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 Post subject: Kiwi Corsairs ...
PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 9:27 pm 
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A great series of photos that show a good amount of RNZAF Corsair activity.
The link below is a great read as well.

Kiwis Over the Pacific: The RNZAF in World War II
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2018/ ... ld-war-ii/

Photo Credit: Air Force Museum of New Zealand

Image
Group of No. 19 Squadron personnel in front of a Corsair, during their fourth tour. Los Negros.
L-R: Back; Morrison, Warren, Flintoff, Howlett, Brown, Brundell, McArthur, Wilson, Paterson.
Middle; Deller, Jones, Green, Vallentine, Callaghan, Garnham, Yetton, Grant, Ronayne.
Front; Holliss, Bills, Carson (Intelligence Officer), Aickin, Killian (Commanding Officer), Scott, Carnachan, Johnston, Watt

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Group of No. 2 Servicing Unit personnel performing maintenance on a Corsair. Piva, Bougainville.

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Group of No. 3 Servicing Unit Armament Section personnel in front of a Corsair. Green Island.
L-R: Back; Bert Curtin, Jack Weatherston, John Grenfell, Eric Hardy, Stuart Johnson, George Firman, Len Farr, Tom Bell, Vince Doyle, Ernest Williams, Keith Quinton, Les Johnston, Bill Hewitt.
Middle; Ian Woolford, David Hutton, John Goile, Ian MacCall, Stan Luscombe, Doug Farr, Lou Polaschek, Roy Lendrum, George Townsend, Alf Berry, Devon Christianson, Frank Fitzgerald.
Front; Eddie Johnson, Les Webster, Herbert Healey, Mick Williams, Dave Murray, Bob Hamilton, Bill Pope, Lou Harrop.

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Air to air of a formation No. 18 Squadron Corsairs in flight over the ocean near Guadalcanal.

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Airmen and natives with Chance Vought Corsair '76' at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain after RNZAF units arrived from Green Island.

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Burnt-out Chance Vought F4U Corsair NZ5343 after an accident on 13 April 1945. Piva, Bougainville.

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Group of pilots with a Chance Vought Corsair. Bougainville.
Aircraft presumed to be on charge to No. 31 Servicing Unit.

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Corsairs being serviced by No. 31 Servicing Unit personnel on the flight line. Espiritu Santo. Aircraft NZ5349 and NZ5347 in view.

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Groundcrew perform 320 hour maintenance to a No. 4 Servicing Unit Corsair NZ5324. Mokerang, Los Negros.

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Group of pilots (some sitting in the back of a truck) beside a Corsair. Bougainville.
Aircraft '08' presumed to be on charge to No. 31 Servicing Unit.

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Group of Workshops Maintenance staff pose around the engine from a crashed aircraft. Bougainville.

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No. 23 Squadron, RNZAF pilots with a squadron Corsair, Bougainville.

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No. 31 Servicing Unit Chance Vought Corsairs lined-up on the strip. Espiritu Santo.
L-R: NZ5377, NZ5373, NZ5389 and NZ5381.

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RNZAF Chance Vought F4U-1D Corsair (NZ5440 'Lil' Audrey') landing at Jacquinot Bay, 1945.

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RNZAF Corsair formation near Ardmore Oct 1944.

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RNZAF Corsair formation near Ardmore Oct 1944.

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Vought F4U Corsair #39 RNZAF Bougainville 1945.

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RNAF-Chance-Vought-F4U-Corsair-in-the-Pacific.

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Group of RNZAF personnel gathered behind the Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA) truck MT2540 during a tea break. Espiritu Santo.

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Corsairs being serviced by No. 31 Servicing Unit personnel on the flight line. Espiritu Santo.
NZ5349, NZ5347, NZ5328 and NZ5350 among aircraft in view.

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Air to air view of a formation of No. 18 Squadron Corsairs in flight over the ocean. Guadalcanal.

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Line-up of Corsairs from No. 22 Squadron, prior to departure for New Zealand. Piva, Bougainville.

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Group of No. 20 Squadron [?] pilots and ground crew with a Corsair. Believed to be at Torokina.
Good view of flight gear.

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Armourers loading guns into a No. 4 Servicing Unit Corsair during a maintenance session. Mokerang, Los Negros.

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Group of pilots gathered beside a line-up of Corsairs at RNZAF Station, Ardmore.

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Service personnel make use of the shade provided by a wrecked Corsair. Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
Aircraft may be NZ5333, from No. 21 Squadron which crashed 9 July 1944, or NZ5318, from No. 16 Squadron which crashed 5 August 1944.

Image
Fighter pilot in the cockpit of a Corsair. Presumed to be RNZAF Station, Ardmore.
Good view of flying gear.

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Group of pilots being briefed with a map beside Corsair 'L'. Fighter Leader School, RNZAF Station Ardmore.

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Air to air view of Corsair NZ5552 over RNZAF Station, Ardmore.

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No. 2 Servicing Unit Corsair NZ5444 taking-off from a Marston matting strip. Piva, Bougainville.

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Line-up of Corsairs at RNZAF Station, Ardmore.
Joins with PR3999b to form a panorama.

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RNZAF Corsair NZ5216 taking off from Bougainville.

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Ground to air of a formation of Corsairs. Bougainville.

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Group of ground crew perform maintenance on a Corsair under shelter. Piva, Bougainville.

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Corsair equipped with long range fuel tanks about to land on the airstrip at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain after RNZAF units departed Green Island.

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No. 14 Squadron [?] pilot climbing into the cockpit of a Corsair. Believed to be at Piva, Bougainville.
Good view of flying gear including rescue pack(?).

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Group of ground crew with a pair of Corsairs. Possibly No. 20 Squadron, Believed to be at Guadalcanal.

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Ground crew refuelling a No. 20 Squadron [?] Corsair. Presumed to be Guadalcanal. Fuel tanker in the background.

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Group of No. 20 Squadron [?] personnel with Corsairs. Presumed after arriving at Guadalcanal from Espiritu Santo [?].

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No. 2 Servicing Unit personnel perform maintenance on a Corsair. Piva, Bougainville.
Circa 1944.

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Aimen and natives with Corsair '76' at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain, after RNZAF units arrived from Green Island.
Note the 20 bomb mission markers on fuselage in front of the windscreen.

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Australian servicemen and local men shelter in the shade with a line up of Corsairs at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain, after RNZAF units arrived from Green Island.

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Ground to air view of a Corsair, about to make a low pass over a palm tree. Bougainville.

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RNZAF Corsairs waiting to take-off. Piva, Bougainville Aircraft NZ5338 in front.

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Line-up of No. 2 Servicing Unit Corsairs running-up their engines prior to take-off. Piva, Bougainville.

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Group of No. 30 Servicing Unit major inspection personnel on a towing tractor. Green Island.

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Air to air of a formation of No. 18 Squadron Corsairs in flight over the Guadalcanal coast.
From front: NZ5326, NZ5315, NZ5307.

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Large group of No. 30 Servicing Unit personnel between two Corsairs. Unknown location.
Sign reads: "R.N.Z.A.F. 30 Servicing Unit - Without fear or favour!"
Joins with PR4940a and PR4940b to form a panorama.

Image

Image
No. 31 Servicing Unit Corsairs 'run-up' their engines. Espiritu Santo.
Aircraft NZ5368, NZ5366 and NZ5367.

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Ground crew refuel No. 31 Servicing Unit Corsairs, Espiritu Santo.
Nose art on near aircraft, NZ5350 "Struggle Buggy". NZ5339 and NZ5347 also in view.

Image
No. 31 Servicing Unit Corsairs undergoing maintenance. Espiritu Santo.
Aircraft NZ5356, NZ5314 and NZ5358.

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Corsairs undergoing maintenance by No. 31 Servicing Unit [?] personnel. Espiritu Santo.

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Group of pilots gathered around a bomb on a trolley to discuss air strike. Unknown location.
Corsairs in the background believed to be on charge to No. 31 Servicing Unit.

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Ground to air of a formation of Corsairs in flight over a control tower. Bougainville.

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Ground to air of a formation of Corsairs. Bougainville.

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Line-up of Corsairs at RNZAF Station, Ardmore.
Joins with PR3999A to form a panorama.

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Air to air view of Corsair NZ5552 with RNZAF Station, Ardmore in the background.

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Front view of Corsairs on the tarmac at RNZAF Station, Ardmore.

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Group of No. 31 Servicing Unit personnel working under a canvas shelter. Men at left are working with hot steel on an anvil. Espiritu Santo.
Corsairs, including NZ5361, in the background.

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Line-up of No. 22 Squadron Corsairs prior to departure for New Zealand. Piva, Bougainville.

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Line-up of No. 4 Servicing Unit Corsairs at Mokerang, Los Negros.
Visible serial numbers: NZ5393, NZ5300, NZ5335.

Image
Air to air view of a formation of No. 18 Squadron Corsairs in flight over the Guadalcanal coast.

Image
Corsair '24' at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain after RNZAF units departed Green Island.
Australian personnel and natives examine aircraft.
Nose art Nan with 32 bomb markers painted ahead of cockpit.

Image
Line-up of No. 31 Servicing Unit Chance Vought Corsairs being 'run-up' along the strip. Espiritu Santo.

Image
Corsairs at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain after RNZAF units departed Green Island.
Airmen and natives gathered around aircraft '76'.

Image
No. 2 Servicing Unit personnel loading a bomb onto a trolley from the back of bomb truck MT1871. Unknown location.

Image
Group of ground crew with a pair of Corsairs. Possibly No. 20 Squadron, Believed to be at Guadalcanal.

Image
Ground crew refuelling a No. 20 Squadron [?] Corsair. Presumed to be Guadalcanal. Fuel tanker in the background.

Image
Bomb laden Corsair taxiing out to the runway. Piva, Bougainville.

Image
Group of No. 23 Squadron pilots with a Jeep and Corsair '73'. Bougainville.
L-R: Pilot Officer DR Thorpe, Flight Sergeant AW Rountree, Flying Officer MS Gunton, Flight Sergeant GS Stirling.

Image
Line-up of RNZAF Corsairs prior to departure for New Zealand. Piva airstrip, Bougainville.

Image
Group of No. 30 Servicing Unit personnel with a Corsair. Green Island.

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Workers assembling Corsairs at RNZAF Station, Hobsonville.

Image
Workers assembling Corsairs at RNZAF Station Hobsonville.

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 Post subject: Re: Kiwi Corsairs ...
PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 9:38 pm 
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Very cool! I've got a nice hardback book on RNZAF in WWII which I understand is somewhat rare. I bought it at a gun show, of all places.

It's interesting that RNZAF received some of the very first F4U-1D Corsairs--some were so early that they were still painted in the 3-color camo scheme before the switch to Glossy Sea Blue that the vast majority of -1Ds wore. I spotted at least two of them in my quick scroll through your pics above. :wink:


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 Post subject: Re: Kiwi Corsairs ...
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:13 am 
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Posts: 270
Wow! Some fantastic images, thanks for putting them up.

I've never seen that design of oxy mask before in pic 27, does anyone have any more info?


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 Post subject: Re: Kiwi Corsairs ...
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:30 am 
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Location: Berkshire, UK
Wow.....fab shots.

And I've also never seen that oxy mask before :?

Great to see the period aerial shots of Ardmore which is the centre for so much warbird actively currently in NZ, being the home of Avspecs as well as the New Zealand Warbirds Association.


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 Post subject: Re: Kiwi Corsairs ...
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 7:09 am 
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Great collection of Kiwi Corsairs. I also enjoyed the Grumman in the background of photo #28 (Group of pilots being briefed with a map beside Corsair 'L'. Fighter Leader School, RNZAF Station Ardmore) - looks like target tug markings, perhaps?

Cheers,



Dana


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 Post subject: Re: Kiwi Corsairs ...
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 4:32 pm 
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What is fascinating about the RZNAF ship's is a lot of them survived in storage until mid 1960's. most being sold for salvage in 1965 - including the Corsairs, P-40's, ventura's B-25's - just about the entire WWII fleet was well represented at this time.

Another 10-years when the warbird movement took off and this would have been a bonanza, but like a lot of aircraft at that time, if it was not cheap or airworthy, most museums (including the CAF, AFM, NASM) did not want anything to do with this junk.

Makes you wonder if in another 50-years, if the RAAF F-111's would be salvageable

Attachment:
Rukuhia I.JPG
Rukuhia I.JPG [ 440.83 KiB | Viewed 1788 times ]


Attachment:
Rukuhia II.JPG
Rukuhia II.JPG [ 331.35 KiB | Viewed 1788 times ]


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 Post subject: Re: Kiwi Corsairs ...
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 8:42 pm 
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Rukuhia aircraft dump

https://rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/17604

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 Post subject: Re: Kiwi Corsairs ...
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 8:49 pm 
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Just for grins, imagine that tomorrow someone found a field with 50 or 100 Corsairs in that general condition sitting in it. What would they be worth?

One or two might be worth big bucks. Maybe even a half dozen. But what would the 50th or the 100th be worth? How many people in the world would have the interest and the resources to even move them somewhere else, much less "do" anything with them?

Discuss....


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 Post subject: Re: Kiwi Corsairs ...
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 9:32 pm 
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Location: Auckland, NZ
Mark Allen M wrote:
A great series of photos that show a good amount of RNZAF Corsair activity.
Photo Credit: Air Force Museum of New Zealand

Image
Air to air view of Corsair NZ5552 over RNZAF Station, Ardmore.


Firebird wrote:
Wow.....fab shots.

And I've also never seen that oxy mask before :?

Great to see the period aerial shots of Ardmore which is the centre for so much warbird actively currently in NZ, being the home of Avspecs as well as the New Zealand Warbirds Association.


Don't forget Pioneer Aero. They are in the northern-most hangar at the top of the photo above (which is looking West-ish). Modern layout below (Pioneer are next to 'FlyDC3')
ImageArdmoreMap20180922 by Errol Cavit, on Flickr


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 Post subject: Re: Kiwi Corsairs ...
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:21 am 
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Posts: 455
Location: New Zealand
Dana M Bell wrote:
I also enjoyed the Grumman in the background of photo #28

Cheers,

Dana

Correct. Several of the 48 TBF Avengers were used as target tugs during and after the war. The last one is displayed at the Air Force Museum at Wigram. Plus there are three others all restored to static display although two of them are capable of being ground run.


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