Thank you both!
It is quite remarkable that such a collection has survived for so long. Let us hope that some/most of it can be either restored or cleaned up and put on display for others to enjoy or admire. However there will still be a lot of work involved!
Stephen, even before John Smith died there was a lot of talk as to where aircraft would or "should" go. As it's been told to me, if one was fortunate enough to find his property and speak with him, he would "screen" you through conversation for an hour or two to assess whether you were a true enthusiast. Any mention of money or selling and you'd be shown the gate. Before his death he only released one aircraft:
Lockheed Hudson NZ2049, the first RNZAF aircraft
to see combat during the Second World War, was passed to Bill Reid who restored and flies
Avro Anson Mk.I MH120/ZK-RRA. I believe there may have been ideas to restore the Hudson to airworthiness but for the time being it's
displayed in a dramatic jungle wreck diorama at the
Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre's (OAHC)
Dangerous Skies WW2 wing.
After John died Mike Nicholls and John Saunders, two P-40 restorers (Mike also previously owned the
Curtiss Hawk 75 now with Jerry Yagen) based at Omaka, were tasked by the family with cataloguing the contents of The Shed and the wider property as well as assisting the Smiths in finding new homes for everything. As I understand the collection was dispersed as follows:
- Airspeed Oxford parts to Stu Atkinson of Auckland, who is working toward an airworthy example
- a pair of Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah engines (ex-Anson or Oxford) went to a private owner in Palmerston North to produce one runner
- unidentified Blackburn Baffin forward fuselage and other parts to Don Subritzky at Dairy Flat for his restoration of
S1674/NZ160-
Curtiss P-40E/Kittyhawk Mk.Ia NZ3043 "Bess" to Mike and John who are actively restoring her to fly
- Curtiss P-40N/Kittyhawk Mk.IV NZ3220
"Gloria Lyons" (third of four aircraft to wear the name) was
sympathetically conserved by Mike, John and others and has been on display at the OAHC since 14/05/2021
- de Havilland DH.82a Tiger Moth NZ1467/ZK-BQB - which once flew with my local Wanganui Aero Club and was John's personal aircraft - is awaiting conservation and display at the OAHC
- the identity and substantial remains of de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito FB.VI TE881/NZ2345 along with a large amount of Mosquito parts went to Avspecs at Ardmore which have restored three Mossies to airworthiness
- de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito FB.VI TE910/NZ2336 was conserved and painted in 487 (NZ) Sqn RAF markings as EG-D by an Omaka team led by Alistair Marshall, has been on display at the OAHC since 02/04/21 and
returned to running status on 08/11/21. The transformation in such a short time is nothing less than remarkable!
- parts of various de Havilland DH.100 Vampires including fuselage pods and tail booms were passed on to a private owner in NZ
- North American Harvard Mk.II NZ909 is a prospect for long-term restoration at Ardmore, home of the NZ Warbirds Association
- North American Harvard Mk.III 41-33880/NZ1068 is being actively restored to fly by Nick Sheehan at Ardmore
- a Rolls-Royce Merlin 25 or 29, likely from DH Mosquito TE881/NZ2345, went to a private owner in Nelson to be restored to running order