No. 15 Squadron was a fighter 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 ...

that was formed in June 1942. It served in

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

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 ...

, New Georgia,

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 ...

, Bougainville and Green Island. The squadron was equipped with Kittyhawk and, later, F4U Corsair fighters. The squadron was disbanded in October 1945.

History

After being formed in June 1942, under the command of

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

A. Crighton, No. 15 Squadron was sent to Tonga later that year where it began operating the

P-40 Kittyhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

. It deployed to Kukum Field on

in April 1943, under the command of

Michael Herrick Michael James Herrick, (5 May 1921 – 16 June 1944) was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He is credited with having shot down at least six enemy aircraft. Born in Hastings, Herrick joined the ...

. In October 1943, the squadron formed part of a New Zealand fighter wing along with

No. 18 Squadron RNZAF No. 18 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in June 1943 at RNZAF Base Woodbourne, the squadron was initially equipped with Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks, before converting to F4U-1 Corsair fighter bombers in 1944. The s ...

; in November 1943 the wing flew over 1,000 sorties in support of operations on

Bougainville Island Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomons. Its land area is ...

, beginning with the

Landings at Cape Torokina The Landings at Cape Torokina (1–3 November 1943), also known as Operation Cherryblossom, took place at the beginning of the Bougainville campaign in World War II. The amphibious landings were carried out by elements of the United States Mari ...

. After periods operating from New Georgia,

and

, the squadron was deployed to Green Island from February to April 1945. By this stage it was operating F4U Corsair aircraft. It was disbanded in October 1945. Kittyhawks of No

No. 15 Squadron flew more sorties than any other New Zealand fighter squadron in the Pacific theatre 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 ...

Commanding officers

The following served as commanding officers of No. 15 Squadron: *Squadron Leader A. Crighton (June 1942–March 1943); *Squadron Leader M. J. Herrick (March–December 1943); *Squadron Leader J. A. A. Gibson (December 1943–July 1944); *Squadron Leader D. P. Winstone (August–December 1944); *Squadron Leader M. R. Clarke (January–September 1945).

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:No. 15 Squadron Rnzaf 15 15 Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945