No. 1 Squadron RNZAF was a

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 country ...

reconnaissance and patrol bomber squadron operating in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. After the war the squadron served in the transport and VIP role.

History

It was formed as the New Zealand General Reconnaissance Squadron in March 1940 with

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 Ripon, the chief change being that a 545 hp (406 kW) Bristol Pegasus I.MS radial ...

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 ...

s, and

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 ...

. The first commanding officer, Squadron Leader G.N. Roberts, arrived in May. Due to the threat of German surface raiders against New Zealand shipping, these were replaced with

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 ...

s during 1941. After the outbreak of hostilities against Japan, the squadron was retained in New Zealand, but during 1943 re-equipped with

Lockheed Ventura The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II. The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in ...

s, and joined the other Hudson and Ventura squadrons 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 Zeal ...

(RNZAF) in the South Pacific islands. The squadron was based at

Kukum Field Kukum Field also known as Fighter 2 Airfield is a former World War II airfield on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. World War II From the beginning of the Guadalcanal Campaign it was planned that the area would be developed into a major air base. ...

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 s ...

during October and November before moving forward to

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 o ...

in November 1943. In August 1944 the squadron returned to Guadalcanal, before serving at Green Island in October of that year until again returning to Guadalcanal in March 1945. From May to June the squadron was based at

Emirau Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The local language is a dialect of the Mussau-Emira language. Emira is part of what on ...

. The squadron was disbanded, following

VJ Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...

, in September 1945. The squadron was reactivated as a reserve Territorial Air Force squadron in Auckland, flying Harvards and

North American Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

s, from 1948 to 1955. It was re-formed in 1972 to provide a medium-range

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

squadron within

, at

Whenuapai Whenuapai is a suburb and aerodrome located in northwestern Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the northwestern shore of the Waitematā Harbour, 15 kilometres to the northwest of Auckland's city centre. It is one of th ...

and equipped with six of the RNZAF's Bristol 170 Freighter Mk 31s. In 1977, 1 Squadron re-equipped with six Andover C.1s. The No 1 Squadron Standard was presented to the Squadron at a parade at Base Auckland on 17 February 1984. The parade was inspected by Sir Geoffrey Roberts CBE, AFC, LM (US) who had been the first CO when the Squadron was formed in 1941. The squadron was again disbanded on 7 December 1984 and its Andovers taken over by No. 42 Squadron.

Wartime commanding officers

* Squadron Leader G.N. Roberts May 1940 – August 1941 * Squadron Leader G.H. Fisher August 1941 – July 1942 * Squadron Leader F.J. Lucas July–December 1942 * Squadron Leader C.L. Monckton December 1942 – March 1943 * Squadron Leader E.W. Tacon March–May 1943 * Squadron Leader H.C. Walker May 1943 – April 1944 * Squadron Leader K.C. King April–July 1944 * Wing Commander A.N. Johnstone August 1944 – January 1945 * Wing Commander A.A.N. Breckon February–June 1945

Commanding officers - after reactivation

* Squadron Leader P.R. Adamson – August 1972 * Squadron Leader C.F.L. Jenks – December 1973 * Squadron Leader G.A. Oldfield – April 1976 * Squadron Leader R.S. Holdaway - August 1976 * Squadron Leader G.A. Oldfield – February 1977 * Squadron Leader I.J. Roberts - July 1977 * Squadron Leader K.A. Skilling - September 1977 * Squadron Leader R.S. Holdaway - February 1978 * Squadron Leader K.J. Wells DFC - January 1980 * Squadron Leader I.W. Collins - January 1982 * Squadron Leader K.L. Crofskey - July 1984

Notes

References

* {{List of RNZAF Squadrons 01 Squadrons of the RNZAF in World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1984