Dominion Unit’s Flight

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIII, Issue 22620, 28 June 1943, Page 4

Dominion Unit’s Flight

Long Trans-Ocean Journey

A new achievement in the history of New Zealand aviation, the transfer from New Zealand to a forward fighting area in the South Pacific of a fighter squadron under its own power, was completed in April with the arrival in the war zone of a New Zealand Kittyhawk squadron. Not only did the squadron’s pilots ferry their own warplanes from the Dominion. but New Zealand bombers and United States transports also carried across many hundreds of miles of sea a large proportion of the requisite ground crews, with their equipment, enabling the squadron, in fighting trim, to reach the battle area in a fraction of the time that would have been occupied by surface transport. Close co-operation between Air Force authorities of New Zealand and the United States, and liaison among all sections of the New Zealand Air Department contributed to the success of the enterprise, which was attended by more difficulties than might appear at first glance. As soon as the last link in the chain of island airfields was forged the long-desired air mobility of fighter squadrons became practical. One of the New Zealand fighter squadrons was ordered to move to the war zone, and plans were rapidly completed. Kittyhawks and Escorts New Kittyhawk aircraft, freshly arrived from the United States, were assembled and test flown at a New Zealand station, and collected direct by pilots of the squadron concerned Each pilot was allocated his own machine—the machine in which he was to fly direct from New Zealand to the war—and as soon as the first haii dozen had been delivered a departure date was set. Hudson aircraft cf another New Zealand squadron were allocated as escorts. arrangomen*s made with the American authorities to provide two large Douglas transports. and a representative party of airmen of the fighter unit chosen lego as a flying service party. So they took off. Kittyhawks throttled well back for economy and also to keep their speed down to that of the rest of the convoy; Hudsons near their maximum cruising speed: Douglases fully extended within safe limits. “A flying menagerie’’ someone called it. as the 10 aircraft took up station behind the leader, and swept away to the north.

The fickle weather of the South Pacific was experienced by the first party. The Kittyhawks, after a long stretch over the ocean, reached the end of their second hop to find their destination an island aerodrome, completely shrouded in low. swirling cloud and blinding rain. Under the protecting guidance of their Hudson escort they cruised back and forth along the coast, trying to poke their sharp noses through a break in the weather, but finding only rain, mist, and growing darkness. The Hudson cruised until her margin of fuel to return to the day's starting point was a bare minimum. and then was obliged to leave the fighters, which had no chance of getting back. When their fuel was nearly done, the commander of the Kittyhawk party ordered his pilots down on the best country he could find, a curving beach that showed dimly through the murk. They dropped down out of the dark sky, made precautionary approaches, cut their throttles—and got away with it uninjured. Clockwork Precision Plans made for the flights of remaining groups were pressed forward, and these flights went with clockwork precision. At brief intervals, as fast as fresh batches of Kittyhawks were delivered, parties were assembled, crews briefed, and aerial convoys sent off northward with a minimum of delay. If departures were prosaic, arrivals for the most part were even more so. Succeeding groups of Kitty ha wks. complete with escort and transports, simply dropped out of the sky to land on the tropic strip that was their destination. Pilots and ground crew’s trooped off to seek quarters, a meal, and a shower. Yet within a couple of weeks a full fighter squadron, complete with reserve aircraft, sufficient tools and equipment to carry on until the bulk arrived, and enough trained ground personnel to keep the machines in fighting trim, come unobtrusively into the war zone, to take over the defence of an island vital to Allied strategy in the South Pacific area.