Obituary Mr J. R. B. Day

Press, 3 September 1986, Page 40

Obituary Mr J. R. B. Day

PA Dunedin Mr John Ronald Benjamin (Jack) Day, who shot down 10 enemy aircraft in the Pacific during World War 11, died in Wanaka on Sunday. He was 73. In May, 1942, Squadron Leader Day was posted as flight commander to No. 16 Fighter Squadron of the R.N.Z.A.F., and saw active duty in the Solomon Islands. Corsairs, Harvards, Venturas, and Spitfires were among the aircraft he flew in 180 hours of combat time.

He learned to fly with the Otago Aero Club in 1938. At the outbreak of war he became a flying instructor at the R.N.Z.A.F. station, Taieri,

where he spent 1900 hours in Tiger Moths and taught 84 pilots to fly. Upon his return to New Zealand, Mr Day was chief test pilot for the R.N.Z.A.F. at Hobsonville. There he flew more than 30 types of aircraft. Another posting took him back to the Pacific until the end of the war as a test pilot for the United States Navy. He flew 400 hours, accident-free, in many aircraft. Mr Day held the M.8.E., Air Force Cross, and Aircraft Efficiency Medal. After the war, he established his own garage business in Dunedin.

He is survived by his wife.

The Government announced last week that MDA McKay King, Ltd, would .take a “professional overview” to ensure three other agencies working on the tax and benefit changes did not duplicate their efforts.