RNZAF Base Woodbourne is a base 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 ...

, located 8 km west of

Blenheim Blenheim ( ) is the English name of Blindheim, a village in Bavaria, Germany, which was the site of the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Almost all places and other things called Blenheim are named directly or indirectly in honour of the battle. Places ...

. 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 were the ground training camps of the Delta. In 1942–43,

No. 16 Squadron RNZAF No. 16 Squadron was a fighter squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in July 1942 at RNZAF Base Woodbourne, the squadron was equipped with Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks and later F4U Corsairs. The squadron fought in the Southwest Pacific ...

and

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 ...

Squadrons flying

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk 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 an ...

s used the satellite Fairhall field.Cambidgeairforce.org
The Marlborough Region
/ref> In 1945 No.2 SFTS was closed and the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at ...

and some ground training units, including the Officers' School of Instruction were relocated to Woodbourne. In 1949, The Aircraft Repair Depot RNZAF was relocated from Ohakea, and in 1951 the Boy Entrant School was established at Woodbourne. Today, Woodbourne is the Air Force's only support base and has no operational squadrons based there. It shares its runways with the Blenheim civil airport, Woodbourne Airport. The Ground Training Wing was created in 1995 from existing units at Woodbourne and those relocated from Wigram and

Hobsonville Hobsonville is a suburb in West Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. The area was administered by Waitakere City Council until the council was amalgamated into Auckland Council in 2010. Hobsonville Point, formerly the location of th ...

, and is responsible for the training of recruits ( General Service Training School), initial officer training (

Command Training School Command Training School of the Royal New Zealand Air Force is the unit responsible for training officer cadets. Graduates are then commissioned as Officers on the completion of their Initial Officer Training Course. Formerly located at RNZAF B ...

), trade training (except aircrew, medical and photography training) and command training. Woodbourne was the Air Force's only heavy maintenance facility for the repair of aircraft airframes, engines and avionics systems. This squadron was responsible for reconditioning

airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aerospa ...

s of RNZAF aircraft. It was known as the Airframe Reconditioning Squadron RNZAF. The unit was commercialised in 1998 and was managed by SAFE Air Ltd. In 2015 SAFE Air Ltd was purchased by

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

and it continues to maintain military aircraft. SAFE Air Ltd formally relinquished the name and now trades under Airbus Asia Pacific. Airbus is currently finishing the last of the Air Force's

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desi ...

airframe refurbishments. This will see the most highly houred C-130 Hercules (NZ7002) remain in flying service. Personnel strength around 800

Units based at Woodbourne

*RNZAF Police *RNZAF Rescue Fire * NZDF Physical Training Instructors School * RNZAF Security Forces *RNZAF Logistics *Base Medical *

*Directorate of Defence Security * Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology Aeronautical Engineering programme

References

External links

RNZAF Base Woodbourne
Woodbourne Buildings and structures in the Marlborough Region 1939 establishments in New Zealand Transport buildings and structures in the Marlborough Region {{Fort-stub

Units based at Woodbourne

See also

References

External links