Will the real EZ999 please step forward ?

[BBadanov]

Danny,

I don't know if Slow Flyer will like being referred to as a horse! But with his useful input here he has been a thoroughbred.

Interesting aspect of the Bill of Lading, which might fill in some gaps of its early life. In May 1943 it was shipped to Sydney, to No 2 Stores Depot (2SD) in its crate. The SD was in the Sydney suburb of Regent's Park. It then appears to have remained in its crate.

Slow Flyer reports: "The photos I've seen of the VV during it's time at the Tech College show it was overall silver (possibly devoid of paint)."

So at what stage was it stripped of its RAF’s 'Temperate Land Scheme' camouflage and 'Type A1' roundels? Not at 2SD, this activity is beyond their remit - it would be the job of an Aircraft Depot. The local AD was 2AD at RAAF Richmond, on Sydney's north-western outskirts. So would the crate be transported out from Regent's Park to Richmond, with EZ999 removed from the crate, paint stripped, and repacked to then be transported back into Sydney to the Tech College in Ultimo? Considering that this would have been gifted, I don't think the RAAF would have gone to this much effort.

So it was probably stripped of its paint by the Sydney Technical College students, and possibly as part of their syllabus. Perhaps done in smallish sections for each subsequent class. Who knows? But this Mk.IA's early history is coming together.


Edit: I have erred, by assuming that EZ999 remained stored at 2SD, in fact according to its history it went to 2AD in 1943, presumably on arrival by ship in Sydney ex-LA.
Rec 2AD ex USA 20/06/43.
Rec 2AD 30/10/44.
Issued 2CRD ex 2AD for storage 12/02/46.
Authorised for write off 16/05/46.
Rec 2AD ex 2CRD 05/06/46.
Approval to transfer to RANFAA for ground instruction 27/04/48. Cancelled 11/06/48.
Passed to DAP 24/06/48. Issued to DAP 17/09/48. SOC 06/09/49.

So some storage at 2CRD (which I assume to be 2 Crash Repair Depot), location? Possibly based at Richmond as well. Its history says "passed to DAP (Dept of Aircraft Production)1948" - but this might have been a paperwork transfer which often happened, and not a physical move from Richmond. Struck off Charge (SOC) 6 SEP 1949 probably represents the time of gifting to Ultimo.