No. 5 Squadron Sunderland NZ4113 'M' in Flight

 

Some nice air to air views of a No. 5 Squadron Sunderland NZ4113 'M' in flight over the Waitemata Harbour and the Auckland harbour bridge in 1944.

No. 5 Squadron RNZAF is a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force formed during November 1941 in Fiji. It remains on active duty and logged 2,300 hours flight time in 2007.

Initially, the squadron was equipped with Vickers Vincents. From the outbreak of hostilities with Japan, the squadron operated the Short Singapore Mk.IIIs (transferred in October 1941 from No. 205 Squadron RAF) mainly on maritime patrol and anti-submarine duties, rescuing more than fifty survivors of ditched aircraft and successfully attacking a Japanese submarine in the process with the elderly Singapores. These types were superseded by Consolidated PBY Catalinas, which aided the air-sea rescue capability. The squadron moved from Fiji in late 1944 to operate between Espiritu Santo and the Admiralty Islands. During this time the later conqueror of Mount Everest, Edmund Hillary, served with the squadron. In November 1944, the squadron moved to Luganville Seaplane Base on Espiritu Santo to carry out anti-submarine patrols and escort duty. In August 1945, the squadron was withdrawn to Fiji.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1675710325947717/?__cft__[0]=AZV6AaZA39GQ6sgMEarWLAWJyAEAXlLunSv1LPgYwPT7wJlD1HX72gjhxaYaAHdKusJJ-oQQaOP_3i0NaLdWlD6HP0I54NAaKO-JhTuc2zU3OlfRYkk5Pm48GLpGVgl1XFHYbktB2zVXtKqv0a9dhm29Y8tCgIBLqMKxXGdESjfMhgeWu0TJQncjLUWHbiR3qt4&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

The First Spitfire Captured by the Germans

The first Spitfire captured by the Germans. On the 15th August 1940 Pilot Officer Richard Hardy's Spitfire mk.1a was damaged in combat and he was forced to land near Cherbourg where it fell into German hands. The damage behind the cockpit occurred when Hardy used his demolition charge to destroy sensitive electronics. Notice the man in the light colored jacket painting a German Balkenkreuz over the the British roundel. As per Jochen Prien in book " Jagdgeschwader 53 " he claims that " ...Oberleutnant Georg Claus brought Spitfire AZ-H to Cherbourg Airfield - He caught it in the midle of Channel , Tommy ( P/O Hardy of 234 SQN RAF ) made off to the south but Oblt. Claus improved each of his turns with a brief burst of tracer fire. So it went all the way to Cherbourg Airfield.There Tommy ( F/O Hardy ) lowered his undercariage and luckily the 20 mm flak failed to hit him (actualy single 20mm shell did hit Spitfire behind cockpit - there is picture in the book ). Then he landed safely and taxied in..." Leutnant Karl Leonhard from 3 staffel JG 53 claims: "...The English pilot slid back the cockpit hood and immediately raised his hands - he obviously expected to be shot at once othervise. He was just as surprised when I asked him to lower his hands and instead to climb out and come to to the pilot's mess to have glass of champagne with pilots of JG 53..." There was a single hit to Spitfire which was caused probably by German flak canon when Spitfire was aproaching landing strip at Cherbourg - just behind cokpit ( page 141-142 of Jagdgeschwader JG53 by Jochen Prien ) There are claims that RAF pilot detonated demolition charge in order to destroy radio IFF system but In my opinion P./O. Richard Hardy had no time. IFF systems were not fitted to Spitfires until September 1940, that damage looks to be a flak damage.

Source :
Filip Seidl photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2808413665924544&set=gm.1421404568044962&type=3&theater&ifg=1

Blackburn Firebrand Aircraft in the Sky

The Blackburn Firebrand was a British single-engine strike fighter for the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy designed during World War II by Blackburn Aircraft. Originally intended to serve as a pure fighter, its unimpressive performance and the allocation of its Napier Sabre piston engine by the Ministry of Aircraft Production for the Hawker Typhoon caused it to be redesigned as a strike fighter to take advantage of its load-carrying capability. Development was slow and the first production aircraft was not delivered until after the end of the war. Only a few hundred were built before it was withdrawn from front-line service in 1953.

Source :
Courtesy of Huseyn Balta at:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1495041680659709&set=gm.1418604498324969&type=3&theater&ifg=1

Finnish Bristol Blenheim Coming in for a Landing

British made Bristol Blenheim light bomber aircraft of Finnish Air Force coming in for a landing on Luonetjärvi airfield (now Jyväskylä Airport), between 28 March 1944 and 31 March 1944. The yellow stripe at the tail of this Finnish plane was the designation for the German Eastern Front. The British-made Bristol Blenheim light bomber represented the 1930s mindset that newer bombers would be protected from fighter attack by their increased speed. Finland’s interest in this model grew during the early 1930s and they received their first Blenheims in 1937. By that time it had become apparent that the Blenheim’s speed advantage, compared to modern fighters, had already vanished. Additionally, the plane’s defensive armament, consisting of one or two wingmounted, forward facing machine guns, and one machine gun operated by a rear gunner, was insufficient for the demands of the time.

Source :
Book "Finland at War: The Winter War 1939-40" by Vesa Nenye, Peter Munter & Toni Wirtanen
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:SA-kuva

A Finnish Air Force Bristol Blenheim Bomber on snowy airfield

A Finnish Air Force Bristol Blenheim bomber of Nr.17 Squadron on snowy airfield in Luonetjärvi, Finland, 31 March 1944.  In 1936, the Finnish Air Force ordered 18 Blenheim Mk Is from Britain and two years later, they obtained a manufacturing license for the aircraft. Before any aircraft could be manufactured at the Valtion lentokonetehdas (State Airplane Factory) in Finland, the Winter War broke out, forcing the Finns to order more aircraft from the UK. A further 24 British-manufactured Blenheims were ordered during the Winter War. After the Winter War, 55 Blenheims were constructed in Finland, bringing the total number to 97 aircraft (75 Mk Is and 22 Mk IVs). The Finns also received 20 half-completed ex-Yugoslavian Mk IV Blenheims captured by Germany, together with manufacturing tools and production equipment, as well as a huge variety of spare parts. Yugoslavia had ceased production of the Mk I and commenced a production run of Mk IVs just prior to the April 1941 invasion. The Finnish Blenheims flew 423 missions during the Winter War, and close to 3,000 missions during the Continuation War and Lapland War. Blenheim machine-gunners also shot down eight Soviet aircraft. Thirty-seven Blenheims were lost in combat during the wars. After the war, Finland was prohibited from flying bomber aircraft by the Paris Peace Treaty, with Finland's Blenheims being placed into storage in 1948. However, in 1951, five Blenheims were re-activated for use as target tugs, with the last flight of a Finnish Blenheim taking place on 20 May 1958.

Source :
http://daywarphoto.blogspot.co.id/2014_04_01_archive.html
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?107770-Vintage-pic-thread-55/page8

Polish Flying Ace Jan Zumbach and Fellow Fighters from 303rd Polish Squadron

From left to right: Polish flying ace and Squadron Leader Jan Zumbach (13 kills), Wing Commander Stefan Witorzeńć (5 kills) and Flight Lieutenant Zygmunt Bieńkowski (1 kill). They're from 303rd Polish Fighter Squadron of Royal Air Force (Polish Fighter Squadron badge on the left, white circle with red stripes). During the Battle of Britain, September to October 1940, this squadron is famous for claiming the highest number of enemy (German Luftwaffe) kills of all fighter squadrons then in operation! The squadron was disbanded in December 1946. While servicing in the 303rd, Zumbach used three Supermarine Spitfires Mk.Vb with the Donald Duck art, and all of them were coded with RF-D but had different serials: The Spitfire Mk.Vb EN951, BM144 and EP594. The picture itself was taken in Northolt Airfield, September 1942, and showing a Spitfire Mk.Vb BM144 RF D of S/Ldr Jan Zumbach

Source:

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/polish-flying-ace-jan-zumbach-of-the-303-kosciuszko-polish-news-photo/79155636

RAF 15 Squadron Short Stirlings in Flight

Royal Air Force Short Stirlings of 15 Squadron Conversion Flight, 1651 Conversion Unit, in flight. Note the faint squadron code "LS."

Source:
http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0044