Jimmys Lookout in WWII

Does anyone know anything about Jimmys Lookout in Townsville during WWII? There was apparently a small cave near the top of the hill.

I'v just created this new web page on Jimmy's Lookout.

http://www.ozatwar.com/bunkers/jimmyslookout.htm


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Queensland Floods December 2010 - January 2011

Please click on this link for dramatic footage of the Queensland Floods in Australia.

Please also consider donating to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal

Antal Lanyi - Aviation Pioneer in Hungary

Hello ALL,

Can anyone help me to help Ilona Harris with more information on her grandfather. See below.

Regards Peter Dunn
pdunn@st.net.au

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Hi Peter

You may recall that I met you at the Chermside library and mentioned my grandfather, Antal (or sometimes Anton) Lanyi (von Lanczendorfer), who was an aviation pioneer in Hungary. He built his own aircraft and was the first person to fly across Lake Balaton in 1911, in a Bleriot monoplane. If you are interested a google search will bring up this information. We have information about him prior to the war and especially about his flight over Lake Balaton but I am particularly trying to find out as much as I can on my family history and what happened to him post 1919, as I have little passed down to me from my parents who are both decaeased and I have no relatives that I know of, that can help me further.

I have obtained my grandfather's files from the Vienna archives from his days in the Austro Hungarian Airforce and have information on both his military career and pioneering activities before the First World War, which were kindly provided by Mr. Gabor Fekecs - an Aviation Historian living in Hungary. Unfortunately, Gabor was unable to provide much info of a personal nature on my grandfather or his immediate family.
I have undertaken some research on the family and have dicovered the name of my grandmother (Ida Spielman) but little else. In particular, I have been unable to find anything of my grandfathers activities after the war, which is probably due to the fact that he (and many others) was exiled from Hungary in 1919 due to his support for the Red Army. The last infomation I have is that in 1919, he fled, with my grandmother and father (who was a baby at the time), to somewhere in present day Slovakia (possibly Detva) and was then said to have moved to Wiener Nieustat in Austria (where he had flown as test pilot during the War). It is alleged that he died in Wiener Nieustadt in about 1936; however, I have been unable to confirm this as much of the town and its records were destroyed in WW11.

I was wondering if you may know of anyone that may have any information or contacts that may be able to help me further.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards
Ilona Harris

Eagle Farm Aviation Society Public Meeting

The Eagle Farm Aviation Society EFAS is holding a General/Public Meeting at 7 pm on 10 June 2010 at BCC Chermside Library at 375 Hamilton Rd, Chermside.

Come along if you want to find out about EFAS and it's progress towards establishing an aviation museum in the original Hangar 7 at the site of the old Eagle Farm Airfield.

Hangar 7 was the location where the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit ATAIU rebuilt captured Japanese aircraft during WWII.

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Videos of Anzac Day 2010 in Brisbane

I had the honour again on Anzac Day 25 April 2010 in Brisbane to march with the veterans of 460 Squadron RAAF. My late father-in-law, John Goulevitch, was a member of 460 Squadron RAAF.

I took a number of videos with my new Kodak Zi8 High Definition compact video camera.

Click here to see these videos

Rampage of the Roarin' 20's

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Rampage of the Roarin's 20's
The Illustrated History of the
312th Bombardment Group during World War II
Lawrence J. Hickey
Michael H. Levy
with Michael J. Claringbould

Published by International Historical Research Associates
Boulder, Colorado, USA

Rampage of the Roarin' 20's covers the history of the 312th Bomb Group's contribution to the war in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) during WWII.

The 312th Bomb Group started its war effort in December 1943 with the Fifth Air Force using P-40 Warhawk dive bombers. It was not long before they converted to A-20 light attack bombers. They were involved in action in New Guinea, the Netherlands East Indies, the Philippines and Formosa and over Japan.

Many of these missions were flown in the low-level strafer attack mode, resulting in some of the most outstanding combat photos of the war. Near the end of the war, the 312th BG converted to the B-32 Dominator Very Heavy bomber. They flew their last few missions over mainland Japan.

Meticulous research in the U.S. archives woven together with information from interviews with hundreds of unit veterans has produced a definitive 416-page text that includes maps depicting the location of every mission flown and aircraft lost.

- Hardcover (large format 220mm x 285mm)
- 416 pages, 19 Chapters, 5 Appendices, and 12 maps
- Comprehensive 16 pages of Index
- Over 700 photographs including a 24 page colour section
- 32 detailed nose art reproductions
- 5 colour paintings by world-renowned aviation artist Jack Fellows
- 36 Colour Aircraft Profiles
- 312th BG Insignia and colour Patches

HOW TO ORDER:-

Visit the IHRA Web Page
to order your copy of this excellent book

ISBN: 978-0-913511-03-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2009924370

Photographing and Filming of the Wreck of AHS Centaur

The "Seahorse Spirit" left Brisbane again on Friday 8 January 2010. David Mearns and his team carried out three hours of commissioning testing of the submersible ROV Remora 3 by taking high definition footage of the wreck of the SS Kyogle at approximate position 26° 59.32’ South 153°38.58’ East at a depth of 178 metres before moving out to the site of the Centaur. This footage again confirmed that it was not the Centaur.

The "Seahorse Spirit" arrived over the Centaur at about 4:45pm on Saturday 9 January 2010. Remora 3 will make about four visits down to the Centaur. The first was a reconnaissance visit which started at 8:15pm on Saturday night, 9 January 2010. It was then intended to make three further visits to the site over the following two days.

The first photos of the hospital ship Centaur were taken at about 2:50am on the morning of Sunday 10 January 2010. The pictures confirm that Centaur is sitting on a sandy bottom at a depth of about 2059 metres and listing about 25 degrees to the port side. The Red Crosses indicating that it was a hospital ship are clearly visible in one of the first photos released. A distinctive star could also be seen on the bow along with the corroded identification number 47. It took almost 2 hours to lower Remora 3 down into position.

(AAP: Bruce Long)

The Centaur's red cross can be seen in the first
footage taken of the ship since it sank in WWII.

The pictures and footage have clearly shown the mast, anchor, guard rails and the paravane mounted on the starboard bow which was used for cutting cables on moored mines. The bow of Centaur is almost completely severed from the rest of the ship.

A problem with one of the "Seahorse Spirit's" main engines meant they had to limit the time of the first recce ROV dive. The strong seabed currents also created issues with "dust storms" created by disturbed sediment limiting camera vision on some occasions.

Visit my web page on 2/3 Hospital Ship AHS Centaur