What's on at Air Force Museum of New Zealand
Latest from the museum
Latest Exhibition
Tall Tails
Our Tall Tails exhibition features the mounted tails of the C-130 Hercules and P-3 Orion, this new exhibition brings visitors closer to two extraordinary aircraft and the stories they carry. It also highlights the importance of finding a permanent home for them, as the Museum continues to fundraise through the Home for Heroes project.
Tall Tails is on display in our Thérèse Angelo Wing.
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Exhibition
The Mighty Hercules
The Mighty Hercules exhibition is on in the Cochrane Gallery upstairs in our atrium. Come and visit and learn all about this extraordinary aircraft.
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Support Us
Home for Heroes
Join us in building a forever home for New Zealand’s C-130 Hercules and P-3 Orion – icons of service.
For more than half a century, these legendary aircraft carried our nation’s courage across the world – in peace, crisis, and discovery. Now, they need a home worthy of their legacy, where their stories of service, innovation and humanity will continue to inspire.
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Birthday Parties
Mission: Best birthday ever
Zip up a flight suit, grab your dog tags, and dive into a fully hosted birthday “mission”. From air & sea adventures for preschoolers to rescue and cadet challenges for older children. Our Programmes team runs the activities, the children get awesome photo moments (and party bags), and you can add catering through our café.
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Our Aircraft
Explore AircraftMore to explore
COLD WAR TALE: Take two treacherous Pacific reefs, shipwrecks, RNZAF Sunderlands and Orions, and add a little Cold War mystery and you have all the makings of two new blogs!
Our very own Matthew O'Sullivan has uncovered interesting tales about every sailor's nightmare - the Minerva Reefs.
Read all about it here:
airforcemuseum.co.nz/blog/minerva-reef-part-1-desperate-rescue/
airforcemuseum.co.nz/blog/minerva-reef-part-2-cold-war-mystery-ship/ ... See MoreSee Less
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Our beautiful P3s
URGENT CLARIFICATION: With International Talk Like A Pirate Day* looming, we’re moving swiftly to clear up any ongoing confusion between the Blackburn Buccaneer and Blackbeard the Buccaneer in the interests of public safety.
This confusion is understandable of course. As well as sharing very similar names, both are fearsome sea-going weapons of war with reputations for speed, surprise attacks, and heavy armament.
Since they’re virtually impossible to tell apart to the naked eye, we’ve prepared a handy three-step guide to the Buccaneers so you’ll be able to tell them apart at a glance.
The first, and arguably most obvious giveaway, is in the engine department.
The Blackburn Buccaneer was powered by two powerful Rolls-Royce Spey turbofans fuelled by military grade jet fuel, capable of propelling it to a top speed of 1,074 km/h.
Blackbeard the Buccaneer was powered by two rickety legs and fuelled mostly by rum. Contrary to popular belief, one leg was not wooden – that was the Long John Silver model Buccaneer.
The second major difference, and you will kick yourself when it is pointed out, is in the armament department.
The Blackburn Buccaneer was designed to carry the 'Red Beard' nuclear missile with a yield of 25 kilotons as its main attack weapon.
Blackbeard the Buccaneer also came armed to the teeth but was less lethal. Blackbeard sported a cutlass and a musket – and had no time for Red Beard at all.
The final difference, and you will kick yourself when it is pointed out, is in their avionics suite.
The Blackburn Buccaneer came fully loaded from the Blackburn factory with a radar, compass, speed indicators, altimeter and everything you’d expect in a 1960s-era nuclear capable attack aircraft.
Blackbeard the Buccaneer came with a compass, an auxiliary shoulder parrot, a spyglass and a canny eye for the weather, tides and cowardly shipmates, but no avionics to speak of.
So, there you have it. Never confuse your Buccaneers again.
And to be doubly sure to visit our museum on Fridays when Bucanneer pilot Terry Summers will be happy to talk you through the characteristics of a Bucanneer.
*International Talk Like a Pirate Day is on 19 September me hearties.
#blackburnbuccaneer #internationaltalklikeapirateday #raf #royalnavy ... See MoreSee Less
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In the nautical theme, you could have found a picture of FAA Bucc rather than RAF :) Blackbeard walked a plank off his ship, the Bucc was flung off it by a catapult
Arrrghh, that’ll be riiiggght, so it will…..
Quoting ERB with a little Clarification on Blackbeard "I come strapped with six pistols and a dagger, walk under the Black Flag with a Scallywag Swagger, Ain't no parrots on my shoulder and no rings in my ear. I'm an irate pirate, real swashbuckling Buccaneer!.."
I’m so glad you pointed that out…I would have been confused for years otherwise 🤣
Thank you for the clarification.
Blackbeards' airborne capability was surprisingly good with optional parrot installed. He had.... Air Borne reconnaissance, with advanced vocal capabilities. Air Borne bombing... although, the "bombs" were small but there was the possibility of germ warfare... moreso right now... when bird flew turns so easily into bird flu.. True green fuelling options for the airborne system... You'd be amazed at how far that system would go on just one cracker..
Only way to tell them apart is to load both up with Rum and see which is the last one standing
It should also be noted that, when he was in the quarterdeck of his ship, Blackbeard was at a higher altitude than the typical operating altitude of the Blackburn Buc. 🤣
People may also get confused as Backbeard the Buccaneer would often tie red Ribbons and glowing fuses into his beard when attacking - in the heat of the moment, you could mistake it for a "Red Beard".
Blackbeard the buccaneer could walk the plank while the Blackburn Buccaneer flew under it....
Another difference is cruising altitude, Blackbeard the Buccaneer can usually be found atop a ship which provides a good vantage point for hunting its prey. The Blackburn Buccaneer by contrast is an ambush predator and as such gets as low to the surface as possible to sneak up on its prey.
The story of two buccaneers destroying us navy ship in an military exercise is awesome.
I’m still not sure I can tell the difference
What Sqn and when did Terry fly the Bucc's?
Where do pirates keep there buccaneers? On their buckin' head.
Plus the Buccaneer made it's attacks at lower altitude
Any pirate that uses anything other than the present tense Dies where he stands!
Finally! that's confused me for years. You forgot the most important difference though, due to standing on the quarter deck Blackbeard did his attack runs at a much higher altitude.
I visited the Brough factory where the solid Buccs were being built back in the mid 60's. An unforgettable experience seeing how they were built in the machine shops, and can fully understand why they were so successful
And Blackbeard the Buccaneer wore a bucken hat. The Blackburn Buccaneer didn’t have a had, but its pilot wore a helmet…
Hilarious stuff. One of my favourite comments about the good old Buccaneer was that they retracted the undercarriage so it could decend!! to its operating altitude :) ...but no mention of "the green cheese"?
What happened to Peter Pan
He ain't a pirate, where's his buccaneers? On 'is buccin' 'ead!.
I would imagine we can assume that Blackbeard's lifestyle and reported fuel led to him being perfectly capable of producing a highly nuclear fart.
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BEAR POST: Henry Fanshaw was opening his mail this morning and was pleased to get a nice letter and picture from Ella Brogan.
Thanks Ella ❤!
Henry's post cubby hole is usually full of bills, and the odd police summons, so it was nice to get some fan mail.
In regards to the summons, it dates back to Henry's days as a young Bear on base at Ohakea in 1972.
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I was in the warehouse a few days ago and found the book about Henry Fanshaw! How cool is that. His own book about his adventures during the time he served.
Thank you so much this made Ella’s day!! ❤️