Ray Deerness was at Masterton on Saturday afternoon 25 January when The Vintage Aviator’s Gerald Thornhill and Carl Swanson built Sopwith Camel replica ZK-JMU was rolled out in new colours:
The Camel is now painted in the colours of Second Lieutenant Hardit Singh Malik of 28 Squadron RFC with the serial number B3887, as the original was in October 1917. Hardit Singh Malik was the first Indian national to be commissioned as an officer in the RFC and had a colourful career including being forced down with 2 bullet wounds in his leg in an encounter with German Albatros’s in October 1917, fortunately for him, on the allied side of the lines. He returned to fly with 28 Squadron in January 1918. (thanks to Brett M for this information).
ZK-JMU is one of the original aircraft in Sir Peter Jackson’s WW 1 aircraft collection, having been built in the USA in 1985 and being registered in New Zealand on 26/3/01. As TVAL has said, the covering of these WW 1 replica/reproduction/original aircraft does not last forever and hence ZK-JMU has been recovered with the opportunity taken to represent another significant aircraft.
Previously ZK-JMU had been painted in the colours of New Zealand ace Clive Collett as B3889:
ZK-JMU at Masterton at the TVAL Armistice Day airshow on 10 November 2012.
