Treasure trove of hidden historic planes, including rare WWII Mosquito, to see the light

For more than 60 years an "Aladdin's Cave" of historic planes, including one of only 30 Mosquito combat aircraft left in the world, has remained largely out of sight on a rural Nelson property.

But now the rare planes are on a journey that will see some displayed in Marlborough's Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre museum, and one, a P-51D Mustang fighter, potentially being restored to fly again.

The World War II and other historic planes belonged to John Smith, from Mapua, west of Nelson, who began his private collection as a young man in the 1950s.

In a lifetime of hunting out and saving old aircraft he amassed a collection which also included a Tiger Moth biplane, Vampire jet airframes, two Curtiss P40 Kittyhawk fighters as well as a huge amount of parts from all over the country.

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Even his family are unsure about what drove his passion, other than a simple wish to rescue pieces of aviation history from the scrapyard.

Older brother George, 88, said like most wartime families in England, they grew up near an airbase, RAF Finningley, near Doncaster in south Yorkshire before emigrating to New Zealand.

Over the decades aviation collectors, enthusiasts and historians from New Zealand and overseas have made a sort of pilgrimage to Mapua to see the increasingly rare planes, but John Smith remained a reclusive character and potential buyers were left disappointed.

When he died last August, aged 84, he left his treasure trove in a large corrugated iron shed, and the huge job of sorting it out to his family, led by George and his son Rob Smith.

Driving into the rambling rural property is entering an unruly aviation graveyard. In front of the modest wooden house there are metal engine casings – called nacelles - for the Mosquito fighter-bomber. Nearby, Vampire jet wings lie in the long grass.

Rob Smith said when they first started to tackle the enormous sorting job, it was difficult to even get into the shed because of the sheer number of parts, from fuselages and wings to boxes full of engine components.

“We estimated it would take about three years to tidy everything up and clear it out, and that still could be the case.”

Pride of place in the shed is a Mosquito multi-role combat plane used by the RAF and other Allied forces in World War II. Of the 7781 built only 30 survive.

One of the fastest operational aircraft when they flew into World War II in 1941, the versatile fighter-bombers were unusual because the airframes were mostly made of wood, which made them relatively fast to make and fly.

Preparation work has begun on the delicate and specialised task of disassembling the Mosquito for its move to Omaka, which will be a homecoming of sorts. John Smith won a tender for the surplus bomber in 1955. It had been stored at the Woodbourne air base since 1952 after being based with the No 75 Squadron at Ohakea.

Smith towed it back to Mapua on the back of a trailer after disassembling the wings. The Air Force had removed the guns, and cockpit items but he managed to find authentic replacement parts, including a bomb sight and radio.

He even had the massive Rolls Royce Merlin engines running at times; a deafening sound George Smith said could be heard in Mapua township several kilometres away.

At Omaka the Mosquito will be displayed alongside one of John Smith's Kittyhawks, nicknamed Gloria Lyons after a Christchurch tuberculosis patient in the 1940s, and the Tiger Moth.

Omaka board member Graham Orphan paid tribute to John Smith's foresight to preserve the historic planes and the efforts of his family to honour his legacy.

He said visiting John Smith's collection was a privilege and a test.

“He was just cautious. But if you talked for long enough and he realised you were a genuine enthusiast he would welcome you with open arms.

“We all wanted him to live forever because as long as John was alive that Aladdin's Cave of World War II treasures would remain that way.”

However, Orphan was delighted that the public would have a chance to see the restored Mosquito and other planes at Omaka, which already houses Smith's Hudson bomber that he gifted to Nelson pilot Bill Reid in 2007.

The fate of the Mustang aircraft, which sits in the shed under the Mosquito's wing, is yet to be decided.

Unlike the Mosquito, which would need to be completely rebuilt to fly again, the Mustang could be made airworthy, albeit at a large cost as the wings have been cut off and would have to be rebuilt.

Rob Smith said there had been interest in the plane, valued at around $1 million, from potential buyers in Auckland and elsewhere. The family would like it to remain in the top of the south if possible.

Brian Weir, a Nelson aviation enthusiast who knew John Smith, said he was trying to raise enough interest and money to keep the Mustang in the region.

It was one of 30 Mustangs received by the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1945 but the end of the war meant they were put in storage until 1951 when they were used by four territorial squadrons. The majority were withdrawn from service in 1955, with most being sold for scrap in 1958, including a number scrapped in the Moutere.

Weir said keeping the Mustang here would be a tribute to John Smith’s legacy.

”I reckon it would also make a great movie, and could do for the area what The World’s Fastest Indian did for Southland,” he said.