OZ and NZ aircraft junk yards..

[Haztoys]

And one time I came across pics of P-40 and F4u's that had been sitting for some time after the war ...I want to say 50's and 60's...Any of you down under guys ring any bells..??? ..Or am I speaking Greek...Any help..??..

Or any pics of junk yards of planes...Never come across a junk yard tread on here...

Anyone....

 

[Wildcat]

That would be in NZ seeing as the RAAF never operated Corsairs. I have also seen pictures of a scrapping yard full of P40's and Corsairs, I can't remember the name of place, hopefully Evan (A4K) will enlighten us.

 

[phas3e]

Rukuhia outside Hamilton was the graveyard for most of the RNZAFs Corsairs and P40s.

They were sold to H.J Larsen for scrap in 1948 and were melted down over the years

 

[A4K]

Yep, Rukuhia's the place. Thanks, and welcome to the forum Phas3e!

We had 424 F4U-1A, -D, and FG-1D Corsairs and 297 P-40E,-K,-M,-N, (and one -L ) kittyhawks, the majority of which were scrapped at Rukuhia, along with a number of Venturas and Harpoons, possibly other types aswell.

To this day people find airframe and engine components there.
On a positive note, a small number survived - these are now held by various collectors and museums around the country, and one ex-Rukuhia P-40E (NZ3009) and FG-1D Corsair NZ5648 now fly in the UK as part of the Old Flying Machine Company. (The Corsair was first sold to the US and flew as N55JP 'Big Hog' for many years before moving on to the OFMC.)