No. 21 Squadron was a
squadron of the
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...
. Formed in May 1944, it was equipped with
F4U-1 Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...
fighter bombers.
History
21 Squadron was deployed to
Kukum Field on
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
from June–July 1944, to
Piva Airfield
Piva Airfield is a former World War II airfield on Bougainville Island in the Solomon Islands archipelago.
History
World War II
The 3rd Marine Division landed on Bougainville on 1 November 1943 at the start of the Bougainville Campaign, establi ...
on
Bougainville from July–September 1944 and then returned to Guadalcanal from November–December 1944.
[Ross 1955, p. 328] 21 Squadron deployed to
Green Island from April–May 1945 and then to
Jacquinot Bay from May–July 1945. The squadron was disbanded in September 1945.
[
]
Commanding officers
*Squadron Leader L. R. Bush May (1944–February 1945);
*Squadron Leader W. J. MacLeod (March–September 1945).[
]
Notes
References
*
21
Squadrons of the RNZAF in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1944
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
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