’ Part 2

In the second of a two part feature on the R.E.8, Rob Langham & James Kightly look at crew experiences plus the surviving examples, replicas and Australia’s ‘lost’ R.E.8.

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The R.E.8

The core of military aviation in the great war, the R.E.8 was an advanced army co-operation type. Initially the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) carried out the task with the BE.2 family, a stable type designed specifically for observation, but the unanticipated development of fighters (misleadingly known as ‘scouts’ in English, and more accurately ‘Jaeger’ - ‘hunters’ in German) found them vulnerable to German attack. Many of the lessons learned from the B.E.’s shortcomings were incorporated into the R.E.8, which resulted in a bigger, faster, heavier aircraft to

fly. Unsurprisingly it demanded greater care in flight, and was not amenable to slow, nearstalling speed flight, as was the docile B.E.2. Thus the R.E.8 quickly acquired the reputation of being a death trap from crews more used to the benign characteristics of the B.E. Captain ‘Taffy’ Jones recounts a classic example of aircrew cynicism. “April 10 1918: Also came across ‘Ginger’ Osbourne who is with 21 Squadron, flying R.E.8. He tells me the R.E.8 is nicknamed ‘the flaming wafer’, because it always bursts into flames when it crashes. Most of the pilots have got the wind up over it.”

LEFT: Australian Prime Minister the Honourable William ‘Billy’ Hughes in the cockpit of an R.E.8 in France, being shown ‘the taps’ by Captain Lawrence Wackett, with, on the left, Captain R. Francis. [RAAF Museum Archive]

BELOW LEFT: ‘Pancaking’. Better instruction was developed during the R.E.8’s operation, with posters such as this from the Air Technical Services outlining how to make a survivable crash-landing. [Flight] BELOW: A presentation RE.8 cost a nominal £2,700 in 1918. [RAAF Museum Archive]

This carefully posed night shot by Frank Hurley of personnel and an R.E.8 does nevertheless show typical conditions and kit of 3 Squadron AFC on the Western Front. [RAAF Museum Archive]

ABOVE: At Shuttleworth with the RAF Museum’s R.E.8 replica, Rob Langham and Trevor Poole of the Great War Society both wear the ‘Sidcot’ suit, designed by Australian Royal Navy Air Service pilot Sidney Cotton, popular from 1917. Despite the popularity of the Sidcot suits, the leather clothing worn by Vernon Creek (of the RAF Museum, centre) was still common through to the end of the war. [Jonathan Large via R Langham] F L I G H T PAT H | 61

Many of the issues would today be traced back to unsystematic training and flying techniques, as well as observation pilots habitually flying at minimum speeds in the very forgiving B.E. with its generous recovery envelope. However, with aircraft modification (enlarged vertical tail surfaces) and training instruction, once the crews got used to the higher performance of the RE.8, they found it much more effective as a fighting aircraft. But the type’s reputation never recovered. In the Middle East, 1 Squadron Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was issued with some R.E.8s, adding to their other types. Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams, KBE, CB, DSO, had this to say about the R.E.8 in his autobiography: “It was October 1917 before we received new aircraft, this time the R.E.8. This was really a larger version of the B.E. family, also designed by the Royal Aircraft Factory and fitted with a 140 hp [30kW] 12 cylinder V Type air cooled R.A.F. engine, as in the B.E.12a. It had been designed for army cooperation, and our No.3 Squadron, which had just gone to France, was so equipped. It came to us with a reputation for spinning into the ground soon after take-off but that was not our experience, nor that of No.3 Squadron. It was a better aircraft than the B.E.’s but still not capable of a performance to operate in the face of our German enemy. It did however carry the pilot with a synchronised Vickers gun in the front seat and, the observer with a ring mounted Lewis gun behind him. It was the first two-seater aircraft issued to us in which the pilot could fire straight ahead and the observer deal with an attack from the rear - without fear of shooting the pilot. The observer’s gun mounting, a Scarff ring, was primarily intended to carry one Lewis Gun but we soon had a pair mounted on it. “The RE8 was the first aircraft we had received with a warning as to loading. Before this any load we carried on the aircraft, be it

observer, bombs or stores, was carried either above or below the lower centre section which was in the vicinity of the centre of gravity. Now with an aircraft designed to take the observer further back we had always to have adequate loading in that seat. This aircraft had good inherent lateral stability from the dihedral and it was fitted with an adjustable tailplane; we had not this facility previously.”

R.E.8 Operations

While the primary task was artillery observation (see the box), there were many other jobs. In the case of 3 Squadron AFC, which was deployed as a Corps Squadron on the Western Front in France, the tasks were often divided by flight. During the battle of Amiens, A Flight was involved in artillery reconnaissance, B Flight provided counter attack aircraft, and C Flight provided ‘contact patrols’. Both A and B Flight also dropped smoke bombs during the attack to guard and hide the infantry’s flanks. They also observed the fire of enemy artillery for counter-battery work and found the best places for movement across No Man’s Land. Then there was straight bombing with 20 lb [9 kg] Cooper bombs, and ‘Retaliation Patrols’ at dusk where two aircraft would go out at dusk and bomb targets near the front line. The apparently less threatening propaganda leafleting was discontinued because of the rough treatment captured airmen received if they had been dropping pamphlets. Nigel Love of 3 Squadron recalled continuous ‘line patrols’: “We used to call this patrol a ‘Spark Crawl’ – and would be about two and a half hours over the lines.” Better received by those under them were supply drops, where ammunition and supplies were dropped to advanced troops in attacks. A critical aspect of these was a notable Australian innovation devised by the ever inventive Law-

John Duigan’s own R.E.8 which he flew many hours in, before being shot down and badly injured near Catchy, on the Western Front. [RAAF Museum Archive] BACKGROUND: An unknown R.E.8 in flight. [Provincial Archives of Alberta, from the G. Harrison Villett fonds,PR2004.0125/18]

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rence Wackett, then a Captain in 3 Squadron, who worked out a mechanism for parachute dropping ammunition to front line troops. This ammunition carrier was based on a modified Cooper bomb rack with two cut-down oil drums holding the parachutes. Because 3 Squadron was used for other tasks, in July 1918 at the Battle of Hamel it was 9 Squadron (by then part of the RAF) that did this job, and General Monash later wrote, “at least 100,000 rounds of ammunition were [dropped] during the battle with obvious economy in lives and wounds”. Wackett did use his device himself in action to resupply some isolated troops on 27 September.

An odder task was being used, with other types, to drown out the noise of amassing tanks. More dangerous was monitoring troop positions, either friendly with Contact Patrols, which involved flying low over the front after an attack to determine the most forward positions. The Counter Attack Patrol was similar but to determine the forward positions of enemy troops, especially concentrations forming a counter attack, where the R.E.8 crew would fire red flares to show the enemy locations.(One can imagine what the troops below them would do about that.)

In action

R.E.8 crews were far from Fokker fodder, and there were successful crews from all over the Empire. Australian Lieutenants A. E. Grig-

son and H. B. James of 3 Squadron AFC, destroyed two German aircraft while flying together, and another each while in other crews. A remarkable team were South African Lieutenants Croye Pithey and observer Hervey Rhodes from Yorkshire. With excellent gunnery and a skilled pilot, Rhodes recalled: “We began to feel confident as warriors, ready to take on any would-be executioners and tempt them to try their arm with us to their own destruction. Although we were very slow, we had a perfect understanding of our aircraft and of the tactics we needed to adopt – and once we got them in the position we wanted them, it was easy”. Never bested in the air, they were both badly wounded on 27 September 1918, when they were hit by ground fire. Their R.E.8 was so shot up it broke its back on landing at their airfield. Surviving his wounds, Rhodes totalled eleven victories, one from a B.E.2. The second high-scoring R.E.8 ace was Captain Douglas Carbery, born in India. He had six confirmed victories, albeit for one he was flying a B.E.2e! Another aggressive R.E.8 pilot was Canadian Frederick McCall, of XIII Squadron RFC, with his observer F.C. Farrington, shot down three German scouts before being transferred to a single-seater squadron. Of Manfried von Richtofen’s eighty combat victories, only six were R.E.8s, spread out from victory number forty to near his end. And it’s important to note R.E.8 crews were expected to operate in relative safety, protected from enemy scouts by allied air superiority, albeit with the occasional ‘Hun’ slipping through.

Shot Down!

One of the most remarkable accounts we have is from John Duigan, designer, builder and pilot of the first all-Australian aircraft before the war. Serving as a an R.E.8 pilot with 3 Squadron AFC, he had been one of the six pallbearers for Manfied von Richtofen. Soon after, he was lucky to escape with his own life. Writing to Reg, his brother, he recounted the story of his flight near Villers-Bretonneux on the morning of 9 May, 1918. With his observer Lieutenant Alec Patterson MM, they took off in B2271, his own ‘bus’ from Flesselles: “All went well for a while and we had taken a box of plates about five miles over and my observer was changing the plates when I saw some machines coming towards us. I soon saw they were tri-planes, the Huns’ best scout machines so I yelled to my observer to fire. Our escort had disappeared so we had no help. My observer fired a few rounds and then the Huns started firing and one of the first shots hit my observer’s gun, smashing his hand badly and knocking him out altogether, this at 7500 feet. A piece of the bullet grazed my head. Tracer bullets were flying around in all directions but for a while none hit us. I was throwing the machine round in small circles when they dived and making for our side when they passed, for we were a long way over Hunland. After coming down a couple of thousand feet I felt a blow on the shoulder and knew I was hit there, but could still

Artillery Observation & Photo Reconnaissance Second Lieutenant Francis Parry of 12 Sqn RFC describes how the R.E.8 was used for artillery observation: “Communication between the aircraft and battery was by means of a Sterling spark transmitter, with a trailing aerial of about 150 feet [45 metres] used by the observer or the pilot to send messages in Morse code to the battery. A series of code letters were used… The battery replied by placing wide strips of white cloth on a dark background in single code letters acknowledging the message received from the aircraft. These letters could be seen quite easily, as for the type of operation we normally flew at an altitude of 2,000-5,000 feet. The actual position of the enemy battery was marked on a photograph and from the centre three concentric circles were drawn denoting X = 25 yards, Y = 50 yards, Z = 100 yards; also giving north, south, east and west positions. “All was now ready to commence the shoot. The observer then sent a message to the battery asking, ‘Are you ready?’ If in the affirmative, the observer sent by code the letter ‘G’ for the first gun to be fired, the pilot having manoeuvred the aircraft into such a position so that the observer could see both the flash of the gun as it fired and the burst of the shell. Watching closely, the observer would note the actual position where the shell had burst and advise the battery accordingly. … The same procedure continued with each of the four howitzers until all guns were ranged correctly onto the enemy target, when the observer gave the signal ‘GG’ when all guns fired as quickly as they could be loaded.” Generally, it was found best to have the pilot both fly the aircraft and do the spotting and Morse code transmitting (so he was very busy!) and the observer watching out for enemy aircraft. The task was painstaking and required concentration and care, even without interruption – but there were plenty of potentially lethal interruptions about. RIGHT: The rear cockpit of the R.E.8 (here, the RAAF Museum’s replica, built by The Vintage Aviator) is very well equipped for a challenging task. The folded map board is flanked by ammunition drum holders, with the Lewis gun’s butt partly obscuring the observer’s stowed control stick. [J Kightly] BELOW: Captain Reg Francis of the AFC in his flying kit (note the unusual gloves) for a sortie in an R.E.8, believed to be historic, but lost, A4397 [RAAF Museum Archive]

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…the worst thing of all happened, for there was a rattle and then petrol everywhere…

A young Second Lieutenant John Duigan just after commissioning. [Author ’s Collection]

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use my arm; so was alright. Every now and then I could hear and feel the bullets hitting the machine and all the time I was thinking of the petrol. The tri-planes would get about fifty yards behind and well above and then stick their noses down and dive at us firing their two guns They fire incendiary bullets, which are almost explosive as well, as they fly to pieces. The air was just streaked all roads by the smoke from these bullets. By good luck we got down to 4000ft. when I felt a blow in the lower part of the back – a hard one – and I knew that was another; and then the worst thing of all happened, for there was a rattle and then petrol everywhere. It just poured out of the tank like a waterfall, all over me and the machine. The tank then had about thirty-five gallons in, and I felt sick with apprehension, for it only wanted one tracer bullet to set it all on fire, and we were still over 4000ft. up. It seemed hopeless as the three tri-planes were still attacking for all they were worth, and not a sign of any of our machines – our scouts, I mean. Before this I had fired a red light signal for assistance. The machine was doing 130 miles an hour all this time and the engine fairly humming. In spite of all the petrol and the bullets...the machine did not catch fire, and I began to feel a little hopeful. Then I felt a crack in the leg and thought ‘That’s another one’. We were now about 3000ft, and carried on. By spinning round when they dived on us I made a more difficult target and I put them off their aim, and I spun around quickly, as fast as it was safe to without breaking up the machine. This nightmare business continued – the petrol pouring over us as if there was no end to it, the Huns diving and firing at me, alternately turning round and round and making for our lines. At last, after what seemed months, I got near the ground and saw I was going to land after all. The next thing (the tri-planes were still firing) was not to break our necks landing, for there were shell

The RAAF Museum’s R.E.8 Replica overhead shows the design’s plan form. [J Kightly]

holes everywhere. I picked the best-looking spot and pancaked her down, landing as slowly as possible. Before landing I yelled to the observer to look out for a crash, but he was unconscious. The old ‘bus’ touched the ground, ran along, and stopped without running into any shell holes.” Despite his extensive injuries, John ensured the photographic plates they’d shot were sent for processing before accepting the ride to hospital. (He may well have been thinking if he hadn’t some other crew would have to redo the job.) When private Frank Gilfedder was sent to the crash site near Cachy, he wrote: “On finding the plane we were astounded to find that the position was even more tricky than the rumours of what he could do. It was in a narrow lane between the German held trenches and some abandoned trenches on our side.” Duigan’s flying skill and experience had paid off.

Three’s Numbers

In the end, 3 Squadron AFC’s record with the R.E.8 between September 1917 and November 1918, was summarised as 9,240 hours flying time; in which they conducted 735 artillery shoots, 612 of which were successful, dropped 114,404 lbs of bombs and fired 500,000 rounds against enemy targets. They photographed 1,280 square miles of enemy territory, using 5,834 individual photographic plates and produced 245,000 prints; accounted for 51 enemy aircraft (16 destroyed, 8 out of control, 27 ‘driven down’); and lost eleven aircraft – six of these to enemy action. Squadron personnel were awarded four DFCs, three MCs, five Meritorious Service Medals, one Bar to the MSM, two MiD, one twice MiD, one Croix de Guerre Belge, one Crois de Virtue Militare II Class. Among the victories of the Australian 3 Squadron was the Albatros D.V now in the AWM, captured intact after being driven down by Lieutenants Sandy and Hughes (see the last issue’s ‘Ghost Plane’) and a Hal-

Australia’s Lost Original R.E.8 At the end of the Great War it turned out that an Australian R.E.8 was the record-holding observation type over the Western Front, with 440 hours’ service in 147 flights over enemy territory. It was A4397, coded ‘D’ and at one time was decorated with a Kewpie doll in the letter, as well as being known as ‘Sylvia’. Over a hundred of those flights were “under the pilotage of Capt. R.G.D.Francis” who fought off enemy attacks on a couple of occasions, and prior to his ‘ownership’ it had already been crashed and repaired. This machine was shipped to Australia on the Booral, in 1919, for eventual display in what was to become the Australian War Memorial (AWM). However once in Australia, it seems it was never erected and had, at some time lost some or all of its fabric. (Though some accounts say it was placed on display in 1920, in Melbourne, or Adelaide, no proof of this has yet been found.) The newly formed RAAF, were no advocates. Fighting to be independent in the early

twenties and not wanting to be reminded of the critical tie to the army of ‘corps reconnaissance’, the R.E.8’s role had fallen from favour. Tragically, in the early afternoon of 22 February 1925, an unattended fire caught some rubbish at the back of the Exhibition Buildings in Melbourne, near where the AWM had been temporarily housed. This fire destroyed five crated aircraft, and left three untouched before being put out. A4397 was one of the aircraft lost, though the newspapers wrote ‘Six German aeroplanes’. The R.E.8 had become so overlooked by this time that while the AWM’s own records of the fire are circumstantially conclusive, in photo captions, they state its ‘ultimate fate is unknown’. With this negligent loss, much of the importance of the Australian army’s ‘corps reconnaissance’ aviation role also evaporated in the narrative of the Great War. After a ninety year gap, this has been corrected with the acquisition of the RAAF Museum’s new replica R.E.8. 3 Squadron’s historic R.E.A4397 survived the war, to be lost in an accidental fire. [RAAF Museum Archve]

RIGHT: The original Royal Aircraft Factory designed engine in the IWM R.E.8 under conservation and restoration in November 2003. [J Kightly] bertsadt CL.II brought down by Lieutenants Armstrong and Mart. In a remarkable effort, the 3 Squadron crew came across this enemy aircraft over Querrieu, well into the allied lines. They literally shepherded the disorientated German crew back to their home airfield where the German pilot landed and the corporal of the guard, the only man with a gun to hand, ran up and shouted “Hands Up!” at the crew. The aircraft was claimed as a war prize, shipped to Australia and allocated to the Tasmanian Government, but was one of the German aircraft lost in the storage fire at the same time as the R.E.8 A4397 in 1925.

Survivors & Replicas

Only two genuine R.E.8s survive; one in the Brussels museum, the other having had a painstaking conservation at the Imperial War Museum (IWM). The IWM’s example

ABOVE: The only genuine British Empire R.E.8 left is on show, suspended in the AirSpace building at IWM Duxford. [J Kightly] LEFT: One of the oddest aspects of the R.E.8 construction is this original fuel tank from the IWM’s example. It is made from Gutta Percha latex, essentially tree sap, with a metal supporting structure. [J Kightly] F L I G H T PAT H | 65

LEFT: Another view of the IWM Duxford R.E.8 as displayed infront of a much later ground attack aircraft – the Harrier. [J Kightly] BELOW: The R.E.8 was never given an official name, but was universally known as the ‘Harry Tate’ after the music hall comedian star of the time. [Author’s Collection]

was built by Daimler in 1918, and was delivered to France arriving, crated, on the day of the Armistice. It was named ‘A Paddy Bird From Ceylon’ in 1919, taking the presentation marking originally worn by a B.E.2, and flew for only thirty minutes before presentation to the IWM, as the R.E.8 type was retired wholesale. It was initially displayed in the Crystal Palace and renovated in 1950 and 1980, being moved from Lambeth to Duxford in 1974. In 1917, 22 R.E.8s were supplied to the Belgian military, without engines, and the Belgians fitted the 150 hp Hispano-Suiza 4a engine, resulting in a very different nose profile. Aircraft number ‘8’ is preserved at the Brussels Air Museum. It had a major refurbishment in the eighties by the 17th Light Aviation Section of the Belgian Army. As well as the RAAF Museum’s replica built by The Vintage Aviator Ltd (TVAL) there are two other TVAL examples. The first was only built for static use and is displayed in the colours of A4397 in the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, New Zealand. The third was flown for a short period in New Zealand, and at the Shuttleworth Collection, before display in the RAF Museum’s W.W.I Grahame-White Hangar at Hendon, UK.

Thanks to & Sources: Thanks are due to many people who advised on this feature, notably Philippa Brotchie for AWM research. Many sources were consulted, including websites www.3squadron.org.au and www.theaerodrome.com. Books used and recommended include Bloody April & Aces Falling by Peter Hart; Aircraft of the Royal Aircraft Factory by Paul R Hare; ‘A Flying Life’ on John Duigan by David Crotty; ‘Fire in the Sky’ by Michael Molkentin; 3 Squadron’s ‘The Battle Below’; ‘These are Facts’ by Richard Williams, and ‘Here is Their Spirit’ by Michael McKernan, on the AWM.

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The second surviving R.E.8 is the Hispano-Suiza 4a engine example in Belgium. [J Kightly]

Briefly airworthy in the UK, this is the RAF Museum’s replica R.E.8 as flown by Gene Demarco of TVAL at the Shuttleworth Collection. [R Langham]

Australia’s only flying Catalina. Acquired by the Historic Aircraft Restoration Society from the same Portuguese owner as VH-CAT, this PBY-6A (Bu46679) has been progressively modified to represent A24-362 since its arrival in Australia in 2003. VH-PBZ is one of the few Catalinas flying with the nose turret installation. [Rob Fox]

Catalina Round Up The Consolidated Catalina needs little introduction. Contributing Editor Andy Wright reviews the significant population on public display in Australia and New Zealand and how it has grown markedly in recent years. LEFT: The Australian National Aviation Museum, at Moorabbin Airport, is restoring the last remaining RAAF PBY-5A amphibian (A24-88). This aircraft is also the only ‘Black Cat’ left and the last of the 29 PBY-5As converted to flying boats by the RAAF. This reduced weight allowing greater range and payload. [Brenden Scott] BELOW: This PBY-5A (Bu48412) was acquired by the Rathmines Catalina Memorial Park, NSW, in 2013 after spending the previous 54 years in the Caribbean. It last flew in 2000 and will be restored as the static centerpiece of a museum on the shores of Lake Macquarie. [Brian Bates]

T

he most numerous waterborne aircraft to serve during the war, the Catalina is still a relatively familiar sight around the world today. Australia and New Zealand operated considerable numbers of Catalinas in the Pacific theatre. Aircrew from both countries also flew the aircraft with the RAF in the northern hemisphere. The first of the RAAF’s 168 Catalinas, an early PBY-5 flying boat, arrived in February 1941. Australia’s Catalinas, as expected, performed a myriad of tasks but are perhaps best known for the long-range mine-laying sorties that had a significant impact on Japanese shipping. The RAAF retired its last Catalinas in 1952. It operated a mix of PBY-4/5 and PB2B-1/2 (Boeing Canada-built PBY-5) flying boats and PBY-5A amphibians. New Zealand, however, only flew PBY-5 and PB2B-1 flying boats in the Pacific. The last of its 56 aircraft was retired in 1953 but, sadly, none survive today. Post-war, it was the amphibians that contributed to the longevity of the type. Several are still flown as water bombers eighty years after the prototype’s first flight. No other combat aircraft from the period can match the Catalina’s civilian career. In Australia and New Zealand, eight airframes can be viewed in museums, one is in storage and another four are being actively restored or repaired. This very healthy population, bolstered by the import of three aircraft since December 2008, is something to be proud of but does not include the wrecks, substantial structures or the houseboat! more photos on next page F L I G H T PAT H | 67

ABOVE: The third PBV-1A (CV-592) in the region was delivered to the USAAF as an OA-10A. It spent almost twenty years flying with airlines and was converted to a flying boat by TAA. It was retired to the Port Moresby fire dump but was eventually transported to New Zealand. It is now under static restoration by the Air Force Museum of New Zealand, Wigram. [James Kightly] RIGHT: The well-known Lake Boga Catalina is a composite consisting of the rear fuselage of A24-38, the front fuselage of a Dutch Catalina and the rare mainplane from a PBY-4. Marked as PBY-5 A24-30, it is the pride of the Lake Boga Flying Boat Museum. The original A24-30 was also a composite assembled by the USN in Java using the hull of a Dutch Catalina and the wings of a USN PBY-5. A clever choice of serial number by the museum! [James Kightly] ABOVE: This Boeing Canada-built PB2B-2 Canso (Bu44248) was flown by P.G. Taylor on the first crossing of the South Pacific in 1951. It was the second last Catalina delivered to the RAAF, as A24-385, but is better known as VH-ASA ‘Frigate Bird II’. It was hung in Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum in 1987 and is the only complete PB2B variant. [James Kightly] RIGHT: After years of inactivity, this PBY-5A (Bu46624) was finally restored and delivered to Perth, WA, by the USN, on behalf of the AustralianAmerican Catalina Memorial Foundation in 2001. It was to be displayed in a museum at Crawley Bay, on the Swan River, from where Catalinas operated during the war but this fell through and the aircraft is now on display at the RAAFA’s Aviation Heritage Museum at Bull Creek. [Rob Fox]

This PBY-6A (Bu46665) was also ferried to Australia for preservation. It was acquired by The Catalina Flying Memorial Ltd with the intention of operating from Lake Macquarie as part of the RAAF Rathmines memorial complex. VH-CAT has been at Bankstown since late 2008 and work continues to return it to flight. The Cat was recently ground run for the first time in three years. [Mike Usher]

68 | F L I G H T PAT H

LEFT: This PBV-1A (CV-369) was a familiar sight around Australia, from 1972 to 1987, as it conducted geophysical survey work. It was acquired by the RAAF Museum and restored at RAAF Amberley, Queensland, from 1995. It is now on display as A24-104 at Point Cook. [James Kightly]

BELOW: This PBY-5 (A24-46) is the last surviving RAAF flying boat variant. It was on display at Whale World, in Albany, WA, and was assembled from components recovered from the Lake Boga, Victoria, area by the late John Bell. It was sold following his death and is reportedly in storage. [James Kightly]

TOP LEFT: This PBY-5A (Bu48334) hull was a spares source for ZK-PBY but has been restored by Tauranga’s Classic Flyers Museum. The interior is a representation of the equipment a Catalina carried and visitors, by gold coin donation, can walk through the fuselage. [Garry Bentley] LEFT: A former water bomber in North America and Spain, this PBY-6A (Bu46644, note the taller fin and rudder) was flown to Australia in late 2009. Engine problems delayed its arrival at the Qantas Founders Museum until late 2011. It represents one of the five Qantas flying boats used for the wartime ‘Double Sunrise’ flights between Perth and Ceylon. The original aircraft were scuttled off Rottnest Island, WA, as per the Lend-Lease agreement. [QFM] BELOW: New Zealand’s popular ZK-PBY is a Canadian Vickers-built PBV-1A (CV-357) delivered to the RCAF as a Canso A. It was bought by The Catalina Co NZ Ltd and arrived from Africa in October 1994. Now operated by the New Zealand Catalina Preservation Society, the aircraft has been grounded since 2011 to deal with corrosion issues. Repairs began in May 2013, after substantial and continuing fundraising, and it is hoped the sorely missed ZK-PBY will attend Warbirds Over Wanaka 2016. [Philip Makanna GHOSTS.com]

F L I G H T PAT H | 69

Airshows

Grumman’s Twins G

rumman’s amphibious Goose and its smaller sibling, the Widgeon, both began life in the civilian market. The venerable Goose came into being in 1936 when a group of wealthy industrialists commissioned Roy Grumman to build ten aircraft that could take off from their private airstrips and land on the water near New York’s financial district. Nearly 350 were built by the end of W.W.II. It was a similar story for the Widgeon and between 1941 and 1949 most of the 315 Widgeons built served with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. Both types easily converted to civil life after the war. Roger Cain presents a collection of survivors flying and ‘sailing’ along America's Pacific Coast.

Steve Hamilton’s Widgeon N111W and the French-built Scan 30 N3TD

What started life as a JRF-5 (G-21A) Goose in April 1945, with the U.S. Navy as Bu87729, N640 was converted by McKinnon in 1967 to a turbine Goose and is powered by a pair of Pratt and Whitney PT6A turboprop engines. Records incorrectly show it as a G-21G. It is seen here on Clear Lake.

A new G-21 Goose (c/n 1168) to the area is N401SJ. It is seen here at the annual Colusa Airport Olde Time Fly-In.

With a tail number indicating its Pratt and Whitney R-985 engines, N985R (c/n B-86) was built for the U.S. Navy as a JRF-5 (Bu84791) and is seen here on Clear Lake. It has since moved with new owners to the east coast of the United States. 70 | F L I G H T PAT H

Airshows

N45PV is seen at Half Moon Bay Airport and powered by GO-480 Lycomings. It was used by the U.S. Navy as a J4F-2 (Bu37750) and was originally fitted with a pair of inverted, inline Ranger 6-440-C5 engines.

Grumman Widgeons N3TD, N701J and N45PV on the shores of Clear Lake.

Unlike the J4F-1 that was built with only three seats, this J4F-2 model had five seats and went into service with the U.S. Navy as Bu37743. Seen at Clear Lake, the upgraded engines on this G-44 give it much more power.

Two serial numbers from N45PV, N141R served with the U.S. Navy as a J4F-2 (Bu37748). It was converted to a McKinnon Super Widgeon, with Lycoming GO-480-B1B engines and Hartzell propellers, in 1970.

Named ‘Summer Wind’ and built in 1939, N39FG is one of a few of the G-21A Gooses (Geese?) seen in Northern California. It is seen here visiting Hollister Airport for service. According to its construction number, 1059, it does not appear to have seen any military service although c/n 1058 was impressed into service as an OA-13A with the Army Air Corps.

Following the success of the Widgeon, 41 aircraft were built under licence by the French as the SCAN 30. This one was built in 1948 as serial number 16. It is a regular attendee at the Seaplane Splash-In at Clear Lake, California.

N111W was built as a civilian G-44A, s/n 1420, and has been with the same owner, Steve Hamilton, since 1993. It is seen here at Clear Lake and is a regular attendee at the annual Seaplane Splash-In.

F L I G H T PAT H | 71

Airshows

Jet Age

Museum

The Gloucester Aircraft Collection is located at Gloucestershire (Staverton) Airport in the Cotswolds, England. Gary R. Brown visited the display which is housed in a purpose-built display hangar formally opened by Eric 'Winkle' Brown on 9 May 2014.

T

he Gloucester Aircraft Collection's (GAC) jewel is the magnificent Gloster Gamecock reproduction which was built by GAC volunteers around the remains of two former Finnish Air Force rear fuselages, over ten years. The rare Bristol Jupiter engine is on loan from the RAF Museum and the aircraft is in 43 Squadron markings as J7904. Taking centre stage are three classic Gloster jet aircraft: a full-size model of Britain's first-ever jet, the little Gloster E28/39; the first British jet fighter, Meteor F8 WH364; and the mighty Javelin FAW9 XH903. (The museum also has a second Javelin, FAW4 XA634.) The collection has five Meteors on display, including the rare

Armstrong Whitworth built NF13 WM366, the only NF13 on display in the UK. The museum also has the cockpit of one the earliest Meteor survivors, F3 EE425, which was presented to the museum by Richard Greenwood, the son of Eric Greenwood, Gloster's Chief Test Pilot 1945-1946. Older enthusiasts will remember the pioneering Skyfame museum that was a popular visitor attraction at the airport between 1963 and1978. The GAC collection includes Gloster Meteor T7 VW453 which was restored by members of the Cotswold Aircraft Restoration Group (CARG) whose membership came from the former Skyfame volunteers. The museum has a number of ambitious

projects, including constructing an Airspeed Horsa glider cockpit, and a Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib cockpit section from salvaged and fabricated parts. The museum is also rebuilding Gloster Gladiator N5914, with Retro Track & Air, with some parts coming from the RAF Museum reserve collection. The Gladiator was flown by New Zealand Pilot Officer James Wilkie, of 263 Squadron, who was killed by Luftwaffe ace Lt Helmut Lent on 2 June 1940. Gloster built 2,750 Hawker Hurricanes and the museum has a full scale ‘Battle of Britain’ film replica. Now registered as BAPC 72, it is painted in Ken ‘Mac’ Mackenzie’s 501 Squadron colours. Ken was a patron of the museum until his death in 2009.

Meteor T.7 WF784 is also awaiting restoration.

ABOVE: The Gloster Javelin has an imposing presence. [All Gary R Brown]

RIGHT: The ‘Battle of Britain’ film replica Hurricane in front of the Gloster Gladiator frame and the Gamecock. 72 | F L I G H T PAT H

Airshows

Reconstruction of Gloster Gamecock J7904. [All Gary R Brown] Meteor NF.14 awaits restoration.

The museum has Avro Vulcan XM569’s cockpit open on external display for visitors. The cockpit of Hawker Siddeley Trident GAWZU is also on external display, and was acquired to tell the story behind the Autoland system, pioneered on the Trident, by Smith Industries, a large local employer. The fuselage section will be refurbished as an interactive exhibit complete with a live air traffic control feed. The museum also has English Electric Canberra WK126 and de Havilland Vampire XD506 waiting in the wings for restoration. There is also an extensive model collection and a display of the superb photography of Russell Adams, Gloster's pioneering official photographer.

A jet trio, led by the Gloster E28/39 full scale model.

From the rear the huge flying surfaces of the rare Javelin are clearly evident. F L I G H T PAT H | 73

The

Gallipoli

Fighter

The Australian Vintage Aviation Society’s (TAVAS) latest aircraft in their growing Queensland-based Great War collection is an accurate reproduction of Anthony Fokker’s famous 1915 E.III Eindecker. Editor Rob Fox talked with Andrew Carter, TAVAS founder and Eindecker pilot, about the first E.III in Australia.

F

okker’s E.III lays claim to being the world’s first true fighter aircraft due to its synchronised forward firing machine gun. The Eindecker granted the German Air Service a degree of air superiority, from July 1915 until early 1916, over the Allies’ scouts and observation aircraft. The unique gearing that allowed the Spandau Machinegun to fire through the arc of the propeller, and along the pilot’s line of sight, made it an incredibly successful fighter. Despite the limitations of its manoeuvrability, its domination saw that deadly period of time termed the ‘Fokker Scourge’. Apart from German operations over the Western Front, the Turks based E.IIIs at Beersheba in Palestine, with a number at Gallipoli, and others operating in Mesopotamia during the Siege of Kut-al-Amara. “It is imperative for TAVAS that our aircraft have a strong Australian connection”, said Andrew. “So we finished this aircraft as 345/16, an E.III which operated over Gal74 | F L I G H T PAT H

lipoli in early 1916.” The Eindeckers flew initially in German markings but, late in 1916, at Smyrna Airfield in Turkey, the black Maltese crosses were overpainted, to form a black square with a white border, and this became the Ottoman Turks’ insignia. Hans Joachim Buddecke, a German officer flying in the Ottoman Aviation Services (Turks) who (amongst others) flew 345/16 at Gallipoli, is credited with thirteen victories and became the third ace to earn the Blue Max (Pour le Mérite). One of these victories was against the last Australian killed at Gallipoli, 22 year old Sub-Lieutenant Cecil Brinsmead. Flying an RNAS Henri Farman, two days after the final evacuation of the British from Cape Helles, Brinsmead was on a reconnaissance to report on the Turkish reaction to the evacuation.

Building the Eindecker

The TAVAS E.III project began at Achim Engels’ workshop at Schorndorf in southern

Germany. Here Achim used many original drawings and replicated the period construction techniques and materials. The Eindecker is built as it would have come out of the factory in 1916. It is completed in a clear doped, unbleached, linen finish. “It arrived here as a bare shell – basically the fuselage, wings and tails had been constructed with fuel tanks and control wires installed, but everything else needed to be done. The airframe is made as per the original with a welded mild steel fuselage. The wings are traditional wooden built structures of Birch plywood ribs, spruce for the cap strips and spars are Adler Pine. The linen to cover it came from Belgium from the same family business that made fabric for these aircraft a century ago.” The engine is a reverse engineered copy of the unique 100 hp (75 kW) Oberursel U.I rotary engine that powered the original. It was produced by Classic Aero Machining Services (CAMS) in New Zealand. “I had al-

Andrew Carter on an early test flight in the TAVAS Fokker Eindecker. The authentic reproduction of the Great War fighter is finished to represent 345/16 as it appeared over Gallipoli in early 1916, initially in German markings. This is the first E.III reproduction in the Southern Hemisphere. The only other one in the world is in California. [David White] LEFT: The British test report of a captured E.III stated it would be very tiring to fly in anything but the smoothest conditions. Andrew Carter agreed and added, “That, combined with constant attention to the overly sensitive pitch and the air pressure in the tank, can be quite draining.” [David White]

The E.III is a stable aircraft with a powerful engine. There is, however, a lot of drag, so although it has a reasonable rate of climb, it happens at a relatively low forward speed. [Natalie Gochel] TAVAS’ impressive and growing Great War collection. The Fokker D. VIII, Bristol F2B Fighter, Fokker E.III and Fokker Dr.I Triplane. [TAVAS]

F L I G H T PAT H | 75

“The E.III glides very well (although steeply because of all that drag). The landing is very easy, given the good design and forgiving undercarriage.” [Natalie Gochel]

RIGHT: The E.III cockpit showing the engine management gauges and controls. On the right side is the hand pump and above it is the fuel tank pressure gauge, two rotary valves to select either of the two fuel tanks, and the glass oil pulsator with its shut-off valve. [TAVAS]

ready ordered the first 100 hp rotary engine Tony Wytenburg at CAMS was making, with the intention of fitting it to our Fokker Dr.I Triplane. However as the engine was a copy of the exact type used in the E.III we decided to use it in that instead.” “So now we had an engine under construction, we needed a machine gun, a propeller, instruments, a cowl and fabric covering. The large wooden propeller was manufactured locally by Dieter Sedlbauer and was certainly the biggest he’d built. Although the instruments were sourced from various parts of the world, Dave Walsh here modified the internals to get them working the way we wanted and the cockpit looks authentic.” The Eindecker’s 3/4 aluminium cowl proved to be the biggest manufacturing problem in the TAVAS reproduction. “The size of metal sheet was a non-standard size and hence hard to obtain. Trying to find someone who could spin it into shape proved to be the next problem. A die is made (from plywood) and the sheet is spun over that. This was difficult with the first two cowls splitting before they could achieve the final shape. One of the most satisfying days for me was when the first wing was covered with many TAVAS members participating.” One of the main objectives of TAVAS is education, not just of the public about the aircraft and the problems the designers, builders and pilots of the time faced, but to educate current builders, and potential builders, about the skills used in constructing these machines. 76 | F L I G H T PAT H

Flying the Fokker

With the weight and balance completed and all paperwork sent to the regulatory authority, time came to address the first flight. TAVAS received official confirmation and permits just prior to sending the aircraft to the Australian International Airshow at Avalon in Victoria for its public debut. On return to Caboolture, preparations were made for the first flight which came about on 5 May. Andrew describes this and his early impressions. “The early Gnome rotary engine is one of the simplest types. It has a single fuel lever, to control the amount of fuel going into the crankcase, but [with] no throttle it runs at full power or nothing. The fuel tank sits at roughly the same level as the engine and there is a hand pump similar to an old fashioned push bike pump to pressurise it. Above this is the most important instrument, the air pressure gauge, and there are two rotary valves which I can turn to select either of the two fuel tanks.” “With the chocks in place, the engine is rotated to have a cylinder with an open valve at the bottom, the fuel lever is opened for a second, until fuel runs out, then closed. With the switches off, the engine is turned over, priming the cylinders. Magnetos are switched to start, the prop is pulled through and it usually fires first time. I move the fuel lever forward until I get what sounds the best running (about 1,100 rpm). “The oil pulsator shut off valve is opened, this little glass vial has castor oil pulsed to it

from the engine oil pump and thus is proportional to engine revolutions, a poor man’s tacho. Experienced pilots could just look at the number of pulses and know that the rpm was right. I think it was 108 pulses per minute for 1,200 rpm, a little less than two per second.” “I ‘blip’ the engine to as slow as possible and the chocks are removed.” Blipping is using a button on the control column that, when pressed and held in, stops all sparking and kills the engine momentarily. This is the limited power control these early engines had. As Andrew said, they run at full power or nothing. “I release the button, the engine goes to full power and I am off. There is no feedback through the control column or rudder pedals. You simply ease forward on the column,

enough to get the skid off the ground and apply small rudder pressure to keep straight. You have to use visual clues as you don’t feel anything through the controls. In a very short distance (less than sixty feet) the aircraft breaks ground and climbs straight ahead. It is a stable aircraft with a powerful engine. “The full flying stabilator is ridiculously, overly, sensitive, in fact at times, it is downright scary! The Eindecker was fitted with a simple friction control lever at the base of the control column to overcome this control sensitivity. The well balanced rudder without a fixed fin is also incredibly effective. “Wing warping, as expected, does work but is not the most effective form of roll control. There is a fair amount of effort required (I have to use two hands on the stick) for a sluggish result. However, combined with rudder, balanced turns are easy to do and co-ordinate. “It has been written that some pilots found turning right through 270 degrees was quicker than turning ninety degrees left! This is due to the gyroscopic effect of rotary engines, turns to the left are slower, and make the nose of the aircraft rise, and turns to the right, are quick but tended to pull the nose down. “The high drag E.III cruises slowly (less than sixty knots), despite the 100 horsepower up front. To ensure smooth engine operation you need to keep the pressure in

the fuel tank fairly constant, at about one psi. Reports I had read stated this may mean pumping eight or more times per hour. So, understandably, the pressure gauge is the largest instrument in the cockpit, although a change in note of the engine is the best indication that the pressure is low and needs attention. You have to be careful not to over-pressurise it as this can cause a rich mixture which is equally as detrimental as a lean one. “The real challenge will be in moving fuel from the rear tank to the front tank and still keeping pressure to the engine constant. This is something I haven’t attempted yet, and will spend a lot of time doing it on the ground before I try it in flight. “Like all good things, the flight comes to an end far too soon and I have to start descending. I tend to start blipping before I turn base. I hold the button in for quite a few seconds at a time before releasing it just for a second at a time. This ‘more off than on’ technique allows me to ease forward and descend quite comfortably. However, anytime I need to steepen the angle of bank or exit the turn, I have to let off the button to get a burst of slipstream over the rudder and elevator which instantly energises their effectiveness. “It glides very well (although steeply). I tend to keep high and slightly fast and come in steep in case the engine fails altogether. I keep blipping the engine all the way into the

ABOVE: Andrew Carter sanding the propeller blank cut by Dieter Sedlbauer. This half a prop is used on the cutting machine to make a full prop with two identical blades. [Nathalie Gochel] TOP: Andrew Carter and Bert Persson checking the fabric envelope on the E.III steel frame. The hand crafted aluminium sheet metal cheek cowls required a great deal of time and care due to the unusual shapes. [Nathalie Gochel] ABOVE LEFT: Gordon Robinson, Dieter Sedlbauer and Dave, prepare the Eindecker’s all-wood wing for covering. [TAVAS]

flare. I find it the easiest and most controllable way to do it. It allows me to control the engine and the aircraft very precisely all the way to landing which is very easy given the good design and forgiving undercarriage. I simply transition through the flare, letting off the blip switch momentarily every few seconds, and a smooth landing is assured. “This is by far one of the most enjoyable aircraft I have flown but certainly not without its quirks and some serious issues. The British test report of a captured E.III stated it would be very tiring to fly in anything but the smoothest conditions. I agree with this completely. “I don’t yet have quantitative figures for speed in climb and cruise and rate of climb but we will measure them against another aircraft once I get more experience in this.” F L I G H T PAT H | 77

Airshows

La Ferté-Alais T

he 2015 'Le Temps des Helices' ('The Age of Propellers') airshow at La Ferté-Alais, south of Paris, was held in May over the Pentecost holiday weekend. This airshow features an eclectic selection of historic aircraft and saw the debut of an Hispano-Suiza powered Bristol Fighter (F-AYBF) flown by Baptiste Salis who is the third generation of the family behind the locally based collection. The Bristol was built by The Vintage Aviator Limited and flew with a Fokker D.VII piloted by Edmond Salis. Another aircraft with a Kiwi connection was the replica W.W.I LVG biplane built by the Mémorial Flight Association and destined for TVAL in NZ. The Mémorial Flight's original Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter (c/n 2897, F-AZNM) also flew on the Saturday accompanied by the unmistakable smell of burnt castor oil. Other highlights included a Vietnam setpiece featuring three Douglas Skyraiders, and spirited aerobatics from an OV-10 Bronco. Formations of Bückers, Stampes and

Stearmans graced the sky and commentator Bernard Chabbert's Lockheed 12 Electra Junior (c/n 1287, F-AZLL) flew an energetic routine. The highly-polished Swiss trio, a Douglas DC-3 and two Beech 18s, provided another reminder of the Art Deco era. The Fighter Collection's (TFC) Gloster Gladiator (N5903, G-GLAD) made its overseas debut accompanied by TFC’s Curtiss Hawk 75 (c/n 12881, G-CCVH). A Battle of Britain segment featured the Gladiator, Christophe Jacquard's Spitfire PR Mk.XIX (PS890, FAZJS) and Jan Roozen's Hawker Hurricane (P3351, F-AZXR, unfortunately damaged on landing back at Dijon). Another featured type (in its centenary year) was the Caudron G.III replica (F-AZMB), brought back to airworthiness for the event. Cold War era aircraft included a pair of Dassault MD 315 Flamant transports, a Hawker Hunter and Sea Fury, and a single-seat Vampire. With the traditional La Ferté-Alais rain absent, the show was a major success. Mike Shreeve

The replica W.W.I LVG biplane built by the Memorial Flight Association did not fly, it was built for the TVAL collection in NZ.

The Memorial Flight’s original Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter (c/n 2897 F-AZNM)

Christophe Jacquard’s Spitfire PR Mk. XIX and Sea Fury.

The locally-based replica Caudron G.III brought back to airworthiness for the event.

78 | F L I G H T PAT H

Airshows

The 1927 parasol wing and rotary powered Morane Saulnier MS 138.

From the UK, The Fighter Collection’s (TFC) Gloster Gladiator N5903, G-GLAD.

The Breguet Br.1050 Alizé anti-submarine hunter in formation with a MS Paris Jet.

The former Australian P-40 'Little Jeanne' sporting new nose art and the ex Kiwi Hurricane P3351 on the warbird flightline.

F L I G H T PAT H | 79

Airshows

Duxford saw the first public display by Blenheim G-BPIV which successfully took to the skies again on 20 November 2014.

Duxford VE Day display 2015 D

uxford's display season began in fine style with an airshow to mark the end of hostilities in Europe seventy years ago. The highlight was the first public display of the Blenheim ‘Mk.I’ which successfully flew again in November 2014. The Blenheim wears the markings of 23 Squadron RAF and the original serial of the Mk.I cockpit section (L6739) that is now attached to the Canadian-built Bolingbroke IV fuselage. It also flew with two Spitfire Mk.Is, P9371 and N3200, in a formation unlikely to be repeated. P9371 to "P9371, just sold at auction with the proceeds partly going to the RAF Benevolent Fund, and N3200 has been presented to the Imperial War Museum. The Norwegian Spitfire Foundation’s P51D Mustang, repainted in 112 Squadron RAF markings, made a welcome return to Duxford and flew an excellent display with The Fighter Collection’s (TFC) TF-51D ‘Miss Velma’ and Old Flying Machine Company’s P-51D ‘Ferocious Frankie’. Larger warbirds were also prominent in the display. The locally based Plane Sailing PBY-5A Catalina and Boeing B-17G ‘Sally B’, in its fortieth year of civilian operation, were joined by Aces High’s C-47A Skytrain and Phil Dinnington’s Beech 18. The Great War was represented by the reproduction BE2e operated by the World War One Aviation Heritage Trust, The Shuttleworth Collection’s original Bristol F2b Fighter and Rob Gauld-Galliers’ Nieuport 17 replica. Another highlight was the debut of Guy Black's Hawker Fury in formation with Shuttleworth’s Gloster Gladiator. An unusual mixed formation, comprised of the TFC Staggerwing, two Spartan Executives and the Travel Air Mystery Ship, continued the inter-war theme. The IWM produced a stunning event and were fortunate to escape the poor weather that was expected. Gary R Brown 80 | F L I G H T PAT H

Historic Aircraft Collection's Hurricane Mk XIIa 5711 (G-HURI) now wears the colours of a Mk.I of No. 303 (Polish) Squadron

The Historic Aircraft Collection’s Hawker Fury K5674 (G-CBZP) on the flightline with Shuttleworth’s Gloster Gladiator and Bristol Fighter.

Airshows The seventieth anniversary of the end of the war in Europe was celebrated with a mass formation led by the B-17 'Sally B'.

The Fighter Collection’s Goodyear FG-1D Corsair.

Duxford’s flightline with the Norwegian Spitfire Foundation’s P51D N167F, The Fighter Collection’s TF-51D Miss Velma, Phil Dinnington’s Beech 18 and the Aces High C-47. F L I G H T PAT H | 81

Airshows

Planes of Fame Scores again

T

he volunteers at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California, produced another exciting airshow over the weekend of 2-3 May. Their Friday night Twilight Show opened with aircraft from the Golden Age of Aviation complementing the many warbirds. Afterwards, the museum’s F-86F Sabre and MiG-15 flew a simulated air combat display, followed by Greg Colyer’s aerobatic act with his Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star ‘Ace Maker II’. Later, Dennis Sanders followed with an aerobatic display in his Hawker Sea Fury T. Mk. 20. Through the courtesy of Stephen Grey’s UK based The Fighter Collection, the weekend show hosted the public debut of the latest warbird restoration to emerge from Matt Nightingale’s California Aerofab restorations. Finished in the 1938 colours of the U.S. Army Air Corps’ 27th Pursuit Squadron, 1st Pursuit Group, the gleaming Curtiss P-36C Hawk (28-210) returned to the sky just before the airshow to take part in the event’s opening flyover in the company of the Planes of Fame’s Seversky 2PA/AT-12A Guardsman, Lockheed P-38J Lightning and Republic/Curtiss P-47G Thunderbolt. They were trailed by three P-51 Mustangs and a Curtiss P-40N Warhawk with all eight fighters performing an energetic flyby display before the show progressed to the more traditional routines. One can only speculate as to what the Planes of Fame Air Museum staff is already starting to plan for next year. Frank B. Mormillo

A line-up of P-51 Mustangs.

82 | F L I G H T PAT H

The Fighter Collection’s Curtiss P-36C Hawk 28-210 made its public debut at Chino.

Airshows

FAR LEFT: John Maloney in the Planes of Fame Air Museum’s Boeing P-26A Peashooter lapping Terry Freedman’s Ryan PT-22 Recruit and the PT-22 Recruit from the Inland Empire Wing of the Commemorative Air Force during the Golden Age of Aviation portion of the Twilight Air Show. RIGHT: The Planes of Fame Air Museum’s Seversky 2PA/AT-12A Guardsman flying together with The Fighter Collection’s Curtiss P-36C Hawk

F-22 Raptor flying a practice session with the Warhawk Air Museum’s P-51C Mustang and the P-51A and P-51D Mustangs from the Planes of Fame Air Museum. Greg Colyer performing in his Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star.

Rudy Frasca’s Flug Werk built FW 190 A-8/n taking off to participate in the Army Air Corps/European Theatre scenario of the 2015 Planes of Fame Air Show.

The Messerschmitt Bf 108D-1 Taifun from the 3rd Pursuit Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force being trailed by the Douglas C-47 Skytrain ‘Willa Dean’ from the Lyon Air Museum during the Army Air Corps/ European Theatre segment of the 2015 Planes of Fame Air Show. F L I G H T PAT H | 83

2015

evening airshow 5 1 0 2 h t 0 2 r e b m nove

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

www .

w arbirdsd ownundera irshow.com.au