No. 16 Squadron was a fighter squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in July 1942 at

RNZAF Base Woodbourne RNZAF Base Woodbourne is a base of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, located 8 km west of Blenheim. Woodbourne was established in 1939 as the base for No. 2 Service Flying Training School (No.2 SFTS). Also located nearby during World War II ...

, the squadron was equipped with

Curtiss P-40 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 ...

Kittyhawks and later

F4U 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 ...

s. The squadron fought in the Southwest Pacific theatre during the Second World War, flying combat operations against Japanese forces. Proposed re-equipment with the P-51 Mustang was abandoned at the cessation of hostilities, and the squadron returned to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

where it was disbanded in October 1945.

History

It was formed on 1 July 1942 at

, near Blenheim, under the command of Squadron Leader A. Jones. The squadron served in

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 ...

, 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 15 January 1945 during an attack on Toboi, southwest of Rabaul, by Corsairs from 14 and 16 Squadrons, a 14 Squadron Corsair was shot down and the pilot parachuted into

Simpson Harbour Simpson Harbour is a sheltered harbour of Blanche Bay, on the Gazelle Peninsula in the extreme north of New Britain. The harbour is named after Captain Cortland Simpson, who surveyed the bay while in command of in 1872. The former capital city ...

. 14 and 16 Squadron Corsairs provided fighter cover for a possible rescue operation until the evening when, low on fuel they returned to Green Island. Encountering a tropical storm during their return flight, 5 Corsairs crashed into the sea, one crashed at Green Island while landing and a seventh disappeared in clouds with all 7 pilots killed. The shot down pilot was captured by the Japanese and died in captivity.

Commanding officers

The following served as commanding officers of No. 16 Squadron: *Squadron Leader A. N. Jones (June 1942–May 1943); *Squadron Leader J. S. Nelson (May–September 1943); *Squadron Leader J. H. Arkwright (October 1943–January 1944); *Squadron Leader A. G. Sievers (January–June 1944); *Squadron Leader M. C. P. Jones (June–September 1944); *Squadron Leader P. S. Green (October 1944–June 1945); *Squadron Leader J. H. Mills (July–October 1945).

Gallery

File:Kittyhawk of No. 16 Squadron, 1943.jpg, A Kittyhawk of No. 16 Squadron in flight over the New Zealand coastline File:F4U 16 Sqn RNZAF on Green Island 1944.jpg, A No. 16 Squadron F4U-1 on Green Island, 1944 File:Corsair Barth.jpg, Restored RNZAF Corsair

Notes

References

* 16 Military units and formations established in 1942 Squadrons of the RNZAF in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 {{NewZealand-stub