The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zealand elements of the British Royal Air Force, becoming an independent force in 1923, although many RNZAF aircrew continued to serve in the Royal Air Force until the end of the 1940s.
No. 42 Squadron is an active transport squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). It was formed at Rongotai Airport (Wellington) in December 1943 to provide a communications service around New Zealand, initially using impressed civilian types. It was briefly officially disbanded in 1946, but its aircraft continued with general purpose operations at RNZAF Station Ohakea. When reformed, the squadron was equipped with various numbers of North American Harvard, Auster, Grumman Avenger, Airspeed Oxford, de Havilland Devon, North American P-51 Mustang and Douglas Dakota aircraft.
The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by it thereafter. The Hudson was a military conversion of the Model 14 Super Electra airliner, and was the first significant aircraft construction contract for Lockheed — the initial RAF order for 200 Hudsons far surpassed any previous order the company had received.
The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II.
No. 24 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is the Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AMOCU). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 24 Squadron is responsible for aircrew training on C-130J Hercules, A400M Atlas and C17 Globemaster. The squadron also delivers engineer training for these aircraft.
No. 3 Squadron RNZAF is a unit of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). It currently operates NHIndustries NH90 and Agusta A109 helicopters. The squadron was initially formed as a territorial unit of the New Zealand Permanent Air Force in Christchurch in 1930. During World War II, the squadron served in the Pacific, undertaking patrol operations. In the early post war period, the squadron was converted to a Territorial formation flying fixed wing aircraft, but later converted to rotary wing aircraft, and returning to permanent status. Since then, personnel from the squadron have served in the Vietnam War, East Timor, Singapore, the Sinai, and the Solomon Islands.
No. 5 Squadron RNZAF is a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force formed during November 1941 in Fiji. It remains on active duty and logged 2,300 hours flight time in 2007.
No. 2 Squadron RNZAF was a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). It was formed in 1930 as part of the Territorial Air Force with the main headquarters at Wellington and shadow flights at New Plymouth and Wanganui. Squadron personnel conducted their annual flying at RNZAF Base Wigram. In 1937 the Territorial Squadrons were re-organised and No. 2 Squadron became the Wellington Territorial Squadron.
14 Squadron RNZAF is a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. In 2015 the squadron was re-raised and equipped with 11 Beechcraft T-6 Texan II. A new aerobatic display team called the Black Falcons was also formed using the new aircraft. They replaced the RNZAF display team known as the Red Checkers.
No. 487 (NZ) Squadron was a light bomber squadron established for service during the Second World War. It was a New Zealand squadron formed under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Plan. Although many of its flying personnel were largely drawn from the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the squadron served in Europe under the operational and administrative command of the Royal Air Force as part of Bomber Command. Formed in mid-1942, it operated the Lockheed Ventura and then the de Havilland Mosquito and took part in over 3,000 operational sorties before being disbanded at the end of the war in late 1945.
No. 6 Squadron RNZAF is a maritime squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It has a history going back to World War II, when it operated flying boats, and has been disbanded and re-formed several times through changes in the country's military structure. The squadron motto, originally "Fortitudine et Diligentia", is now “Vigilance with Patience”.
No. 1 Squadron RNZAF was a New Zealand reconnaissance and patrol bomber squadron operating in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. After the war the squadron served in the transport and VIP role.
No. 24 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron. The squadron was formed in 1940 and saw action as a bomber squadron during World War II serving in the Pacific theatre against the Japanese, and undertaking operations during the Battle of Rabaul, and the New Guinea, New Britain and Borneo campaigns. The squadron was disbanded in 1946 following the conclusion of hostilities, but was re-formed in 1951. From then until 2010 the squadron was an RAAF Reserve squadron located near Adelaide, South Australia; for part of this time, until 1960, the squadron continued to perform flying duties, before converting to a ground support role. In 2010, the squadron combined with Combat Support Unit Edinburgh to become a Permanent Air Force unit and it currently forms part of No. 96 Wing, Combat Support Group.
No. 23 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is a non-flying base operations and training squadron headquartered at RAAF Base Amberley near Brisbane, Queensland. The squadron was formed in 1937 and saw action against the Japanese during World War II as a bomber squadron. Operating from Archerfield during the early stages of the war, the squadron undertook maritime patrols off Australia's east coast before converting to a dive-bomber role and taking part in the New Guinea campaign. Later in the war, the squadron converted to Liberator heavy bombers and flew missions against Japanese targets in the Netherlands East Indies. After the war, No. 23 Squadron was used to reform No. 6 Squadron and was then re-raised as a Citizens Air Force unit based in Brisbane. Until 1960, the squadron flew jet fighter aircraft before converting to a ground support role and now forms part of the RAAF's Combat Support Group.
No. 9 Squadron RNZAF was a New Zealand bomber reconnaissance squadron in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
No. 233 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron that operated from 1918–1919, 1937–1945, 1952–1957 and 1960–1964. The squadron was formed from several Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) flights and took part in the tail end of the First World War before being disbanded. The squadron was reformed with the advent of World War II. At first No. 233 Squadron flew general reconnaissance patrols before being tasked with transportation duties just prior to D-Day. Shortly after the Second World War the squadron was again disbanded, to be reformed once more in 1960. No. 233 Squadron was finally disbanded in 1964.
No. 268 Squadron RAF was a Second World War Royal Air Force squadron that operated the North American Mustang on missions over occupied Europe and in support of the D-Day landings.
Peter Francis Locker Hall, was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War. He is credited with the confirmed destruction of eight enemy aircraft and one more probably destroyed.
The Territorial Air Force, or TAF, is a reserve air force that operates in New Zealand. The service traces its lineage back to a 1919 report that proposed an air force for the country manned by part-time volunteers, with the first recruits arriving in 1923. However, it was not until 1930 that the Territorial Air Force was formally constituted. The pilots had all previously served with the Royal Air Force, many in the First World War. Structurally, the force consisted of a wing of four squadrons, each allocated to one of the major cities of the country, with major sites at Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington. The Territorial Air Force suffered from a lack of equipment, particularly aircraft, throughout its existence. Initially, it relied on aircraft operated by the New Zealand Permanent Air Force, including obsolete examples that had been provided as part of the Imperial Gift, until a batch of second-hand Blackburn Baffin were purchased to provide both training and combat service. The Territorial Air Force was absorbed into the Royal New Zealand Air Force with the start of the Second World War. At the end of the war, an expanded network was originally envisaged, but the revived version of 1948 retained its structure of four squadrons. The TAF's flying squadron lasted only another nine years before the force was reduced to providing non-flying personnel like air traffic controllers and band members.
Developed as a fighter interceptor, the North American P-51 Mustang was widely used during the Second World War, both in a fighter and fighter-bomber role. New Zealand ordered 130 Mustangs in early 1945 but the first 30 of these were placed in storage when they arrived in the country later in the year due to the end of the war. The remainder of the order was cancelled. In 1951, the stored Mustangs were assembled for use by the New Zealand Territorial Air Force and equipped four of its fighter squadrons until withdrawn from service in 1955. A few were also operated by the Royal New Zealand Air Force until 1957. The surviving Mustangs were sold off, most of them for scrap.
New Zealand 
Royal New Zealand Air Force 
