WWII Pacific 1943-44 Private Collection of Pics - RAAF Intelligence Officer
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WWII Pacific 1943-44 Private Collection of Pics - RAAF Intelligence Officer
Hi folks,
I share these thanks to a friend, the Grandson of Joe Hogan (RAAF Intelligence Officer), who has allowed me to start scanning the collection and share it for all to enjoy. There are 6 folders of materials but I was so keen to start sharing I took these pictures with my iPhone.
Note the nose art and name of the A/C in one pic "there tis" and the amazing sequence of a terrible incident where bomb blasts for one A/C destroy a following A/C as it runs into the target.
Enjoy.
Regards
Andrew
Edit to add notes (hard to read so may misinterpret) on rear of picture: N. Cocret Ceram - Lugger - 27/8/44
medium altitude bombing hires by Andrew, on Flickr
working...
Edit to add high resolution image of Minimum Altitude Bombing. (was iphone snap)
A-20 Boston Attack Version with Solid nose by Andrew, on Flickr
Edit to add high resolution image of A-20 Boston Attack Version (thanks to member "onetrack" for identification)
I share these thanks to a friend, the Grandson of Joe Hogan (RAAF Intelligence Officer), who has allowed me to start scanning the collection and share it for all to enjoy. There are 6 folders of materials but I was so keen to start sharing I took these pictures with my iPhone.
Note the nose art and name of the A/C in one pic "there tis" and the amazing sequence of a terrible incident where bomb blasts for one A/C destroy a following A/C as it runs into the target.
Enjoy.
Regards
Andrew
Edit to add notes (hard to read so may misinterpret) on rear of picture: N. Cocret Ceram - Lugger - 27/8/44
medium altitude bombing hires by Andrew, on Flickrworking...
Edit to add high resolution image of Minimum Altitude Bombing. (was iphone snap)
A-20 Boston Attack Version with Solid nose by Andrew, on FlickrEdit to add high resolution image of A-20 Boston Attack Version (thanks to member "onetrack" for identification)
Last edited by wrxflame; 19th Sep 2016 at 07:29.
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Truly amazing photos, and in particular with regard to clarity.
I can recall reading a Japanese survivors account of the Allied attacks on Japanese shipping out of Rabaul.
The Japanese were distraught at the dreadful shipping losses, and their inability to effectively counter the daring air attacks.
In particular the survivor related the most-feared, low-level attacks were by the RAAF Beaufighters, who came up from behind, and strafed the Jap ships from virtually sea-level, with devastating effect.
Air Force News :: History
I can recall reading a Japanese survivors account of the Allied attacks on Japanese shipping out of Rabaul.
The Japanese were distraught at the dreadful shipping losses, and their inability to effectively counter the daring air attacks.
In particular the survivor related the most-feared, low-level attacks were by the RAAF Beaufighters, who came up from behind, and strafed the Jap ships from virtually sea-level, with devastating effect.
Air Force News :: History
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Glad to share and will continue to capture the content as best I can while I work out a good way to share the entire collection. So you guys get to see them first.
Onetrack, excellent story and I believe this image adds validity beyond doubt! Trust people will not be offended by the language, none is intended.
Onetrack, excellent story and I believe this image adds validity beyond doubt! Trust people will not be offended by the language, none is intended.
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It was only after scanning the above picture at high resolution that I was able to see the Japanese sailors cowering behind the superstructure. Just a stunning image, as is this one showing a skip bombing attack. I didn't realise this tactic was employed until now.
Last edited by wrxflame; 18th Sep 2016 at 09:06.
Is it just me or is the aircraft that gets destroyed trailing smoke prior to getting caught in the preceding aircraft's bomb blasts? (I zoomed the first and second images under 'Minimum Altitude Bombing').
They may have been hit beforehand, and it looks like the smoke is coming from the fuselage, pretty serious trouble for the crew.
They may have been hit beforehand, and it looks like the smoke is coming from the fuselage, pretty serious trouble for the crew.
Last edited by Captain Dart; 18th Sep 2016 at 10:48.
They may have been hit beforehand, and it looks like the smoke is coming from the fuselage, pretty serious trouble for the crew.
The relevant caption does say that the smoke is from gunfire.
VMT for posting these outstanding photographs, WRXFlame - awaiting more with great interest.
Jack
The relevant caption does say that the smoke is from gunfire.
VMT for posting these outstanding photographs, WRXFlame - awaiting more with great interest.
Jack
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The unmarked photo below the WW2 war map of Europe and Britain, shows a Douglas A-20 ("Boston bomber") banking away after its bombing run, with the bomb bay doors still open.
I can't identify this aircraft precisely, it could be a USAAF aircraft, or it could one of the A-20's operated by 22 Sqdn RAAF.
The general lack of markings is puzzling, although the starboard engine is blocking any markings on the rear of the fuselage.
I'm tending towards the opinion it's one of the RAAF A-20's.
The aircraft shows a smooth nose and lacks the nose blisters common to many of the various A-20 models. Many of the RAAF A-20's display nose blisters, but not all. Unfortunately, good photos of all the RAAF A-20's are in short supply, so it makes ID very difficult.
I can't identify the harbour in the attack precisely, but it's not Rabaul. I suspect it may be Manokwari, New Guinea (now Indonesia), where an attack on Jap shipping was carried out by Bostons in April 1944.
The poor old Bostons had a bad run with the RAAF. A number were lost in training accidents, and at least two, and possibly others, were destroyed, when fragmentation bombs bounced back into the fuselage and exploded.
Then the Japs launched a savage air attack on Morotai airfield in Nov 1944, and caught a large number of RAAF aircraft on the ground. I think around nine Bostons were destroyed in that attack.
ADF serials - Douglas A-20
I can't identify this aircraft precisely, it could be a USAAF aircraft, or it could one of the A-20's operated by 22 Sqdn RAAF.
The general lack of markings is puzzling, although the starboard engine is blocking any markings on the rear of the fuselage.
I'm tending towards the opinion it's one of the RAAF A-20's.
The aircraft shows a smooth nose and lacks the nose blisters common to many of the various A-20 models. Many of the RAAF A-20's display nose blisters, but not all. Unfortunately, good photos of all the RAAF A-20's are in short supply, so it makes ID very difficult.
I can't identify the harbour in the attack precisely, but it's not Rabaul. I suspect it may be Manokwari, New Guinea (now Indonesia), where an attack on Jap shipping was carried out by Bostons in April 1944.
The poor old Bostons had a bad run with the RAAF. A number were lost in training accidents, and at least two, and possibly others, were destroyed, when fragmentation bombs bounced back into the fuselage and exploded.
Then the Japs launched a savage air attack on Morotai airfield in Nov 1944, and caught a large number of RAAF aircraft on the ground. I think around nine Bostons were destroyed in that attack.
ADF serials - Douglas A-20
The poor old Bostons had a bad run with the RAAF.
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Dora-9 - Yes, I have also been told the A-20 was a delight to fly, a real "pilots aeroplane", with light controls, no nasty inbuilt handling problems, simple to learn the controls on, plenty of power, excellent one-engine-out handling, good range and speed, and plenty of armament.
The only downsides on the A-20 appear to be the flaps were slow in operation and not as effective as they should have been.
Coupled with a high takeoff speed of 100mph, this made grass-airstrip operations risky, and the A-20 needed good-length sealed runways to reduce the crash risk.
The production story of the A-20 is a classic of constantly-changing specifications, and models built for specific countries that had major design changes, that made them incompatible with British and American designs.
The ones the RAAF got, were only acquired by accident. They were originally ordered by the Netherlands and were on their way to the Dutch East Indies.
However, the Japs were moving so fast, the ships carrying the A-20's couldn't unload in Dutch held territory, as it had all been captured by the Japs - so the Dutch A-20's were unloaded in Australia.
Despite the RAAF being delighted with the windfall, their delight was tempered when they found all the cockpit instructions labelled in Dutch, along with all the maintenance and operation manuals written in Dutch as well!
Of the 270 A-20's ordered by the French before France fell, 200 were diverted to Britain. The British then found the French A-20's had metric instruments, radios that weren't compatible with British radios, and throttles that operated in reverse to the British and American design!
It appears there were two main types of A-20 - the attack version which had a solid nose - and the bomber version which had a glazed nose with a compartment for a bombardier.
The A-20 in the above photo appears to be the solid nose, attack version.
There's a good "write-up" on the A-20 models and history, in the link below.
Douglas A-20
Addendum - I've since found that thirteen A-20's were lost in the Japs Morotai attack in November 1944. This must have been quite a demoralising blow to the RAAF blokes.
The only downsides on the A-20 appear to be the flaps were slow in operation and not as effective as they should have been.
Coupled with a high takeoff speed of 100mph, this made grass-airstrip operations risky, and the A-20 needed good-length sealed runways to reduce the crash risk.
The production story of the A-20 is a classic of constantly-changing specifications, and models built for specific countries that had major design changes, that made them incompatible with British and American designs.
The ones the RAAF got, were only acquired by accident. They were originally ordered by the Netherlands and were on their way to the Dutch East Indies.
However, the Japs were moving so fast, the ships carrying the A-20's couldn't unload in Dutch held territory, as it had all been captured by the Japs - so the Dutch A-20's were unloaded in Australia.
Despite the RAAF being delighted with the windfall, their delight was tempered when they found all the cockpit instructions labelled in Dutch, along with all the maintenance and operation manuals written in Dutch as well!
Of the 270 A-20's ordered by the French before France fell, 200 were diverted to Britain. The British then found the French A-20's had metric instruments, radios that weren't compatible with British radios, and throttles that operated in reverse to the British and American design!
It appears there were two main types of A-20 - the attack version which had a solid nose - and the bomber version which had a glazed nose with a compartment for a bombardier.
The A-20 in the above photo appears to be the solid nose, attack version.
There's a good "write-up" on the A-20 models and history, in the link below.
Douglas A-20
Addendum - I've since found that thirteen A-20's were lost in the Japs Morotai attack in November 1944. This must have been quite a demoralising blow to the RAAF blokes.
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I'm enjoying the additional information on the A-20 and had a quick look to see if I could find images around the banking unmarked A-20 to help identify it or the location, no luck yet. Here are a couple more that I scanned at better resolutions and I did add new hi-res to the Minimum Level Bombing image to allow closer inspection.
joe hogan_0002 by Andrew, on Flickr
bomb about to hit destroyer new hanover 1943 by Andrew, on Flickr
joe hogan_0002 by Andrew, on Flickrbomb about to hit destroyer new hanover 1943 by Andrew, on Flickr
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I'm no war historian, however, the urge to find out anything I can about some of these images is driving me that way. For example the B-24 nickname "Here T'is" being the first image I posted has a whole back story that is both sad yet has a somewhat happy ending for the family of the crew many years later.
B-24D-170-CO "Here T'is" Serial Number 42-72946
Pacific Wrecks - B-24D-170-CO "Here T'is" Serial Number 42-72946
Mission History
On April 16, 1944 took off from Nadzab Airfield (No 3) on a bombing mission over Annenburg-Hollandia. Last seen 50 miles north of Faita at 2,000' on a 90 bearing, in bad weather, much of it instrument flying, when the formation in which this airplane was flying broke up. The pilot was instructed to take a heading for Saidor and proceed by himself. He acknowledged and stated he was gaining altitude. This was the last radio contact.
Later found in 2001 as per the link.
B-24D-170-CO "Here T'is" Serial Number 42-72946
Pacific Wrecks - B-24D-170-CO "Here T'is" Serial Number 42-72946
Mission History
On April 16, 1944 took off from Nadzab Airfield (No 3) on a bombing mission over Annenburg-Hollandia. Last seen 50 miles north of Faita at 2,000' on a 90 bearing, in bad weather, much of it instrument flying, when the formation in which this airplane was flying broke up. The pilot was instructed to take a heading for Saidor and proceed by himself. He acknowledged and stated he was gaining altitude. This was the last radio contact.
Later found in 2001 as per the link.
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PARNELL JOB
Enlarged crop form next image. To my eyes it looks to be nicknamed "PARNELL JOB". I have tried to research that name but no luck so far.
B25 Wakde Island 11 May 1944 close crop by Andrew, on Flickr
B25 Wakde Island 11 May 1944 by Andrew, on Flickr
F1 shipping close up by Andrew, on Flickr
B25 Wakde Island 11 May 1944 close crop by Andrew, on FlickrB25 Wakde Island 11 May 1944 by Andrew, on FlickrF1 shipping close up by Andrew, on Flickr
Looks to be "Pannell" rather than "Parnell":
Pacific Wrecks - B-25D-5 "Red Wrath / Pannell Job" Serial Number 41-30024
Pacific Wrecks - B-25D-5 "Red Wrath / Pannell Job" Serial Number 41-30024
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Thanks for the ID Vzlet, so many of these aircraft were lost...such brave souls who flew them.
I'll probably leave this thread as is now as there is too much content that I could add and probably not the best place.
I will leave you this as a final image, when I scanned it at higher resolution I noticed what looked like shell casings falling from below the nose, yet the nose guns look silent. Then I saw what looking like guns on the fuselage near the wing as sure enough the B25's had guns there! Also note the parafrags being dropped by the higher aircraft.
Signing off for now.
Low level bomber attack Hollandia by Andrew, on Flickr
I'll probably leave this thread as is now as there is too much content that I could add and probably not the best place.
I will leave you this as a final image, when I scanned it at higher resolution I noticed what looked like shell casings falling from below the nose, yet the nose guns look silent. Then I saw what looking like guns on the fuselage near the wing as sure enough the B25's had guns there! Also note the parafrags being dropped by the higher aircraft.
Signing off for now.
Low level bomber attack Hollandia by Andrew, on Flickr
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That made me smile Stanwell.
I'll have to post another now....
Parafrag run over a Japanese bomber still intact from previous attack.
Parafrags at Work by Andrew, on Flickr
I'll have to post another now....
Parafrag run over a Japanese bomber still intact from previous attack.
Parafrags at Work by Andrew, on Flickr
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Had some time to scan a few more images and this one stands out as you can see the Japanese crew running from the just landed a/c (MC20 Topsy) attacked 22 July 44 by Aussie Beaufighters.
merge parafrag drop by Andrew, on Flickr
merge parafrag drop by Andrew, on Flickr