Geriaviator (#10401),
,,,My father was posted to India in 1945 to join the Japanese offensive. My mother and I joined him at Poona in early 1946...
This has me puzzled. In August 1945 it was all over bar the shouting. You would be waiting for a troopship back to UK. Why would a family come out to join you (presumably at their own expense) in India at that point ? Doesn't make sense. Or was it some sort of "indulgence" passage (as you only arrived in '45, you'd be on the end of the queue for repatriation). How long did you have to wait in fact?
...I saw a monster aeroplane waddling in...
What a perfect description of a VV ! (it waddled in the air as on the ground) I still recall the shock when I saw the things for the first time at Madhaiganj - and the horror when they told me that i'd have to fly them, and not the Spitfires I expected !
...I remember thinking the pilot wasn't very good at steering...
As the owner of a R22 at Biggin would ruefully agree (Bird in a Biplane !). and you and your mother must've felt the heat that first year.
Cheers, Danny