JJ's Wargames on Tour - South Island, New Zealand - Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre

I had no idea when researching the itinerary for our little expedition to New Zealand that I would discover a place quite like Omaka, and after hearing rumours of a very extensive collection of WWI replica aircraft belonging to Sir Peter Jackson and his interest in this era of air warfare, it was even more of a surprise to see that he had collaborated with the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre to bring his collection before the public. 

https://www.omaka.org.nz/

Not only that, but who else other than the Weta Studio folks who were also involved in the display of his collection in a way that I hadn't seen military aircraft displayed before, with beautiful manikins that bring the exhibits to life, complimented by the skills of the folks at WingNut Films who created the amazing dioramas that many of the aircraft are composed within

Thus it was that as Carolyn and I made our way through Marlborough, on our way to the Cloudy Bay Vineyard, the next stop was Omaka Airpark at Blenheim, to visit the WWI collection 'Knights of the Sky' opened in 2006 and the more recent addition of the 'WWII Dangerous Skies' exhibition opened in 2016 that showcases other private collectors WWII aircraft.

Etrich Taube

When the First World War broke out, Austrian designer, Igo Etrich's, Taube or 'Dove' was already a successful production aircraft and had been for four years since its first flight in 1910.

Described as stable and pleasant to fly, with its 100hp Mercedes engine, the Taube was an advanced design and was in widespread service in Germany in 1914, with a single seat and two seat tandem option available.

An unusual feature now, but more common in early aircraft types, was the provision of warping the wings by twisting the entire mainplanes to facilitate banking, a feature made redundant in later aircraft with the provision of ailerons, hinged at the trailing edge of the wings.

A small number of original aircraft survive in European museums, but this one is a faithful reproduction, built in Furstenwalde, Germany 13th May 2000, where it made a number of flying appearances at air shows, before being shipped to NZ in 2005.

Airco DH-2 & Fokker Eindekker

Geoffrey de Havilland's pusher, the DH-2, was one of the first of a new series of military aircraft, termed the 'fighting scout', which would herald the class, simply known as the 'fighter'.

This type appeared in the skies over the Western Front in February 1916, at the time when the most dominant fighter on the front was the German Fokker E.III Eindeckker monoplane, with its synchronised machine gun firing forward through the propeller arc.

 

Despite the rather antiquated look of the DH-2, the aircraft proved itself a worthy opponent of the Fokker, offering light controls and agility that allowed it to perform all aerobatic manoeuvres with its 100hp Gnome Monosoupape engine and with one pilot describing flying the aircraft from its forward seating position offering exceptional visibility as;

  'Like riding a witch's broom'.

This reproduction DH-2 is fully flight worthy, with only the type of engine differing from the original aircraft.

Inspired by a French racing aircraft the Fokker E series of monoplanes proved well ahead of their time, when first introduced in mid-1915. Their speed, agility and forward firing machine gun allowed them to decimate other allied aircraft during a period that became known as 'The Fokker Scourge'.

The E. III entered service on the Western Front in December 1915 and their dominance was only ended with the introduction of better allied types such as the British Airco DH-2, and French Nieuport 11 biplane and monoplane Morane Saulnier Type 'N' Bullet, with the Eindekker withdrawn from front line service in the summer of 1916.

Morane Saulnier BB & Ford Ambulance

The French company, Morane Saulnier was a prolific designer and manufacturer of aircraft of all types, better known for its various monoplane designs, but, as seen here, also the BB, powered by a 110hp Le Rhone rotary engine, but because of shortages, often replaced with the underpowered 80hp Le Rhone.

The Type BB was constructed in 1915 under a contract order for the British, intended for reconnaissance work, seeing limited service with the French Army and used by three Royal Flying Corps (R.F.C.) squadrons until being soon phased out in favour of more capable aircraft.

This reproduction aircraft is the only intact example to be seen anywhere in the world today.

Airco DH-4

Perhaps one on the most successful wartime aircraft designs, if continued use after the end of the conflict is a measure, would have to include the de Havilland DH-4, with 1,536 built in the UK for use in the First World War, and another 4,480 built under license in the USA, with this being one of just two original aircraft known to have survived.

Designed as a day bomber and general purpose reconnaissance aircraft, it was first flown in August 1916 and deployed in March 1917, where its impressive performance allowed it to operate above the effective altitude for German fighters over Germany in 1918.

However its centrally mounted fuel tank between the pilot and observer made it less useful in the reconnaissance role, restricting communication between the crew and endangering them both to a fiery death if hit, giving rise to the nickname as the 'Flaming Coffin'.

Halberstadt D. IV

One of the least successful German fighting scouts, the Halberstadt D. IV flew well but never quite managed to match the performance of its adversaries.

The D. IV was an attempt to improve the design of the D. II and III, fitted with a more powerful 150hp engine and twin machine guns, but in early 1917 a German report concluded its assessment on the improvements to the type as 'too little, too late, seeing its service, begun in June 1916, ended in mid-1917 with its withdrawal to less demanding fronts.

No Halberstadt D models survive today, and this example is a fully flyable reproduction built in the USA during the 1980's.

Nieuport 24

The French Nieuport 'V-Strutter' series of biplane scouts built in various evolving models, turned out to be some of the most successful designs of the war, in use almost to the end and built by other allied nations, and even copied by the Germans.

The first military design of what was a racing aircraft was the Nieuport 11 in service with the French in the summer of 1915, and subsequently used by the British Royal Naval Air Service (R.N.A.S.), R.F.C., Italian, Belgian, Dutch and Russian forces.

This popularity continued with the N.17 entering service in May 1917, adding the American, Swiss, Swedish and Finnish air arms to its customer base.

This, the N24 was the next development soon followed by the N27 and N.28 proving to be very effective fighting scouts.

French air-ace Charles Nungesser

This particular N.24 is an airworthy replica in the colours of the French air-ace Charles Nungesser, 'The Knight of Death', France's third highest scoring ace with 43 victories by war's end.

Pfalz D.III

Perhaps one of the most elegant designs to emerge from the First World War, the Pfalz D.III also proved to be a very capable fighter from the time of its introduction.

The prototype D.III first flew in May 1917 and it became operational in the following August, however it was generally considered inferior to the Albatross D.III and D.V scouts, with one pilot criticising the Pfalz for lack of speed, power and climb rate in comparison.

The Pfalz also stalled sharply, slipped in turns and spun readily, but made up for these detractions by being structurally sound, safely able to dive at high speed, unlike the Albatross that had a nasty habit of falling apart in a steep dive.

The Pfalz D.IIIa overcame another problem with the original design by moving the twin guns to the upper decking rather than buried in the engine cowl, which made unblocking jams rather problematic.

There are no surviving examples from the 300 D.III's and 775 D.IIIa's built in the war, this being a recovered replica restored in 1999 to flying condition after it's role in the late 1960's film 'The Blue Max' starring George Peppard.

The Baron's Last Flight

The legendary 'Red Knight of Germany', Baron Manfred von Richthofen, took to the skies for the last time on the morning of the 21st April 1918, after a year and a half of action, during which he had downed an unbeaten record of 80 aircraft.

There is still much debate and uncertainty as to how Richthoven recieved his fatal wound, caused by a .303 bullet wound to the chest, but the known facts are that the German ace had been pursuing a 209 Squadron Sopwith Camel, piloted by a novice Canadian pilot, Wilfred Reid 'Wop' May, who had just fired on the Red Baron's cousin, Lt. Wolfram von Richthofen.

Baron Manfred von Richthofen

The pursuit of May descended to low level over the Morlancourt Ridge near the River Somme, only interrupted briefly when Richthofen was himself attacked by May's school friend and flight commander Captain Arthur 'Roy' Brown, who dived steeply to intervene before pulling up sharply to avoid hitting the ground, seeing Richthofen resume the pursuit of May.

At some stage during his pursuit of May, Richthofen received a fatal bullet wound to his chest, severely damaging his heart and lungs, resulting in his death in less than a minute.

His aircraft stalled and went into a steep dive, hitting the ground in a field on a hill near the Bray-Corbie road, just north of the village of  Vaux-sur-Somme, in a sector defended by the Australian Imperial Force.

After bouncing heavily, that resulted in a collapsed undercarriage and smashed fuel tank, the aircraft skidded to a halt, and one of the first witnesses to reach the crashed plane was Gunner George Ridgeway who found Richthofen already dead, and with his face badly contused after it had been slammed into the breech butts of his machine guns during the crash, braking his nose and fracturing his jaw.

His Fokker Dr.I 425/17 was soon taken apart by souvenir hunters, and very quickly the the Triplane was torn to ribbons, with items removed even including the Baron's distinctive fur covered over-boots, both of which were eventually presented separately to the Australian War Memorial a number of years later.

Other items have since resurfaced with the plane's engine displayed in London, the seat in Toronto and the control column in Canberra.

The Cross seen below is the original starboard fuselage cross taken from Fokker Triplane 425/17 on April 21st 1918, by Lance Corporal A.E. Putman, H.Q. Signallers, 32nd Battalion, Australian Infantry, with Putman writing a note on it;

'This cross was taken from baron von Richthofen's red triplane, immediately after he was brought down on the morning of April 21st, 1918 near Corbie. I was there. He accounted for 80 of our planes.'

The reason for the note was that Putman found himself taken suddenly ill and rrecovering in Base Hospital No. 12 where he presented the cross as a gift to the doctor, US First Lieutenant Baker who had cared for him, staying with Baker until the family sold it in 1994.

Interestingly, the cross reveals that Fokker Triplanes destined for Richthofen were painted red in the factory, unlike others, normally supplied painted in a streaky green/brown finish, with this particular aircraft only having been flown the day before it was shot down, during which Richthofen shot down two Sopwith Camels, his 79th and 80th victories.

Snow Scene with Siemens Schukert D.IV and Crashed Nieuport 27

Towards the end of WWI, the Germans started to design some very potent and effective fighter-scout types, one of which was Siemens-Schukart D.IV which arrived on the front a little late to really make an impression on the final outcome.

The D.IV was an improvement on its predecessor, the D.III with a reduced wing area and much higher combat performance principally due to the addition of a powerful new engine, the 200hp Siemens Haiske SH.IIIa.

The engine was unique among rotaries in that the crankshaft revolved in one direction and the cylinders and crankcase revolved in the opposite direction, thus giving an equivalent engine speed of 1,800 rpm which drove a propeller speed of 900 rpm, a direct 2:1 reduction.

The power developed allowed for a huge four bladed propeller that helped give the aircraft a phenomenal rate of climb, and an extremely high service ceiling, whilst also producing an easily controlled and very responsive aircraft only offset by a nasty stall and, with its short landing gear and limited propeller clearance, a difficult plane to land cleanly. 

Only 123 aircraft made it to operational units, between August to October 1918, with production continuing post the cease-fire, with many of the units built being sold to Switzerland where they were operated into the late 1920's.

This reproduction flew in the USA before coming to New Zealand where it underwent a full refurbishment to produce the aircraft seen today

.

The Nieuport Model 27 represented the last of the line of a series of very successful and rather similar looking scouts produced by the French company and collectively referred to by the Germans as 'Vee-Strutters'.

Based on the successful Nieuport 17 and 24 (see above), the N.27 incorporated a large plywood vertical tail and a redesigned rounded horizontal tail to improve stability, together with a more shapely rear fuselage and plenty of power with the installation of an improved 120hp Rhone rotary engine, later further enhanced with a 130hp model.

The Nieuport 27 was armed with a synchronised fuselage-mounted Vickers machine gun and or a Lewis Gun mounted on a 'Foster mount' above the top wing.

The aircraft served with the French Aviation Militaire and also the British Royal Flying Corps (later Royal Air Force) during 1917 and early 1918, before being phased out by mid 1918, replaced by the Spad S.XIII or the completely new design, the Nieuport 28.

In addition, some 120 Nieuport 27's saw service with the United States Army Air Service as trainers in 1918.

Fokker DR.I 'Dreidekker' Triplane

The distinctive shape of the Fokker Triplane, due primarily to its association with the 'Red Baron', Manfred von Richthofen, has made it one of the iconic aircraft of the First World War, even though despite the success gained by the likes of von Richthofen (17 kills on the type) and Werner Voss, the aircraft enjoyed a surprisingly short career. 

Werner Voss wearing the Pour le Merite at his throat was
credited with 48 kills, 11 of them flying the Dr.I

Deployed for active operations in August 1917, the Dr.I achieved immediate success in the hands of pilots such as Voss with the German ace scoring his 11 victories in the type in under four weeks, before he was killed in combat on the 23rd September.

During November 1917, the Dr.I's were grounded as a result of a number of structural failures, which was soon remedied followed by a return to service, only to see the type phased out soon after with the deployment of the superior Fokker D.VII in May 1918.

This aircraft wears the colours of Lothar von Richthofen, as flown between 11th April to 11th May 1917, credited with 22 victories

The Dr.I boasted wonderful manoeuvrability and a respectable performance with its 110hp engine, but suffered from limited visibility forward and downwards by the combination of a mid and lower wing, with one pilot complaining that;

'Setting up the aircraft to land is like closing a set of Venetian blinds.'

Many Triplanes were seemingly damaged in landing accidents as in actual combat.

The four replica Dr.I's in the collection represent specific aircraft operational with Jasta 11 led by Manfred von Richthofen.

Manfred von Richthofen's mount in the foreground with that of Werner Steinhauser seen behind an ace with 10 kills to his credit.

Side on profile of the Dr.I flown by Werner Steinhauser,
seen in the background of the pictures above.

Colour scheme of an unknown Jasta 11 pilot

The German Jasta's were the equivalent of allied squadrons, comprising approximately twelve machines, with the Germans preferring distinctive colours to not only identify a particular Jasta when in the air, but also a particular pilot.

In July 1917 , four Jastas (4, 6, 10 and 11) were grouped together to form Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG/1) under the command of the 25 year old Manfred von Richthofen.

This unit became a mobile reserve of about 50 machines that could be deployed along the front as the need arose, with the ground units rapidly redeploying by train, lending the name, due to this mobility, combined with the range of colours decorating the aircraft as 'Richthofen's Flying Circus'.

SE.5A - Grid's Great Escape

Keith 'Grid' Caldwell was a New Zealand ace pilot who joined the R.F.C.in January 1916 and was first deployed with No. 8 Squadron on the Arras front operating BE.2C and BE.2D reconnaissance aircraft, having logged just 27 hours of flying training in England before joining the squadron, but seeing the novice pilot shoot down his first enemy type, while he and his observer were carrying out observation duties.

At the end of 1916 he transferred to 60 Squadron operating Nieuport 17 scouts quickly developing a reputation as an aggressive pilot, and later promoted to flight commander in February 1917 clearly able to inspire fellow pilots with his fearless attitude.

He earned his nickname 'Grid' in reference to his habit of referring to aircraft as 'grids' a slang term for bicycles and by the time he transferred to instructor duties back in England in October 1917 he had added another eight enemy aircraft to his tally.

Keith 'Grid' Caldwell, CBE, MC, DFC & Bar and the Belgian Croix de Guerre

In February 1918 Caldwell was promoted to Major and appointed to command No. 74 Squadron, R.A.F., equipped with SE.5A aircraft, taking the squadron to France the following month, based at Clairmarais, flying its first sortie on 12th April.

Under Caldwell's command 74 Squadron would become one of the most effective allied squadrons claiming a creditable 140 aircraft destroyed and 85 left out of control for the loss of just 15 pilots killed or made prisoner, and with Caldwell himself credited overall with 13 enemy aircraft, 2 shared, 11 sent down out of control, including 1 shared and 1 captured.

The scene depicted shows one of Caldwell's lucky escapes, if you include shaking off Werner Voss by putting his Nieuport into a spin and pulling out from the dive just before hitting the ground; this occasion depicting his jumping clear of his damaged SE.5A after a mid air collision with a fellow pilot before nursing his crippled aircraft close to the ground to allow his rather unorthodox landing.

Still, as my old flying instructor used to say

'Any landing you walk away from is a good one!'

Just six original SE.5s survive today, one of which I've seen several times, in the Science Museum, London.

Several authentic reproductions also exits, including this New Zealand produced example.

Vickers Vimy IV

The Vickers Vimy bomber, depicted by the beautiful model seen below, arrived just too late to make any lasting effect on the outcome of World War One with the principle British bomber used in response to the raids by Germany's Gotha, Friedrichshaven and AEG heavy bombers, being the Handley Page O-400.

In 1919 a civilian operated Vimy would be the first aircraft to fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean, piloted by the pioneer British aviators, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown.

Just five months later another Vimy flown by Australians Ross and Keith Smith flew 11,000 miles to complete the first England to Australia flight, with both aircraft surviving today in London and Adelaide respectively.

Gotha G.IV

The introduction of the Gotha G.IV strategic bomber allowed Germany to take the bombing offensive to England without having to rely any longer on the cumbersome Zepplin airships for its long range attacks.

The G.IV had a fuselage fully skinned in plywood, and an improved landing capability over its predecessor, the G.III, by the introduction of lower wing ailerons that improved lateral control.

The Gotha G.IV entered service in March 1917 and was used in the first mass attacks on England, when 21 Gotha's raided Folkstone, Shorncliffe and Cheriton on 25th May 1917, killing about 95 people and injuring over 150.

London was attacked for the first time on the 13th June, that caused the heavist casualties of the war with 162 people killed and 432 injured.

Civilian casualties caused in these raids would see a complete change to the British system of air defence, with the 'Home Defence Network' set up to coordinate the use of anti-aircraft guns and Sopwith Camel fighters, which caused increasing losses to the German bomber force, forcing them to change tactics and adopt night raids instead of attacks in daylight.

No examples of the Gotha survived to the modern day, but there is an ambitious plan to build a flying reproduction in Tennessee, USA, with this model sufficing in the meantime to give an impression of these remarkable machines.

Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8

Nicknamed the 'Harry Tate' after a popular music hall performer, the R.A.F. R.E.8 was considered neither popular nor much of a performer. It was nevertheless built in considerable numbers and proved a necessary if not ideal workhorse.

 

Intended as a much needed replacement for the vulnerable pre-war B.E.2, the R.E.8 was not much of an improvement, with little chance of outmanoeuvring enemy fighters as evidenced  on the 13th April 1917 when a patrol of six R.E.8's from 59 Squadron R.F.C. were intercepted by aircraft from Jasta 11 seeing all the R.E.8's shot down within five minutes.

The R.E.8 eventually equipped eighteen R.F.C squadrons from 1917 with 4,077 produced and serving in most theatres including Italy, Russia, Palestine and Mesopotamia.

There are two surviving examples, one in London and one in Brussels, with this, a New Zealand built replica, built exactly to the original 1916 specifications.

Breguet 14.A2

The Breguet 14 proved to be one of the most successful aircraft of the war, being a light, manoeuvrable yet robust aircraft with 8,000 machines produced for the reconnaissance/bomber role and as a post war civilian variant.

An unusual feature of the aircraft was the widespread use of Duralumin, an early type of aluminium alloy, with only the wing ribs and fuselage fairings being wooden. 

The first batch of production aircraft were 580 Br14.A2 reconnaissance models ordered in April 1917, followed by the Br14.B2 bomber version, and demand during the last years of the war seeing 5,500 delivered before the end of hostilities.

Both versions were armed with a forward firing Vickers gun for the pilot  and Lewis guns for the observer, with the A2 carrying four small bombs, a camera and wireless set, and both versions having dual controls.

The Br.14 was supplied to seventy-one French escadrilles on the Western Front, five in Serbia, three in Greece, six in Morocco and eight in Macedonia as well as two Belgian escadrilles, and a further 229 A2's and 47 B2's supplied to the American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.) in 1918, being widely used for both day and night bombing in the last year of the war.

The aircraft seen in the display is a replica in the colours of the 132th Photo Section of the A.E.F. 96th Aero Squadron.

Only two original examples are known to have survived, one in France and the other in Finland.

As well as the wonderful collection of aircraft, Omaka includes some excellent displays recreating the important work carried out by the various ground crews and mechanics, vital for repairing both airframes, engines and maintaining the various armaments.

A 1915 Calthorpe Scout Car built from original parts. Representing the forerunner to the WWII Jeep, these vehicles were first used in Egypt in a scouting roll, with the machine gun seen in this example being a captured German Maxim used on a similar vehicle that destroyed an enemy communication post at Wadi el Hoek in Libya.

On entering the second display hall, entitled 'Dangerous Skies', one is immediately greeted by a film star, hanging upside down from the rafters, just like a very large model kit, which on reflection, this is, it being a surviving replica Hurricane from the 1969 film 'Battle of Britain', for which Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park was consulted in the production and is reported to have arranged for this film prop to come to New Zealand.

A film that had a great impact on me as a kid was the Battle of Britain released in 1969 that prompted my interest in military aircraft and flying that has remained a life-long interest.

One interesting anecdote from the film is the reported meeting between Park and Sir Trevor Howard the actor tasked with bringing the great man to the silver screen, apparently assuring him that he would do justice to his role leading 11 Group in the battle. 

After viewing the premiere of the film, Park seemed to have enjoyed it, remarking finding it entertaining but that the scene depicting him and Air Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory arguing over the merits of the 'Big Wing' proposal was fictionalised and less dramatic than what had actually occurred.

One of five reproduction Hurricanes constructed for the 1969 film Battle of Britain, greets visitors to the Dangerous Skies exhibition at Omaka.

P40 'Gloria Lyons'
Royal New Zealand Airforce P40, NZ3220 is a rare combat survivor from the Pacific battles of WWII and is New Zealand's most famous P-40.

Gloria Lyons was a nineteen-year old girl, bedridden with tuberculosis in Christchurch hospital, who had answered an advertisement placed in a local newspaper by lonely servicemen in the Pacific. She was adopted by No.4 Servicing Unit and her name was emblazoned on the cowlings of four successive aircraft; NZ3220 was the last P-40 to carry the name and survived the war.

RNZAF P-40's began to arrive in New Zealand in mid 1942, with 297 delivered in total.

The first operational missions were flown from Guadalcanal from April 1943, with the planes acquitting themselves well over a year of critical fighting during which RNZAF pilots claimed 99 Japanese aircraft destroyed in aerial combat and another 14 probables.

NZ3220 on her return to NZ carrying her cumulative missions from all three 'Gloria Lyons' P-40 Kittyhawks, together with the Japanese victory flags credited to Flt Lt. Robert H. Balfour, seen on display in Cathedral Square, Christchurch.

The aircraft featured was initially part of 18 Squadron, under the care of No.4 Servicing Unit on Torokina airstrip, Bougainville, and would go on to serve with 19 and finally 17 Squadrons, with the final tour ending in early June 1944 seeing a return of eight aircraft to New Zealand of which NZ3220 was one.

Gloria Lyons ended up in private ownership after surviving the end of war scrapping process, arriving at Omaka in 2020 for some much needed T.L.C. seeing a sympathetic refurbishment that retained her original paint and markings preserved, whilst various parts for her engine, undercarriage and smaller missing parts were sourced and added to make this historic aircraft as complete as possible.

Messerschmitt BF 108 'Taifun'

The forerunner to the famous German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter was the Bf 108 advanced 1930's sport aircraft, later adapted for wartime use as a Luftwaffe liaison aircraft.

As soon as I saw this aircraft in the display, I was immediately reminded of all those WWII films, from the 60's and 70's in the days before CGI, when anytime a German fighter type was required, along came the Me 108, with 633 Squadron and Von Ryans Express coming immediately to mind.

Flug Werk FW190A-8/N

In September 1941 four radial-engined aircraft from Jagdgeschwader 26 bounced a flight of Spitfires, scoring three kills and announcing the debut of the Luftwaffe's newest fighter, the Fw-190, officially nicknamed the Wurger or Shrike.

The Focke Wulf FW-190 would achieve early supremacy over the Spitfire V's then being used by the RAF and maintained it until the arrival of new RAF types such as the Spitfire IX and the Hawker Typhoon in mid 1942 and late 1941 respectively .

The FW-190 proved to be particularly suited to low level operations, prevalent on the Russian Front and seeing its deployment as a tip-and-run raider over Southern England.

Ironically its use in the ground attack role, would see it inspire a similar use of its nemesis, the Hawker Typhoon, that would reign supreme in 1944 over the skies of Normandy strafing German ground forces with liberal amounts of cannon and rockets mixed in with a few bombs.

Few original 190's survive from the 20,000 all models produced during WWII, with little chance of seeing one in the skies up until 1996 when ex airline Captain and warbird enthusiast Claus Colling teamed up with business partner Hans Gunther Wildmoser to form the Flug-Werk Company in Germany that would build the components needed to complete a fully airworthy example of this magnificent aircraft seen here today in Omaka.

Major Eric Rudorffer in 1944

This build has required a lot of problem solving, especially with regard to the engine, with not a lot of BMW 801's still around, but solved by acquiring the Russo'Chinese built Shvetsov ASh-82 41.2 litre radial engine, similar in size to the BMW at 41.8 litres and with the same number of cylinders.

This aircraft is displayed in the colours of Knights Cross holder, Major Eric Rudorffer credited with 222 aerial victories.

Junkers Ju-87

Like the FW-190, the famous Junkers Ju-87 or Stuka is indeed a rare aircraft to see anywhere anytime these days with the only example I had seen was that held in the R.A.F. Museum in Hendon.

This example is another superb replica built at Omaka in 2002 utilizing a V12 Jaguar engine and only able to taxi, but capturing so well the look of this formidable aircraft that set the tone, quite literally with its attached leg siren, for close air support of the German Blitzkrieg campaigns of the early years of WWII.

De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito

Nicknamed the 'Wooden Wonder', being largely constructed from wood, the DH. Mosquito was one of the most versatile and aesthetically pleasing aircraft of WWII, firmly establishing the class of multi-tole combat aircraft.

My grateful thanks and appreciation to Gary, the very helpful guide who I greatly enjoyed my chat with about the aircraft held in the collection and who very kindly allowed me access to the mocked up control tower that gave this splendid overview of Mosquito NZ2336.

First flown on the 25th November 1940, testing showed the aircraft could easily out-run the Spitfire, soon claiming the title of one of the fastest operation aircraft of the period.

Introduced into combat in 1941, the type would soon prove highly successful as a low to medium altitude tactical bomber, high altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day and night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike aircraft, fast photo-reconnaissance aircraft and even fast cargo transport.

  

Mosquito NZ2336 seen here had spent the past 64 years in storage in private ownership at Mapua near Nelson, having been purchased from the R.N.Z.A.F. in November 1956.

In 2020 the aircraft was transferred to Omaka on long term loan where a restoration project commenced with the object of preservation, conservation, repair, recreation and restoration, in that order to produce the aircraft seen on display today.

The aircraft was acquired carrying the silver R.N.Z.A.F. colours, but a close inspection during the restoration revealed the original wartime R.A.F. colours underneath and it is in those colours that it is presented today, nicely representing an aircraft flown by 487 (NZ) Squadron and specifically Ronnie Beazer as recounted above.

Yakovlev Yak-3Ua, ZK-VVS

The Yak 3 single seat Soviet fighter was one of the smallest and lightest combat fighters fielded by any of the combatants in WWII, with a remarkable power to weight ratio generated by it Kilmov V12 liquid cooled engine developing some 1,290hp against a take off weight of around 6,000lbs, compared for example with the FW190's BMW rotary developing 1677hp and take off weight of around 10,800lbs.

The Yak proved to be an excellent manoeuvrable dogfighter mostly used as a tactical fighter operating low over the battlefield and engaging enemy aircraft below 13,000 feet.

 

Developed from the earlier Yak 1 model just becoming operational when Operation Barbarossa was launched in June 1941, the Yak 3 went into development between 1942-43, entering service in the summer of 1944 proving to be an easy to handle, forgiving aircraft loved by both novice and experienced pilots alike.

On the 17th July 1944 eight Yaks attacked a German formation of sixty aircraft, including escorting fighters, shooting down three Ju87s and four Bf109Gs for no loss.

As to deficiencies in the Yak 3 design, problems included plywood surfaces delaminating during pull outs from steep dives, a short range of just 340 miles coupled with engine unreliability and problems with the pneumatic system, used rather than hydraulic or electrical in all Yak fighter types to save weight, and responsible for operating the landing gear, flaps and brakes.

This particular aircraft was one of the first of the new-build Yak 3's overseen by Sergey Yakovlev, son of the original designer, using original plans, for a limited production run, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, on the Orenburg production line, Russia.

Following a crash in the USA in 1999, it was sold to a New Zealand based airline pilot, Graeme Frew, who had it rebuilt at Omaka in 2004, taking to the air again in 2012, and now finished in the colours of the 4th Guard Fighter Division, 1st Guard Fighter Corps, based in Germany in 1947.

Lydia Litvyak

Alongside the Yak 3 is a marvellous manikin of the 'White Rose of Stalingrad', Russian female ace pilot Lydia Litvyak constructed by Weta Studios.

Lydia nicely represents the contribution made by female pilots fighting for the Soviet Union on the Russian front and her skill as a fighter pilot is undoubted even if her final tally before her death in combat is a matter of debate, ranging from five to twelve solo victories and and two to four shared in her sixty-six combat sorties, principally flying the Yak 1.

Her last mission was on August 1st 1943, after failing to return to her base Krasnyy Luch, and with comrades reporting seeing her get bounced by Bf 109's she had failed to spot whilst pressing her attack against a large group of German bombers.

It wasn't until 1979 that her body was finally discovered and the likely crash site identified, with her heroism formally recognised on the 6th May 1990 when President Mikhail Gorbachev awarded her posthumously the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

Lockheed Hudson NZ2049

The first RNZAF squadron to engage the Japanese in combat was No.3 BR (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron, with its detachment of six Hudsons, that arrived at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal  in November 1942 to relieve US dive bombers based at Henderson from scouting duties against Japanese shipping attempting to resupply their forces on the island.

On November 23rd, just the day after arriving at Henderson, NZ2049 was piloted by Flying Officer George E. Gudsell, when his crew spotted a Japanese tanker and two transports escorted by a destroyer, northwest of Guadalcanal.

As they approached the ships they were met by anti-aircraft fire and three Japanese floatplanes took off to engage Gudsell's aircraft, which he skilfully manoeuvred at altitudes as low as fifty feet, using maximum power applied to one engine or the other to out turn the attackers whilst the defensive armament kept them at bay, allowing the Hudson to evade pursuit and return safely to Henderson.

Three days later they were shadowing a convoy when they were attacked by three Zero's, putting the top turret out of action in their first attack, before concentrating their fire from astern, developing into a seventeen minute running battle at low altitude as Gudsell directed the aircraft from the astro-hatch as his co-pilot, Flying Officer McKechnie flew the aircraft, managing to escape to Henderson with no injuries to any of the crew.

F.O Gudsell would subsequently be awarded the US Air Medal for his efforts that day, the first Kiwi to be awarded a decoration in the Pacific theatre.

Hudson NZ2049 survived its tour of duty and returned to New Zealand, being sold post war, and ending up in long term storage before changing ownership and ending up at Omaka, where it is now seen displayed in its jungle diorama, with an option under consideration to eventually restore the grand old lady to flying condition.

Omaka is a remarkable collection of aircraft, displayed in a way that many other collections might take a note of, bringing to life in a static display their combat service and superbly evoking the history attached to them.

Next up, I will be looking to conclude our time spent in New Zealand with the second part of my post covering our onward journey around South Island, before the odyssey moves on to Australia.

More anon

JJ