PACIFIC WAR

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27794, 20 October 1955, Page 10

PACIFIC WAR

ADDRESS TO TIN HAT CLUB

“The war in the Pacific was fought on a bigger scale than most people think and it was more dangerous too, said Squadron Leader W. D. H. Smith, of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Wigram, when he addressed the Christchurch Tin Hat Club. He was a navigator in No. 3 Squadron, the first New Zealand air unit to be sent to the area in 1942, and later served with No. 6 Squadron. It had rightly been decided that New Zealand’s major commitment lay in the Middle East, but it was a calculated risk, Squadron Leader Smith said. By the time the Battle of the Coral Sea occurred in May, 1942, it was clear that the Japanese were throwing in great weight. The United States had three battleships, five carriers, six cruisers and 21 destroyers in tost engagement, which was the shortest in history, and the first in which the opposing forces did not sight each other; yet the Battle of the Eastern Solomons was, he thought, more significant, with the Japanese ranging four transports, five carriers, eight battleships, six cruisers, and 21 'destroyers and losing 100 aircraft. These and other engagements indicated the size of the threat, Squadron Leader Smith said. On September 18, 1942, it was decided that New Zealand should send two air squadrons and the 12 aircraft left on October 2, a remarkable achievement considering that ground staff then in New Zealand were largely men unfit for active service.