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Ohakea
RNZAF Base Ohakea is an operational base of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Opened in 1939, it is located near Bulls, 25 km north-west of Palmerston North in the Manawatu. It is also a diversion landing point for civilian aircraft. The base's motto is ''Defensio per vires'' (Latin for defence through strength). Early days An air base was originally proposed in the area in 1927, when Ohakea was selected as the most suitable site for a mooring mast for airships of the British Imperial Airship service. It was proposed to build one mast for a demonstration flight, with the potential for expansion to a full airship base with three masts, airship sheds and hydrogen production. However, there was no point in going ahead with the development of the site without a commitment from the Australian Government to build masts to provide bases in that country. When the Australian Government declined to build masts, the New Zealand Government declined likewise. 1930s development In 1 ...
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RNZAF Base Ohakea Official Badge July 1979
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zealand elements of the British Royal Air Force, becoming an independent force in 1923, although many RNZAF aircrew continued to serve in the Royal Air Force until the end of the 1940s. The RNZAF fought in World War II, Malaya, Korean War, Vietnam and the Gulf War as well as undertaking various United Nations peacekeeping missions. From a 1945 peak of over 1,000 combat aircraft the RNZAF has shrunk to a strength of around 48 aircraft in 2022, focusing on maritime patrol and transport duties in support of the Royal New Zealand Navy and the New Zealand Army. The RNZAF's air combat capability ended in 2001, under the Fifth Labour Government with the disbanding of the A-4 Skyhawk and Aermacchi MB-339 based squadrons. The Air Force is led by an Ai ...
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Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zealand elements of the British Royal Air Force, becoming an independent force in 1923, although many RNZAF aircrew continued to serve in the Royal Air Force until the end of the 1940s. The RNZAF fought in World War II, Malaya, Korean War, Vietnam and the Gulf War as well as undertaking various United Nations peacekeeping missions. From a 1945 peak of over 1,000 combat aircraft the RNZAF has shrunk to a strength of around 48 aircraft in 2022, focusing on maritime patrol and transport duties in support of the Royal New Zealand Navy and the New Zealand Army. The RNZAF's air combat capability ended in 2001, under the Fifth Labour Government with the disbanding of the A-4 Skyhawk and Aermacchi MB-339 based squadrons. The Air Force is led by a ...
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2 Squadron RNZAF
No. 2 Squadron RNZAF was a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). It was formed in 1930 as part of the Territorial Air Force with the main headquarters at Wellington and shadow flights at New Plymouth and Wanganui. Squadron personnel conducted their annual flying at RNZAF Base Wigram. In 1937 the Territorial Squadrons were re-organised and No. 2 Squadron became the Wellington Territorial Squadron. History World War II The squadron received its first aircraft, 12 Blackburn Baffins, in 1938 and at the outbreak of World War II the squadron moved to Blenheim to undertake its general reconnaissance role of protecting Cook Strait. A year later, in 1940, all Territorial Squadrons were merged to become the New Zealand General Reconnaissance Squadron, based at Whenuapai, Auckland. Within 12 months, No. 2 Squadron was reformed. Based at Nelson with Vickers Vildebeests and Vickers Vincent aircraft, it resumed its protection of Cook Strait providing air cover for troop ship ...
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Bulls, New Zealand
Bulls is a small town north west of Palmerston North on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is in a fertile farming area in the Rangitikei District at the junction of State Highways 1 and 3 about 135 kilometres (84 mi) north of Wellington. According to a Statistics New Zealand estimate, Bulls has a population of inhabitants. Recent marketing makes puns with the name, for example, "New Zealand gets its milk from Bulls" or the sign for the local police station "Const-a-bull". Etymology There are two recorded Māori toponyms for the area – Te Ara Taumaihi and Ō-hine-puhiawe. The origins of Te Ara Taumaihi have yet to be explicitly explored. Ō-hine-puhiawe, a land block where Parewahawaha marae is situated, acts as a synecdoche to refer to the current town area. The modern town name is named after James Bull who owned the first general store there. The town was originally called Bull Town, but this was changed to Clifton and then renamed back to Bulls a ...
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RNZAF Base Auckland
RNZAF Base Auckland is a Royal New Zealand Air Force base located near the upper reaches of the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. The base formerly comprised two separate airfields, Whenuapai and RNZAF Station Hobsonville. Hobsonville was established as a seaplane station in 1928 and was the RNZAF's primary flying boat base in New Zealand until 1967. Construction of Whenuapai as a base for Vickers Wellington bomber aircraft began in 1937, the hangars being built in 1939. Whenuapai was also Auckland's civil international airport from 1945 to 1965. After World War II Auckland became a centre for RNZAF transport and maritime squadrons. RNZAF Station Hobsonville was administratively joined with Whenuapai in 1965 to become RNZAF Base Auckland. Hobsonville subsequently became a grass airfield for No. 3 Squadron RNZAF, which later moved to Ohakea. A New Zealand Army unit comprising various personnel from different regiments as well as the New Zealand Special Air Service were ...
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Pilot Training Squadron RNZAF
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The Pilot Training Squadron based at RNZAF Base Ohakea, and trained RNZAF pilots from 1966 until 2015. Origins Military pilot training during World War I was undertaken by private contractors; principally the New Zealand Flying School of the Walsh Brothers in Auckland and the Canterbury Aviation Company formed by Henry Wigram in Christchurch. When the New Zealand Permanent Air Force was formed in June 1923, war surplus Avro 504K and Bristol F2B Fighters transferred from Britain were used for training purposes, supplemented from 1929 by de Havilland Gypsy Moths and replaced from 1931 by Hawker Tomtits and Avro 626s. A single two seat Gloster Grebe provided conversion training on that type. in anticipation of the delivery of Vickers Wellington bombers, twin engine monoplane training began on the first of 229 Airspeed Oxfords in 1938. World War II By the outbreak of World War II the more modern of these types had been formed into No. 1 Flying T ...
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Wigram Aerodrome
Wigram Aerodrome is located in the Christchurch suburb of Sockburn, later to be split-suburb of Wigram and now split again as Wigram Skies. It was gifted by Sir Henry Wigram for the Canterbury (NZ) Aviation Company on 20 September 1916 and originally named Sockburn Airport. In 1923 that was then gifted to the Crown as a Royal New Zealand Air Force base. Charles Kingsford-Smith made the first Trans-Tasman flight from Sydney to Wigram on 10 September 1928. Sir Henry Wigram continued to support the base, gifting a further 81 acres of land in 1932. But aircraft got bigger and needed longer and eventually tarsealed runways. The Crown added to the original size of the airfield and that addition was land belonging to Ngāi Tahu. That just includes where the Control Tower currently still stands. RNZAF Wigram was home to the Central Flying School, Pilot Training Squadron, Navigation Training and recruit training. In 1953 RNZAF Wigram was the scene of the worst RNZAF crash in ...
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The New Zealand Squadron
The New Zealand Squadron was the name given by the Royal Air Force to the men of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in the United Kingdom to train on the 30 Vickers Wellington Mk1C bombers the New Zealand Government ordered in 1938 to introduce the latest in aviation military technology to the RNZAF. Some RNZAF aircrew had been sent to the United Kingdom and others already there were posted to the group training on the new aircraft based at RAF Marham in Norfolk commencing on 1 June 1939 under the command of Squadron Leader Maurice Buckley. The crews were to fly the aircraft to New Zealand in batches of six, to their new airbase, RNZAF Base Ohakea in the country's North Island, that was being built to receive them. RAF official records name this group of airmen as "The New Zealand Squadron", and shared RAF Marham with No. 38 and No. 115 Squadrons. They moved to RAF Harwell, and then to RAF Feltwell on 12 February 1940. Those aircraft initially delivered and being used ...
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New Zealand Ministry Of Works
The New Zealand Ministry of Works and Development, formerly the Department of Public Works and often referred to as the Public Works Department or PWD, was founded in 1876 and disestablished and privatised in 1988. The Ministry had its own Cabinet-level responsible minister, the Minister of Works or Minister of Public Works. Historically, the state has played an important part in developing the New Zealand economy. For many years the Public Works Department (which became the Ministry of Works in 1948 and the Ministry of Works and Development in 1974) undertook most major construction work in New Zealand, including roads, railways and power stations. After the reform of the state sector, beginning in 1984, the ministry disappeared and its remnants now have to compete for government work. The Ministry of Works and Development was disestablished in 1988 and a Residual Management Unit continued to oversee the Ministry's operations and assets until formally ending in 1993. It was a ...
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Mooring Mast
A mooring mast, or mooring tower, is a structure designed to allow for the docking of an airship outside of an airship hangar or similar structure. More specifically, a mooring mast is a mast or tower that contains a fitting on its top that allows for the bow of the airship to attach its mooring line to the structure. When it is not necessary or convenient to put an airship into its hangar (or shed) between flights, airships can be moored on the surface of land or water, in the air to one or more wires, or to a mooring mast. After their development mooring masts became the standard approach to mooring airships as considerable manhandling was avoided.Williams, T, 2009 (Reissue), "Airship Pilot No. 28", Darcy Press, UK, Mast types Airship mooring masts can be broadly divided into fixed high masts and fixed or mobile low (or ‘stub’) masts. In the 1920s and 1930s masts were built in many countries. At least two were mounted on ships. Without doubt the tallest mooring m ...
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Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvat ...
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Military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct military uniform. It may consist of one or more military branches such as an army, navy, air force, space force, marines, or coast guard. The main task of the military is usually defined as defence of the state and its interests against external armed threats. In broad usage, the terms ''armed forces'' and ''military'' are often treated as synonymous, although in technical usage a distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include both its military and other paramilitary forces. There are various forms of irregular military forces, not belonging to a recognized state; though they share many attributes with regular military forces, they are less often referred to as simply ''military''. A nation's militar ...
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