Stories
Matariki: Let’s go fly a kite!
Matariki Māori New Year is a time to celebrate and come together with whānau, friends and communities, maumahara (remember) the people who came before us and share knowledge, traditions, and skills through wānanga (learning), while looking forward to the year ahead. Read this article to find out where kites come into play!
Read MoreNew to the Collection
Discover some of the newest additions to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand collection.
Read MoreMay the 4th be with you!
As fans across unite in celebration of Star Wars, who would’ve thought that we’d have a link to the film franchise in our own collection?
Read MoreRemembrance Poppies
Somehow cheerful and solemn at the same time, the simple lapel poppy has a been a familiar feature of Anzac Day commemorations for generations of New Zealanders.
Read MoreParading for Victory: Air Force Contingent
75 years ago, the troopship “SS Maunganui” left Wellington to convey the New Zealand Victory contingent to the United Kingdom. Embarking on 20 April 1946, this journey took them all the way to London, where they joined a total of 1,600 personnel representing Commonwealth forces in the victory parade on 8 June 1946.
Read MoreAir Force veteran helps Rangiora student achieve flying dream
When Air Force veteran Derrick Hubbard flew solo on his 90th birthday with the Canterbury Recreational Aircraft Club (CRAC) in 2017, he and his (now late) wife, Vera, decided they would like to ‘pay it forward’ and sponsor a young person to experience the same opportunity. This person was Armani Hansen.
Read MoreOccupying Japan: the RNZAF and J-Force 1946-1948
In March 1946, the first RNZAF personnel of No. 14 Squadron paraded through the streets of Auckland to board the British aircraft carrier HMS ‘Glory’. Bound for the homeland of their recent enemy, Japan, it was an overseas odyssey which would last for two years.
Read MoreAir Force Day ’81
The end of Summer in 1981 at RNZAF Base Ohakea was marked by a full-scale episode of PDA. Not a public display of affection (although who’s to say that didn’t happen?) but a public display of aircraft.
Read More‘A few of our favourite things’: celebrating 1 year of our photos online
Since launching in February 2020, our online photo collection has been accessed by thousands of people across the world. These are a few of our team’s favourite photos from the online collection.
Read MoreMeteoric rise: New Zealand’s first jet flight
On 11 February 1946, Gloster Meteor NZ6001 became the first jet aircraft to take to the skies in New Zealand. While the Meteor barely saw any RNZAF service, this first jet flight and the publicity tour that followed showed tens of thousands of Kiwis the shape of things to come.
Read MoreNew Zealand’s first scheduled air mail service
On 31 January 1921, a small Avro 504 biplane of the Canterbury (NZ) Aviation Company took off from Sockburn Aerodrome, carrying the first scheduled airmail service to commence in New Zealand.
Read MoreRemembering Operation Desert Storm: the RNZAF and the Gulf War, 1991
30 years ago, operations against Iraq ended with the conclusion of Operation Desert Storm. During this brief but decisive conflict, RNZAF personnel were deployed in support of the wider Coalition against Iraq’s dictator, Saddam Hussein, and his forces.
Read MoreThe story of ‘Crazy Kiwi’
Thanks to the power of social media, we’ve been able to uncover the story behind this little Kiwi, who came into our collection wearing a Royal Air Force uniform.
Read MoreAn Air Force Christmas
This small selection of Christmas stories, drawn from our archives, reflect the different experiences of men and women serving their country at Christmas time. Sometimes funny, occasionally sad, they all reflect how important this time of year is to service people and their families, both at home and abroad.
Read MoreThe ‘Battle of Britain’ comes to New Zealand
In 1969, the blockbuster film “Battle of Britain” was released in New Zealand, generating one of the largest paper objects in the Air Force Museum collection.
Read MoreRemembering ‘The Few’ 80 Years On
The Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940 was one the turning points of World War Two. For five months, from June until October 1940, a small number of young fighter pilots of the Royal Air Force (RAF) struggled against the much larger German Luftwaffe for control of the skies over southern England.
Read MoreThe Battle of Britain Lace Panel
Discover the story of one of the Museum’s most special artefacts – the Battle of Britain commemorative lace panel.
Read More50 Years of Flying Kiwis
The Kiwi roundel has now graced the aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) for 50 years, more than all other roundel types in total. Just how did a flightless bird end up as an enduring symbol of our Air Force?
Read MoreCook Strait: the first flight
On 25 August 1920, three men of the Canterbury (NZ) Aviation Company conquered one of the great barriers to New Zealand aviation, when they made the first aerial crossing of Cook Strait.
Read MoreWitnesses of Deliverance: New Zealand Airmen and Dunkirk, May-June 1940
The ‘Miracle of Dunkirk’ ensured that Britain’s army would not suffer the same fate as those of France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway and Poland and fight on. While no New Zealand troops took part, there were significant numbers of New Zealand airmen involved and these are some of their stories.
Read MoreStories of service and sacrifice
Discover stories of service and sacrifice from Kiwis who helped shape New Zealand’s military aviation story.
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 MoreRemembering the Kiwis of the Great Escape
On the night of 24 March 1944, the largest prisoner of war (POW) breakout ever attempted occurred at Stalag Luft III, a German camp for captured Allied airmen. Having taken over 750 men more than a year to prepare, this ‘Great Escape’ was unprecedented in its organisation and scale, but also in its tragedy. Artwork…
Read MoreThe Last Great Air Race: London to Christchurch 1953
65 years ago, the RNZAF took part in what would be the last of the world’s great air races – and narrowly averted disaster. Cover of the RNZAF’s Contact magazine from October 1953, featuring an illustration of the Harewood Gold Cup – the first place prize for the 1953 International Air Race. Image: Air Force…
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 MoreRNZAF Stories: Mogadishu Memories
In January 1993 three RNZAF Andover transport aircraft and their crews from No. 42 Squadron were deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia. During the 1990s, the RNZAF was deployed to several war-torn regions of the world as peacekeepers and sources of humanitarian relief, a role they still fulfil today. Torn apart by civil war between local warlords and…
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