New Zealand's Public Works Department then planned an aerial survey of the Central Irrigation Scheme in the Maniototo district of Central Otago, and Flight Lieutenant M. W. Buckley went from Wigram to Auckland to collect F1134 for the task, flying it south on 1 May 1930 and covering the 555 miles in a flying time of 4 hours 55 minutes. For the survey, Buckley flew the IIIF as a landplane From Ranfurly, carrying a photographer and his equipment. Four 'photographic days (when conditions were ideal) were spent covering some 300 square miles of hill country, though the task was not completed. On 10 May Buckley and his passenger took aerial photographs of Christchurch from 8,000 feet. He flew F1134 back to Hobsonville on 11 June, leaving Wigram at 9.50 a.m. and arriving at his destination at 1.30 p.m. thanks to a strong southerly gale of 35mph, which gave the IIIF a remarkable ground speed of 145mph and an airspeed of about 110mph.
The aircraft was returned to Hobsonville before the work was finished so that both IIIFs could take part in the combined naval and aerial manoeuvres in the Hauraki Gulf during June. The aircraft carried out drogue-towing, torpedo- spotting and observation of fire, the exercises ending on 20 June. Thus was nitiated co-operation in torpedo, gunnery and anti-aircraft exercises with the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, which lasted until 1936, when the Division was able to supply its own aircraft in the form of Supermarine Walruses.
The bedraggled remains of F1134 at Hobsonville Wharf after its recovery on 30 October 1930 following its high-speed ditching on the previous day. The accident was attributed to an error of judgement by its pilot, Flight Lieutenant S. Wallingford, who was flying low over the water when the floats touched the surface and dug in, causing the aircraft to overturn.
The survey was then resumed, F1134 being flown back to Wigram on 28 June by Squadron Leader L. M. Isitt, Hobsonville's CO. Upon completion of the survey it was returned to Hobsonville and then restored to floatplane configuration on 18 July.
On 2 October 1930 Flight Lieutenant Buckley took two civilian passengers, Dr Viloet Bergers of New York and Polish journalist Mr Czerniewski, for a flight over and around Mount Cook at an altitude of 16,000 feet, probably in F1133, Dr Bergers being the first woman in the world to make the trip.
On 29 October 1930 Flight Lieutenant S. Wallingford, carrying Corporal H. Smith and Aircraft Apprentice A. G. Andrews as passengers in F1134, flew in salute over a departing flotilla of the East Indies Squadron of the Royal Netherlands Navy at 11.15 a.m., as it left Auckland at the end of a goodwill visit. Towards midday Wallingford decided to make a high-speed test flight at low level over a known course about a mile and a half off the city side of Hobsonville, in the upper harbour off Birkdale. He brought the IIIF low over the water, attaining 146mph, but in slowing down shortly afterwards its floats touched the water at about 126mph and dug in. The seaplane overturned, and its three occupants were thrown out underwater as the machine virtually disintegrated. Squadron Leader Isitt, who had been flying behind the IIIF in a Saunders-Roe Cutty Sark flying boat, alighted and picked up the three men, none of whom was injured. All had been wearing kapok lifejackets, and none had been strapped in, to which they attributed their rapid rise to the surface. Although the subsequent Court of Inquiry attributed the accident to an error of judgement by the pilot, it con- cluded that he had conducted the speed trials within the scope of his duty, and that no blame should be attached to him or to any other person.
The replacement for F1134 was Mk IIIB S1805, c/n F1542, which was sold to the NZPAF on 4 October 1933, some three years after F1134's loss. This machine had the later triple exhaust pipe system.
The surviving NZPAF IIIF Mk IIIM, F1133, in front of a line-up of civil and military de Havilland D.H.60 Moths at Hobsonville Aerodrome, circa 1934. The nearest Moth is ZK-AAR Falcon, and immediately behind it are 871 and 870 in NZPAF markings.
All the light components of F1134 were badly smashed, and it sank in about 60 feet of water. The site was marked, and salvage began on 30 October. The aircraft was stuck inverted in the mud, its propeller was missing and its forward fuselage was twisted to the right at an acute angle. It was described as a jumbled heap of frame and fabric. After attempting to raise the aircraft using a steel cable attached to the fuselage, in the end both the salvage barge and the aircraft were towed to Hobsonville Wharf, where a crane with a lifting capacity of three tons lifted it out of the water. The wreckage was then inspected in the hangar. Although the annual report for 31 May 1931 stated that F1134 had been returned to Fairey for reconditioning, it appears that this was not so, as the wreckage remained at Hobsonville for several years.
Supermarine Seagulls borne by the Australian vessels carried out naval co-operation with the two IIIFs, which were operated as seaplanes. Towards the end of 1933 F1133 underwent a complete overhaul and reconditioning at Hobsonville.
The IIIF's carrying capacity was demonstrated on 19 January 1934, when $1805 flew to Dunedin via Wigram to deliver 100 pounds of supplies to Commander Richard Byrd's Antarctic Expedition. As well as carrying an observer, the aircraft, in landplane configuration, carried fifty blankets, thirty pairs of boots and a quantity of jackets, vests and moleskin coats.
During February and April 1934 the normal co-operation duties with the Navy were carried out. On 27 February the NZPAF became the RNZAF; the only Service aircraft based at Hobsonville were the two IIIFs. In 1934 and 1935 the
aircraft took part in air mail flights. On 3 February 1935 a IIIF took part in a dramatic rescue of a woman swimmer who had been swept out to sea off Karekare Beach, Auckland. On 17 June 1935 S1805, fully loaded with heavy sleeve targets and equipment, was unable to take off from Waitemata Harbour in conditions of no wind and low tide.
The IIIFs were still requested to attend flying club pageants in 1936 and 1937, and several ambulance flights were made in the late 1930s. By this time the provision of shipborne aircraft on the cruisers of the New Zealand Station considerably reduced the demand for the IIIFs for co-operation work. However, as late as March 1939 S1805 was based at Hastings on army co-operation exercises in company with a Walrus from HMS Achilles. The Napier area's 22nd Anti-Aircraft Battery fired short shell bursts at the IIIF.
Both of the IIIFs were officially grounded in 1941, though their flying careers had probably ended some time earlier. They finished their lives as instructional airframes at Hobsonville Technical Training Centre, having outlasted many of their intended successors (F1133 became INST 2, and $1805 became INST 18). They are believed to have been broken up towards the end of World War II.
Note: The images on this page are used with permission from Philip Jarrett
