RNZAF 75th anniversary parade

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E nga mana, e nga reo, nga rangatira o Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, nga āpiha me nga toa o Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, nga manuhiri tuarangi, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou.  Kia ora tātou katoa.

Distinguished guests, leaders of the New Zealand Defence Force, officers and airmen and airwomen of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, visitors to New Zealand, ladies and gentlemen, I extend warm greetings to you all.

I specifically acknowledge: Rt Hon John Key, Prime Minister; Dr Rt Hon Lockwood Smith, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Dr Hon Jonathan Coleman, Minister of Defence ; Lt Gen Rhys Jones, Chief of Defence Force; Air Vice-Marshal Peter Stockwell, Chief of Air Force; Rear Admiral Jack Steer, Vice Chief of Defence Force; Rear Admiral Tony Parr, Chief of Navy; Major General Tim Keating, Chief of Army; Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Representatives of the Air Forces from abroad.

I consider it a special honour to be the reviewing officer for this parade that marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

While the RNZAF was formally established as a separate Service on 1 April 1937, its roots go back to some of the earliest days of powered flight.  The history of the RNZAF is intertwined with the history of aviation in New Zealand.

It is natural that people associate an Air Force with the aircraft it flys.  However, an Air Force, like an Army and a Navy would be nought but for the people who serve in it.  Yet, it is the exploits of people, the squadrons they belong to, and the aircraft they operate that defines an Air Force; and that is what I will talk about today.

With rare exception, the history of the RNZAF is not defined by singular battles in the same way that the Navy recalls the Battle of the River Plate or the Army looks to the events of Gallipoli or North Africa and Italy.

Our Air Force’s history, however, is filled with the exploits of individuals who did remarkable things.  They gave their all in the service of their country, serving New Zealand in both the good times and the sad times.  Many lost their lives in fulfilling their duty.

Those pioneering aviators established the traditions and history, particularly within individual squadrons, that continue to motivate the airmen and airwomen of today.  In an age when aviation was in its infancy, they took calculated risks and established an organisation marked by teamwork and professionalism. 

The illustrious exploits of the RAF’s 75 (New Zealand) Squadron of Wellington bombers in Europe or RNZAF’s 3 Squadron in the Pacific continue to inspire those who serve to this day.  In that vein, 3 Squadron helicopters, for example, undertook a daring rescue mission to Atambua in West Timor and rescued 43 United Nations personnel trapped there.

The efforts of pioneering aviators, particularly the New Zealand-trained pilots who served in the Royal Air Force and its predecessors in the First World led to the establishment of the New Zealand Permanent Air Force in 1927. 

The tradition of service to New Zealand was set at the outset.  In 1931, under the command of Len Isitt, then a Squadron Leader, the New Zealand Permanent Air Force supported the Navy and the Army in responding to the earthquake in Napier.  That remains our nation’s most lethal natural disaster, and claimed the lives of 258 people.  The NZPAF-led aerial response, supported by civilian pilots and aero clubs, flew more than 245 sorties, ferrying doctors, nurses, mail and urgent supplies as well as carrying out vital reconnaissance. 

While the NZPAF was renamed the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1934, it was not until 1937 that it was established as a separate service by its own Act in 1937.  With the clouds of war looming it was initially decided that the RNZAF’s primary role would be to provide trained aircrew to the RAF in the event of a European war.

The deeds of the thousands of New Zealanders who served in the RAF in the Second World War are the stuff of legend.  The first RAF ace in that conflict was New Zealander Cobber Kain.  It was New Zealander Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park, himself a Gallipoli veteran and First World War fighter ace, who played a crucial role in leading British air defences during the Battle of Britain.  Another New Zealander, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham led Air Forces in the Western Desert and during the D-Day landings.  The air power doctrine devised by Coningham then is acknowledged as the basis of modern joint operations doctrine today.

Many other New Zealanders played their part, they received accolades and honours, and three were awarded the highest honour for valour, the Victoria Cross.  More than 11,000 lost their lives and more than 2000 were prisoners of war.

Those who served, and died, included Wanganui-born Sergeant James Ward.  He won his VC on 7 July 1941, returning from a raid over Germany.  The starboard engine of his Wellington Bomber caught fire, fed by a fractured fuel pipe.  Ward crawled out on to the wing of the bomber as it flew over the North Sea, and used an engine cover to smother the flames.  Ward was killed in action later that year, and his Victoria Cross was presented to his brother by Governor-General Sir Cyril Newall, a former Marshal of the RAF, in 1942.

Another who lost his life was New Zealand’s third and last air VC, awarded posthumously to Flying Officer Lloyd Allan Trigg.  It is unique in that it was awarded on the recommendation provided by the crew of the German U-Boat he sank, for an action in which there were no surviving Allied witnesses to corroborate his gallantry.

The RNZAF also operated in the Pacific.  RNZAF air crew served with RAF squadrons in Singapore while the RNZAF flying boats carried out reconnaissance missions in the Pacific.  Later in the war, RNZAF fighters and bombers were to directly engage the Japanese in the Solomon Islands and elsewhere. 

And so it was that Len Isitt, now Air Vice-Marshal, became the first New Zealander to command the RNZAF in 1943 and in 1945 represented New Zealand in signing the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

In the years since the RNZAF has served in conflicts throughout the world, including in Malaysia, Vietnam and Afghanistan.  RNZAF aircraft and personnel have also served in United Nations missions, as well as supporting New Zealand Defence Force peacekeeping missions in places as diverse as the Sinai, Somalia, Bosnia, Bougainville, Timor-Leste, the Middle East and the Solomon Islands.  

The RNZAF operational squadrons have also been there in responding to humanitarian and natural disasters, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, tropical cyclones in the South Pacific and the 2008 Pacific Tsunami.  And for many a stricken mariner, the sight of an RNZAF P3 aircraft from No 5 Squadron circling overhead has heralded the arrival of much needed food, equipment and ultimate rescue.

And most significantly, the RNZAF, alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the New Zealand Army, responded to the plight of the people of Christchurch in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit that city on 22 February 2011—80 years and 19 days after the response to the earthquake in Napier in 1931.

In conclusion, as Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief, I want to congratulate the officers and men and women on the RNZAF on achieving this significant milestone.  Following in the footsteps of your early pioneers, you continue to advance New Zealand's security interests, with professionalism, integrity and teamwork.  When duty has called, you have been there, ready and willing to serve with honour and dedication regardless of the risk, for your Queen, for your country and for our democratic values.  That a military force can march on to the grounds of our Parliament, and lower its weapons, speaks of the legacy of that service in upholding democratic traditions.  Like those before you, your deeds give real meaning to the Air Force vision of being ready, resilient and respected.  Kia ora, kia kaha, huihui tātou katoa.