What's on at Air Force Museum of New Zealand
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Latest Exhibition
Victory!
It is 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
Our Victory exhibition, upstairs in the atrium, marks this significant milestone in world history, and the story of the RNZAF.
Victory includes images and memories of Victory in Europe (VE) Day and Victory over Japan (VJ) Day which have been sourced from photographs, letters, postcards and personal histories in our collection.
Victory includes insights into how Kiwis celebrated, and how they felt.
Many found it difficult to rejoice after so much loss and suffering.
You’re welcome to come along and learn all about the end of World War Two with us.
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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Update
Overseas visitor charge
A $15 entry charge was introduced for all international visitors to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand from 31 March 2025. Tickets available online or from our Welcome Desk on arrival.
The charge is required to cover rising costs and to contribute to our new $20 million extension to house the newest members of our collection – our historic Hercules and Orion aircraft.
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Our Aircraft
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FIGHTERS LOST: Today we recall two young Kiwi pilots lost in the Pacific 82 years ago.
On 13 February 1944 RNZAF Curtiss P-40N Warhawks were flying as close escort fighter cover for 60 US and 24 Avenger aircraft on a raid over Vunakanau airfield, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.
Flying Officer Gordon Stanley Treweek was the pilot of Warhawk NZ3165, and Flying Officer Harold Havelock Souter (pictured with his aircraft) was the pilot of Warhawk NZ3137.
Gordon Treweek’s Warhawk crashed after clipping the wing of another aircraft during intense flak over the target area. His body was recovered from near the aircraft and he is buried in the Rabaul War Cemetery.
Harold Souter’s aircraft was shot down by an enemy fighter. His remains were never found.
Both left behind young families. Gordon was an accountancy clerk from Palmerston North, and a father of two. He was 27 years old.
Harold Souter was from Auckland, a father of one, and a company manager at Todd Motors. He was 35 years old when he died.
We’ve put poppies by their names on our Roll of Honour today to mark their sacrifice.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
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My father’s close friend never returned from a mission in the Pacific during WW2 and to this day he is reported as ‘missing in action’. His name was Bill Christiansen and he came from Christchurch. He flew a fighter but I am unsure which version. Bill’s twin sister remained friends with our family throughout her life.
Harold Souter was from here in Cambridge. He was the oldest ever RNZAF fighter pilot to fly in the Pacific War, at 35. He was also killed in the second to last air to air combat action for the RNZAF over Rabaul. RIP both heroes. www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/Harold%20Souter.html
RIP and thank you Gentlemen 🌺🌺
URGENT CLARIFICATION: We’ve been alerted to a considerable amount of ongoing confusion (thanks to both of our readers who got in touch) between the Austin A40 Devon and the de Havilland DH104 Devon, so we’re stepping in to clear things up before this discombobulation reaches fever pitch.
The confusion is understandable of course.
As well as sharing a name, the Austin Devon and the de Havilland Devon were both good looking machines for their day, and their streamlined designs have stood the test of time.
To help the inexperienced Devon spotters to tell our twins apart, we’ve prepared a handy three-step guide.
The first, and possibly most telltale giveaway, is the Austin Devon did not come fitted with an astrodome for navigation at night.
The de Havilland, which made a superb navigational trainer, had a capacious dome which was perfect for sextant work.
Sadly, Ausin owners would have to crane their necks out the window while in motion to get a decent navigational fix on the skies above, making for erratic driving.
The second dead giveaway is under the bonnets.
The de Havilland was a twin, powered by a pair of six-cylinder 345-horsepower DH Gipsy Queen engines, which could take the Devon from 0 to 378 km/h (and a speeding ticket) in no time at all.
The Austin Devon was a little more sedate, with its 1.2 litre four-cylinder engine producing a more modest 42 horsepower, and a top speed rumoured to be around 110 km/h at horizontal jandal.
Finally - and you will kick yourself when it is pointed out - the easiest way to tell them apart is by their colour schemes.
The RNZAF’s 30 Devons came in a fetching main plane grey and international orange colour scheme, designed for high visibility.
The Austin Devon came with a much wider colour range, but no two tone offering like the gorgeous RNZAF de Havillands.
But Austin customers were spoiled for choice when it came to low visibility camouflage.
The Austin choices were Portland grey with beige upholstery and fawn carpets; blue with brown upholstery and brown carpets; mist green with beige upholstery and fawn carpets; black with brown upholstery and brown carpets; or brown with brown upholstery and brown carpets.
That’s a lot of fawn, beige and brown!
So there you have it. Never confuse your Devons again.
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We're positively bedeviled with confusion so we neeed urgent clarifications
Then there was the Dove not to be confused with the skin care product
Thanks for the clarification, Air Force Museum of New Zealand. I recall my Devon with affection, but regretfully I never quite got it airborne. Perhaps with the addition of wings - - - - -.
Devonitely an interesting read.
In the early 1960's I started my aircraft engineering apprenticeship and overhauled the Gypsy Queen 30 motors used in the Devons. Also did the Gypsy Queen 70,supercharged version of the 30 motor.Think the GQ70 was used in the DH Herons. Did many other motors including radial and horizontal opposed motors.
In 1959, I did my Nav Trg in this heap of British technology that was wanting. The RNZAF had them for 29 years which was far too long!
I had a legit official drag race with an a40 Devon with my BMW isetta and the Isetta won.
Comforting to note there spme eagle eyed peoplei our midst.after having flown in the one with the wings on even I can tell the differenc ENG
in Blenheim our ATC flight cadets went to Woodbourne airforce base for a week to see if we wanted to join the RNZAF,great time we had,fought fires ,at the armoury we stripped brenguns and sten guns and reassembled them went to the firing range and shot with these weapons, biggest thrill was the flights we had in the Devon, which all of us got to fly on our own,we had about 4 flights over the week, also all of us had 2 flights in the Harvard, had to wind the handle to start the engine,jump in ,once in the air the pilot told me to take control so grab the stick beside me stick in the slot on the floor and start fly to some extent ended upside down from there pilot perfomed aerobatics, big wow
It's easy to tell the difference between the two machines. The Austin has drivers and the De Havilland has pilots. 😆😆😆
I'm so glad you cleared that up, I've always been confused between the two.
Can't say I've ever seen a Devon, but I have helped push a DH104... Shifted her from her previous home, down the road and onto Ashburton airfield to her new home.
Both have a propensity to leak oil.
Another glorious clarification. It's giving Moira Rose and even funnier if one reads it in her voice (in one's head of course....)
The one in the two-tone picture looks very much like the model that tried to take my neighbour's TV aerial off, one day in late 1970s. My brother was doing the steering and he and party had dropped into Whakatane on the way back to Ohakea. I suggested a low fly-by of my workshop when they left, but didn't think the fly-by would be *that* low. He later told me that when they reached Taupo they got clearance to fly down the lake at fifty feet, like the Dam Busters. I said the Dam Busters did it at night and were being shot at.
Oh wow! An Austin Devon , Poo Brown, with Poo Brown seats and Poo Brown carpets. 😱I’m Brown with envy 😅
Can't say we had this problem here in Australia.........maybe cause we all ride Kangaroos..............na, we had A40's here too, one can still be seen now and then with a low level flight clearance using local roads for nav, as the vertical vision is somewhat very restricted.
This is great. It’s finally cleared a few questions up for me and my mates. Our pearl white A40, the much sought after panel van version, was a true workhorse. As well as being able to fit a large contingent of troops on board it had the enviable convenience of being able to fit a double mattress in the back. As you have rightly pointed out, the top speed at horizontal jandal, was quite decent for this masterpiece of convenience. We could easy hit 110kph on the Lorneville straight coming back into Invercargill after consuming a reasonable amount of Speights ale at the infamous Whitehouse pub on the outskirts of the city. Our A40 had a pull start ignition and a smooth changing 4 on the tree gear change. With no load in the back we could easily light up the rear wheels from a standing start in reverse on a wet concrete driveway. See attached pic of this wonderful machine. Thanks for clearing this long standing confusion.
This was the first plane I ever owned. It was a familiar sight around the airfields of Shirley and the town site of the university.
Some Austin Devon’s were cut down to become ute’s. I don’t think anyone tried that with the Devon.
The A40 Devon was available with an optional sunroof allowing for star spotting
I always found if they were parked that the shiny chrome hub caps gave away the confusion as to which was the Austin version - however if they were both flying ????
The Devon was the first RNZAF machine I ever had the pleasure of sitting in. A brace of us ATC cadets got hurled around the Invercargill circuit a few times during an airforce training deployment in ‘77. I can still smell the canvas and vinyl seats. Fantastic memories. And yeah, we all went up the front and stuck our heads into the astrodome! GPS is much easier imho
Just a slight adjustment, the Devon pictured does not have an Astro Dome.
The most obvious difference is that one is black and the other one isn't. Makes identification easy.
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We love our Jumo and the story behind it. Get along to our Insights exhibition to see it in the flesh! ... See MoreSee Less
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