RNZAF Station Waipapakauri was a

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 ...

station located at

Waipapakauri Waipapakauri is a small settlement in the Far North District of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1 (New Zealand), State Highway 1 at the isthmus of the Aupouri Peninsula. The larger settlement of Awanui lies to the southeast. Waipapaka ...

, 14 km north of

Kaitaia Kaitaia ( mi, Kaitāia) is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1. Ahipara ...

Northland Region The Northland Region ( mi, Te Tai Tokerau) is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout the year. The main population ...

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 ...

. Originally established in 1933 as a small local aerodrome, it was commandeered as an air force base by the RNZAF at the outbreak of war in 1939. The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy established a radio intercept and direction finding (D/F) station here as part of a network throughout the country.

World War II

Being the most northerly airbase in New Zealand, it was enlarged to cope with front-line fighters and bombers. Originally it was used as a maritime aviation patrol base using elderly

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 i ...

bombers scouting the northern approaches to New Zealand and looking out for German surface raiders that were operating in the area. In 1941, after the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, the base was further enlarged and permanent structures fortified with large bunkers, aircraft revetments, underground command centres and a base hospital built. The main runway was lengthened and strengthened as well as lengthening the crosswind runways which involved culverting a small stream that became prone to flooding in heavy downpours.

Hawker Hind The Hawker Hind was a British light bomber of the inter-war years produced by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force. It was developed from the Hawker Hart day bomber introduced in 1931. Design and development An improved Hawker Hart bomber d ...

trainers,

maritime patrol bombers,

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 ...

point defence fighters, and

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 ...

bombers were based there. Later in the War,

Vought 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 ...

fighters were also stationed at the base. As Waipapakauri was the closest base to the Pacific Theater of Operations, many military transport aircraft transited through for refuelling heading to and from operations. These included

Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in f ...

Dakota/Skytrains of all the Allied nations fighting in the Pacific. At the end of hostilities in 1945, the airbase was closed and facilities abandoned, the far more suitable

Kaitaia Airport Kaitaia Airport is an airport located in Kaitaia, in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It is 320 km from Auckland. Barrier Air operates daily flights to and from Auckland Airport. History On 13 June 2005, Kaitaia Airport received an ...

nearby being developed with a paved runway.

Today

Today remnants include the command bunker, some weather-worn revetments and the base hospital which is now the

Hotel. The main runway is still well defined from the air as well as on Google Earth. State Highway 1 cuts across the southern end of the runway. In the 1950s the culvert across the main crosswind runway was opened out to prevent seasonal flooding that it caused. The runways have been turned back into farmland. An official memorial next to the hotel carpark bears testimony of the base's past existence.Wings over New Zealand, Wartime Bases thread

References

{{authority control Defunct airports in New Zealand Royal New Zealand Air Force bases Far North District World War II sites in New Zealand

World War II

Today

See also

References