41st Fighter Sqn at Bankstown Aust, including the Swoose?

[Mark_Pilkington]

While surfing the net for some photos and information to support an upcoming museum event I found these photos of the US 41st Fighter Sqn at Banktown in Australia, and thought they would be of interest here?

Surely the B17C can only be the Swoose?



http://www.flickr.com/photos/peacelovescoobie/5703742815/

WWII RAAF Bankstown Aerodrome 41st Fighter Squadron USAAC
My Dad was a Master Sergeant, and mechanic, with the 41st Fighter (Pursuit) Squadron. This the Bankstown Aerodrome outside of Sydney June 1942 and a Boeing B-17C Flying Fortress.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peacelovescoobie/5703742879/

WWII RAAF Bankstown Aerodrome 41st Fighter Squadron USAAC
My Dad was a Master sergeant, and mechanic, with the 41st Fighter (Pursuit) Squadron. This is the Bankstown Aerodrome outside of Sydney June 1942. There is a B-17C Flying Fortress, P-39 Airacobra, several P-40 Warhawks. Also, I'm not sure what type of older, possibly, trainer. Does anyone recognize?

Regards

Mark Pilkington

[Jollygreenslugg]

G'day Mark,

I'm pretty sure that there were at least several shark-tailed Forts in Australia. B-17C, 40-2072, crashed near Mackay in 1943, with the loss of 40 lives. By then, that Fort had long-since been converted to transport use, but it still shows that the Swoose wasn't the only early B-17 in Australia.

I'm most interested to see what answers flow from your question, and top pics.

Cheers,
Matt

[Mark_Pilkington]

Actually Matt my comment about it being the Swoose was more due to the duck/goose? looking artwork on the nose in the second photo.

But yes, it could be another B17C in Australia, but surely two didnt carry bird related nose art?

regards

Mark Pilkington

[CDF]

Could be a pic of B-17C 40-2072 'Pamela/Miss E.M.F taken earlier the same day (same flickr album)

[Jollygreenslugg]

G'day Mark,

Sorry if my comments came across poorly. Your eyes are better than mine, as I didn't see the nose art. Funny, I always thought that the Swoose only had the bird aft of the wing, on a big circular background. I know it had flags on the RHS of the nose later on, but I'm open to correction as to bird art on the nose.

Fascinating stuff nonetheless.

Cheers,
Matt

[Dan K]

Also, I'm not sure what type of older, possibly, trainer. Does anyone recognize?

Mark Pilkington

I'm sure I'm not the only one to recognize a Curtiss CW-22 (most likely a survivor of the Dutch order).


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss-Wright_CW-22

[Steve Nelson]

I don't think it's the Swoose. .she's a D-model. The main the external difference is the cowl flaps..they were introduce on the D, and the C in the photos doesn't have them. The aircraft in the pics also has a wavy demarcation between the upper and lower colors. Every pic I've seen of the Swoose shows a straight-line separation.

Cool pics though..always love seeing photos of the early "shark-tail" Forts.

SN

[jdvoss]

The Swoose? I don't think so. Reason being that the photos I've seen of the Swoose show it to be a rather 'scruffy' (i.e. sad looking) airplane. In the Phillipines it (among others) was given a rather fast and furious rough camoflauge paint job using paint brushes, rags and anything else handy to cover the surviving shiny B-17s. The photos I've seen of the Swoose show it to have a wrap-around O.D. paint and it looks pretty battered. (re: "Fortess in the Sky" by Peter Bowers) pp.72-73). The Bankstown B-17 photo shows a rather crisp O.D. with light grey on the underside.

The Bankstown airfield must have been an interesting field during the war. It was a base for the USAAF, RAAF, Royal Navy as well as the site of the de Havilland factory for the Mosquito aircraft production.

[43-2195]

Mark, Great photos. Thanks. The 41st have certainly been short changed in the Fifth Air Force Publicity Department, with a real lack of books, models, etc...