Malaya What If

[vetinari]

It still is recently an airlines png twin otter crashed flying into kokoda

My brother lived in PNG for over 12 months, mainly on the North Coast during the 1970s. It was apparently quite hairy flying from there to Port Moresby on the South Coast by light aircraft that were often barely able to clear the Owen Stanleys. He recounted one flight where they loaded a fully grown Bull Salt-water Crocodile over 5 metres in length down the central aisle of the aircraft. It was doped up but even so, it started waking up mid-flight and started to flex in the confined conditions. The aircraft apparently creaked quite a bit! Now that was unusual and definitely wouldn't have been repeated in 1942, but it gives you some idea of what it was like up there.

 

[sonofpegasus]

Bristol Bisley prototype first flown in February 1941, No belly pack, solid nose with four machine guns, very clean at this stage of development.
Fitting AI would increase the drag but this would IMVHO be a very useful night fighter in Malaya in late 1941.
Now have some bright-spark decide to graft the four cannon mounting from a Whirlwind into this solid nose and any Japanese aircraft that gets hit will have a very torrid
time!

 

[Fatboy Coxy]

In the OTL, 486 Squadron RNZAF wasn't formed until March 1942 taking part in the idiotic Turbinlite programme. In this timeline is it formed in Singapore?

Kiwis are very proud of 486's efforts against V1s in 1944, I'm guess an extended campaign in Malaya is going to change all of that.

http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RNZAF/No_486_sqn_RNZAF.html

Hi Ihagambia, yes formed in Singapore, it's really just a renumbering of RAF 243 Sqn, providing more identity to the Kiwi contribution

 

[Fatboy Coxy]

My brother lived in PNG for over 12 months, mainly on the North Coast during the 1970s. It was apparently quite hairy flying from there to Port Moresby on the South Coast by light aircraft that were often barely able to clear the Owen Stanleys. He recounted one flight where they loaded a fully grown Bull Salt-water Crocodile over 5 metres in length down the central aisle of the aircraft. It was doped up but even so, it started waking up mid-flight and started to flex in the confined conditions. The aircraft apparently creaked quite a bit! Now that was unusual and definitely wouldn't have been repeated in 1942, but it gives you some idea of what it was like up there.

Hi Vetinari, love this story of the crocodile!

 

[general]

Me too. Not sure if I would have boarded though!