AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE NEW ZEALAND SPITFIRE SQUADRON
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Characteristics
| ISBN-10 | 0091593603 |
| Book cover finish(es) | Hardcover ( round back binding ) Dust jacket |
| Condition |
NOS (NEW old stock) |
| Author(s) | Kevin W. Wells |
| Publisher | Hutchinson Group (N.Z.) Ltd |
| Number of pages | 168 |
| Published date | 1984 |
| Language(s) | English |
| Size | 21.5 x 30.5 x 1.5 cm |
Description
The 485 Squadron R.N.Z.A.F. was formed on 1st March 1941 at Driffield in Yorkshire. For six weeks, the New Zealand pilots flew worn-out Supermarine Spitfire aircraft as they learned to operate as a coordinated team.
Of the twenty-five pilots, only eight had already served with operational squadrons. Some had gained their ‘wings’ after being granted short service commissions in the Royal Air Force before the outbreak of war, while the remainder came directly from initial training courses at No. 2 Flying School, Woodburn, Blenheim. Several New Zealand ground crew were also posted to the Squadron at its formation.
The Squadron was granted operational status on 12 April 1941, and although its first duties were limited to monotonous convoy escort patrols over the North Sea, before the end of the war it had flown 10,717 sorties, destroyed 63 enemy aircraft with 25 ‘probables’, and 32 damaged. In its short period of operations against ground targets, its pilots also destroyed some 10 vehicles and 5 railway engines.
During this time, 485 Squadron R.N.Z.A.F. personnel were awarded 1 Air Force Cross, 8 Distinguished Service Orders, 55 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 2 Distinguished Flying Medals, 1 Croix de Guerre, and 1 American Distinguished Flying Cross. Seventeen of the pilots were taken prisoner and fifty lost their lives.
This illustrated history is a tribute to all the pilots and ground crew of 485 Squadron Royal New Zealand Air Force. It is also, as Group Captain E. P. Wells points out, a tribute to “that beautiful but fragile creature… the valiant Supermarine Spitfire.”