Simviation Forum - Harvard/Texan/Wirraway/Boomerang

Dec 10^th, 2003 at 11:25pm

Felix/FFDS Offline
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The Prof, of course, brings to the fore an excellent family of aircraft, starting with the North American Basic Trainer - a fixed gear two seater.

Commonwealth, in Australia, obtained a license to manufacture the "Harvard" trainer, but, giving credence to my personal theory that Australians figure "If it hasn't broken yet, let's rip it apart and do something with it", developed the very useful Wirraway two seat attack plane, and single seat Boomerang fighter.

T-6/SNJ Texan in Action, by Squadron/Signal publications gives a detailed history of the various variants of the basic design, including the armed Texans/Harvards flown by the French and Belgians in Africa up to the sixties.

Felix/FFDS

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Reply #1 - Dec 11^th, 2003 at 1:20am

Flying Trucker Ex Member

It's been a while but I seem to recall the Israli Air Force using armed Harvards as well....maybe in their 1967 war?

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Reply #2 - Dec 11^th, 2003 at 2:32am

Professor Brensec Offline
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As Felix has said, a number of 'various variants' were made from the two Texans that were imported to Australia as a design model. 755 were built between 1939 and mid 1946.

There apparently were a few changes to the plane, not the least of which was the arming of it with 2 x Vickers .30's (whoopy-do, WWI here we come!), a rear guuners flexible .30 cal and bomb racks on the wings.

They were given the disignations CA1,3,5,7,8,10 & 16. CA10 was the Dive bomber variant with extra hard points and divebrakes. The Boomerang was the CA13 and the Kangaroo (of which only one was made) was the CA15, the first 500 mph propellor driven plane. CA 17 became the RAAF version of the F86 (with 4x20 mm cannon), something the Yanks didn't seem to cotton onto! Grin

They all had a 'D' shaped rudder, compared to the straighter Harvard rudder and a different intake under the engine cowling. Other than that they were Texans.

Here is a picture (left) of the particular plane that Felix and I were speaking about in a previous post - It is now in the Australian War Memorial. It has the honor of the only Wirraway to shoot down a Zero (even if it was a Zeke) Grin

as outlined in the account below.

Quote:

Popondetta, Papua, 1942-12-12. Two RAAF Wirraway aircraft stand on the grass shortly after landing close together at Popondetta airstrip. Before Wirraway A2-103 (left) had come to a complete stop, its pilot, Pilot Officer (PO) J. S. Archer, had leapt from the aircraft and run across to the Control Tent where he had found the Control Officer talking to NX34655 Captain Alan Oliver Watson, Dental Officer with the 2/4th Field Ambulance. Puffing hard, PO Archer exclaimed excitedly, 'Sir, sir, I think I've shot down a Zero!' To this the Control Officer replied, 'Don't be silly, Archer, Wirraways can't shoot down Zeros.' 'Well, sir,' continued Archer, 'I went in to look at the wreck off Gona and I saw this thing in front of me and it had red spots on it, so I gave it a burst and it appeared to fall into the sea.' Within a few minutes, a dozen telephone calls from observers all around the Gona area confirmed Archer's story. While on a tactical reconnaissance mission over the Japanese ship wrecked in the sea off Gona, 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. (Donor A. Watson) (Note: Archer's Wirraway is housed in the AWM.

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Reply #3 - Dec 11^th, 2003 at 2:33am

Professor Brensec Offline
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Quote:

It's been a while but I seem to recall the Israli Air Force using armed Harvards as well....maybe in their 1967 war?

They may well have had some Texans, but they also flew Csech Me109's against the Arab (of all things), Spifires!!

(Hitler would have turned over in his grave (if he had one). Jews flying Me109's!!

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Reply #4 - Dec 11^th, 2003 at 8:37am

Felix/FFDS Offline
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Quote:

It's been a while but I seem to recall the Israli Air Force using armed Harvards as well....maybe in their 1967 war?

The Harvard was flown by all sides in the Middle East, mostly ex-RAF stock. There is record of a Syrian Harvard gunner shooting down an Israeli fighter (Spit or Avia?). Unfortunately, the gunner was killed in a later flight in a different airplane.

Several months ago, Air Enthusiast magazine (another of my favorite publications from Key Publishing) had a pictorial on Arab Harvards ... (and you thought I got all my information from google.co.uk)

Felix/FFDS

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Reply #5 - Dec 11^th, 2003 at 5:02pm

Professor Brensec Offline
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Firstly, a correction to my previous post. The Boomerang was the CA12 (not 13 as indicated). Also I referred to the guns as Vickers .30's (they were in fact, .303 - a fine point, but still, incorrect). Grin

Felix, these Havards that the Arabs and Israelis were using. Did they have any kind of improved guns?
Surely, they couldn't posslbly have still been using the 2 x .303's in the '60's. ???

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Reply #6 - Dec 11^th, 2003 at 6:11pm

Felix/FFDS Offline
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Quote:

Firstly, a correction to my previous post. The Boomerang was the CA12 (not 13 as indicated). Also I referred to the guns as Vickers .30's (they were in fact, .303 - a fine point, but still, incorrect). Grin

Felix, these Havards that the Arabs and Israelis were using. Did they have any kind of improved guns?
Surely, they couldn't posslbly have still been using the 2 x .303's in the '60's. ???

In the '48 war, the Texan/Harvard constituted the main Syrian fighter/attack plane - typically mounting the ubiquitoous Browning .30 cal on pintle mounting.

Through the ' 50s and '60s, the French and Belgian armed Texans with 50 cal gun pods...

Felix/FFDS

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