Trove of ‘secret’ wartime photos found in albums kept by Asahi News lensman

[Gmat]

Article from Asahi Evening News. Some wartime photos selected from a collection of albums taken by a civilian photographer. One photo shows an allied aircraft dump on Java? with wrecked aircraft including two buffalos and a B-17 and a Martin 139 among others.

 

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/photo/AS20181113004672.html

 

Grant

Edited November 13, 2018 by Gmat

[mhaselden]

Actually, there are 4 Brewsters in the photo.  I think I make out the serials B-397 and B-3156.  

 

It's not a photo I've seen before.  Thanks for sharing.

[stevehnz]

Is that an Albacore tail resting against a Proctor in the fore ground?

Steve.

[mhaselden]

I think it's actually a Miles Whitney Straight rather than a Proctor.  

 

Not sure what you are identifying as a tail.  There's certainly the skeleton of a fabric-covered aircraft, perhaps a Fokker trainer used by the ML-KNIL?

[LDSModeller]

Oh for a time machine to "Rescue" or "Liberate" the two Buffalo's at least

[JohnMacG]

The 'Whitney Straight@ could be one of the Malayan Volunteer AF a/c  evacuated first to Sumatra and then Java..

What's the a/c in the distance under the B-17 wing?

[Sabrejet]

10 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Is that an Albacore tail resting against a Proctor in the fore ground?

Steve.

Certainly distinctive with external ribbing. One to ponder. Whitney Straight/Monarch front centre is very interesting.

[Graham Boak]

The left foreground example appears to be  Martin bomber of some variant.  That is certainly not an RAF/FAA serial.

[mhaselden]

The left foreground tail js a B-10/WH139 of the ML-KNIL.

[Paul J]

15 hours ago, mhaselden said:

I think it's actually a Miles Whitney Straight rather than a Proctor.  

 

Not sure what you are identifying as a tail.  There's certainly the skeleton of a fabric-covered aircraft, perhaps a Fokker trainer used by the ML-KNIL?

Quite right Not a Proctor But certainly a Miles.

[stevehnz]

Thanks all for putting me right.  My IDs were purely speculative & I was sure some grown ups would happen along to set me straight, thanks.

Steve.

[Dave Fleming]

[Dave Fleming]

22 hours ago, JohnMacG said:

 

What's the a/c in the distance under the B-17 wing?

 

Looks like another Buffalo

[mhaselden]

It is.  There are 4 Brewsters in total visible in the pic: B-397? nearest the camera, B-3156 at the left of frame, a Brewster with 'O' on the fin visible through the skeletal rudder of the B-10, and then the last one on the far side of the B-17's Port wing.

 

The Whitney Straight is almost certainly a MVAF airframe, unless it was commandeered by the RAF for general communications duties.

Edited November 15, 2018 by mhaselden

[Dave Fleming]

59 minutes ago, mhaselden said:

The Whitney Straight is almost certainly a MVAF airframe, unless it was commandeered by the RAF for general communications duties.

 

Which is interesting as it's the first MVAF photo I recall seeing showing a camo'd aircraft with roundels

[mhaselden]

I suspect the wing at the front right of the photo is actually an outer wing panel from a B-10/WH-139.  It has 3 black numerals on the leading edge which match this image of the type in Dutch East Indies service:

 

[Dave Swindell]

7 hours ago, mhaselden said:

B-397? nearest the camera

I'm seeing B-297? ???

[mhaselden]

2 minutes ago, Dave Swindell said:

I'm seeing B-297? ???

 

Problem is the first-ordered Brewster for the Dutch was serial B-395.  I think the "2" is an optical illusion caused by the fuselage frame in the foreground.  

[Andwil]

Should allow Japanese modellers to build models of heavily weathered and unairworthy allied aircraft 😜

 

AW

[Ed Russell]

On 11/16/2018 at 12:51 AM, Dave Fleming said:

Which is interesting as it's the first MVAF photo I recall seeing showing a camo'd aircraft with roundels

 

This is an account by Sgt Pilot Reginald V E Nathan (born 1916 in Singapore, enlisted in RAAF in May 1942) and accompanies a painting of two Tiger Moths (he is flying #29) and is dated 12 February 1942.

 

The caption reads We flew in pairs with No.2 stepped down so that he would not collide with No 1 if it made a sudden turn towards him.

 

The text reads (in part) When Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939 all civilian aircraft operated by flying clubs in Malaya were requisitioned by the RAF. Included were aircraft such as the Tiger Moth, Moth Major, Miles Magister, Hornet Moth, Whitney Straight, Avro Cadet, Moth Minor and DH Dragonfly. They were then known as the Malayan Volunteer. Air Force and camouflaged in dark jungle green and brown. The RAF roundels painted on the wings and fuselage did not have any white showing. The registration letters for each aircraft were located at the rear of the fuselage with small letters and numbers painted in black.

 

If this is accurate maybe this below is what happened

unless it was commandeered by the RAF for general communications duties.

[Graham Boak]

Or altered in the two years leading up to the surrender.

[Dave Fleming]

6 hours ago, Ed Russell said:

 

This is an account by Sgt Pilot Reginald V E Nathan (born 1916 in Singapore, enlisted in RAAF in May 1942) and accompanies a painting of two Tiger Moths (he is flying #29) and is dated 12 February 1942.

 

The caption reads We flew in pairs with No.2 stepped down so that he would not collide with No 1 if it made a sudden turn towards him.

 

The text reads (in part) When Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939 all civilian aircraft operated by flying clubs in Malaya were requisitioned by the RAF. Included were aircraft such as the Tiger Moth, Moth Major, Miles Magister, Hornet Moth, Whitney Straight, Avro Cadet, Moth Minor and DH Dragonfly. They were then known as the Malayan Volunteer. Air Force and camouflaged in dark jungle green and brown. The RAF roundels painted on the wings and fuselage did not have any white showing. The registration letters for each aircraft were located at the rear of the fuselage with small letters and numbers painted in black.

 

If this is accurate maybe this below is what happened

 

 

 

 

Interesting, thanks for that Ed - the mention of (apparent) red/blue roundels in 1939 especially! As Graham says, it could be that things changed as the RAF changed their roundel styles over the years. There are a few photos of BVAF aircraft, but MVAF ones (in camo) remain elusive!