![]() ![]() Royal New Zealand Air Force Personnel inspect a Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter. 5" The RNZAF grew quickly and between 1939 and December 1941 it had grown from 1,000 members to over 10,000 members strong 6. Finance Minister Walter Nash, declared that despite the cost, “The war against Japan is our war. The action in Singapore, made New Zealand acutely aware of the impending danger facing New Zealand. ![]() In the end, seven of the squadron's seventeen Buffalos had been written off 4. A flight of eight New Zealand fighters went up against a formation of 27 aircraft. 488 (NZ) Squadron, under the command of the Royal Air Force, flew out from the Kallang airfield in Singapore and intercepted one of the first Japanese air raids on the city. Only a few days after the attack on Pearl Harbour, on the 7 th December 1941 New Zealand’s first fighter squadron No. However, once war was declared on Japan, New Zealand moved swiftly to defend itself. The war in the Pacific ended four months later when Japanese Emperor Hirohito, announced the surrender of Imperial Japan on the 15th August 1945, but the official agreement wasn’t signed until the 2nd of September 1945, on board the USS Missouri.Īt the outbreak of war, the RNZAF consisted of 91 officers and 665 airmen, and 109 aircraft ready for service in New Zealand. The news made the headlines in morning newspapers, but peace wasn’t officially announced until the 9th May 1945 3. Germany officially surrendered in the early afternoon of the 7th May 1945, New Zealand time. Though there were many others who played a role in the Pacific including the Cook Islands Local Defence Force and Coastwatchers. It was in the Pacific that we flew for our own Air Force, in our own Squadrons. The following day, New Zealand, the United States and Britain declared war on Japan 2.Įach of New Zealand’s forces, the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), the New Zealand Army, and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) served in the Pacific. The Pacific War was sparked into action, after the Japanese bombing of the American Naval Base, Pearl Harbour on the 7th December 1941 1. In commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of VJ Day, we have put together some of the stories and experiences of New Zealanders who served in the Pacific. The 15th of August marks 75 years since the end of the Second World War in the Pacific. ![]()
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