World War II Album: The War in View #12

HMCS Trillium (K172).

HMCS Vancouver (K240).

HMCS Ville de Québec (K242).

HMCS West York (K369).

HMCS Wetaskiwin (K175).

Fitting out in a Canadian harbor, three veteran U.S. destroyers fly new colors.

The paint was peeling off the old USN destroyers as they made a stormy crossing to Britain.

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, NZ3256, T29, RNZAF, Ohakea, circa 1944-45.

The RNZAF Technical Training School in the former Centennial Exhibition building at Rongotai, Wellington, showing trainees working on (clockwise from right foreground) De Havilland DH82 Tiger Moth, Hawker Tomtit, Blackburn Baffin (nose only), Vickers Vildebeeste, Airspeed Oxford, and Hawker Hind aircraft. 1940.

Supermarine Walrus I, serial number K5783, from the first production batch. The aircraft served with the Royal New Zealand Navy cruisers HMNZS Achilles and HMNZS Leander.

One of the RNZAF's last Supermarine Walrus, NZ158, formerly X9512, arrived in Auckland on 30 September 1944 for the Seaplane Training Flight, which operated her from Hobsonville until August 1945 when, with only 108 hours at the end of the war, NZ158 was stored. Circa August 1944-October 1945. On 29 October 1947 sold to C. F. Cook, who resold to R.H. Exton, 3 December 1947. Registered as ZK-AMJ but flown in RNZAF colours NZ158 was stored at Mangere before being reduced to spares for New Guinea's Amphibian Airways in 1949.

Aichi E13A1 captured at Rabaul in September 1945. It passed into RNZAF possession and was flown to RNZAF Station Jacquinot Bay, where a month later it sank at its moorings.

Henderson Field at Guadalcanal with Lockheed Hudsons of No 2 G R Squadron, RNZAF, in the background.

Row of boys next to a Lockheed Hudson of the RNZAF.

Royal New Zealand Air Force base, Hobsonville, Lockheed Hudson’s first test flight, 13 May 1941.

Royal New Zealand Air Force base, Hobsonville, Lockheed Hudson’s (AM591) first test flight, 13 May 1941.

Three Lockheed Hudson aircraft, Royal New Zealand Air Force, Whenuapai, August 1941.

Wounded New Zealand soldier being transferred to a Lockheed Lodestar ambulance plane for evacuation to a base hospital, 7 April, 1943, Tunisia, North Africa. Photograph taken by H Paton.

Lockheed Hudson of RNZAF.

RNZAF Douglas Dauntless at Espiritu Santo.

The RAF's first ace was New Zealander 'Cobber' Kain. He destroyed 17 enemy aircraft during the fighting in France before his tragic death in a flying accident.

A Consolidated RY-3 transport aircraft of the RAF (foreground) and a line of Lockheed Ventura bombers of the RNZAF (background), at a New Zealand air base. 1945.

Consolidated B-24 Liberator, RNZAF.

Consolidated RY-3, the famous “Commando”, which was LB-30 AL504, was converted to single-tailed RY-3 configuration in 1944. Photographed over New Zealand in 1944. The RY-3 was the transport version of the PB4Y-2 Privateer. It was assigned the company designation of Model 101. The RY-3 differed from the PB4Y-2 in having no armament and in having a series of windows cut into the sides of the fuselage. A large loading door was cut into the side of the rear fuselage, and fairings were installed where the nose and tail turrets had been. A crew of four and 28 passengers could be carried. 16,641 pounds of cargo could be carried in the all-freight configuration. A hinged nose allowed up to 1600 pounds of cargo to be carried in the forward section. The RAF's experience with the Liberator C.IX was not a happy one. Three (including “Commando”) were lost in fatal crashes, and there were speculations that there was something basically wrong with the structural integrity of the aircraft.

RNZAF Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk aircraft.

Portrait of [Flight Lieutenant?] Stan Quilt, Squadron Leader Fitzgerald (DFC) and [Group Captain?] Hutcheson (DFC ) of 14th Squadron in front of the 'Parkyakarkus' P-40 Kittyhawk fighter aeroplane, Whenuapai Airfield, Auckland, 1943.

Group of Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk aircraft flying in formation with a Lockheed Hudson over ocean, 1943.

Consolidated Catalina NZ4049 KN-D, Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Two Vickers Vildebeest IIIs serving in New Zealand. The Mk III was a three-man version of the Vildebeest, and the three cockpits are just visible on the right-hand aircraft.

Mutiny of submarine Hr. Ms. The Seven Provinces, February 1933. A Fokker T.IV flying boat and the submarine K XI in action around the mutiny. The Fokker T.IV was a Dutch torpedo bomber/maritime reconnaissance floatplane of the 1920s and 1930s. First flying in 1927, it served with the Dutch Naval Aviation Service in the Dutch East Indies until the remaining aircraft were destroyed during the Japanese invasion in 1942. Deliveries of the original T.IV to the Dutch Naval Aviation Service in the Dutch East Indies started in 1927 and continued until 1930. The second batch of 12 TIVa aircraft was delivered to the East Indies from 1936 to 1938, and the original T.IVs were rebuilt as T.IVas. The T.IV proved to be a reliable and seaworthy aircraft, and continued in use for local patrols and air-sea rescue operations from the naval base at Soerabaja on Java until 1942, when the Japanese attacked the Dutch East Indies. All the remaining TIVs were destroyed during the Japanese invasion, either by Japanese bombing or scuttling.

Fokker T.VIIIW, Royal Netherlands Navy.

Fokker G.I in combat with three Messerschmitts above Waalhaven airport, May 10, 1940. Possibly a composite photo and possibly using models. The Fokker G.I was a Dutch twin-engined heavy fighter aircraft comparable in size and role to the German Messerschmitt Bf 110. Although in production prior to World War II, its combat introduction came at a time the Netherlands were overrun by the Germans. The few G.Is that were mustered into service were able to score several victories. Some were captured intact after the Germans had occupied the Netherlands. The remainder of the production run was taken over by the Luftwaffe for use as trainers. On 10 May 1940, when Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands, 23 G.1 aircraft were serviceable while production of Spain's order of the G.1 Wasp variant continued with a dozen aircraft completed, awaiting armament. The German invasion started with an early morning (03:50 hours) Luftwaffe attack on the Dutch airfields. While the 4th JaVA received a devastating blow, losing all but one of its aircraft, eight 3rd JaVA G.1 fighters of the Waalhaven airbase in Rotterdam, that were already fully fuelled and armed, scrambled in time and successfully engaged several German aircraft. The surviving aircraft continued to fly, but with mounting losses, bringing their numbers down to three airworthy aircraft by the end of the first day. Despite the heavy losses of 4th JaVA, some of the planes could be kept in the air by scavenging parts from various planes. In the "Five-day War", the available G.1 fighters were mainly deployed in ground attack missions, strafing advancing German infantry units, but also used to attack Junkers Ju 52/3m transports. Although reports are fragmentary and inaccurate as to the results, G.1 fighters were employed over Rotterdam and the Hague, contributing to the loss of 167 Ju 52s, scoring up to 14 confirmed aerial kills.

Fokker D.XXIII prototype (X-4), 1939. The Fokker D.XXIII was a Dutch single-seat fighter designed and built by Fokker. Only one aircraft was flown before the country was invaded by the Germans in May 1940. The Fokker D.XXIII was designed as a twin-engined single-seat aircraft. To overcome the problems of asymmetric flight it had a tractor engine at the front and a pusher engine at the rear. The D.XXIII was a cantilever monoplane with the twin tail units on booms. The pilot had an enclosed cockpit in between the tractor and pusher engines and it had a retractable tricycle landing gear. The prototype first flew on 30 May 1939 powered by two Walter Sagitta I-SR air cooled vee piston engines. The trial flights identified problems with the cooling of the rear engine and general engine performance. It was proposed to use Rolls-Royce or Daimler-Benz engines in the production aircraft. Concerns were also raised about the pilot clearing the rear propeller if he had to bail out and an ejector seat was studied. As a provisional solution, rails were put on both sides of the forward fuselage for the Fokker test pilot, Gerben Sonderman, to use to bail out in an emergency. The aircraft was flown 11 times for a total flight time of less than four hours. The rear fuselage paneling was modified significantly before the last few flights in an attempt to address chronic rear engine cooling problems. On the 11th flight in April, the undercarriage was damaged, and the program was abandoned in May 1940 when the German forces invaded the Netherlands.

Fokker D.XXI.

Fokker T.V. (852) and D.XXI (213 and 215), 1939. The Fokker T.V was a twin-engine bomber, described as an "aerial cruiser", built by Fokker for the Netherlands Air Force. It was modern for its time, but by the German invasion of 1940, it was outclassed by the airplanes of the Luftwaffe. Nevertheless, the T.V was used with some success against the German onslaught. The first 11 T.Vs, by now considered medium bombers, were delivered in 1938, with the last 4 following in 1939. Although it had good handling characteristics, its suffered from reliability problems with its engines and propellers, and by the summer of 1939, the Netherlands was planning to purchase 24 Dornier Do 215s to replace them. On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The T.V saw its first combat, when taking off from Schiphol to avoid air attack, eight T.Vs encountered a formation of German bombers, shooting down two. After this, the T.V reverted to its primary bomber role, being used in attacks against German airborne troops landing at The Hague and Rotterdam. By the end of the first day of fighting only two T.Vs were serviceable, being sent against bridges over the River Maas at Rotterdam on 11 May, where a further aircraft was shot down, with the final T.V being shot down during attacks on bridges at Moerdijk on 13 May. As the T.V lacked self-sealing fuel tanks, they gained a reputation for rapidly catching fire when hit by enemy fire.

A pilot climbs into a Fokker D.XVII fighter aircraft 209 at Schiphol Airport, 1934. Fokker D.XVII (sometimes written as Fokker D.17), was a 1930s Dutch sesquiplane developed by Fokker. It was the last fabric-covered biplane fighter they developed in a lineage that extended back to the First World War Fokker D.VII. On 18 January 1935, Lieutenant René Wittert van Hoogland set a Dutch high-altitude record in a Fokker D.XVII of 10,180 m (33,400 ft) while using oxygen and high octane fuel. By May 1939, the aircraft was obsolete and remaining examples were transferred to the LVA Flying School for fighter pilot training however they saw some action during the Battle of the Netherlands, escorting Fokker C.Vs and C.Xs on bombing missions. When the Netherlands surrendered to the Germans, all surviving aircraft were burnt.

Fokker C.XI-W (W-6). The Fokker C.XI-W was a reconnaissance seaplane designed to operate from warships that was produced in the Netherlands in the mid-1930s. It was the result of a Royal Netherlands Navy specification of 1935 requesting such an aircraft. Fokker's response was a conventional single-bay biplane with staggered wings of unequal span braced by N-struts. The pilot and observer sat in tandem, open cockpits, and the undercarriage consisted of twin pontoons. The wings were of wooden construction with plywood and fabric covering, and the fuselage was of steel tube, also covered with fabric. The prototype first flew on 20 July 1935. After successful catapult trials, an order for a further 13 C.XI-Ws was placed, the aircraft being used to equip the cruisers HNLMS Tromp and HNLMS De Ruyter while operating in European waters; but most were sent to the Netherlands East Indies to equip the Navy there. Following the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, the last surviving C.XI-W in Europe was successfully evacuated to the UK on 22 May. From there, it was also shipped to the Netherlands East Indies. None seem to have survived past March 1942.

Fokker C.XI-W.

Fokker C.XI-W (W-8).

Fokker C.VII-W float plane (V-4) with the cruiser De Ruyter, c. 1940-45.

Fokker C.VII-W seaplane at De Mok airport on Texel, 1936. The Fokker C.VII-W was a reconnaissance seaplane built in the Netherlands in the late 1920s. Sharing elements of the highly successful C.V design, the C.VII-W was a conventional, single-bay biplane with wings of unequal span braced with N-struts. The undercarriage consisted of a standard twin-pontoon arrangement, and the fin and rudder continued through to the ventral side of the fuselage, creating a cruciform tail. The pilot and observer sat in tandem, open cockpits. The wing structure was wooden with fabric and plywood covering, and the fuselage was of steel tube construction with fabric covering. The first twelve of the thirty examples produced were sent to the Dutch East Indies, with the rest remaining in the Netherlands. The type was withdrawn from front-line service in 1940, but some machines remained active in the East Indies as trainers until the Japanese invasion in 1942.

Fokker C.V (618), 1926. The Fokker C.V was a Dutch light reconnaissance and bomber biplane aircraft manufactured by Fokker. It was designed by Anthony Fokker and the series manufacture began in 1924 at Fokker in Amsterdam. The Finnish Air Force used both C.V-Ds and C.V-Es. One C.V-E was purchased in 1927, with delivery 20 September, and a further 13 were purchased on 17 March 1934, arriving in the winter of 1935. During the Winter War, Sweden donated three more C.V-Es. Two C.V-Ds were also flown from Norway to Finland at the closing stages of the Norwegian Campaign. These were interned and turned over to the FAF. The aircraft were used as reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft between 20 September 1927 and 14 February 1945. During the Winter War, the Finnish C.Vs flew 151 reconnaissance and harassment bombing sorties without suffering any losses. The Continuation War saw the C.Vs flying an unknown number of sorties and suffering one aircraft loss.

De Schelde S.21. The De Schelde S.21 was a proposed Dutch fighter of the late 1930s and early 1940s. It was a single-seat, single-engined, pusher monoplane. A single prototype was under construction in 1940, but work was abandoned due to the German invasion. The prototype S.21 was almost complete when Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940, with the De Schelde factory and the prototype S.21 being seized by German troops. Development was abandoned, with the prototype being tested to destruction at Utrecht. Although abandoned, artist impressions of the S.21 were presented in the wartime aviation press as the fictional Focke-Wulf Fw 198.

De Schelde S.21.

De Schelde S.20 (Y-200). The prototype De Schelde S.20 was just completed before German occupation in June 1940. It was designed as a trainer for KLM and the military. It first flew on March 29, 1940 and showed good performance and stability. Sadly the flying could not continue for long. The aircraft was hidden from the Germans in a hanger under some junk. It was finally discovered in June 1941 but was badly damaged by resistance fighters and never flew again.

De Schelde S.20.

Dornier Do 24 K-1 (X-1), Netherlands Navy Aviation Service. Swiss production by Dornier and Dutch license production aircraft, 36 built. The German civil registration D-AYWI was allocated for these for their ferry flights to Holland from Dornier's production facility in Switzerland. The Dornier Do 24 was a 1930s German three-engine flying boat designed by the Dornier Flugzeugwerke for maritime patrol and search and rescue. A total of 279 were built among several factories from 1937 to 1945.

Dornier Do 24 K-1 (X-1) Netherlands Navy Aviation Service.

Dornier Do 24K-1 (X-1) built in Holland by Aviolanda and seen in Dutch service.

Brewster Model 339Ds, Netherlands East Indies Army Air Corps.

The German battleship Tirpitz seen in the harbor at Kåfjord, Norway, on July 12, 1944.

Low-level photographic-reconnaissance taken from a De Havilland Mosquito of No. 544 Squadron RAF, showing the capsized German battleship Tirpitz, lying in the Tromsø fjord near isle of Håkøya.

Scharnhorst on her commissioning.

Scharnhorst with her new crew ready for sea trials on 7 January 1939.

Scharnhorst at sea on 21 July 1941.

Scharnhorst in 1939.

Gneisenau and Scharnhorst.

Gneisenau during its famous run up the English Channel on 11 February 1942.

Scharnhorst.

Scharnhorst with Gneisenau in the background.

Blindfolded survivors of the Scharnhorst land at a British port on their way to internment.

A burning HMS Glowworm as she crosses the bow of the Admiral Hipper.

HMS Glowworm burning as seen from the Admiral Hipper.

Glowworm sailor being pulled from the sea by the Admiral Hipper’s crew.

Admiral Scheer.

Admiral Scheer, Gibraltar, pre-war.

Graf Spee, built in accordance with the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty (which forbade German battleships). The Graf Spee was fast, well gunned, and sank eight ships in the South Atlantic (and one in the Indian Ocean) in the early months of the war.