Read the forum code of contact
Posts: 1,306
By: - 20th May 2012 at 04:37 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Very intriguing. I for one have never heard of this outfit, nor the aircraft coming to NZ. I'll put out some feelers and see what comes out of it :-)
By: - 20th May 2012 at 04:50 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I, for one, am very glad they are out of PNG. I don't think they would've survived otherwise....
And despite what Pacific Wrecks says, the recoveries were legit.
By: - 20th May 2012 at 19:00 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Very intriguing. I for one have never heard of this outfit, nor the aircraft coming to NZ. I'll put out some feelers and see what comes out of it :-)Thank you. I'd love to hear whatever your feelers can unearth. Good luck :)
I, for one, am very glad they are out of PNG. I don't think they would've survived otherwise....
And despite what Pacific Wrecks says, the recoveries were legit.
I am in two minds about this: Papua New Guinea does deserve to have its WWII history preserved on its own soil like any country. But with the corrupt PNG Museum bureaucracy that seems willing to sell its assets -and who is to say its not just to reputable collectors and not scrap merchents too- and an inability, both financially and motivationally, to preserve those relics I do have agree with you.
I do think this might lurch towards a thread diversion and the rights and wrongs of aircraft recovery in PNG are worthy of a thread all in itself (preferably lined with shuttle heat shields) :D.
By: - 21st May 2012 at 03:12 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Book learning....
Recommended reading for some of the history of these Rabaul aeroplanes is Henry Sakaida's "The Siege of Rabaul" ISBN 1-883809-09-6.
Posts: 352
By: Supermarine305 - 18th May 2012 at 15:54
Here is a little puzzle that has really got me wondering -probably because it gives a twinge of hope for two fantastic restorations (or at least dioramas): According to PacificWrecks.com the B5N2 Kate and Ki 46 Dinah were removed from Rabaul in '05 and are now in New Zealand under the care of the enigmatic '75 Squadron' and are up for sale (But PW has been saying that for ages now).
Web page for the Kate
Web page for the Dinah
Out of interest the history of these two aircraft were touched upon in a much, much earlier thread here.
Has anyone has any more information on these aircraft, their current state and likely future?
And who exactly are 75 Squadron? They seem to be sitting on several aircraft if PW is to be believed.