Orsetralian Mystery Aircraft

[karrank]

I quite enjoy the mystery planes put up by seacue & others & wanted to do one myself. Unfortunately anal OZ webmasters seem to ALWAYS put the name of the aircraft in the URL, so this one's a bit easy. EVERY Aussie should know this, so give somebody else a go??

What am I?

[tharg]

Do believe yer resplendent flying machine is a Commonwealth Aircraft Co Wirraway. Made in Oz under license from N American (Harvard, or variant thereof??)

Heard tell that one had a pop at an A6M one time... Did it win?

[karrank]

Well and instantly done

While on a tactical reconnaissance mission over the Japanese ship wrecked in the sea off Gona, PO J.S. Archer and his observer, Sergeant J.F. Coulston, had sighted the Zero 1,000 feet below. After diving on the Japanese aircraft, they had fired a long burst into it with the Wirraway's two Vickers .303 machine guns, causing the Zero to crash into the sea. Archer was later awarded the DFC for his exploit.

It was a licence built NA-16 (fore-runner to the Harvard). An RAF advisor sent out to inspect our fledgling military aviation industry was appalled at us building Yank hardware, thought a more appropriate and military idea would be to build Wapitis.....

[CoodaShooda]

karrank

I seem to recall reading a while back that the historical revisionists (who weren't there at the time) are now claiming that Archer did not shoot down an A6M but another (undetermined) type of radial engined, low winged Japanese fighter type.

Personally, I think that anyone who went to war against the Japs in a 2 seat trainer deserves a damn sight more than a DFC. To actually score a kill in one................

[Fris B. Fairing]

tharg

"Did it win?"

You bet it did. Indeed the actual Wirraway (A20-103) survives in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Cheers

[tharg]

karrank - your kind words much appreciated. Just got lucky with timing - and fact that still have much treasured book "Aircraft of the Fighting Powers" (pub. 1943-ish) featuring Wirraway.

Messrs Fris and Cooda - couldn't agree more re gong for Archer. I mean - in those circ's - you see a low-wing beastie with big red circles on it, you gotta believe it's a Zero. So even if it turns out to be a Zeke, it'd take same amount of bottle to go for it.

Oh yeah - Wapitis. Well they might have made the other side die - laughing. Looks like cross between broken greenhouse and busted sofa.

Keep your Aardvarks flying, gents. Good, wholesome, proper aeroplanes! One day, I might get over to your neck of the woods and see one do that fuel-dump thing

[Woomera]

Interesting duplication of RAAF serial numbers.........

"Three 707-368Cs were delivered in March 1988. Two were serialled A20-103 and A20-261..........."

A20-103 was also the B707 which crashed 29 October 1991, off the coast of Victoria.

[karrank]

Well! Woomera, is this a direction the investigation didn't investigate? Did they actually find the wreck and check for vengeful zero-sized bullet holes innit??

Erm, Tharg, I think the Zero-sen (Jap common name) was also the Zeke (Goober reporting name), did you mean an Oscar?

Dump & burn with three Pigs (RAAF name) in a bomb-burst at dusk was brilliant a couple of Avalons ago. Another at night over Canberra recently generated 2000-odd phone enquiries from locals that suspected terrorist activity

Love your description of the Wapiti, still like to see one flying.

[LowNSlow]

I thought the Wirraway was a bit more than a licence bit Harvard? I vaguely recall that although it looked like a Harvard, the only commonality was the engine?

[LowNSlow]

I sit corrected Speechless two

[Deaf]

Re RAAF serial numbers there have been three Axx series

1st - A1 - de Havilland DH.9A

2nd - A1 - Hawker Demon

3rd - A1 - Bell 47G

For the full details

http://www.adf-serials.com/