No. 2 Squadron RNZAF was a

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). It was formed in 1930 as part of the Territorial Air Force with the main headquarters at Wellington and shadow flights at New Plymouth and Wanganui. Squadron personnel conducted their annual flying at RNZAF Base Wigram. In 1937 the Territorial Squadrons were re-organised and No. 2 Squadron became the Wellington Territorial Squadron.

History

World War II

The squadron received its first aircraft, 12

Blackburn Baffin The Blackburn B-5 Baffin biplane torpedo bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft. It was a development of the Blackburn Ripon, Ripon, the chief change being that a 545 hp (406 kW) Bristol Pe ...

s, in 1938 and at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the squadron moved to Blenheim to undertake its general reconnaissance role of protecting

Cook Strait Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A ...

. A year later, in 1940, all Territorial Squadrons were merged to become the New Zealand General Reconnaissance Squadron, based at Whenuapai, Auckland. Within 12 months, No. 2 Squadron was reformed. Based at Nelson with

Vickers Vildebeest The Vickers Vildebeest and the similar Vickers Vincent were two very large two- to three-seat single-engined British biplanes designed and built by Vickers and used as light bombers, torpedo bombers and in army cooperation roles. First flown ...

s and

Vickers Vincent The Vickers Vildebeest and the similar Vickers Vincent were two very large two- to three-seat single-engined British biplanes designed and built by Vickers and used as light bombers, torpedo bombers and in army cooperation roles. First flown i ...

aircraft, it resumed its protection of Cook Strait providing air cover for troop ship convoys entering and leaving Wellington. Later in 1941, the squadron was re-equipped with the new

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and prim ...

Bomber and in 1943 re-equipped once more, this time with Lockheed Ventura aircraft. In November 1943, the squadron moved to

Palikulo Bay Airfield Palikulo Bay Airfield or Bomber Field #1 is a former World War II airfield on the island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands at the Espiritu Santo Naval Base. History World War II The 7th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Santo ...

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...

, where it carried out reconnaissance, anti-submarine, supply dropping and general flight patrols. No. 2 Squadron returned to New Zealand in 1944, but this was short-lived as it returned to operational status in the Pacific, replacing No.1 Squadron on dawn and dusk patrols and anti-submarine patrols. It was during this tour that the squadron made the heaviest raid by a New Zealand formation in the South Pacific; eight aircraft dropped 40,000 lb of bombs in southwest Bougainville. This second tour finished in March 1945, and three months later the squadron began its third and last operational tour, consisting of mainly bombing land targets. The squadron returned to RNZAF Base

Ohakea RNZAF Base Ohakea is an operational base of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Opened in 1939, it is located near Bulls, 25 km north-west of Palmerston North in the Manawatu. It is also a diversion landing point for civilian aircraft. The bas ...

in October 1945. During the operational tours of the South West Pacific the squadron was based at

, Guadalcanal,

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most ...

, Bougainville, Green Island and

Jacquinot Bay Jacquinot Bay is a bay in East New Britain Province, south-eastern New Britain, Papua New Guinea, at . It is near the mountain where twenty-eight people died when a Royal Australian Air Force plane crashed in November 1945. To its west is the Gas ...

. On return to New Zealand in October 1945, No. 2 Squadron operated a variety of aircraft, including Hudsons (maintaining air/sea rescue detachments at Whenuapai and Norfolk Island) and Venturas (twin-engine pilot conversion and meteorological flights). Early in 1946, No. 2 Squadron also began training crews for the new

Mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

aircraft to be ferried from the United Kingdom to New Zealand.

Post-war

TA-4K Skyhawk at RNZAF Museum Ohakea 2006

On 11 October 1946 No. 2 Squadron ceased to exist when its name changed to No.75 Squadron RNZAF, in commemoration of the New Zealand Bomber Squadron which served throughout the war in the British Royal Air Force. The Territorial Squadrons were reformed and in December 1948 No. 2 (TAF) Squadron was raised. This squadron operated in a similar manner to its 1930s predecessor with annual flying carried out at Ohakea and Wigram on

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

s and

Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once- domesticated animals, the ...

s. The Territorial Squadrons were eventually disbanded in 1957. Reformed in December 1984 at Ohakea, No. 2 Squadron was equipped with the

McDonnell Douglas A-4G Skyhawk The McDonnell Douglas A-4G Skyhawk is a variant of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft developed for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The model was based on the A-4F variant of the Skyhawk, and was fitted with slightly different avionics as ...

when it took delivery of 10 ex-RAN Skyhawks (8 A-4G and 2 TA-4G) aircraft. While stationed at Ohakea (alongside No. 75 Squadron), the squadron provided pilot conversion and operational training, and was tasked for reconnaissance, systems evaluation, and procedures development. In the middle of 1988 the Squadron received delivery of the first Project KAHU updated Skyhawks for test flight trials. In February 1991 No. 2 Squadron was relocated to in Australia with the updated Kahu Skyhawks to provide the Australian Defence Force (ADF), particularly the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

(RAN), with Air Defence Support, participating in exercises with RAN warships. The squadron was equipped with two A-4K and four TA-4K aircraft supported by 50 to 60 personnel. The highlight of the RAN exercises was the successful sinking of the decommissioned HMAS ''Adroit'' in August 1994 by No. 2 Squadron Skyhawks. No. 2 Squadron continued to provide air defence training to the ADF until November 2001. In a highly controversial move, the RNZAF Air Combat Force comprising Number 2, 14, and 75 Squadrons was disbanded on 13 December 2001 by the Labour Government under

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

References

External links

*New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
Territorial Air Force
1930 *'Supersonic life' is a video produced by 2 Squadron personnel soon before disbanding in 2001; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGlAbo5ko6g {{List of RNZAF Squadrons 02 Squadrons of the RNZAF in World War II Air force reconnaissance units and formations Military units and formations established in 1930 Military units and formations disestablished in 2001 1930 establishments in New Zealand