A52-2

[Shep]

Over on the “other” site, the image gallery contained a recently posted (within the last 24-hours) image of an RAAF Mosquito PR40, being A52-2 “Old Faithfull”. The following comment was added by someone:

"'Old faithful' 40 training markers / mission markers ? do they indicate practice high ball drops ? Blue and white SEAC or Australian roundels I wonder what colour she was painted looking at the colour variation where the wing tanks are fitted - possibly green and Dark sea grey or Australian approximations - similar to the Mk 8 Spitfires ? and no undercarriage doors ? lots to look at and try to decipher."

The adf-serials web-page entry for this machine reads:

"04/04/44 2 AP.
Converted to PR and was the prototype Australian built solid-nose PR40 of which six were built (A52-2,4,6,7,9 and 26). 26/05/44 1 APU for direction finding loop to be calibrated.
The RAAF status cards notes ‘not to be held at APU for longer than one day. Required urgently for operations NWA’ (North West Australia). 29/05/44 1 PRU Coomalie Creek NT.
Flew nine PR missions during August.
On 25/06/45 Pilot FOFF Ken Boss-Walker suffered an engine failure over Sourabaya NEI (Netherlands East Indies) and flew the 10.5 hour return trip to Australia of 1450km on one engine.
Presumably, this is the rationale of the name of ‘Old Faithful’ painted on the port nose along with thirty-eight mission marks (Photo: Pentland Vol2 P.100).
The AWM has a photo P002448.075 which shows A52-2 landing at Broome WA after this flight. It captions the crew (FOFF Ken Boss-Walker and Nav POFF Jeff Love) as also having been the first to complete an operational flight in a RAAF Mosquito to Ambon on 01/06/44.
A52-2 was also detached to Leyte in the Philippines where it suffered hail damaged to the wing leading edges (Wilson p.184).
23/08/44 14 ARD for repairs.
02/09/44 1 PRU.
09/09/44 1 PRU disbanded and absorbed into 87 Sqn.
04/02/45 2 AD.
27/02/45 De Havilland factory for inspection of mainplane.
12/06/45 Converted to components."

To address the comment made (and quoted above):
Australian PR Mosquitoes had nothing to do with “Highball”. The RAF sent 618 Sqn out to Australia to prepare for its planned use.

National markings for A52-2 were standard RAAF markings of the time. Blue and white.

The machine was likely finished in PRU Blue.

It served with 1PRU and then with 87SQN (which was formed on 10SEP44 by renaming 1PRU).

My research shows that it was tasked to fly operationally with 1PRU 19 times between 01JUN44 and 08SEP44.
Of those 19 taskings: 18 launched, 2 RTB (U/S) and 1 CANX (U/S).

With 87SQN it was tasked a further 29 times from 12SEP44 until 04FEB45.
Of those 29 taskings: 27 launched, 6 RTB (4 U/S and 2 due WX) and 2 CANX (1 U/S, 1 WX).

Giving a total of:
Tasked: 48
Launched: 45
Completed: 37.

The aircraft did deploy to Biak in mid-July 1944 for a short period but I have found no reference to the machine flying any ops during that (brief) deployment (so the figures offered above do not account for any operations that may have been tasked during that period). That deployment should not be confused with a similar one made by A52-4 about six weeks later.

Whilst not apparently marked on the aircraft, it was coded “PU-B” until at least the end of November 1944. On a travel flight on 01JAN45 it was recorded as “PU-C” and retained that allocation until it left 87SQN on 04FEB45. The actual date of the code change isn’t known at this time.



Edit: Inserted quotation marks

This post has been edited by Shep on May 21 2023, 10:52 AM

[Shep]

Whilst not relevant with regards to addressing the queries of the facebook poster, in terms of A52-2’s operational history and its brief deployment to BIAK (15-19JUL44) I thought I might add the following.

1PRU’s A50 entry records that A52-2: “... was sent to BIAK Is, D.N.G. for the purpose of photographing targets in the HALMAHERAS and PHILLIPINES [sic]. Operating from MOKMER strip it was found that water from the coral strip thrown up during take-off obscured the rear camera glass and would have ruined any photographs taken. On return to COOMALLIE [sic] a waterproof slide was fitted beneath the rear camera port, which simple modification should prove satisfactory.” [pdf p115, RAAF Unit History Sheets 1 PRU Number 87 Squadron Jun 42 – Oct 53; NAA: A9186, 118].

1PRU’s A51 notes that, on 18JUL, a P/R of DAVAO in the PHILIPPINES was to have been undertaken but that the aircraft was U/S. Given that a flight time of 2.3Hrs was recorded suggests that the aircraft launched but returned to base U/S which correlates with the observation recorded in the A50. So, that could be added to A52-2’s tasked/launched/RTB’d tallies.

The next entry in the A51 shows A52-2 on a travel flight back to base on the 19th, recording a 4.1Hr flight MOKMER [BIAK] – COOMALIE. Since no further information was recorded, it would be reasonable to assume that it was a simple travel flight. [pdf p119, RAAF Unit History Sheets 1 PRU Number 87 Squadron Jun 42 – Oct 53; NAA: A9186, 118].

However, an entry dated 180330Z[JUL44] recorded that, “Sig to COMAF5 – P.R. Mosquito to return via AMBON & NAMLEA for P.R. of shipping”. [p302, North Western Area – Controller’s Log; AWM66, 15/5/1].

As can be seen from the entries in 1PRU’s A50 and A51, if the return travel flight was actually changed to an operational sortie, then 1PRU didn’t feel it was worth recording and no further entries in the above source were made to indicate whether the signal to COMAF5 was complied with or not (the closest being a note several days later, about the 25th, that S/L Green had an appointment to see the SASO about going back to BIAK [p305 – this might have turned into the deployment made a few weeks later by A52-4]). It therefore remains unclear whether a further amendment to the tasked/launched/completed tallies would be appropriate.

Also, in case anyone was interested, A52-2 had MSG (Medium Sea Grey) serial and A52-4 had its serial applied in Black. I think that the other Mosquito PR40’s: A52-6, -7, -9 and -26 all had theirs in MSG (sorry, images not to hand).