The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 to other ranks, of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy".
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in many air forces. Group captain has a NATO rank code of OF-5, meaning that it ranks above wing commander, immediately below air commodore and is the equivalent of the naval rank of captain and the rank of colonel in other services.
489 (NZ) Squadron was formed from pilots of the Royal New Zealand Air Force on 12 August 1941 under RAF Coastal Command as an anti-submarine and reconnaissance unit.
Air Commodore Keith Logan "Grid" Caldwell CBE, MC, DFC & Bar was a New Zealand fighter ace of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I who also rose to the rank of Air Commodore in the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II.
Geoffrey Bryson Fisken, was a New Zealand fighter pilot who was the British Commonwealth's leading air ace in the Pacific theatre of World War II. He is credited with shooting down 11 Japanese aircraft.
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.
Air Marshal Sir Richard Bruce Bolt, was a bomber pilot in the Second World War and a senior Royal New Zealand Air Force officer in the post-war years. He was Chief of the Air Staff from 1974 to 1976 and Chief of the Defence Staff from 1976 to 1980, when he retired from the military.
Fraser Barron DSO & Bar, DFC, DFM, was an officer of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) who flew as a pilot with Bomber Command and was killed in flying operations during World War II.
Alfred William "Gordon" Cochrane, was an officer of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War. He is one of only four New Zealand-born airmen to receive two medal bars to his Distinguished Flying Cross.
Reginald Joseph Cowan Grant, was an officer of the Royal New Zealand Air Force and a flying ace of the Second World War. He commanded No. 485 Squadron RNZAF and later No. 65 Squadron RAF in operations over Europe, but was killed in a flying accident in 1944.
Cyril Eyton Kay, known as Cyrus Kay, was a New Zealand aviator and military leader. Born in Auckland, Kay joined the Royal Air Force in 1926 for a five-year period of service, during which time he attempted to break the record for the fastest flight from England to Australia. He remained in aviation in civilian life and was a participant in the MacRobertson Air Race of 1934.
Air Commodore Roy Gilbert Dutton, was a Royal Air Force officer and decorated flying ace. He flew Hurricanes during the Second World War and was credited with 19 confirmed aerial victories.
Air Vice Marshal Cyril Laurence Siegert, was an air officer of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, who served as a bomber pilot during the Second World War and rose to be Chief of the Air Staff, the most senior appointment in the RNZAF, from 1976 to 1979.
Thomas Welch Horton, was a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) officer, pilot, and combat veteran who served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in a number of significant engagements during the Second World War. He was a member of No. 88 Squadron RAF and flew anti-ship missions in the Bristol Blenheim and Douglas Boston. Horton also served with and later commanded No. 105 Squadron RAF flying the de Havilland Mosquito in the Pathfinder Force (PFF) that marked targets for destruction by following groups of heavy bombers.
Alan McGregor Peart, was a New Zealand fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War. He served in Europe with No. 610 Squadron, and with No. 81 Squadron in North Africa, Malta, Sicily, Italy and the Far East. He is credited with the destruction of six enemy aircraft, plus a share in another aircraft destroyed. He is also notable for having shot down aircraft from all three main Axis powers - Germany, Italy and Japan - and for surviving a 40-minute solo dogfight against more than a dozen Japanese fighters in defence of the Broadway airstrip the Burma campaign.
Michael James Herrick, was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He is credited with having shot down at least six enemy aircraft.
Air Vice-Marshal Ian Gordon Morrison was a New Zealand aviator and military leader. Born in Hanmer Springs, he briefly served in the Royal Air Force before transferring to the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1939. During the early stages of the Second World War, he was a bomber pilot with No. 75 Squadron, which was formed mostly with New Zealand personnel and operated Vickers Wellingtons. He returned to New Zealand in 1940 for instructing duties and then was a staff officer with the RNZAF's No. 1 Islands Group, based in Vanuatu. He later commanded No. 3 Squadron during the Solomons campaign. After the war, he held a series of staff posts before becoming Chief of Air Staff of the RNZAF in 1962. In this capacity he replaced much of the air force's dated equipment and sought to improve its strike capacity. Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1965, he retired the following year. He died in 1997, aged 83.
Wing Commander Robert Lawrence "Peter" Spurdle was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with the destruction of ten enemy aircraft.
Wing Commander Warren Schrader was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with the destruction of eleven enemy aircraft.
George "Jamie" Jameson, was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War. He is credited with the destruction of eleven enemy aircraft and two damaged. He was the highest scoring New Zealand night-fighter pilot of the war.
