No. 19 Squadron was a

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed on 10 December 1941 at RNZAF Station Ohakea from members of No. 3 Squadron equipped with

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 ...

and later with the Chance-Vought F4U-1 Corsair

fighter bombers A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

History

The squadron was formed in November 1943 equipped with the P-40 Kittyhawk, and was deployed to Guadalcanal from February 1944.Ross 1955, pp. 327–328. In March that year, it relieved

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 ...

on Bougainville, flying patrol and ground attack missions against Japanese forces.Ross 1955, pp. 247, 251–252. It was regularly rotated between Guadalcanal and operations from Bougainville until November when it moved to

Emirau Island 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 ...

in the Bismarck Archipeligo, where it provided day fighter defence until January 1945.Ross 1955, pp. 268, 305. The squadron's forward operational base continued to move forward as Allied forces advanced, with the squadron moving to

Los Negros Island Los Negros Island is the third largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is significant because it contains the main airport of Manus Province on its eastern coastline, at Momote. It is connected to Lorengau, the capital of the province, on Manus I ...

in the

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-co ...

in March 1945 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 ...

in New Britain in July, from where it flew missions against the Japanese bases at Rabaul.Ross 1955, pp. 307, 309. It disbanded in October 1945.

Commanding officers

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 als ...

H. R. Wigley *Squadron Leader M. T. Vanderpump *Squadron Leader J. R. C. Kilian *Squadron Leader H. A. Eaton

References

* 19 Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Squadrons of the RNZAF in World War II {{NewZealand-stub