ISSUED FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE EURO GROUP
I S S U E  1  6  6

18  September 2002

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SQUADRON NOTICEBOARD
 

Promotions ( effective immediately )
 

Prizmm has received his FtL Rank. Great job Dwight - keep it up.

Kuder has also been presented his FO wings. Good job Bro - keep it up.... see you on the Eastern Front very soon!
 
 

New Product Releases
 

The BritWerks® Design Team have been up to their armpits in work - but the benefits are now appearing almost daily.
 

Currently NEW in the EURO Group FS2002 Hangar { * indicates available for download }:
 

AF-X55R [ Lynx ] *

AF-X66A [ Comanche ] *

AF-X77A [ Cobra ] *

AF-X88R [ MH-90 ] *

AF-X99C [ Dauphin ] *

There are 3 sections and Aircraft ID tags to note:

See this weeks SCREENSHOT CITY for pics.
 
 

IL-2

Currently available for download are the new skins for the Ju87 by WARRIOR. A must-have!

Also new this week the latest in the Racing Skins - The La5FN. Also by WARRIOR.

These files continue the great EURO Group tradition of a quality service for Members.
 
 

Group Training Sessions - O C T O B E R  i s  T R A I N I N G  M O N T H

Week beginning:

30 Sept: Rotary Wing Week

7 Oct: CFS 1 Week

14 Oct: IL-2 Week

21 Oct: CFS 2 Week

28 Oct: FS2002 Sessions

See the appropriate forums in the PRC.

©2002GAZETTEArchive

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H A V E  I T  D E L I V E R E D  E V E R Y  W E E K

On that fateful day in December 1941, the Japanese weren't the only ones flying over Pearl Harbor. In fact, more than 70 American aircraft were airborne during the Japanese attack. A dozen U.S. planes were shot down, including two by friendly ground fire. But because of the day's chaos, the aerial combat losses of December 7 were never fully accounted for. The crashes were unwitnessed and unrecoverable because SCUBA gear had not yet been invented.

Five planes carrying nine crewmen are still missing in Hawaiian waters. Five were USS Enterprise crewmen, three were coast artillery enlisted men, and one was a USAAF pilot: Gordon Sterling—the sole U.S. Army Air Force pilot still counted as missing. He was in the first American air combat with the mysterious Zero fighter, and he paid the ultimate price. His P-36 crashed off Oahu's east coast.

"I'm not coming back"

The U.S. Army's fighters at Wheeler Field, in the middle of Oahu, were the targets of the first Japanese wave. Smoke from burning planes concealed several P-36s and prevented them from being hit, and they were immediately taxied away from the fires.

The U.S. military's counter-sabotage plan was to park the aircraft unarmed; guns and ammunition were stored separately in (and had to be rescued from) the now-burning nearby hangars. During the lull between the first and second waves of Japanese planes, 2nd Lt. Henry W. Lawrence helped load the sole surviving 45th Pursuit Squadron (PS) P-36. Because the P-36 had only .50- and .30-caliber guns, the arming was short. When the fighter was ready, Lawrence ran to his squadron commander, Capt. Aaron Tyer, for orders. Tyer gave him flight directions, and Lawrence headed back to the flightline.

Gordon Sterling Jr.; the Squadron Operations Officer
is still missing (courtesy of John Sterling. The Gazette thanks the Sterling Family
for their help in finding and using this picture).

Meanwhile, 1st Lt. Lewis M. Sanders, the commander of the 46th PS, had managed to save his personal P-36 and was ready to fight back. He chose three of his pilots to fly with him in other salvaged P-36s, including that 45th PS P-36 that Lawrence had already armed. Second Lt. John M. Thacker, who had a few more hours on the advanced P-40, was made element leader. Sanders chose 2nd Lt. Philip M. Rasmussen as wingman; 2nd Lt. Othneil Norris became Thacker's wingman. The wingmen had recently passed their gunnery tests and were better qualified than some of the other pilots who were available.

Lt. Norris selected the 45th PS P-36 that Lawrence had readied. As ground crews assisted the pilots into their planes, Lt. Norris, a small man, found that his parachute harness was too large. He got out of the P-36 and ran to the nearby parachute truck to swap.

Quietly watching the drama unfold was 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., the 46th PS assistant flight engineer. Gordon had passed his flight tests but had not progressed as rapidly as the other pilots had in formation and gunnery. He saw that other P-36s were beginning to taxi out and that the P-36 Norris intended to fly was going to be left behind. The immediate need for a complete formation spurred Sterling to action.

He climbed into the idling plane, determined to fight to the finish. He gave his watch to the crew chief, Staff Sgt. Turner, and said, "Give this to my mother! I'm not coming back!"

Sterling had scheduled an afternoon date with his fiancée, 2nd Lt. Ada M. "Peggy" Olsson, a nurse at nearby Schofield Barracks Station Hospital. The Japanese attack canceled it.

Lawrence remembered, "As I ran back to where ‘my' plane was parked, the flight of P-36s was just taking off and roared over my head. The crew chief said, ‘Sir, Lt. Sterling took it!' and then gave a apologetic shrug as if to say, ‘What could I do?'"

Kaneohe Naval Air Station

Sanders' P-36 flight had just taken off from Wheeler Field, west of the Koolau Mountains, when nine Zeros in the second wave strike, launched from the carrier Soryu, strafed Kaneohe NAS—home of the long-range patrol bombers on Oahu's eastern shore. Each Shotai (flight) of three Zeros made three runs across the target. The second Shotai, led by Lt. (j.g.) Iyozo Fujita, completed its strafing and formed up with its Buntaicho (squadron leader), Lt. Fusata Iida, to await the third Shotai. The defensive fire from Kaneohe is noted in the Soryu Kodochosho (combat report) as "fierce."

Fujita saw that Iida's Zero was streaming fuel. At 0912, Fujita recalled, "Iida turned and saluted me, then pointed to his mouth and shook his head, meaning ‘no more fuel.' Then he pointed to himself, and then straight down. He waved Sayonara, made a sharp turn and dived." Iida crashed near family housing on the station. Unfortunately, no photos exist of this crash site.

As second-in-command, Fujita signaled a new formation with himself as lead with Iida's two wingmen forming a left echelon. Just at that moment, Fujita noted a new arrival: a Zero from the carrier Hiryu.

Bellows Field

While the rest of the Hiryu Zero formation strafed Bellows Field—a new Army Air Corps facility just south of Kaneohe NAS, where the 44th PS was temporarily based for gunnery training—the third Shotai, led by PO1c Tsuguo Matsuyama with his wingman, PO1c Toshio Makinoda, was assigned to prevent any aircraft from getting airborne. His Shotai was short one plane. Matsuyama's third wingman had had engine trouble on launch and returned safely to the Hiryu. Matsuyama caught 2nd Lt. George Whiteman's P-40B just as it cleared the ground. Caught at slow speed, with his landing gear still down, Whiteman didn't have a chance; he crashed on the beach. Whiteman AFB, Missouri, is named in his memory.

While the two Zeros were occupied with Whiteman, 2nd Lt. Samuel Bishop was able to get his P-40B off the ground and stay low until he was away from the field. Matsuyama, however, saw him wave-hopping over the ocean and dived down behind him, strafing his airplane. Bishop was wounded in the leg and crashed into the water but was able to swim to shore. Gaining altitude, Matsuyama located the formation from Soryu. As he was low on ammunition, this was a welcome sight.

Into the fight

Describing the P-36 flight's actions, Squadron Commander Lew Sanders wrote, "We made a downwind takeoff, circled and headed east. We used maximum climb to reach the overcast, which we entered over the east side of the field. I flew on instruments and came out over the clouds about a mile east of Bellows Field .…" Sanders saw the Soryu Zeros reassembling above Kaneohe Bay, but he did not see the Hiryu Zeros strafing at Bellows. "... from the actions of the enemy planes, I believe that they had seen us." However, Fujita had changed his course to allow Matsuyama to join and did not know the P-36s were in the area.

It was while gaining altitude to pounce on Fujita's formation that Sanders first realized that Sterling was flying in Norris' P-36. There was no time for any other action except to change the formation to protect Sterling. Sanders directed his wingman, Rasmussen, to be wingman to Thacker.

Sanders wrote, "I rocked my wings, and Lt. Thacker pulled up beside me. I pointed down. He pulled out wide and also looked and came back in on me and nodded his head ‘yes.' I also turned to Sterling, pointed down, held up one finger and pointed to myself to indicate that I would take the number-one man in the enemy string."

Thacker also remembers that the Japanese planes were above Kaneohe Bay, where Fujita was expecting the final three Zero strafers to join him. Fujita logged the arrival time at 0915. However, it was the arrival of Lew Sanders with his formation of four P-36s that stunned the six Zeros.

On the first pass, Sanders attacked the lead plane, flown by Fujita. He began a slow pull-up to the right and then increased it sharply, stalled and fell out of Sanders' view. Rasmussen, on Thacker's left wing, reported that Fujita was "put out of action at once," and Sanders later was credited with the victory. Fujita's two wingmen made no effort to keep up with his turn to the right but made half-rolls to the left. Sterling attacked Fujita's number-three wingman on the starboard side, PO2c Takashi Okamoto, who took two hits.

This initial action broke up the Japanese formation. Low on ammunition, the Hiryu Zero flown by PO1c Tsuguo Matsuyama dived away from the combat. The remaining Soryu Zeros split into two concentric, counterclockwise circles. Thacker's guns jammed during his attack on Fujita's portside wingman; PO1c Sosaburo Takahashi and Rasmussen had gun problems, too. Rasmussen's .30-caliber jammed, and the .50 continued to fire—a runaway. Before his .50-caliber ran out of ammunition, Rasmussen took potshots at two Zeros flown by PO1c Takeshi Atsumi and PO2c Saburo Ishii on the inner circle.

Even though Rasmussen had seen Fujita fall toward earth, Fujita was not out of action. His stall had helped him reverse course and come around clockwise, heading straight for Rasmussen. Fujita said, "When I stopped diving and raised the cowl of my plane, I saw an enemy fighter's nose in front of me. I did not think I could avoid the collision any more, so I made up my mind to ram the plane." Rasmussen found himself looking directly into the nose of the oncoming Zero that appeared prepared to ram him. Fujita added, "Then, the P-36 raised its nose to avoid the collision and showed its ‘stomach.' I shot enough bullets into its stomach. The P-36 fell at once." Rasmussen dodged the Zero and rejoined Thacker.

When Sanders broke away from Fujita after the initial attack, he gained 2,000 feet of altitude, turned back toward the combat and saw Sterling behind Okamoto, firing. Sanders immediately knew that Sterling was in serious trouble because Fujita was now on Sterling's tail and closing fast. With Fujita firing at him, Sterling forgot about Okamoto's Zero and increased the dive angle. Sanders had his throttle to the stop and latched onto Fujita's tail, but he was too far away and too late. Fujita got hits all over Sterling's airplane, and it began to smoke. Fire was streaming from the aircraft as it dived through the cloudbank straight into the bay. Sanders began to register hits on Fujita's airplane, which was badly damaged. Their race for the cloudbank saved both Okamoto and Fujita and ended the action.

Sanders recalled, "Just as I closed in, he [Fujita] got a burst at Sterling, whose plane burst into flames. Four of us then went into a dive: the Japanese in front [Okamoto]; then Sterling, firing at him; then another Japanese [Fujita], and then me. We plunged into the overcast that way. I was some distance behind, and when I came out, there was no sign of the other planes. The way they had been going, they couldn't have pulled out, so it was obvious that all three went into the sea." Later, Japanese records would show that only Sterling crashed. Not knowing that, Sanders gave Sterling a victory credit over Okamoto.

Trying to get his guns charged, Thacker had circled three times when he saw Sterling's dive. Rasmussen, too, watched the P-36 go down through the cloudbank and into the bay. At Kaneohe NAS, the sailors—unaware that it was a P-36—cheered the demise of another Japanese plane and reported a "victory."

At that moment, the third Soryu Shotai arrived. PO2c Jiro Tanaka—a wingman—attacked Thacker from the side. Thacker says, "A 20mm explosive shell had fractured my tailwheel hydraulic line. That, and other minor damage to the plane by small calibers ... I smelled hydraulic fluid in the cockpit, so I quickly ducked under some clouds and left the scene." PO2c Tanaka put in a victory claim on the assumption he had shot Thacker down.

Rasmussen saw Tanaka coming across his nose. His diary says, "I came up on the belly of one and raked it from nose to aft." He added, "I did not see the craft I shot actually crash, but he was smoking." Rasmussen put in an "uncertain" for it that was later confirmed. Tanaka, however, had not been shot down.

Later, Tanaka told Fujita that he had had a close scare when his wing caught fire from a Kaneohe antiaircraft incendiary bullet. He went into a dive to crash into a target, but the dive extinguished the flames. Tanaka counted nine hits to his plane from Kaneohe AA fire and from Rasmussen's machine guns.

Phil Rasmussen recalled, "At almost the same instant, I was hit by two 20mm explosive cannon; one, in the radio compartment behind my head, shattered the canopy above me. The other, in the tail section, severed my rudder cable and blew off my tailwheel. In addition, I was stitched with 7.7mm bullets. Having hardly any control over the aircraft and scared as hell, I popped into a cloud, struggled to stabilize the plane and headed for Wheeler.

"I touched the top of my head to see how badly I was injured. I was not wearing a helmet—only earphones. To my relief, I found only shredded Plexiglas from the canopy mixed into my hair."

Rasmussen had been hit by both Shotaicho (flight leader) PO1c Kiichi Oda and his other wingman, PO3c Takeo Takashima. Takashima's Zero was hit five times during the attack. Neither pilot made a victory claim for that day.
 
 

Fujita fled north with Iida's two wingmen, PO1c Takeshi Atsumi and PO2c Saburo Ishii. His aircraft damaged by Sanders' bullets, Fujita could not follow them as they swung west toward the rendezvous northwest of Kaena Point. He watched helplessly as the two Soryu Zeros were attacked by more P-36s along the north shore.

Second Lt. Harry W. Brown, 47th PS from Haleiwa Field, and 2nd Lt. Malcolm "Mike" Moore, 46th PS from Wheeler, were flying the aircraft that attacked these Soryu Zeros. Moore attacked Ishii but was chased by Atsumi. Brown hit Atsumi and, years later, both Fujita and Brown wrote that they saw Atsumi's plane with a "big fire." Brown last saw it headed west of Kaena Point. Mike Moore only considered Ishii a "probable," yet Ishii never returned to the Soryu. Both Zeros were recently found where they crashed, in the channel between Kauai and Niihau islands.

Fujita set course directly for the Soryu. "I found three Aichi D3As [Vals] far away. I followed them," he said. But he was not alone. Lew Sanders "… had cruised north for a few minutes before turning south, and I leveled off. I saw an unidentified plane headed in my direction. When closer, I saw the Japanese insignia, applied full throttle and, as we closed, I did a steep climbing turn and rollout in an effort to get on his tail." Fujita refused combat yet kept an altitude advantage in case Sanders tried anything. Getting farther and farther from shore, Sanders decided to end the engagement.

Fujita slowly flew to the fleet and was joined by other aircraft from his unit. He relates, "Then, my engine started to make strange sounds. My engine must have been hit during that aerial battle. I was losing speed. My wingmen came closer to me and seemed to be worried about me. When I shook the throttle lever, the engine became normal again. I said to them that I was all right, and they seemed relieved. The engine seemed to stop again and again. I shook the throttle lever every time this happened. It was just like walking on thin ice." He arrived at 1145 (Hawaii time), "... oil pressure down to zero at the final approach, and after touchdown on the deck of the Soryu, the number-one cylinder of my engine fell down!"

After the battle

In 1942, U.S. Army Air Force "Missing Air Crew Reports" (MACR) attempted to account for lost airmen. Initial coverage was extremely poor, as few units wrote MACRs during the early days of the War. In the immediate postwar era, many MACR files were written in an attempt to make up for earlier omissions. Funding, however, ran out for WW II paperwork, and the results are still not comprehensive. There isn't an MACR for Sterling.

"Missing in action" is a term used by the Casualty and Memorial Affairs Branch of the U.S. Army to establish a pay scale for a missing serviceman's next of kin. An MIA is downgraded to "body non-recoverable" (BNR) when the person is declared dead. The American Graves Registration Service's Board of Review met on April 26, 1948, to affirm the death of 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr. as BNR.

A further records investigation by the USAAF reported on March 7, 1949, "In view of the negative results of efforts to correlate this case with unknowns recovered from the pertinent area, it appears that Lt. Sterling was lost at sea, off the Oahu coast, as a result of enemy action, and under such circumstances as to preclude the possibility of recovery of his remains."

Phil Rasmussen, Sterling's roommate, reflects, "Gordon, to my knowledge, had no premonitions about being shot down." Gordon wrote to his parents in early November 1941, "Phil and I have decided that if either of us has to crash, we'll do it where they can pick us up so that the other can bring us home. That's a good arrangement except it's more likely to be Phil that brings me home."

Phil Rasmussen is still waiting to bring Gordon home.
 

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A GAZETTE INFORAMA from 2000

FLYING THE P-3351HH Mk IIa

Almost sixty years after its construction the only airworthy example of a Battle of France Hurricane took to the air over Christchurch, New Zealand on the 12th January 2000. Hawker Hurricane P3351 is the result of a six year rebuild, undertaken by Air New Zealand Engineering Services (as major partner) in New Zealand and Hawker Restorations of the United Kingdom for Sir Tim Wallis’s Alpine Fighter Collection. The aircraft will become part of the permanent collection in Wanaka and will be displayed at the New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum.

One of only eight airworthy examples worldwide it personifies the history of the type and is a survivor of four major battle campaigns.

Built at Brooklands in early 1940, P3351 was flown to France on the 1st June as a replacement aircraft for 73 Squadron, who were based at Le Mans. The Battle of France was drawing to a bloody close and the allies were hastily being evacuated from the continent via Dunkirk. The squadron she joined had been active since the opening days of the war and were tangling with the Luftwaffe on a daily basis.

P3351 was uplifted from Rouen on the 3rd June and on arrival at the squadrons advanced landing ground at Echemines the ground crew hastily painted the code ‘K’ on the side. Flown as part of ‘A’ flight she undertook defensive patrols over Northern France, covering the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force. On the 7th June disaster struck 73 Squadron when her famous son ‘Cobber’ Kain was killed as he departed for England.

Further retreats took place and P3351 continued to fly operationally, including bomber escorts and patrols. By the 18th June the squadron was based at Nantes, covering the final evacuation of British troops from St Nazaire and Brest. By early afternoon on that Tuesday, most of the ground crew had departed to the ports and the squadron was flying its last patrols over its retreating crew. The enemy was literally just down the road and just after 2-00pm, the lookout yelled a warning that the Germans were approaching.

In a mad panic, the Hurricanes were refuelled and approximately 18 departed for England. P3351 was one of the last to leave and was flown back across the Channel by Pilot Officer Peter Carter.

The Battle of Britain was now commencing but 73 Squadron was given time to recuperate after the stress of the last weeks in France. P3351 was cleaned and tidied and the squadron letters TP were painted on her side. By the 7th July, 73 Squadron was operational again, based at Church Fenton in Northern England (east of Leeds). On the 19th July ‘A’ Flight flew north to Prestwick to undertake a night-flying course.

All was going well until, in the early hours of Sunday 21st July 1940, Alf Scott flying P3351 misjudged the runway and undershot, landing heavily. The undercarriage subsequently collapsed and the aircraft tipped on its nose. It was not a good night for the Squadron – three Hurricanes were damaged (including another by Scott) and all were put aside to be collected by the repair people.

As the Battle of Britain raged P3351 was sent for repairs. By early September, fitted with a new engine, she was transferred to 32 Squadron at Acklington. Having had a torrid time based in Southern England the Squadron was now part of 13 Group and tasked with convoy patrols and X-Raid cover.

During the next three months, P3351 was flown extensively by Pilot Officer Rose, undertaking the inevitable training as well as patrols of the north-eastern perimeter of Great Britain. On the 16th December, 32 Squadron moved south to Middle Wallop to become part of 10 Group. Within 5 days, P3351 was gone – to a new stage in her life with the Americans.

Before the United States entry into WWII, many Americans volunteered for service in the RAF and RCAF. The severe loss of pilots during 1940 allowed these men to join the RAF and saw the formation of the American Eagle Squadrons. Of the thousands that volunteered, 244 American pilots were to fly for No’s 71, 121, and 133 Squadrons of the RAF.

Records are incomplete for this period and although P3351 arrived on the 21st December 1940 her first recorded flight is the 16th February 1941. On the 10th March 1941 two of the squadron Hurricanes undertook a patrol over Humber. Upon returning in the early evening, Pilot Officer Sampson-Taylor crashed on landing and P3351 was damaged. She was sent away for repairs.

P3351 returned one month later to the same squadron now based at Martlesham Heath near Ipswich. She would see more operational flying during the next month with a number of patrols and scrambles.

By the beginning of May, new Hurricane IIA’s began to arrive as replacement aircraft and P3351 was transferred to No. 55 Operational Training Unit at Usworth, near to the Scottish border. We know her squadron code was PA but are unsure of her squadron letter.

No sooner had she arrived than on the 13th May 1941 a Polish Flying Instructor, Sergeant Stanislaw Karubin, was to send her away again for repairs after flying into high tension power lines. Karubin landed the Hurricane safely at Ouston, Northumberland and the leading edge was repaired on-site. P3351 received a new engine - one can assume that the prop or reduction gear might have been affected by the electricity cable.

Upon her return two remarkable coincidences occur. Firstly, Pilot Officer William Miller, from Invercargill flies the aircraft twice as he undertakes training. ‘Dusty’ now lives in Wanaka and proudly shows visitors to the New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum ‘his’ Hurricane.

Then on the 9th September 1941 Sergeant Polson flies P3351 and he too is from Invercargill. However, Sergeant Polsons’ meeting with P3351 was to end ignominiously. On an evening training mission, P3351 seemed to be overheating and the engine abruptly seized. Polson, probably unsure what to do bellied her into a field near Headingly, Leeds. Unofficially, it appears Polson was flying with a mate, the two seeing how low they could get. Polson got very low, enough to hit a hedge and he very quickly force-landed her. This ended the English flying career for Hawker Hurricane P3351. Her next posting was to a far colder clime, a desperate battle, and a 49-year hibernation.

P3351 was collected, repaired and upgraded to MkIIA Series 1 status before being placed in storage. A new serial number was also allocated to account for the changes – P3351 became DR393. January 1942 saw her sent to Hawkers for another upgrade – this time a MkIIA Series II.

On the 26th March DR393 was sent by road to Glasgow. Allocated to Russia under the Lend-Lease Agreement she was crated in preparation for shipping to the vast cold wasteland of Northern Russia. On the 3rd May 1942, she left England, loaded with 23 other Hurricanes onboard the merchantmen SS Ocean Voice, as part of Convoy PQ16. The German forces were fully aware of the convoy and would make every effort to ensure the precious cargo never arrived at its destination.

Sailing initially to Iceland the convoy then set sail for Murmansk. Heavily escorted, the group braced itself for the inevitable attacks. Over the next seven days they were harassed from the air and the sea. One ship to receive serious damage was the Ocean Voice. A bomb blew a 20 feet hole in her hull just 2 feet above the water line and fire damaged her bridge. Hurricane DR393 was now perilously close to being lost but the ship held its position as the crew fought the numerous fires.

The attacks continued but miraculously the Ocean Voice managed to stay afloat and on the 30th May she berthed at Murmansk. Convoy PQ16 lost just over a quarter of her cargo, 27 ships reaching their destination. The balance sheet shows 770 vehicles, 147 tanks and 77 aircraft sank to the bottom of the cold sea. Despite these losses, the convoy was deemed successful. The heroism of the ship crews was incredible, with six days of constant attacks in the near permanent daylight depriving sleep and sapping strength.

DR393 was re-assembled and spent the next year flying with the Russians. No details survive of her operations but it is known that she was re-equipped with Russian cannon and would have seen combat against both fighters and bombers of the Luftwaffe.

Flown through the autumn it is believed she crashed in the winter of 1943. During the rebuild process, a 7.9 mm copper jacketed projectile was found lodged in the oil-cooler, having passed through the radiator from the lower face. Possibly ground fire, it is certain it was this shell that brought her down.

Recovered from Russia in 1991 the Hurricane was purchased by Wanaka-based aviation enthusiast, Sir Tim Wallis, the following year. It was his desire that P3351 be restored to original airworthy condition and, after considerable discussion, Air New Zealand offered to undertake the project. For Air New Zealand Engineering Services (ANZES) it was a marketing exercise to display their capability and to bring an historical aeroplane to New Zealand.

Shipped to New Zealand, the components were literally unloaded from a trailer at ANZES in Christchurch and under the overall control of Alpine Fighter Collection Chief Engineer Ray Mulqueen, the long and complex restoration began.

A Hawker Hurricane is unlike an aircraft of monocoque construction (such as the Spitfire or Mustang) and has a complex tubular structure. Each joint comprises mechanical joints which are squared at each end and require special equipment to roll the T50 (50 tonnes strength) steel. All that was possible in the 1930’s is very difficult today and the lack of original tooling is one reason that so few Hurricanes are flying today.

Tony Ditheridge in the United Kingdom had undertaken considerable research into the complexities of rebuilding a Hurricane and had access to the equipment needed to form the twelve-sided steel tubes used in the wing centre section, the fin and the tailplane spars. Sir Tim Wallis had seen how crucial this equipment would be and had formed, the previous year, a joint venture company between the Alpine Fighter Collection and Tony Ditheridge to be called Hawker Restorations Ltd (HRL). This company would undertake the rebuild of the tubular structure, empennage and woodwork on P3351 whilst the wings would be sub-contracted to Airframe Assemblies. They would also completely rebuild two other Hurricanes’ that had been obtained at the same time.

The rebuild of P3351 had to be carried out under the ANZES Quality Management System as a design, manufacture, supply and maintenance organisation under New Zealand CAA rules. This meant that all vendors of equipment or services had to meet a defined standard and all work had to be properly documented and performed to approved data. Where data was lost or not available it had to be created or found. ANZES was able to enter into agreements with the major original equipment suppliers for access to data relating to the Hurricane and it's equipment but where material substitutions had to be made because the original material or process was no longer available the technical assessment and approval of those design changes was an ANZES responsibility.

ANZES salvaged and made serviceable many parts from the original airframe which were then shipped to HRL for inclusion in P3351’s structure and in late 1995 the restored fuselage and empennage skeleton, centre section and wings were returned to ANZES for continuation of the rebuild.

The Hurricane is full of brackets, clips, tubes and wire that are made for a specific location, and all are slightly different. ANZES volunteers, trainees and staff spent the next three years making these parts and storing them, when all the parts were completed for one section only then could it be re-assembled.

Word was sent out around the world for certain components and New Zealand industry contributed a considerable amount. As an example the radiator core was made by Replicore in Whangarei and the casing and assembly by Auto Restorations in Christchurch. The propeller hub was secured by the Alpine Fighter Collection, the wooden propeller blades were made by Hoffman of Germany and approved by Dowty Rotol whilst Skycraft of United Kingdom made the remainder of the parts and assembled and tested the completed propeller.

A mint late model Merlin engine (complete with rare RAF records) was found in the UK and then overhauled in the USA. Amazingly, it had completely new pistons, cylinders, cylinder head and supercharger. Arriving in Christchurch late 1997 it was fitted to the airframe.

By this time the components were starting to look like an aircraft and ANZES contracted the Croydon Aircraft Company in Mandeville to carry out the fabric covering, which they commenced in November 1997.

After trial fitting the wings were permanently attached in early 1998. A difficult process, the wing joints are made up of tapered pins and bushes and the whole reaming and installation process proved to be a trying time, with some bushes having to be made several time owing to the very slight taper on the pins.

Over the next year parts were added almost on a daily basis and by December 1998 P3351 was ready to be rolled into the paint shed. The propeller assembly was added in early 1999.

One section causing problems was the complex radiator. Consisting of hexagonal tube cores of either pure copper or 80/20 copper nickel (CuNi) every attempt to replicate this construction ended in failure owing to splitting or crushing in the forming process. Replicore in Whangarei continued undaunted, and after almost two years developed a simple rolling tool. This worked perfectly and allowed the radiator to be manufactured the same as it was back in 1939. Over 6000 individual tubes had to be cut to length, formed and trimmed for the radiator and oil cooler cores. Auto Restorations took two months to assemble and pressure test the radiator, which was fitted in September 1999.

The project was now reaching its final stages and in late 1999 the Merlin engine sprung into life at Christchurch Airport. Final applications were made to the original Battle of France colour scheme and in early January 2000 Hawker Hurricane P3351 / DR393 was once again ready to leave her nest.

On a summer morning P3351 took to the air again for the first time in almost sixty years, performing flawlessly. This was her tribute to many people. The tenacity and single-mindedness of Sir Tim Wallis, the persistence of Hawker Restorations in obtaining the correct tooling, the contribution by so many companies world-wide and finally (and most importantly), the dedication and expertise of Air New Zealand Engineering Services staff and volunteers led by Manufacturing Manager Ian Carmichael. They have treated this as the restoration of an historic artefact and the result is nothing more than remarkable.

©GAZETTEArchive 2000

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STRANGE BUT TRUE...
What DO you do with the only survivor
of an historic battle - that's right - you STUFF HIM!

For a generation who are themselves now dead, Comanche was the most famous horse in America; a kind of equine Elvis or horsey Humperdink, revered in death as much as in life.

Comanche was the only living thing that the U.S. cavalry got back from the Battle of Little Big Horn. When reinforcements arrived, Custer and all 200+ of his soldiers were dead, and all the horses that survived had been taken by the Indians — except Comanche, who was injured. The Indians had no use for a horse that couldn't dodge a bullet, but the White Man did.

Comanche was nursed back to health and became a living symbol of Manifest Destiny. The public loved him, assuming that he had been Custer's horse ( which he hadn't ) and that he was the Battle's only survivor ( which he wasn't ). This was fine with the Army and the federal government, who wanted the public on their side while they killed Indians. Comanche toured the country, a favourite of parades and patriotic gatherings.

So why, when he died, did he end up in the University of Kansas Natural History Museum?

Comanche had been stabled at nearby Fort Riley. When he passed away it was immediately assumed that he would be preserved — and the best taxidermist in Kansas worked at the Museum. Comanche was shipped to the Museum and stuffed. But the officers from Fort Riley — who perhaps realised that most Indians were by now either captured or dead — never bothered to pick him up ( or to pay the taxidermy bill ). So Comanche stayed. Aside from being shipped to Chicago to be displayed at the 1893 Columbian Exposition, he's been here ever since.

Comanche is still on exhibit, in a glass case, wearing in his cavalry blanket and saddle. The case used to have a brass plaque: "Sole survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn." It was removed in the 1970s at the request of local tribes.

I would like to thank all those who wrote ( and phoned ) with regard to last weeks Special 9/11 Issue.

I can honestly say that during my reseach for the Flight 93 article, I came across some truly startling and moving facts. My desire was to portray events in the correct light - and I believe this was achieved.

The response from many readers ( including some of the highest Office ) was truly amazing and somewhat unexpected.

The EURO Group Gazette will continue to publish Aviation related articles for our readership in a completely unbiased manner.Being totally independent, we have no " greater powers " to serve and no political agenda - so we can and will continue to represent available information in the way we have always done in the past.

See you in the Friendly EURO skies....

ACBrit1
Editor
EURO Group Gazette
Usworth
England

PS!

DONT FORGET you can visit the Gazette Archive at http://www.cfspilots.com/ , courtesy of our very own LtCSnoopy.

THE GAZETTE IS AN FZC PRODUCTION FOR FZC ENTS ©1997-2002. CONCEIVED WRITTEN & PRODUCED FOR, AND ON BEHALF OF THE EURO ADVANCED COMBAT AND TACTICAL GROUP - THE NUMBER ONE  AIR COMBAT OUTFIT. ALL IMAGES ITEMS AND ARTICLES ARE SUBJECT TO INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAWS, NO ITEMS SHALL BE REPRODUCED OR STORED IN ANY FORMAT WHATSOEVER WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS. PERMISSION WILL BE GIVEN ON REQUEST WITH THE APPROPRIATE CREDITS, SO THOSE WHO CHOOSE TO USE OUR WORK WITHOUT ASKING WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAWS AS THEY APPLY. EURO AND ALL ITS MEMBERS HOLD NO POLITICAL AMBITION OR PREFERENCES - WE PLAY ONLINE FOR FUN AND FOR THE BROTHERHOOD THAT MEMBERSHIP OF THIS GROUP GIVES US. THE EDITOR ( ACBrit1 ) IS NOT ON THE PAYROLL OF ANY GAME MANUFACTURER OR DESIGNER AND THE THOUGHTS HELD WITHIN THESE PAGES ARE THEREFORE PERSONAL AND NOT INTENDED FOR QUOTATION WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION. REPRODUCTION OF ©GAZETTE ARCHIVE MATERIAL WITHOUT CONSENT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE...AND BESIDES...WHAT WOULD YOUR MOTHER THINK? LOL