WINGS OVER CAMBRIDGE
CAMBRIDGE'S CONNECTIONS WITH THE WARTIME AIR FORCE

RNZAF Wartime Stations
Airfields, Depots and Camps


RNZAF Auckland Region

 

 

 

RNZAF Kaipara



This was a firing range used for practice firing of guns and bombs.

Runways - unknown

Meaning of Airfield Name - According to here, this is Maori for 'Athletics' , however a totally different meaning is expressed in the book Lilliput Maori Place Names (A.H. Reed, 1962) which states Kai means food, and Para means fern-root. It states that when Kahu-mata-momoe and his nephew Ihenga visited this location, they were well fed and amongst the food was para. They'd never seen or tried it before so they named the area Kaipara after the meal

 

 

New Zealand Government and RNZAF

 

West of Warkworth, Northland (north of Auckland)



Has this always just been a live firing and bombing range? Or was there more to it? Was there an airstrip there?

Kaipara Range has continued to be used by the RNZAF right up till the present day



Opened as RNZAF Firing Range: Date unknown

 

This probably came under the jurisdiction of the station commander at RNZAF Station Whenuapai



Today the Kaipara Range remains a bombing and live firing range for RNZAF aircraft. However now that the Skyhawks and Macchis have gone and the RNZAF no longer has a strike wing, I don't know if it's still used much at all for this.

 

Unknown if any permanent units were based here, but it's unlikely

 



RNZAF Upper Okura

 

This is thought to have been an RNZAF Auxiliary Landing Ground

Runways - unknown

Meaning of Airfield Name - unknown

 

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

North of Auckland



This site was a landing field for No. 2 EFTS?

I'm unsure. Can you help? Contact Me



Opened ?
Closed ?

 

This airfield would probably have come under the administration of the station commander of RNZAF Station Whenuapai?



Today?

I know little about this airfield and would appreciate any input, thanks

 

RNZAF Kumeu

 

 

This airfield was an RNZAF Auxiliary Landing Ground, used particularly by the Tiger Moths of No. 4 Elementary Flying Training School, based at Whenuapai for airfield approach training, etc.

Runways - unknown

Meaning of Airfield Name - Kumeu, the district where this airstrip was established, means apparently 'pulling the breasts' according to the Lilliput Maori Place Names (A.H. Reed, 1962). It states this derives from kume, or to pull, and u or breast. The book theorises "This is probably an action similar to that performed by Rautaupere of Ngati-Porou. To incite a war party to avenge her cousin's death, she bared her bosom and pulled her breasts."

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

Auckland City. Kumeu is very nearby to RNZAF Whenuapai



This site was used as a satellite field for RNZAF Station Whenuapai. It also had some dummy aircraft (Hudsons and possibly Hurricanes or Kittyhawks) as decoys for any enemy spy planes or bombers



Opened ?
Closed ?

 

This airfield would probably have come under the administration of the station commander of RNZAF Station Whenuapai



Today probably returned to agricultural pasture

 

Unknown but probably none

 



RNZAF Whenuapai

 

This was a permanent RNZAF Operational and Flying Training Station

Runways - originally a grassed runway from opening of the airfield in 1940, but this proved unsuitable in the wet weather due to the airfield being built on top of a 120 foot thick bog. The boggy land was selected because it was the cheapest flat land of the size required, close enough to defend Auckland, when the site was selected in 1938. But aircraft would tear up the grass, even the lightweight Tiger Moths from No. 4 Elementary Flying Training School based there. With the advent of the heavier Hudsons in 1941, something had to be done, so concrete runways were authorised by the Government in 1942, and constructed that year. The runways were paved with thick concrete interlocking hexagonal block slabs, which remain even today, though they have begun to deteriorate and one runway is no longer in usage. Over the years some of the blocks have sunk into the bog and the Ministry of Works worked continually to keep the airfield serviceable.

There were three main runways on the station, one of them has been decommissioned due to deterioration. Of the two remaining, the most commonly used is Runway 03/21 which is 2031 metres (6665 feet) in length, and 45 metres (148 feet) wide. This has been resealed in the 1990's and is now asphalt. The other is 08/26 which remains original hexagonal concrete and is 1581 metres (5187 feet) in length and also 45 metres (148 feet) wide.

The taxiways are also of block construction but are rectangular.

Meaning of Airfield Name: Maori for 'The Good Earth'

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

Greater Auckland (north of Henderson)



RNZAF Station Whenuapai was built in 1939-1940. The land which nestles on the edge of the upper Waitemata Harbour had previously been a rural community which was first settled during the First World War by Mr. Theophilus Wake, who had been a staunch anti-militarist. He called the area Waimarie, which interpreted means 'peaceful water'.

Other like-minded pacifists began to join Wake in this peaceful haven and they set up a small community. Included amongst them were Mrs Darcy Hamilton, a well known feminist and anti-war campaigner, who called her own home there 'Dreadnought' - meant to be an ironic statement against the ships of war.

The settlement grew steadily, and soon they needed to have a Post Office. However when Wake applied to the GPO for the establishment of one, he was told that the area could not remain under the name of Waimarie, because there was already a Post Office in the South Island with that title.

Therefore Theophilus Wake renamed the area Whenuapai, which means '"the good earth" in Maori. Apparently the name Whenuapai was later to become the title of a popular book, and a film that it spawned. however, he never knew that his peaceful haven of anti-war friends would soon be ousted in favour of the building of one of New Zealand's biggest bomber stations.

This occurred in 1938, with a compulsory purchase of several hundred acres following on from the recommendations made by Sir Ralph Cochrane in 1937 that two large bomber bases be built. The Minister of Defence, the Hon. Fred Jones, announced in late April or early May 1938 that Whenuapai was being considered for purchase and development as the North Island's largest air force base. At this time it was reported in the New Zealand Observer that "it is intended to construct modern underground hangars which will be indiscernible to enemy planes."

This is interesting because no underground hangers were constructed, but two very large concrete ones were, which were supposedly bomb proof. The hangars were intended to house, the Observer said,

"...the huge Baffin planes purchased in England to bring New Zealand's aerial defence scheme up-to-date. Several of these massive bombers have already arrived and are being assembled at the workshops at Hobsonville. Great cases, the size of small houses, were unloaded from the Rangitane and carried overland on specially equipped trucks. Conveying such loads over the 21 miles between Auckland and Hobsonville without mishap is an achievement which reflects credit on both the contractors and the Waitemata County Council, whose recent road improvements made it possible.

When it is considered that only a few years ago the district's only overland communication (it has for many years had a good launch service) was a rough blue metalled road with many bad bumps and dangerous turns, the change recently brought about, which enables great loads like these to be quickly and safely carried, will be somewhat appreciated."

Quoted from The New Zealand Observer, Thursday May 5, 1938, "Air Base at Whenuapai?" by M.B.S.

The base was constructed by the New Zealand Public Works Department and operational flying actually began there before construction was complete, when the New Zealand General Reconnaissance Squadron moved in from Hobsonville. The first members of this squadron arrived on the 1st of March 1940.

The station was to become home to several types of aircraft, from reconnaissance bombers to transports to training types. The station was one of the largest and most permanently planned stations, with two large concrete hangars and an additional more conventional wartime hangar added later.

1st of March 1940 (and remains open till this day)

 

Squadron Leader Geoffrey Roberts (the first Station Commander whilst CO of NZGR Sqn)
Wing Commander John Seabrook (took over role when No. 4 EFTS began there)
Wing Commander Maurice William Buckley CBE, MID (Station CO from Nov 1941 - ?? 1942)
Air Commodore Charles Campbell Hunter CBE (Station CO from May 1945 - ??)



Whenuapai is still an operational RNZAF Base and is still home to No 40 Squadron, which was first established on the station in 1943. The squadron's Hercules transports share the station with No 5 Squadron's Orion maritime patrol aircraft.

Sadly the current Government has made another of its cost-cutting errors and this base is destined to be closed down within the next decade. Currently it is the only strategically centred base in the country, and will mean that the Orions will need to travel further for its maritime patrol and rescue work into the Pacific, thus cutting down the actual time it can be searching for lost boats, etc.

And no doubt this historic base will given away to a minority group and be bulldozed and built over just like Wigram, Te Rapa and others have been in the recent past, losing one of Auckland's most important historic sites that is preserved pretty much like a time-capsule of the past.

 

  The New Zealand General Reconnaissance Squadron  

Formed at Hobsonville from the three Territorial Squadrons into one GR Sqn, flying Blackburn Baffins to patrol the Auckland region and the shipping lanes, and moved into Whenuapai on the 1st of March 1940, flying Blackburn Baffins till October 1940, then Vickers Vincents

  No. 1 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron  

Formed basically from the members of the New Zealand General Reconnaissance Squadron on the 1st of December 1940 under the command of Sqn Ldr Geoffrey Robert, flying Vickers Vincents until it was the first squadron to be equipped with the new Lockheed Hudsons in June 1941 ). Later renamed No. 1 (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron

 
No. 1 (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron
 


Formerly No 1 (GR) Sqn, re-designated as a Bomber Reconnaissance squadron, flying Hudsons and Lockheed Venturas from 1943

 
No. 3 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron
 

This squadron moved from RNZAF Station Harewood to Whenuapai on the 9th of March 1942. The move was so the squadron could work up to operational standard before deployment to the forward Pacific theatre (Bougainville and Guadalcanal). It was resident at Whenuapai till October 1942

 

No. 9 (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron
(Detached Flight)

 

More to come soon

 

No. 17 (Fighter) Squadron

 

Flying P-40 Kittyhawks, this squadron was formed at Ohakea and spent a lot of time based at RNZAF Seagrove. This attachment to Whenuapai may have been just before the squadron moved to the forward area. I am still seeking dates

 
No. 40 (Transport) Squadron
 


Flying Douglas C-47 Dakotas, Lockheed C-63 Hudsons and Lockheed C-60 Lodestars, this was the RNZAF's first dedicated transport squadron, though there had been smaller transport flights before this was formed. Formed on the 1st June 1943, and served at that station, reaching out across the Pacific, till disbandment came in 1947. This was basically because their Dakota aircraft and many of the crews were switched overnight to become the new Government airline, National Airways Corporation, which later became Air New Zealand. No. 40 Squadron reformed in 1954 and has remained operational from Whenuapai right through to the present day. They currently fly five Hercules and two Boeing 757's.

At its formation, No. 40 Squadron was commanded by Squadron Leader Fred "Popeye" Lucas, and the Squadron's flagship was his personal aircraft, NZ3501, which sported noseart of Popeye the sailor man on the nose. Lucas returned to the UK and was replaced by Wing Commander J. Adams ad C.O. from June 1943–November 1944, and then Wing Commander Ron A. Kirkup took over the squadron from November 1944–April 1946.

 

 
No. 41 (Transport) Squadron
 

Flying C-47 Dakotas, Hudsons and Lodestars from August 1944 onwards, this was the second long range transport unit for the RNZAF. Originally formed by taking on the C-63 Hudsons (which were conversions done at RNZAF Rukuhia to change ex-bombers into transports) and the Lodestars from No. 40 Squadron when 40 Sqn had sufficient C-47 Dakotas to equip its whole squadron. Like 40 Squadron, No. 41 Sqn plied the transport routes around the South pacific bases where RNZAF units were stationed, supplying men, mail, spare parts and whatever else could be carried. The Lodestars and Hudsons also flew internal routes between the main RNZAF bases carrying personnel, etc.

Throughout its wartime career, No. 41 Squadron was commanded by Wing Commander H.C. Walker, a well known pilot.

After the war No. 41 Squadron continued to be based at Whenuapai, flying Handley Page Hastings and then Bristol Freighters and Iroquois helicopters and later spent a lot of time in South East Asia, being heavily involved with the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War. It was scaled back to become 141 Flight, which later disbanded in 1988.

 
No. 4 Elementary Flying Training School
 


Flying Tiger Moths as ab initio trainers, this school formed on the 23rd of December 1940, and trained new pilots till the school closed in March 1942 .

 
Unit 19
 


An aircraft maintenance unit

 

Below - some photos of RNZAF Whenuapai

This aerial shot was taken in April 1940, a month after the station opened. Construction
on barrack blocks continues apace.

 

This March 1941 aerial shot shows Whenuapai much more advanced and operational

 

The following wartime views give a few more angles on the station and demonstrate
just how rural it was in the 1940's

 

 

Here are a couple of photos I took recently at Whenuapai during the Open Day in March 2007

 

 

 

 


Sources for RNZAF Station Whenuapai :
The New Zealand Observer magazine, dated 5th of May 1938, page 7, "Air Base at Whenuapai?"
Wikipedia page here
Airports Worldwide site here

 

RNZAF Hobsonville

 

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

RNZAF Permanent Flying Training Station, Ground Training Station, Maintenance Depot and Stores Depot
Administered by: Royal New Zealand Air Force

Runways - Hobsonville had a large grass airfield, as well as an alighting area for flying boats and float-planes.

Meaning of Airfield Name - the area named after New Zealand's first Lieutenant-Governor, Captain William Hobson

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

Auckland City

Hobsonville was only the second Air Force base ever established in New Zealand. The New Zealand Government purchased 167.5 acres of land in 1925 with plans to establish this base for the New Zealand Permanent Air Force. Situated just 6km from where RNZAF Station Whenuapai would later be built, Hobsonville sits right on the edge of the upper Auckland Harbour and the base is largely surrounded by water. The Government's plan in establishing the base at this location was, in the longer term, to begin flying boat operations. Therefore the first construction, which began in 1927, began with the establishment of a 'wet apron' where flying boats would roll up onto the land, and a jetty where cargo could be offloaded from small shipping.

However as well as the maritime element for flying boats and amphibians, the station had duality in that it had a large grass airfield for land-based aeroplanes to operate from, and it was military land planes that first used Hobsonville, a DH60 Moth and two Fairey IIIF's being purchased to be used for numerous purposes from this station.

Later the IIIF's were fitted with floats, and in 1930 the country's first military flying boat was bought and stationed there. This was a SARO A-17M Cutty Sark, which was a small twin-engined machine. The only pilot who could fly the Cutty Sark was Hobsonville's first Station Commander, Leonard Isitt (later to become the Chief of Air Staff).

As well as Isitt when the base first opened in 1928, there was a small group of airmen posted to the large station, and the whole population was just 30 airmen on strength.

During the 1930's the main role of the aircraft based at Hobsonville was to provide naval co-operation for the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy with such duties as torpedo observation, drogue towing and spotting for gunnery practice. The aircraft also participated in refresher training for pilots of the Territorial Air Force.

Meanwhile from all the way back as far as 1928, civilian aviation was also happening at Hobsonville. This included Douglas Mills' aerial photography company and his de Havilland assembly plant. The larger hangar down by the wet apron was originally built for the TEAL Short Empire flying boats too, but TEAL ended up being based at Mechanics Bay due to the war needs of the hangarage. Sir Francis Chichester also did his preparation at Hobsonville before his epic proving flight from east to west across the Tasman Sea.

Most aircraft imported to New Zealand came by ship to the Port of Auckland, and they were usually disassembled and packed in crates. So they would be barged up to Hobsonville from the port, taken on shore at the Hobsonville jetty, and assembled and test flown on the station. This arrangement was to prove extremely valuable throughout World War Two with most of the RNZAF's aircraft arriving in New Zealand this way.

In 1936 a further 55 acres were purchased to extend the size of the airfield. During the late 1930's the base had begun to expand dramatically with lots of new barrack, married quarter homes, workshops and hangars being erected. The personnel size grew and grew too from 1937 as the RNZAF began a big recruiting drive.

Hobsonville also established some training and storage units. In fact the station had the RNZAF's only Stores Depot till 1942 when the unit moved to Hamilton and other depots were opened at Te Awamutu, Mangaroa and Weedons.

Many mechanics learned their trade in the concrete hangars on the wet apron before WWII and early on in the war before Technical Training Schools were established properly for ground staff.

In 1938 the Auckland Territorial Squadron was formed, and though their headquarters was in town they also used Hobsonville for training, particularly from 1939 when they received Blackburn Baffins to fly. Also based at Hobsonville from 1935 till 1939 were six Vickers Vildebeests, used by the regular RNZAF as a bomber reconnaissance flight and for training purposes.

In 1939 many aircraft began to arrive at Hobsonville for assembly as the RNZAF began to expand, due to the threat of a looming war. These included Fairey Gordons, Airspeed Oxfords and Vickers Vincents. Most of these went to Wigram once assembled but some stayed at Hobsonville.

When war broke out the Auckland Territorial Squadron was automatically seconded for regular service and they set up camp at Hobsonville. Lots of wartime activities began and in order to try to disguise the base from marauding enemy reconnaissance aircraft, certain camouflages were applied. This apparently included the bomb dump huts being redecorated to look like seaside homes, right down to washing lines and flapping washing being strung up outside! And a road and hedges were painted onto the airfield grass so it looked just like farm fields. Ingenious.

In 1940 the Flying Instructors School moved to Hobsonville from RNZAF Station Mangere, and the skies were suddenly full of Tiger Moths training new instructors as well as aircraft on test flights and operational General Reconnaissance bombers. However when Whenuapai opened up and the Baffins of the former Territorial squadron moved there, and other traffic began entering the Whenuapai airspace with the establishment of No. 4 EFTS there, the FIS moved to Tauranga for some clear air. Once there it was developed into the Central Flying School of the RNZAF.

More and more types arrived at the Hobsonville jetty for assembly and testing on the station, from P-40 Kittyhawks to Lockheed Hudsons to Chance Vought Corsairs.

The Seaplane Training Flight, which was a flying boat school where crews would be trained on the little Walrus aircraft before going up to Fiji onto the Catalinas, or even onto the transport Sunderlands, was also established in 1943. They used yachts as well as Walrus to train the crews in seamanship. The Walrus was already a familiar type to the wet apron at Hobby, as those on the New Zealand ships of the Royal Navy would often visit for maintenance there in the late 1930's.

In 1944 the old main gate to Hobsonville was closed and a new gate was opened. The old gate was on the southern side where many Married Quarters were built during and after the war. The new gate is off Hobsonville Road and remained the gate to the base till it closed and is still used today by the new tenants. If you know where to look you can still see the concrete sentry box at the old gate.

In 1944 and 1945 another new unit operated from the station, this being the Transport Training and Conversion Flight, flying Douglas C-47 Dakotas and Airspeed Oxfords.

When the war ended many of the wartime units disappeared. Hobsonville became something of a storage unit for aircraft withdrawn from use and for some years derelict Catalinas, Sunderland and smaller types including a Zero and a Seafire littered its airfield.

But some new units moved in too. The Technical Training School that was formerly at Nelson moved to Hobsonville. This later became No 1 TTS as various other stations opened schools again.

Maritime connections continued with Hobsonville and though immediate postwar flying boat operations for the RNZAF were at Lauthala Bay in Fiji, in June 1952 No. 6 FB (TAF) Squadron was formed as a semi Territorial-semi regular unit with two Catalinas and an Auster. Later they went onto Sunderlands. The flying boat maintenance for both No's 5 and 6 Squadrons was done at Hobsonville from 1953, which is when Sunderlands replaced the Catalinas. In 1955 the Maritime Operational Conversion Unit was established there.

In early 1965 three Auster were posted to the base to form the Light Reconnaissance Flight. These three aircraft were joined by some Harvards and Bristol Freighters and reformed as No. 3 Battlefield Support Squadron.

In late 1965 the squadron gained six new Bell Sioux helicopters on its inventory and a new era began for both Hobsonville and the RNZAF. By 1966 two more helicopter types were serving with No. 3 Squadron, the Bell Iroquois and Westland Wasp, the latter being naval aircraft attached to the new Leander class frigates. No. 3 Squadron maintained the Wasps in their Naval Support Flight, and they remained on the RNZAF's inventory despite being flown by Royal Navy and later Royal New Zealand Navy pilots.

The Siouxs later went into the training role and moved to the Central Flying School at Wigram (later Ohakea). And the Wasps were eventually replaced with Kaman Seasprites. These moved to Whenuapai in the late 1990's and in 2005 reformed as No. 6 Squadron. But the Iroquois continued at Hobsonville for decades.

As well as RNZAF units, Army, Navy and SAS units have served at Hobsonville in the postwar years. The Army had No. 5 Movements Squadron there, which looked after all the logistics of transporting army equipment around the country by air and land, etc. No. 1TTS was closed in 1993 and the SAS moved into their hangar from Papakura. They spent millions of dollars making the building and area secure, then moved back to Papakura (a base that was meant to close while Hobsonville was slated to stay open and expand as a tri-service base.)

Sadly the Government decided to close Hobsonville and the final parade of No. 3 Squadron, the last major unit there, was held in 2002 before they moved south to RNZAF Station Ohakea. The current Government have decided that rather than preserve the land as an airfield or even a much-needed park in the growing sprawl that now surrounds the once-remote base, this incredibly historic station will soon become just another housing suburb covered in awful state housing to home Auckland's ever increasing population.



1928, as a New Zealand Permanent Air Force station

 

Prewar Station Commanders
Squadron Leader Leonard Isitt (1928 - ?)

Wartime Station Commanders
Squadron Leader Edward George 'Ted' Olson DSO (February 1938 - July 1939)
Squadron Leader Hugh Bartholomew Burrell OBE (July 1939 - September 1939)
Squadron Leader W. Gordon Coull (September 1939 - July 1941)
Wing Commander Frances Esme Theodore Hewlett DSO, OBE (July 1941 - December 1941)
Wing Commander John Seabrook AFC, ED, LofM (US) (December 1941 - July 1942)
Wing Commander W. Gordon Coull (July 1942 - November 1942)
Wing Commander GR White (November 1942 - May 1943)
Wing Commander FR Newell (May 1943 - January 1944)
Wing Commander Ronald Joseph "Nugget" Cohen (January 1944 - March 1944)
Wing Commander JE Rawnsley (March 1944 - ? 1945)
Squadron Leader Willis (during 1945)



Today the base continues to serve as a tri-service military establishment, though hugely scaled back. Part of the base was sold off to a foreign investor who intended to build yachts in the old TEAL hangars but I believe this company never went anywhere and he's now sitting on prime waterfront real estate. A huge super hangar was built for something, maybe by the boat builder, but it was recently used as a film studio where the Narnia film was made.

Some RNZAF buildings have already gone - some moved, some demolished. The rest of the base will soon be no more once Housing Corporation builds its dog-boxes over NZ's last remaining prewar Air Force station. It's a huge shame and an outrage, Hobsonville was a stunning little base to work on, with a close knit and efficient team of RNZAF, Army and Navy personnel.

 

  The Flying Instructors School  


This school trained pilots how to teach their skills to pupils, this it taught pilots how to become instructors. This unit had previously been based from the outbreak of war at RNZAF Station Mangere, and after a stint at Hobsonville it moved to RNZAF Station Tauranga in 1941 where it became the Central Flying School of the RNZAF.

  No. 3 (Flying Boat) Operational Training Unit  


This Operational Training Unit used yachts and Walrus flying boats to train Catalina and Sunderland crews in handling of flying boats.

  No 1 Stores Depot  


The RNZAF's main Stores from November 1939 till the 21st June 1942 , at which point it shifted to RNZAF Station Hamilton, setting up in the central city's Bledisloe Hall, which had been the Winter Show Buildings

  Technical Training School  


Also sometimes known as The Armourers School, this establishment was set up in 1940 for training armourers in the maintenance and use of weapons and bombs. This school remained at the base becoming part of No. 1 Technical Training School after the war, which continued to train armourers, safety and surface workers and machinists until the school was closed in the early-1990's

  No.1 Aircraft Depot  

An aircraft assembly unit, no doubt the same unit as 'Unit 1' below

  Unit 1  


An aircraft assembly unit, making aircraft ready after they arrived by sea

  Unit 36  


An aircraft assembly unit, making aircraft ready after they arrived by sea)

Thanks To : Warrant Officer Sean Strang for providing the Station Commander details for Hobsonville, sourced from "The History and Development of RNZAF Station Hobsonville", complied and narrated by Squadron Leader AG Lester (1947)

 

RNZAF Swanson  


RNZAF Swanson was a Ground Training Depot

Runways - none

Meaning of Station Name - named for the area of west Auckland of Swanson where it was located

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

Auckland City



Certain parts of what was then the rural area of Swanson were commandeered during WWII to assist in the training of the RNZAF. A school for training Air Force medics was set up here in 1943. But many aircrew will recall Swanson as the place where RNZAF Jungle Training was carried out. Personnel who were going to be posted to the tropics would be sent to Swanson's Redwood Park, which is still there today and features a top golf course. This jungle camp had obstacle courses, and a Hudson fuselage in water for practising ditching escapes. It was also top secret at that time.



I believe this station opened around 1943 and remained till the end of the war

 

Unknown



Today Swanson is part of the sprawling West Auckland metropolis

 

  School of Hygiene  


The following is from this site:
"During 1943 the number of hygiene and sanitation orderlies required by the RNZAF for stations in New Zealand and overseas had exceeded the number required by the Army. It was therefore decided to establish a school of hygiene at the RNZAF Station, Swanson. On the completion of a course at Trentham by ten Air Force personnel in January 1943, they and their instructor proceeded to Swanson station and set up a demonstration area similar to the one at Trentham. From then on all training of airmen in hygiene and sanitation duties was carried out at Swanson. The existence of this school made it possible for every officer, NCO and airman of the RNZAF to be given some instruction in hygiene before proceeding overseas. The principal instructor was changed from time to time, but he was always a man who had been overseas and was therefore conversant with the conditions likely to be met."

  Jungle Training School  


This school was attended by airmen before they ventured into the Pacific so they could learn survival techniques and prepare for living in the tropics. This school is detailed in Geoffrey Ellis's book "Tool Box One The Wing" and also in Chapter Twelve of Trevor Pearce in his 'Air Force Memories," which you can read on this site, click here

Sources for RNZAF Station Swanson:
Medical Services in New Zealand and The Pacific by Colonel T.D.M. Stout
'Air Force Memories' by Trevor Pearce
'Tool Box On My Wing' by Geoffrey Ellis

 

RNZAF Mechanics Bay


RNZAF Mechanics Bay was a flying boat base and a Port Depot on the waterfront in Central Auckland

Runways - none, but there were flying boat alighting areas

Meaning of Station Name - Named after the bay where it was situated, and Mechanics Bay was named after the engineers who were brought to New Zealand by the Government in the 1860's to build their new capital of Auckland. The engineers and mechanics settled in this bay, which was next to Official Bay where the Government officials had settled.

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

Auckland city



RNZAF Station Mechanics Bay was situated at Mechanics Bay on the Waitemata Harbour. Subsequent development means that the bay is now gone, filled in when the railway was put in in the 1800's, but it remains a good beaching point for boats due to its shallow water, and thus for flying boats. The first aquatic aviation there occurred in the late 1930's with the arrival of international flying boats from Britain and America, and from 1940 TEAL was to operate its two Short Empire flying boats from this base, as the RNZAF had taken over their purpose built hangar at Hobsonville.

This station was taken over early in the war from existing civilian port facilities to initially form a Port Depot, where all movement in and out of the Auckland region of RNZAF personnel and goods would be handled. Civilian flats in the bay area were commandeered as accommodation for transiting personnel.

It was later in 1943 that our Catalinas began to use the base as an alighting area, and then in 1944 when the RNZAF's first Sunderlands arrived, this too was their mooring and maintenance point.

When the station was closed and No. 1 Port Depot moved to Remuera, all the workshops and flats were returned to civilian use.

Following the war, civil and military flying boats continued to use the Mechanics Bay alighting area and wet apron, and even after the military flying boats were gone, aviation continued with the Grumman Goose and Widgeon operations of Tourist Air Travel, then Mount Cook Airlines and finally Sea Bee Air. And today the Auckland rescue helicopter is based at Mechanics bay.

Most of the wartime buildings were removed in the late 1960's, many of winch, including workshops and hangars, were disassembled and transported to the Museum of Transport and Technology at Western Springs, where today they are still putting a roof over much of the collection there.



Opened 1940?
Closed as an RNZAF Station in September 1944

 



Today the area is now largely a container port I believe

 

  No. 1 Port Depot  


This unit was in charge of all RNZAF movements of equipment and personnel in and out of the Port of Auckland by ship. As troopship was the main form of transport to the pacific war zone, Canada, the USA and all other destinations airmen traveled to, this was a busy and important unit. It later shifted in September 1944 to RNZAF Station Remuera


  Flying Boat Transport Flight  


Flying four Short Sunderland flying boats on the transport route around the Pacific from December 1944 till after the end of the war, this unit was based at the Mechanics Bay flying boat port, along with the TEAL Short Empire flying boats (which had previously worked for the RNZAF from that port).


RNZAF Parnell


RNZAF Port Depot

Runways - none

Meaning of Station Name - taken from area of Auckland where it was situated, which I believe was named after builder and labour reformer Samuel Parnell

 

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

Auckland city



Though we're still piecing together the history of both RNZAF Parnell and Remuera, it appears these units were transit stations for airmen who were being dispatched overseas, or returning from postings abroad. It was basically accommodation for airmen passing through No. 1 Port Depot (ie getting on or off troopships).

In Parnell there was accommodation in Brandon Street, just off Parnell Rise, which was in the form of fairly modern (at the time) flats. See photo below. There were apparently also warehouses in Parnell too which stored equipment for transportation overseas. These were most likely to have been commandeered ex-civilian warehouses.

No. 1 Port Depot, RNZAF, Bedford Street Flats, Parnell - Image hosted by Photobucket.com 

Above: The RNZAF transit flats on Brandon Street, Parnell, used by airmen passing into and out of the country through No. 1 Port Depot. This image comes from the book The Official History of the Aerodrome Services Branch, and was kindly supplied by Sean Strang.

The RNZAF seems to have kept part of its Parnell site for several decades because an RNZAF warehouse was blown up by activist bombers, the Bowers brothers, in 1969. It was situated in Fox Street, Parnell. This may have been a wartime warehouse too. If anyone can confirm this, or if you have any more info on locations and activities at RNZAF Station Parnell, please contact me



Opened September 1944 (when No. 1 Port Depot moved from Mechanics Bay)

 

Unknown



Today

 

  No. 1 Port Depot  


Part of No. 1 Port Depot, which dealt with the movement on and off shore of airmen in the RNZAF.

 


RNZAF Remuera

 

RNZAF Port Depot Accommodation

Runways - none

Meaning of Station Name - taken from area of Auckland where it was situated, which according to the Lilliput Maori Place Names book (Reed, 1962) the name is more correctly spelled Remuwera, and means the burnt edge of a flax skirt.

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

Remuear Pennant - Image hosted by Photobucket.com

 

Auckland city

It seems that Remuera's first usage by the RNZAF may have been the establishment of a school for RNZAF Medics, according to this passage which is quoted from here:

Medical Orderlies
"In September 1939 there were only six medical orderlies on the strength of the RNZAF – three at Hobsonville and three at Wigram. With the expansion of the RNZAF this number was steadily increased, the number growing to 380 (including 80 airwomen), all being recruited directly into the RNZAF. The first recruits were interviewed by selection committees and precedence given to those applicants with previous medical experience, either with St. John Ambulance or with Army medical units. After their ground training course they were posted to stations, where practical and theoretical instruction was given during the course of their duties. At some stations courses of training were arranged in conjunction with the local public hospitals. When greater numbers were required, special training courses were started in April 1942, under the supervision of the Matron of the Nursing Service. A training school was also established at Remuera, where a much fuller syllabus of training was introduced and the course was extended to six weeks. Subsequent to the initial training course, orderlies were required to undergo six-monthly trade tests to qualify for higher rank. Prior to being posted overseas orderlies, irrespective of rank, were later required to undergo a four-weeks' refresher course at this training school, and had to attain a specific standard before being sent overseas."

Sadly that does not give us a date of the establishment of the school. Before the RNZAF's Port Depot moved into Remuera, there was a large US Military Hospital establishment there and the school is likely to have been an adjunct of that.

Later the RNZAF took over the now disused American Base Hospital, which was in Market Road, Remuera, and began using it as accommodation for the No. 1 Port Depot, which had previously been spread between the two stations at Mangere in the south of Auckland and Mechanic's Bay on the waterfront.

 

Above: The ex-US hospital at Market Road, Remuera, which became accommodation blocks
for No. 1 Port Depot (photo kindly supplied by Warrant Officer Sean Strang)

Remuera absorbed the Personnel Reception Depot, where airmen returning from overseas postings were accommodated and rested whilst awaiting their next posting notice, which had previously been situated at RNZAF Mangere. When the RNZAF took over the former American camp, the Public Works Department carried out alterations, which cost £12,000.

RNZAF Remuera and the sections at nearby Parnell now centralised both Despatch and Reception Centres for airmen, and also goods, and became responsible for the movement of all personnel and cargo into and out of New Zealand through Auckland. This station was basically accommodation, stores, transit and administration



Opened as RNZAF Station: September 1944
Closed as RNZAF Station: ??

 

Unknown



Today

 

  RNZAF School for Medics  


Established in Remuera for training of medical orderlies for the RNZAF

 
  No. 1 Port Depot  


This unit moved to Remuera from Mangere and Mechanics Bay in September 1944, combining the Personnel Reception Centre (Mangere) and Personnel Despatch Centre (Mechanics Bay) to form one unit when it moved to Remuera. It appears to have remained here till the end of the war

Sources for RNZAF Remuera:
Royal New Zealand Air Force by J.M.S. Ross
Medical Services in New Zealand and The Pacific by Colonel T.D.M. Stout
The Official History of the Aerodrome Services Branch (Kindly supplied by Warrant Officer Sean Strang)

RNZAF Station Epsom

 

RNZAF Minor Station, purpose as yet unknown

Runways - none known

Meaning of Station Name - named after the Auckland suburb where it was situated. I assume the suburb of Epsom was named after the town of Epsom in England

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

Auckland - just south of the city centre



I have no knowledge of what went on at RNZAF Station Epsom but I wonder if this is the site of the Auckland Teachers College which was taken over for the duration by the RNZAF and used as Northern Group Headquarters?



Opened ?
Closed ?

 

Unknown



Unknown

  

Unknown

 

RNZAF Station Sylvia Park

 

RNZAF Minor Station, purpose as yet unknown

Runways - none known

Meaning of Station Name -I am guessing this was probably situated at or near Sylvia Park or Sylvia Park Road in Westfield, Auckland and this is where the name came from.

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

Auckland

Unknown



Opened ?
Closed ?

 

Unknown



Unknown, but Sylvia Park is the site of the country's largest shopping mall

  

 

RNZAF Otahuhu

 

RNZAF ground training station early in WWII

Runways - none

Meaning of Station Name - named after the Auckland suburb where it was situated. According to the Lilliput Maori Place Names book (Reed, 1962) , ota mean uncooked, and huhu is grub. So it means eating an uncooked huhu grub. This was apparently done by several Waikato Maoris, who on dragging their canoes across the portage, they discovered several rotting trees full of huhus which they ate

 

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force and New Zealand Rail

 

South Auckland



RNZAF Otahuhu was an early RNZAF Technical Training School.
The history of this and the three other RNZAF Technical Training Schools in the New Zealand Railway Workshops is detailed on this link which reads:

"The expansion of the RNZAF immediately before the war was so rapid that the Technical Training School at Hobsonville could not train sufficient fitters and riggers for the service. It was therefore decided that a number of airmen should be trained in the railway workshops at Otahuhu, Hutt, Addington, and Hillside. Previously it had been planned that a number of the workshops apprentices should be given a course in Air Force trades at the conclusion of their Railways training. On completing their course the trainees were to be posted to the Civil Reserve and were liable to join the Air Force in the event of war.

The two schemes were combined, and technical training centres were opened in each of the railway workshops. The first to begin training was at Hutt, in July 1939. The others received their first intakes shortly after the war began. The scheme continued until September 1940, when the increased facilities for technical training within the RNZAF made it possible to close the technical training centres. During their period of operation the centres trained a total of 595 flight riggers and flight mechanics."



Opened Late 1939
Closed September 1940

 



The Otahuhu Railway Workshops closed in the mid-1990's I'm told.

  

  No. 1 Technical Training Centre  


Training RNZAF Riggers and Fitters

Thanks To Tony MacDonald for supplying information on this RNZAF school

 

RNZAF Mangere


RNZAF flying training station and Port Depot

Runways - grass airfield

Meaning of Station Name - according to here Mangere is the Maori word for 'lazy, sloth or idle.' Lilliput Maori Place Names (Reed, 1962) states that when Ihenga crossed the Waikato, he came to this place and rested while his young men prepared food. They took so long he was angry and named the place mangere, or Laziness.

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

South Auckland



RNZAF Station Mangere had previously been the home of the Auckland Aero Club since 1935 and so was a well-established aerodrome by the outbreak of war. The aerodrome was commandeered for RNZAF use just after the war was declared and a school for flying instructors was established. A number of other units were stationed at Mangere, though it didn't become an RNZAF Station officially until 1943.



Opened as RNZAF aerodrome 10th of September 1939 (requisitioned)
Closed as RNZAF Station: September 1944

 



Today the airfield is Auckland International Airport, the largest in the country.

  

  The Flying Instructor's School  


This school opened on the 10th of September 1939, the same day that the aerodrome became an RNZAF aerodrome. The facilities of the Auckland Aero Club were commandeered, as were aircraft and staff basically, in order to form the school. Pilots already competent in flying were trained here how to pass on their skills to student pilots. The first Commanding Officer of the Flying Instructor's School was Squadron Leader Dave M. Allan, who had previously been the aero club's chief instructor. He was however killed in a flying accident when his seatbelt failed and he fell from his Tiger Moth in March 1940.

The school moved to RNZAF Station Hobsonville in about 1940

  No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight  


This Flight was obviously used to train anti-aircraft gunners, providing aircraft to act as dummy targets for the ground-based gunners. At this stage the dates of operation of this Flight at Mangere are unknown, as is the aircraft types used and staff members.

  Northern Group Communications Flight  


This Flight was obviously made up of a small collection of communications aircraft, i.e. small passenger planes for ferrying personnel around the bases in, as well as other essential cargo. Dates, aircraft and personnel not as yet known

  Works Survey Flight  


Based at Mangere from August 1943

  Anti-Malaria Treatment Centre  


A medical unit based at Mangere from August 1943

  No. 1 Port Depot  


This unit moved to Mangere late in the war from RNZAF Parnell I believe

RNZAF Seagrove



RNZAF flying training station throughout WWII

Runways - two paved runways, one of 1700 yards in length, the other of 1760 yards in length. Both were 150 feet in width. Constructed from metal from Drury Quarry.

Meaning of Station Name - Originally intended to be called RNZAF Station Karaka, after the area where it is situated, in May 1942 the District Engineer persuaded the RNZAF to retain the name Seagrove, as this was the name given to the land farmed by the Clark family who'd farmed it for nearly 100 years. Mr Clark himself had willingly given up his land for the use as an aerodrome but he was still living in the Seagrove Homestead and had expressed an interest in the family farm name not being lost.

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

Auckland City - RNZAF Seagrove is south of Auckland in the Franklin District, beside the Manukau Harbour between Karaka and Clarks Beach



RNZAF Station was originally established as a fighter station that would operate in the defence of Auckland City, Auckland Harbour and the regions around. The registered surveyor, Mr Reg Prangley of Mangere, and his assistant Sam Bell, began to survey for the construction of the aerodrome in April 1942. Several trees were removed to complete this.

As mentioned above the proposed station name was changed from Karaka to Seagrove in May 1942. In order to lay the runways, metal chip was sourced from Drury Quarry. Every available tip truck was commandeered for the purpose, with over 60 trucks forming a continuous chain from dawn till dusk, delivering the metal.

In all, six properties were commandeered for the station, and the original area of the land taken for this use was 632 acres. A further 107 acres were later added after deals were negotiated with the landowners.

The land was somewhat swampy, especially so in winter, so networks of drains were dug, tiles and filled in to ensure water didn't lay on the airfield. As the station was right on the seafront, along that perimeter an 8 foot canal was dug along the frontage. The spoils from this trench was used to form a seawall for extra protection.

Accommodation had to be provided for station personnel , and though original plans were for accommodating 250 personnel, this was expanded to 46 Officers, 450 NCO's and Airmen, and 42 WAAF's. So it was to become a reasonable sized station.

Seagrove was a dispersed station, which means that rather than buildings all in one place, the accommodation and workshops, etc., were spread around the station and camouflaged so that from the air they could not be seen. The accommodation huts were all placed beneath large trees. There were eleven huts sized 10' x 8', a further eleven that were 20' x 8' in size, and 35 huts that were 30' x 8' in size. Also there were larger 40' x 24' buildings that were for mess halls, kitchens, recreational buildings and the hospital. So there were a lot of buildings to hide from the air.

Eventually the WAAF's were accommodated in the Seagrove Homestead.

Of course an operational station also needs hangars where aircraft can be maintained. These, and dispersal revetments, were set back into the hills around the airfield, and were camouflaged with wire netting, titree, etc. A headquarters building was built on the rise just above the airstrips and was tied in with an already established farmhouse.

The Seagrove Station Commander's house was a five-bedroomed house down the road with a well established garden, and surrounded with camellia trees. Apart from the runways itself, from the air there was little sign that an RNZAF Station was operating on the Seagrove site, it just looked like farmland.

The construction was completed finally at the end of 1942. The original estimate for establishing the base had been £121,000 but the final bill came in at £225,000.

Some time before the station was complete it had already become operational. No. 15 Squadron had originally formed at RNZAF Station Ohakea, but the squadron had moved up to Seagrove on the 10th of August 1942. The squadron, flying P-40E Kittyhawks, flew in defence of the Auckland region for around two months, before they were posted away, and the newly formed No. 17 Squadron (also flying Kittyhawks) replaced them.

No. 17 Squadron remained at Seagrove from October 1942 through till the 15th of June 1943. At this stage the base of fighter protection for the Auckland region moved from Seagrove to Ardmore.

A new dimension for the station came in May 1943 when American forces arrived in New Zealand. The US Marine Corps dive bomber squadron MAG-14 (Marine Aircraft Group 14) was offered the use of Seagrove, having come to New Zealand after their service at Guadalcanal. This Dauntless squadron had arrived in New Zealand from Guadalcanal on the 16th of April 1943.

MAG-14 remained at Seagrove till July 1943, and during that time as well as this Dauntless squadron, many hundreds of other US aircrew members were stationed at Seagrove whilst on R&R (Rest and Recreation) following service in the Pacific. MAG-14 finally left New Zealand on the 25th of August 1943.

When the US squadron left Seagrove in July they had left nine of their Dauntless dive bombers behind, and the RNZAF formed a new unit, No. 25 (Dive Bomber) Squadron, at Seagrove. This squadron was under the command of Sqn Ldr Theo MacLean de Lange, who was appointed to the role on the 30th of June 1943. On arrival he found the station to be sparse and under-equipped, with few tables, and no cooking or eating utensils. The CO's house that he was to occupy had just a double bed, a table and four chairs, with an outside meat safe. Luckily as No. 25 Squadron, which was made up from members of the disbanded Army Co-operation squadrons based at Onerahi and Milson, de Lange's equipment officer, F/O Baker, was able to obtain most of the equipment needed from RNZAF Onerahi which was closing at the same time.

The RNZAF had ordered a quantity of 206 A-24 Banshee dive bombers to equip four new squadrons, No. 25, No. 26, No. 27 and No. 28 Squadrons RNZAF. However these were delayed and then the US service through which Lend Lease acquisitions were made changed from the US Army Air Corps to the US Navy. Thus instead of the army version, the Banshee, the RNZAF was allocated the navy version, the SBD Dauntless.

Whilst that order was to be delivered, 25 Squadron began to train using the nine borrowed war veteran SBD-3's left at Seagrove by the Marine squadron. However it took some time to get the aircraft serviceable which probably explains why the USMC left them. The first did not get airborne till the 5th of August 1943.

The crews began flying them but they retained the USMC markings. Then eventually the squadron were to get their own SBD-4 Dauntless which were painted in RNZAF colours.

After 25 Squadron had completed their training, they were ready to depart to Espiritu Santo in the forward area in the Pacific. On the 6th of January 1944 the squadron flew 18 Dauntless in a 'V' formation over Auckland as a farewell flypast. it was the largest formation seen in New Zealand skies till that date. The squadron then did a jungle training course at RNZAF Swanson, and they departed Seagrove finally on the 30th of January to fly to Santo aboard an RNZAF C-47 Dakota.

Their aircraft were to remain at Seagrove (they were picking more up waiting for them at Santo), and the next dive bomber squadron, No. 26 was now formed. They too began to train at Seagrove. However both the war situation and the manufacturing situation changed, and the RNZAF decided to scrap plans for the four dive bomber squadrons. No. 26 Squadron had only done a matter of weeks on Dauntless conversion, before they were disbanded and reformed as a Corsair Squadron at Ardmore.

Once No. 26 Squadron was gone, squadrons from nearby Ardmore used the sea just off Seagrove for a firing range for a time, before this was ceased.

The only other training activities I am aware of is Seagrove was the site for a period of one of the Initial Training Wing schools, where new intakes into the RNZAF would learn the basics of RNZAF life before going onto the more specific training courses.

Following the war, it appears that the station has reverted back to farmland although a Radio Research Station remained on site for a number of years. The runways remained there for some years and were used by the Auckland Car Club well into the 1950's as a racing track. However the seal began to break up and the club moved to Ardmore as their motor racing base. Today it is once again private farm land.



Opened 10th of August 1942 as an operational station with No. 15 Squadron, though it was not completely constructed at the time.
Closed in January 1944

 

This theory may be wrong but I assume the Station Commanders were the CO's of the various Squadrons based there at the time, apart from the period when the USMC was based there at which point Sidney Wiltshire commanded Seagrove.:
Squadron Leader Alan Crighton (No. 15 Squadron) 10th of August till October 1942
Squadron Leader J. V. A. Reid (No. 17 Squadron) October 1942 till May 1943
Squadron Leader Sidney Wiltshire (Station Commander) May till September 1943)
Squadron Leader Theo J. MacLean de Lange (No. 25 Sqn) September 1943 till 30th of Jan 1944
?? (No. 26 Squadron)



Today Seagove has now disappeared back into the rural landscape.

 

  No. 15 (Fighter) Squadron  


Operating P-40 Kittyhawks under the command of Sqn Ldr Alan Crighton, in the defence of the Auckland region.

  No. 17 (Fighter) Squadron  


Operating P-40 Kittyhawks under the command of Sqn Ldr J. Reid, in the defence of the Auckland region.

  Marine Aircraft Group-14, US Marine Corps  


MAG-14 became stationed at Seagrove following its operating SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers at Guadalcanal - and was on in New Zealand

  No. 25 (Dive Bomber) Squadron  


Training on Douglas SBD-3 and SBD-4 Dauntless dive bombers before moving up to the forward area in the Pacific in 1944

  No. 26 (Dive Bomber) Squadron  


Flying Douglas SBD-3 and SBD-4 Dauntless dive bombers for a brief time before a policy change saw this squadron disband

  Unit 35  

An aircraft assembly unit that assembled the Dauntless

 

Below are some photos of Seagrove as it is today

Aerial views kindly supplied by Peter Lewis, taken March 2007

 

 

This one Peter has marked where the runways once sat

 

The following were kindly taken in 2006 for the site by my Dad's cousin, Bob Homewood

The gate into the old station (bare in mind this is private property)

 

Looking East down the Runway

 

Looking East Again

 

Looking West

Seagrove Hill, to the West - this must be where the Hangars were

The commemorative plaque unveiled by T.J. MacLean de Lange in 1992

 

 

References for the RNZAF Station Seagrove entry here include:
'Franklin Remembers' by Keith and Nona Morris
'The Yanks Are Coming' by Harry Bioletti
Members of the Wings over New Zealand Forum

 


RNZAF Ardmore



RNZAF flying training station

Runways -

Meaning of Station Name -

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

South of Auckland, nearest town was Papakura



RNZAF Station
Ardmore was built by the Public Works Department during the war as part of Auckland's air defense system. But it was in its role as a major fighter operational conversion base that most pilots remember the station. Pilots who'd trained to elementary level elsewhere in the country would then come to Ardmore to convert onto the P-40 Kittyhawk, or later the F4U-1 Corsair and one or two other types. There was also a gunnery school there which flew Harvard target tugs. As well as several RNZAF units and squadrons, the US Navy and Marines also used Ardmore.

Active military operations at Ardmore ceased in 1946 although it officially remained a military airfield until 1957. The location is also used for a teaching training college from 1948 till 1974, and the runway became a track for Grand Prix racing from 1954, and car racing in many classes continued till 1963.



Opened
as RNZAF Station: 1st of December 1943
Closed as RNZAF Station: 19th of December 1957

 

 



Today Ardmore Aerodrome is the premier light aviation centre of the Auckland region, with many flying schools, clubs and engineering facilities within its aviation park. The runway is one of the busiest in the southern hemisphere, and the airfield also is the home base of the New Zealand Warbirds, who restore and fly many World War Two and other military aircraft types. As far as airfield attractions this is one of New Zealand's best.

  

  No. 4 (Fighter) Operational Training Unit  


Newly trained pilots converted onto P40 Kittyhawks and Warhawks of all marks here. This school moved to Ohakea in 1944 with the arrival of the Corsairs at Ardmore

  Corsair Conversion Unit  


Flying Corsairs

  Fighter Leader's School  
 
  Unit 81  


A maintenance unit

 

Below, some wartime shots of RNZAF Station Ardmore,
kindly supplied by W/O Sean Strang



RNZAF Waitemata


RNZAF alighting area

Runways - none, just sea lanes for flying boat operations

Meaning of Name - Waitemata is Maori for 'water as smooth as the surface of obsidian'

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

Auckland City



This is Auckland's main harbour where flying boats operated from.



Opened 1943?

 



Today just a busy harbour with very little flying boat activity

 

None known



RNZAF Manukau

 

RNZAF alighting area

Runways - none, just sea lanes for flying boat operations

Meaning of Name - Manukau is Maori for wading birds

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force

 

Auckland



Another harbour, on the Tasman Sea side, where flying boats could operate from



Opened 1943?

 



Today

  

 
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