Not many people know about the WWII plane that is buried in the marshy waters of Umkomaas river. Here’s what we found out for you!
On the 30th March 1944
during a routine practice battle formation, two Kittyhawks (5067 piloted by FO
Brown) and 5006 (piloted by PO Smith) collided in mid air.
5006 managed to make a forced
landing next to the river and pilot Smith escaped with his life. The second
plane was not so fortunate; Brown was unable to bale from the plane and went
down with the craft on the south bank of the Umkomaas river near the site where
Saicor is today.
In the 1980s a group made
numerous attempts to recover the wreckage of the craft but at the time the
exact location of the plane was unknown and the site simply not found. After
much speculation about the whereabouts of the sunken Kittyhawk, another group
managed to locate it but the wreckage has been left in place because the pilot
is still aboard and at the request of his family the site was declared a war
grave and therefore it cannot be moved.
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an
American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack
aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the
previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid
entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by the air
forces of 28 nations, including those of most Allied powers during World War
II, and remained in front line service until the end of the war. It was the
third most-produced American fighter, after the P-51 and P-47; by November
1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at
Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facilities at Buffalo, New York.
Warhawk was the name the United
States Army Air Corps adopted for all models, making it the official name in
the United States for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces
used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the P-40B and P-40C, and the
name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.
6 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning
machine guns with 150-200 rounds per gun
250 to 1,000 lb (110 to 450 kg)
bombs to a total of 2,000 lb (907 kg) on three hardpoints (one under the
fuselage and two underwing).
The South African air force had
three squadrons of Kittyhawk deployed during WWII.
Famous South African kittyhawk pilot
Jack Frost: SAAF, the highest
scoring air ace in a South African unit, with 15 victories (seven on the P-40);
missing in action since 16 June 1942.
Umkomaas is a gem of history and
interesting places to visit. When you book your accommodation and stay at Ocean
Park Guest House, speak to Lana about
the local places of interest; we’d be happy to point them out.
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