TYPE: Long-range reconnaissance aircraft boat
AMOUNT IN NORWEGIAN SERVICE: 11
ARMAMENT
10x 7.7mm machineguns
2x 12.7mm machineguns
900 kg various bombs, mines and depth charges internally, winched out under the wings through hatches in the fuselage sides
TECHNICAL DATA
Four 1200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90B engines
Wing span: 34.38m
length: 26.00m
height: 10.52m
wing area: 156.72m2.
Empty weight: 16.738kg
maximum take-off weight: 29.484kg.
Maximum speed 343km/h
ceiling: 5.455m.
Range 4.330km with 757kg bombs
SERIAL NUMBERS - times in service and fates
HISTORY
At the beginning of April 1945, the department was told that they had been allocated brand new Sunderland Mk.V. These aircraft had more powerful and more reliable American Pratt & Whitney engines. The engines were strong enough that the plane could fly on two of them, and the propellers could be edged. By the end of the month, eight MK.Vs were in place, and only two Mk.IIIs remained. However, not all of the new aircraft were ready for operations. Both weapons and equipment were missing, so it took time before everything was in place. On 6 May, all the planes had arrived, but then the war was effectively over. The following day, Sunderland G and Catalina A/Viking II from No 333 squadron were ready at Woodhaven to fly the Allied Peace Commission to Oslo. The German High Command, however, used this whole day to discuss the situation. Only on the morning of 8 May did the telegram approving the peace terms arrive, and the planes could take off. A meeting point was agreed at Svenner lighthouse, and together they flew up the Oslofjord while constantly shooting red signal lights, as agreed with the German authorities. Precisely at 16:00 they landed in the seaplane harbor at Fornebu. Neither of them will forget the trip into Oslo. The next day they flew to Sola and on 10 May back to the bases in Great Britain. Sunderland A took part in the escort of HMS Devonshire, which brought Crown Prince OLav and a government delegation back to Norway on 12 May. The crew spotted a mine ahead of the waterline and marked it. Soon after, the mine was sunk by one of the destroyers in the flotilla
On 12 May the squadron lost another aircraft, WH-G when both starboard engines stopped southwest of the Faroe Islands. The weather was calm, and the pilot managed to land the plane at sea. The crew was picked up by a trawler, but the plane was lost. On 3 June there was a set-up and photography in Sullom Voe, and in the evening of 9 June all planes were ready for transfer to Norway. The following day the trip across the North Sea began, and four days later the department was fully established at Sola. The last accident occurred on 3 November 1945 in Trondheim. WH-Y struggled from her moorings during the night and drifted ashore. The plane was completely destroyed
The task after returning home was to maintain a transport route from Stavanger via Bergen to Trondheim, with detours as needed. The route was operated by a machine daily except Sunday. To increase the load capacity, the back tower was removed.
On 19 October, all domestic traffic stopped. now the planes were used to transport British soldiers and equipment back to Great Britain. On 21 November, the air force formally took over command of the air forces in Norway from the RAF. Three weeks later, on 15 December 1945, 330 Squadron was disbanded and the remaining Sunderland machines returned to the RAF. This aircraft type was not included in the Norwegian Defense Plans
PICTRUES
Spoiler
SOURCES
Spoiler
Short Sunderland - Aircraft - Fighting the U-boats - uboat.net
https://www.adlibris.com/no/bok/norske-militarfly-9788271286873?
https://www.norli.no/boker/dokumentar-og-fakta/historie-og-dokumentar/krig-og-historie/luftforsvarets-historie-fortalt-gjennom-75-gjenstander?
Redirecting...
- Yes
- No