My informant Douglas Beveridge has sent in a picture of an aircraft (believed to be a Kittyhawk fighter**) being recovered from Umhlanga Beach in 1942. Does anyone know anything about the crash?
** Added 15 April 2013: See comments below for what the aircraft might really have been.
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Graham Read
Hi Allan
I asked Alan Taylor (SAAF Museum) about the photos and he replied that if the number just aft of the “K” can be supplied then he can positively identify the aircraft. If it is what looks like “256*” then it is most definitely a Curtiss 75 (P-36) Mohawk Mk 4 – the SAAF tail numbers ran from 2501 to 2570. The SAAF numbers for the P-40 Kittyhawk ran in the 5000 block and all the SAAF-flown Tomahawks retained their RAF tail numbers. A picture of 10 Squadron personnel posted on the SAAF Facebook page was a “dead give-away” as it would then confirm that it is one of the four 6 Sqn Mohawks that were loaned to 10 Sqn between June and July 1942. These aircraft operated from Stanger during the time of the incident.
Allan Jackson
I did mail Alan Taylor about this but seem to have an incorrect address for him. Anyhow, now that he mentions that it is a Mohawk, I recall 10 Sqn pilot Reg Sweet telling me that they did have Mohawks. I checked Reg’s page on this site and there is even a picture of one. Hopefully Douglas can confirm the number, and then we’re in business.
Tracy mey
Did anyone know my grandfather. His name was William Duncan walker. He was in the 10th sqaundram