boomerang

I think we have a date 5/9/91 - 5th September 1891 - it was a Saturday. And thanks to Trove, it was the Arrival of the (first?) Australian Auxiliary Fleet. Seven ships - KATOOMBA, TAURANGA, and WALLAROO in one line, and RINGAROOMA, MILDURA, BOOMERANG, and KARRAKATTA in another line. Very full details SMH 7/9/1891 p.8 (other relevant articles also on same page) - trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13837805

Background history to "Australia's First Fleet", ship details and crew names, enough for any maritime historian - SMH 5/9/1891 - trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13837652

beachcomber australia Wow thanks Beachcomber! Didn't realise it was 'Australia's First Fleet' - what an important moment in our history :) Very happy to have identifited the occasion.

Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons It's a bit strange. This occasion was of great importance at the time (1891) to Australia and NSW, but seems to be forgotten now. Probably more related photos will turn up now that we are conscious of the event.

beachcomber australia Hopefully! Will see if we can find anymore possibilities in our collection...

GULF OF MARTABAN, GREENOCK - educated guess with Trove's help. Wrecked in 1897 - www.plimsoll.org/resources/SCCLibraries/WreckReports/17411. [Edited 18/12/2012]

beachcomber australia Great, thanks beachcomber! The notes in the database say that one of the vessels in the background is a torpedo boat. I found no evidence of the vessel being used as a flagship during an Anniversary Day regatta, BUT, I did find this article! On 17 Feb 1897, a select few of the best of the New South Wales Mounted Rifles boarded the steamer bound for the Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London. And guess where they boarded with their horses? :-D See this great account as well. Another great find!!

Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons Terrific! That must be the occasion, even though all the GULF OF ... (Greenock Line) ships seemed to have used Cowper Wharf, Woolloomooloo. Full details of the departure from the SMH 18/2/1897 p.3 col.5 - trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/14089265 - including this -

" ... Gay-coloured bunting floated in the breeze from the rigging of the Gulf of Martaban as she loomed up largely beside the wharf, ... ... ... ... ... and at a quarter past 5 o'clock the big steamer swung out into the stream and was towed [see note] down the harbour by the steam tug Commodore. .... ..... Government steam launch Nea ... ... steamer Leveret. ... ... Excellent photographs of the whole team appear in this week's Sydney Mail ... "

The Sydney Mail article 20/2/1897 p.399 - photos of all the men - news.google.com/newspapers?id=5gdQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gJUDA...

Don't know where that wrecked in 1887 link went ... How about this - www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/G-Ships/gulfofmartaban1889.html Name: GULF OF MARTABAN Type: Cargo Ship Launched: 04/12/1888 Completed: 1889 Builder: R & W Hawthorn, Leslie & Co Ltd Yard: Hebburn Yard Number: 286 Dimensions: 2793grt, 1591nrt, 320.0 x 40.3 x 22.6ft Engines: T3cyl (26, 42 & 69 x 48ins), 292nhp Engines by: Blair & Co Ltd, Stockton-on-Tees Propulsion: 1 x Screw Construction: Steel Reg Number: 93211 History: 1889 Greenock Steam Ship Co Ltd, Greenock 1900 Gulf Line Ltd (D MacDougall), Greenock 1901 AC de Freitas & Co, Hamburg; renamed LUSITANIA 1909 Broken up Comments: 02/04/1909: Stranded at Porer on a voyage from Trieste to Fiume, refloated 1909: Broken up at Monfalcone

beachcomber australia Wow thank you, that Sydney Mail article with the photographs is quite good. So the vessel was towed by COMMODORE. So great to solve the mystery behind these photographs. We can even now guess what time this photograph was taken! Around 5:15 pm :-)

Controlling the air proved key to controlling the ground. The long-range P-51 Mustang fighter was invaluable to the Allied victory, enabling resumption of strategic bombing after heavy losses suffered by unescorted bombers in 1943. Developed for export to Britain, models modified by the British to use Rolls-Royce Merlin engines became America’s most capable wartime fighters. The pairing of the legendary Merlin engine and the P-51 Mustang eventually resulted in the P-51D, which provided the US Army Air Forces with a high-performance, high-altitude, long range fighter that could escort heavy bomber formations all the way to Berlin and back. The changes significantly reduced the unacceptable loss rates bomber crews had suffered since the daylight bombing campaign began in the summer of 1942. STATISTICS Type: Fighter PRODUCTION Date Introduced: 1944 Manufacturer: North American Number Produced: 8,000 SPECIFICATIONS Crew: 1 (Pilot) Wingspan: 37 feet Length: 32 feet Maximum Speed: 437 miles per hour Cruising Speed: 275 miles per hour Maximum Range: 1,000 miles Engine: Packard Rolls Royce Merlin V-1650-7 (1,695 hp) Maximum Load: 2,000 pounds of bombs, or ten 5-inch rockets Armament: Six .50 caliber machine guns Source: www.nationalww2museum.org/visit/museum-campus/us-freedom-...

The CAC Boomerang is a fighter aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation between 1942 and 1945. Approved for production shortly following the Empire of Japan's entry into the Second World War, the Boomerang was rapidly designed as to meet the urgent demands for fighter aircraft to equip the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It was the first combat aircraft designed and constructed in Australia.[ The Boomerang was handicapped by the available engine variant, which gave low power at altitude and resulted in the aircraft proving to be slower than contemporary fighter aircraft. The Boomerang rarely engaged in aerial combat. During early wartime operations, the Boomerang was mainly dispatched to equip home-based squadrons, freeing up other fighters for use overseas. In later service, the Boomerang would commonly be used for ground support duties, cooperating with Allied army units, in addition to secondary roles such as aerial reconnaissance and air-sea rescue. The Boomerang was a small single-engine monoplane fighter aircraft, designed with an emphasis on high manoeuvrability. It had a stubby appearance, which had resulted from the structure being derived from the smaller Wirraway being paired with a considerably larger engine in the form of a 1,200 horsepower (890 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial engine, which drove a three-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propeller, license-built by de Havilland.[9] The engine was closely cowled with two air scoops fixed to the upper and lower sides, the upper being for the carburetor and the lower for the oil cooler.[9] Fuel was divided between one fuselage-housed 70-imperial-gallon (320-litre) self-sealing fuel tank and a pair of 45 imp gal (200 l) tanks within the center section of the wing.[12] Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAC_Boomerang

This classic British trainer made its first flight on October 26, 1931. It is one of a number of models of light aircraft named for moths in recognition of designer Geoffrey de Havilland's interest in moths and butterflies. It became popular with air forces throughout the United Kingdom as well as the civilian aviation market. In Britain, 8,101 were manufactured plus 2,751 more in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. During WWII, most Royal Air Force pilots trained in Tiger Moths including Americans who flew with the Eagle Squadrons before the U.S. entered the war. In the United Kingdom, Tiger Moths performed a variety of roles in addition to that of primary trainer including submarine patrol, air ambulance, and even prisoner evacuation.Following first deliveries in 1939, the RAAF operated 861 Tiger Moths in all, 712 of which were locally produced (in addition to others not delivered to the RAAF) by De Havilland Australia at Bankstown, NSW. Several were also delivered to other Commonwealth countries, and to the USAAF in Australia. It became the basic trainer for thousands of Australian pilots. Following World War 2, hundreds of Tiger Moths became available for private ownership, at asking prices of 300 to 500 pounds Australian, less than a third the price of a new machine. Yet despite sale of several hundred in the immediate post-war years, the last RAAF Tiger Moths flew in January 1957, when the remaining ten were flown from Point Cook to Tocumwal for disposal. Source: www.diggerhistory.info/pages-air-support/ww2-allied/tiger...