The Pacific
II: The Air Force Story
II: The Air Force Story
New Zealand's air strength in the Pacific grew from a small force despatched to Fiji in November 1940 under Squadron Leader D. W. Baird, which ultimately became known as No. 4 Bomber Squadron, and at the outbreak of war with Japan consisted of four outmoded de Havilland machines and six Vincents. Two aircraft of an army co-operation squadron were also stationed in Fiji. On 8 December 1941 this small unit was reinforced by six Vincents sent from New Zealand. From the time the United States assumed responsibility for the defence of the South Pacific area in 1942, New Zealand air units stationed there came under operational command of the Americans.
In planning air support and preliminary cover for the landing on Guadalcanal, Rear-Admiral John S. McCain, commander of air forces, South Pacific Command, requested the New Zealand Government to send six Vincent aircraft from the Fiji command to New Caledonia to assist with anti-submarine patrols over the sea approaches to the Solomons. Squadron Leader G. N. Roberts, who succeeded Baird, was then commanding New Zealand air force units in Fiji, where he had remained under American command after the return of 3 Division in 1942. New Zealand, however, considered that Hudsons would be more suitable for patrol work. page 246 Two were flown from Fiji in July and the remainder from Nos. 1 and 2 Squadrons in New Zealand. From these aircraft grew No. 9 Bomber Squadron, commanded by Squadron Leader D. E. Grigg,1 which began operations from the Plaine des Gaiacs airfield, a dreary, dusty site on the west coast of New Caledonia near the primitive port of Nepoui. Dawn and dusk patrols to a distance of 400 miles began on 21 July 1942 and were continued until March 1943, under miserable and exasperating conditions. The squadron, ill equipped for both climate and maintenance, from the beginning of its tour of duty depended on American sources for medical services, signals, transport, rations, fuel and oil. No mosquito nets had been supplied with the unit's equipment, and the airmen suffered unmercifully from the clouds of mosquitoes which infest that corner of New Caledonia. Even when some prefabricated huts arrived later from New Zealand, they were unsuitable for the conditions. Time and infinite patience solved most problems as the unit became self-supporting.
1 Wg Cdr D. E. Grigg, MBE, m.i.d.; Akaroa; born Ashburton, 22 Jan 1903; farmer.
2 Wg Cdr G. H. Fisher, m.i.d., Air Medal (US); Auckland; born Auckland, 7 Feb 1910; salesman; SASO No. 1 (Islands) Group, Espiritu Santo, 1943; Northern Group, Auckland, 1944.
3 Air Mshl Sir Victor Goddard, KCB, CBE, DSM (US); born Harrow, England, 6 Feb 1897; RAF; served in Royal Navy and RNAS in First World War; Chief of Air Staff, RNZAF, and Commander NZ Air Forces, South Pacific, 1941–43; Air Officer i/c Administration, SEAC, 1943–46.
1 Sqn Ldr G. E. Gudsell, Air Medal (US); RNZAF Station, Wigram; born Ashburton, 15 Jun 1918; school teacher.
2 Fg Off I. M. Page, DFM; Opunake; born Christchurch, 26 Feb 1913; assistant electrical engineer.
3 Gp Capt J. J. Busch, OBE; Lower Hutt; born Amberley, 12 Aug 1905; airways pilot; SASO No. 1 (Islands) Group, Guadalcanal; SASO NZ Air Task Force.
New Zealand air strength on Guadalcanal was increased in April when No. 15 Fighter Squadron arrived from Tonga, where it had been stationed for three and a half months, staging through Espiritu Santo to be equipped with more modern Kittyhawks (P40Ks). The new arrivals were soon in action. On 6 May Squadron Leader M. J. Herrick, the commander, and Flight Lieutenant S. R. Duncan1 shot down a Japanese float-plane north of Guadalcanal. Two days later Herrick led eight New Zealand fighters in a combined attack, with American bombers, on three Japanese destroyers which had been damaged by magnetic mines in Blackett Strait, between Kolombangara and New Georgia. Two destroyers, the Oyashio and the Kagero, were strafed by the New Zealanders and sunk by the bombers; the third destroyer, Kuroshiro, was sunk by mines.
The New Zealand airmen made reconnaissance flights in all weathers, and weather in the Solomons, which may change from a cloudless sky to violent electrical storms in a remarkably short time, can be as dangerous as any enemy. In March 249 bomber-reconnaissance flights were recorded by the New Zealanders and 197 searches and other missions in April. Submarines or suspected submarines were not often sighted, although targets were more plentiful during the first two weeks of April. Flight Sergeant C. S. Marceau2 reported one such successful mission on 3 April when, under cover of a rain squall, he dropped three bombs on a target off Vella Lavella.
1 Sqn Ldr S. R. Duncan, m.i.d., Air Medal (US); Nelson; born Nelson, 19 Apr 1912; brewer; Operations officer No. 1 (Islands) Group.
2 Flt Lt C. S. Marceau, DFC; born Opotiki, 15 Jun 1916; storeman.
By the time Halsey was ready to strike for the Munda airfield and force the Japanese out of New Georgia, he was still far from strong enough for the enormous task demanded of his available air strength. He had at his disposal 290 fighters, 170 dive- and torpedo-bombers, 35 medium bombers, 72 heavy bombers, 18 flying boats, and 42 other types of aircraft. With these he carried out reconnaissance missions over the whole of the Solomons as far north as Buka and New Ireland, supported land forces in action in the jungle, fought off enemy air attacks on shipping and his own bases, neutralised enemy shipping and destroyed as much of it as he could. Because of the shortage of aircraft, all units worked at high pressure in heat and humidity which soon drained the strength and affected the nerves of the aircrews. Servicing units worked round the clock to keep the aircraft available for combat.
Throughout the months of 1943 the Japanese attempted with their dwindling air strength to hinder concentration of Allied air and naval forces on Guadalcanal. On 7 June between 40 and 50 enemy fighters were broken up before they had time to attack new airfields established on the Russell Islands, into which the Americans had moved after the Japanese retreat from Guadalcanal. These were then the most advanced airfields in the Solomons and were hurriedly constructed to assist in the New Georgia operation. Twelve machines of No. 15 Squadron took part and shot down four Japanese, two of the squadron's planes crash-landing in the Russells. Another determined attempt followed on 12 June, when 25 Japanese aircraft were shot down. Eight aircraft of No. 14 Squadron, commanded by Squadron Leader S. G. Quill, were in the process of relieving No. 15 when the attack came. They joined in, shot down six Japanese aircraft, and lost one of their own. One of the most determined raids on airfields and shipping came on 16 June, when more than 100 Japanese bombers and fighters were driven off with great loss. Coastwatchers reported the flights moving south and Allied aircraft were prepared for them when they reached within striking distance. Pilots of No. 14 Squadron dived into a formation of 33 Japanese aircraft, four New Zealand pilots accounting for five Japanese. Seventy-seven enemy machines were claimed as destroyed by Allied planes in that attack and eleven more were brought down by anti-aircraft fire. The Allies lost six fighters, one cargo ship, and one LST.
During the battle for Munda air formations from Guadalcanal and the new fields on the Russells protected convoys, covered landings, and neutralised Japanese airfields as far north as Vila, Ballale, and Kahili. By this time the air superiority of the Allies page 250 was acknowledged. Construction work had forged ahead during April and May, and by June four fields were operating on Guadalcanal, with two subsidiary strips in the Russell Islands. When the American units landed at Rendova, in the initial thrust into the New Georgia Group, No. 14 Squadron aircraft provided air cover, working for the operation from the Russell Islands, where refuelling and rearming were maddeningly slow from the still inadequately organised fields, and food supplies were neither sufficient nor palatable. But the pilots never relaxed their efforts, despite the debilitating heat and the seas of mud which busy feet and vehicles enlarged each day round the airstrips and installations. July 1943 was a month of intense air activity as the Americans maintained the superiority they had at last achieved and intended to retain. The month opened successfully on the 1st when Flight Lieutenant E. H. Brown1 led a flight of eight New Zealand aircraft and combined with Americans in holding off an attack by 22 Japanese machines on the Rendova beach-head, where the Americans went ashore, shooting down seven enemy planes. Brown baled out of his damaged machine on the way back to base and spent four and a half hours in the water before he was rescued. Two days later, while again on patrol over Rendova beach-head, eight more machines of No. 14 Squadron were surprised by forty of the enemy, who swept on them out of a cloud. Quill, who was wounded, and Sergeant R. C. Nairn,2 each accounted for a Japanese machine. Flying Officer G. B. Fisken3 claimed three. During the month, in addition to arduous patrols, No. 14 Squadron pilots escorted flights of American bombers during attacks on enemy ships and air and naval bases as far north as the Shortland Islands and Bougainville.
Halsey's air strength was sufficient by the middle of July 1943 to justify increased strikes against enemy bases, and on 17 July No. 14 Squadron combined with the Americans in the largest air operation undertaken up to that time in the Solomons. A concentration of 71 dive- and torpedo-bombers and seven heavy bombers, escorted by 114 fighters, sought out enemy shipping at Kahili, sank and damaged seven ships and dispersed others. The following day a similar mission, in which New Zealand fighter pilots were employed in close escort for the American bombers, attacked enemy shipping in the Shortland Islands and the south of Bougainville anchorages.
1 Flt Lt E. H. Brown, DFC; Mount Maunganui; born Dannevirke, 1 Feb 1913; commercial pilot.
2 Flt Lt R. C. Nairn, DFM; RNZAF Station, Wigram; born Ireland, 15 Nov 1922; farmhand.
3 Fg Off G. B. Fisken, DFC; Masterton; born Gisborne, 17 Feb 1918; shepherd.
1 No. 14 Squadron at this time went to Santo instead of returning direct to New Zealand.
2 Sqn Ldr J. S. Nelson, m.i.d.; Wellington; born NZ 28 Jun 1912; metal merchant.
3 Wg Cdr P. G. H. Newton, DFC, m.i.d.; Christchurch; born Christchurch, 29 Sep 1917; engineering draughtsman; Director of Operations, Air Department, Aug 1945-Jan 1946.
4 Wg Cdr R. L. Spurdle, DFC and bar; born NZ 3 Mar 1918; commanded No. 80 Sqn, 1944–45.
5 Fg Off N. A. Pirie, m.i.d.; Napier; born Christchurch, 25 Nov 1922; P & T Dept mechanician.
6 Flt Lt J. R. Day, MBE; Dunedin; born Invercargill, 24 Nov 1912; mechanic.
7 Sqn Ldr M. T. Vanderpump, DFC, DFC (US); Hastings; born Auckland, 14 May 1920; farmer.
8 W/O J. E. Miller, DFC (US); Kawa Kawa; born Whangaruru, 23 Jul 1914; mechanic.
On 11 and 15 September No. 17 Squadron moved up from the New Hebrides and took over, and with its arrival New Zealand air strength in the forward zone was increased to two squadrons, with a third in reserve on Espiritu Santo. No. 15 Squadron returned for its second tour of duty on 14 September, and No. 18 Squadron took over fighter defence duties in the New Hebrides on 17 September. Their arrival coincided with the landing of 3 New Zealand Division on Vella Lavella, for which aircraft from both 15 and 17 Squadrons helped to cover disembarkation and subsequent ship-to-shore operations. These aircraft were based on Guadalcanal, but operated from Segi airfield (which had been constructed by the Americans at Segi Plantation, in New Georgia, to assist with the final attack on Munda) and Munda itself, long since in American hands and now headquarters of the American 14 Corps under Griswold. On 1 October pilots of No. 15 Squadron claimed seven Japanese dive-bombers from a concentration which attacked a 3 Division convoy off Vella Lavella.
1 Air Cdre S. Wallingford, CB, CBE, Legion of Merit (US); Wellington; born Hythe, England, 12 Jul 1898; RNZAF; served First World War 1916–20 (Rifle Bde and RAF); Air Force Member for Personnel 1941–42; AOC No. 1 (Islands) Group, 1942–43; AOC Northern Group, 1944; Air Member for Supply 1945–46; Air Member for Personnel 1948–52.
1 Wg Cdr I. E. Rawnsley, MBE; Wellington; born Wellington, 14 Jan 1898; company director; CO RNZAF, Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal.
2 Wg Cdr H. L. Tancred, AFC; Blenheim; born Kingaroy, Queensland, 30 Dec 1908; airline pilot.
3 Air Cdre M. W. Buckley, CBE, m.i.d., Legion of Merit (US); born Seacliff, 3 Aug 1895; RNZAF; served in RNAS in First World War; commanded 75 (NZ) Sqn, 1940–41; AOC Northern Group, 1942–43; AOC No. 1 (Islands) Group, 1943–44; Deputy Chief of Air Staff, RNZAF, 1944–45; AOC RNZAF HQ, London, 1946–50.
1 Wg Cdr T. O. Freeman, DSO, DFC and bar; born Lawrence, 5 Jun 1916; RAF; killed on air operations, 17 Dec 1943.
1 Sqn Ldr R. H. Balfour, DFC, DFC (US); Cheviot; born Waimate, 15 Apr 1917, stock agent.
2 Flt Lt K. D. Lumsden; Nelson; born Waimate, 7 Sep 1921; draughtsman.
During a reconnaissance raid on the Green Islands Group by elements of 3 Division on 31 January-1 February 1944, aircraft of No. 18 Squadron maintained a watch over Nissan Island to report any enemy counter-attack and maintain communication with the ground forces.
1 Wg Cdr H. C. Walker, AFC, m.i.d., Legion of Merit (US); Union Airways, Palmerston North; born Edinburgh, 15 Mar 1908; airline pilot.
2 Fg Off R. J. Alford; Cambridge; born Auckland, 1922; farmhand.
3 Flt Lt D. F. Ayson, DFC; Palmerston North; born Mosgiel, 9 Apr 1915; linotype operator.
4 Fg Off S. P. Aldridge; born Te Kuiti, 16 Jan 1920; engineer and farmer; killed on air operations, 20 Aug 1944.
5 Fg Off W. N. Williams, DFC, DFM; Christchurch; born Dunedin, 28 Nov 1913; hairdresser.
New Zealand fighter pilots took part in all strikes on Rabaul, often acting as escort for American bombers, the crews of which frequently asked for New Zealand fighter cover. The New Zealanders' flying discipline was high, and only severe damage diverted them from their tasks and objectives. By the time No. 17 Squadron was due for relief in January, its strength had been gravely reduced by sickness and casualties. Both New Zealand and American airmen operated under extreme difficulty during the Solomons campaign, because of swiftly changing weather conditions and the fact that airfields were often widely scattered on islands hundreds of miles apart. On 17 January 1944 the New Zealand Fighter Wing moved still farther forward to the Torokina airfield on Bougainville, a move which reduced flying time to Rabaul by three hours. Squadron Leader J. S. Nelson acted as commanding officer after Freeman's death until the appointment of Wing Commander C. W. K. Nicholls, DSO, RAF, in February 1944.
The New Zealanders fought their last Solomons air battle against Japanese machines on 13 February 1944, when fighter pilots of No. 18 Squadron escorted American bombers over Rabaul. They brought the total of Japanese aeroplanes destroyed in the Pacific by RNZAF fighter squadrons to 99, but could never achieve the century. When 3 Division occupied the Green Islands Group on 15 February, the fighter wing, working with American units, maintained a solid cover over the atoll, but never encountered any Japanese. By the time the New Zealand pilots came on station the landing was over, and all Japanese opposition had been shot out of the skies.
1 W/O G. E. Hannah, DFM; Invercargill; born Invercargill, 7 Oct 1913; boot repairer.
1 Wg Cdr T. J. MacLean de Lange, DFC; Wellington; born Simla, 16 Jun 1914; accountant; OC 25 (Dive Bomber) Sqn, Pacific, 1944; RNZAF Liaison Officer, SEAC, 1945–46; Air Representative, NZ Joint Services Liaison Staff, Melbourne, 1950–52.
2 Sqn Ldr R. G. Hartshorn, m.i.d.; Auckland; born Hastings, 13 Dec 1919; bank clerk.
3 Wg Cdr M. Wilkes, m.i.d.; Wakefield, Nelson; born Nelson, 29 Sep 1906; sheep-farmer; OC 31 (Torpedo Bomber) Sqn; CO Los Negros; Com Air Admiralty Group.
Catalinas of No. 6 Squadron, commanded by Wing Commander G. G. Stead, DFC,1 also originally based on Fiji, guided rescue ships to the San Juan after she was torpedoed, and picked up survivors from the American ship Vanderbilt who were found floating on rafts off Fiji. When the squadron moved to Espiritu Santo, Stead was succeeded by Squadron Leader I. A. Scott.2 It then moved forward into the Solomons and was based at Halavo, on Florida Island, from which it flew its first mission to rescue ten survivors seen floating on rafts 220 miles north of Florida. One of the squadron's Catalinas, piloted by Flying Officer W. B. Mackley, DFC,3 landed on the water and flew them back to safety. The next was the rescue of American airmen 100 miles south of Nauru, when a Catalina piloted by Flying Officer D. S. Beauchamp4 picked up five survivors from a Liberator which had been forced down on the water while returning from a bombing raid on Kwajalein. This was a tricky operation, hindered by a bumpy sea which so strained the hull of the craft that, after several attempts, she lifted off the water only with great difficulty. In February 1944 two Catalinas of No. 6 Squadron were detached and based on Blanche Harbour, in the Treasury Group, from which they flew on mercy missions and rescued 28 airmen from the sea between Bougainville and the approaches to Rabaul.
1 Wg Cdr G. G. Stead, DFC; England; born Hastings, 8 Sep 1911; RAF; British Overseas Airways Corporation.
2 Wg Cdr I. A. Scott, OBE; Civil Aviation Branch, Wellington; born London, 1 Nov 1913; RAF and RNZAF; OC 6 (Flying Boat) Sqn, Pacific; Director of Operations, Air Department, Wellington.
3 Flt Lt W. B. Mackley, DFC and bar; Auckland; born Lower Hutt, 10 May 1915; factory manager.
4 Flt Lt D. S. Beauchamp, DFC; Auckland; born Masterton, 23 Oct 1910; bank clerk.
By the end of February 1944, No. 1 (Islands) Group had been expanded to three fighter squadrons, three bomber reconnaissance, one dive-bomber, one torpedo and one flying boat squadron, with a total strength of 5108 all ranks. These were being expanded still further to twenty squadrons, which were to be ready by the end of the year as New Zealand's commitment to the war in the Pacific. Fifteen of them were to be employed in the forward area and the remainder on the home front to ensure exchange and relief, and all were to be equipped with American types of aircraft. This scheme was almost completed when the war ended.
1 Flt Lt J. Conyers Brown, m.i.d.; London; born Melbourne, 8 Feb 1920; radio engineer.