By Matt Poole Today is the 70th anniversary of the downing of 355 Sqn Liberator KH250, hit by AA fire during an attack on Port Blair, S. Andaman Island (the westernmost point of Japanese expansion, I believe) on 17 May…
Category: India
The Photo Album of Cpl George Kennedy 991267 RAF
Memoirs of Sgt Fred Whittaker – Hurricane Pilot
Memoir of Fred Whittaker of 30 Sqdn Fred Whittaker took part in 30 Sqdn’s battle with the Japanese in Ceylon in April ’42. He wrote a short memoir of his wartime activities. The following is a transcription of notes Fred Whittaker…
A Vengeance crash at Begumpet, Hyderabad, India, 72 years ago.
Almost exactly to the day, 72 years ago, two Australians lost their lives taking off from Begumpet Airfield in Hyderabad, India. The accident happened when Vengeance AN944, an aircraft newly built and inducted into service by No.82 Squadron RAF,…
War Establishment of a Hurricane Squadron
Ever wondered what was the Unit establishment of a Hurricane Squadron? How many pilots, Sgt Pilots, airmen, mechanics, warrant offices, fitters, armourers etc was it authorised? or how many Dhobis, Cooks, Sweepers and Mess Waiters it had on strength (only…
A POW’s memoir – Plt Offr Kenneth McKellar White (Rangoon 1942)
By Hugh Halliday Letter written by P/O Kenneth McKellar White (RAAF) respecting loss of Hudson AE523, No.62 Squadron, 9 September 1942. Precisely how this came to reach his family (and authorities) is unclear, but a copy ended up in the…
No.151 Operational Training Unit – an airman’s album
Recently I got a set of photographs purchased from Jim Payne ( http://www.throughtheireyes.co.uk) . Jim had procured the album of an RAF airman K D Griffiths who was posted at No.151 Operational Training Unit at Peshawar. The Album features 24 pages of…
Air Routes India (229 Group – Transport Command)
This is a war time folder showing the Air Routes in India published by 229 Group of Transport Command. The folder has pages providing details of several war time staging airfields in India, starting with Karachi and its surroundings and…
Westland Wapiti K2297 pranged at Razmak
From the Wapiti Files: Razmak was a treacherous airfield at 5000 feet altitude up a mountain, halfway between Peshawar and Miranshah. It was deeply rutted by flowing waters, and quoted by a pilot as “a pocket handkerchief pasted onto the lower slopes…
WW2 era Radial engine wreck recovered in Manipur, India
In January 2014, a group of enthusiasts from Kounu Lairembi thougal lup, and students from “The Kumari’s Woodstalks School” explored the area of Kounu Larembi in Manipur, India and recovered a wrecked radial engine. The engine appears to be a Pratt…