Air Force
Origins of the Royal New Zealand Air Force
On 1 April 1937, following the passing of the Air Force Act, the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) was established as an independent service.
Read MoreMy time at the Museum
The past three months I had the opportunity to work with the collections team and have discovered that there is so much more to the Museum than what is on public display.
Read MoreWāhine Toa: Women in Defence: collaborating and curating online
The first collaborative, online exhibition of its kind by New Zealand’s national service museums explores the journeys of women serving in New Zealand’s military since gender integration.
Read More40 years of service – the military journey of Harry Leese
Read the story of the life of a veteran who served in both World Wars.
Read MoreRon Hermanns’ trench art collection
Discover Ron Hermanns collection of exquisitely-crafted ‘trench art’, produced during two tours of operation to the Pacific islands during World War Two.
Read MoreOn the wing – Rugby in the Royal New Zealand Air Force
With the Rugby World Cup in full swing, we thought it would be a great opportunity to trace the story of New Zealand’s national game in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).
Read MoreA Bridge Too Far? Remembering New Zealand airmen and the battle for Arnhem 75 years on
Discover more about one of the most daring and ambitious military operations in history, Codenamed Operation Market-Garden which took place in Holland.
Read MoreMany a Close Run Thing
An excerpt from the published memoirs of Tom Enright, a veteran New Zealand pilot from Central Otago. Tom joined the RNZAF in 1951, and on graduation, was recommended for a cadetship with the Royal Air Force College at Cranwell, England. His first 20 years flying was in a variety of military aircraft, including Vampires and Sunderlands, and he was a member of the famed RNZAF Vampire aerobatic team. He then spent the next 25 years as an airline pilot. This is an extract from his new book Many A Close Run Thing (Harper Collins NZ).
Read MoreBoeing 727 nose joins our collection
Read more about the arrival at the Museum of the nose section of former RNZAF Boeing 727 NZ7272.
Read MoreThe Berlin Airlift – Seventy Years On
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the climax of one of the most remarkable logistic and humanitarian operations in history.
Read More“Dismal News”: New Zealand Airmen’s reactions to the Armistice
At the 11th hour of 11 November 1918, the guns on the battlefields of Western Europe fell silent, marking the end of what would later be known as the First World War. Newspapers around the world reported the momentous news in detail, and people across the world rejoiced. Yorkshire Telegraph and Star newspaper, 11 November…
Read MoreThe New Zealand Fighter Wing and Mono Island, 1943 – taking the fight to the Japanese
By October 1943, the tide of the war in the Pacific against Imperial Japan had turned in favour of the Allies. Following the defeat of Japan’s aircraft carrier fleet at Midway in June 1942, the offensive passed to the Americans with Australian and New Zealand forces in support. Key to pushing onward was the seizure…
Read MoreRemembering Thérèse
Thérèse in the Atrium of the Air Force Museum of New Zealand, 2016. Last month we said goodbye to our long-serving and much-loved Director, Thérèse Angelo MNZM. Thérèse passed away on 15 October 2018 following a long, and brave, battle with illness, and was farewelled in a fitting service at the Museum she loved so…
Read MoreThe arrival of the Southern Cross at Wigram
Until 1928, only two overseas flights had arrived in Australia and none at all in New Zealand. That changed when Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew of the aircraft Southern Cross landed at Wigram on 10 September 1928. Our guest blogger, Brian Lockstone of the Aviation Historical Society of New Zealand, explores the story behind…
Read MoreRAF Centenary Air Show
On Sunday 10 June, the Air Force Museum of New Zealand attended an air show overseas for the very first time as exhibitors, as part of the RAF Centenary Air Show at RAF Cosford in England. We travelled all the way to the other side of the world courtesy of our friends at No. 40…
Read MoreKiwis in Combat – Flying the Meteor with the Australians in Korea
This is the story of two New Zealanders and one epic battle they fought alongside Australian pilots in true ANZAC spirit. In 1950, the Cold War heated up when conflict between North and South Korea brought the United Nations (UN) into the struggle. China later joined the war in support of the faltering North Koreans.…
Read MoreThe Centenary of the RAF
Thousands of New Zealand airmen, like the Kiwis in this No. 75 (NZ) Squadron crew, served with the RAF during World War Two. Image ref: MUS9809010 © Air Force Museum of New Zealand. A Century of Service On 1 April, the Royal Air Force (RAF) will celebrate one hundred years as the world’s first independent…
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