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 theatre during the Second World War, flying combat operations against Japanese forces. Proposed re-equipment with the P-51 Mustang was abandoned at the cessation of hostilities, and the squadron returned to New Zealand where it was disbanded in October 1945.
No. 16 Squadron Royal New Zealand Air Force
Flight Lieutenant Day of No. 16 Squadron with his Kittyhawk, 1943
On 15 January 1945 during an attack on Toboi, southwest of Rabaul, by Corsairs from 14 and 16 Squadrons, a 14 Squadron Corsair was shot down and the pilot parachuted into Simpson Harbour. 14 and 16 Squadron Corsairs provided fighter cover for a possible rescue operation until the evening when, low on fuel they returned to Green Island. Encountering a tropical storm during their return flight, 5 Corsairs crashed into the sea, one crashed at Green Island while landing and a seventh disappeared in clouds with all 7 pilots killed. The shot down pilot was captured by the Japanese and died in captivity.[1]
Commanding officersedit
The following served as commanding officers of No. 16 Squadron:[2]
Squadron Leader A. N. Jones (June 1942–May 1943);
Squadron Leader J. S. Nelson (May–September 1943);
Squadron Leader J. H. Arkwright (October 1943–January 1944);
Squadron Leader A. G. Sievers (January–June 1944);
Squadron Leader M. C. P. Jones (June–September 1944);
Squadron Leader P. S. Green (October 1944–June 1945);
Squadron Leader J. H. Mills (July–October 1945).
Galleryedit
A Kittyhawk of No. 16 Squadron in flight over the New Zealand coastline
squadron, rnzaf, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources No 16 Squadron RNZAF news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 theatre during the Second World War flying combat operations against Japanese forces Proposed re equipment with the P 51 Mustang was abandoned at the cessation of hostilities and the squadron returned to New Zealand where it was disbanded in October 1945 No 16 Squadron Royal New Zealand Air ForceFlight Lieutenant Day of No 16 Squadron with his Kittyhawk 1943Active1942 1945CountryNew ZealandBranchRoyal New Zealand Air ForceRoleFighter Contents 1 History 2 Commanding officers 3 Gallery 4 Notes 5 ReferencesHistory editIt was formed on 1 July 1942 at RNZAF Base Woodbourne near Blenheim under the command of Squadron Leader A Jones The squadron served in Espiritu Santo Guadalcanal New Georgia Bougainville Green Island and Jacquinot Bay On 15 January 1945 during an attack on Toboi southwest of Rabaul by Corsairs from 14 and 16 Squadrons a 14 Squadron Corsair was shot down and the pilot parachuted into Simpson Harbour 14 and 16 Squadron Corsairs provided fighter cover for a possible rescue operation until the evening when low on fuel they returned to Green Island Encountering a tropical storm during their return flight 5 Corsairs crashed into the sea one crashed at Green Island while landing and a seventh disappeared in clouds with all 7 pilots killed The shot down pilot was captured by the Japanese and died in captivity 1 Commanding officers editThe following served as commanding officers of No 16 Squadron 2 Squadron Leader A N Jones June 1942 May 1943 Squadron Leader J S Nelson May September 1943 Squadron Leader J H Arkwright October 1943 January 1944 Squadron Leader A G Sievers January June 1944 Squadron Leader M C P Jones June September 1944 Squadron Leader P S Green October 1944 June 1945 Squadron Leader J H Mills July October 1945 Gallery edit nbsp A Kittyhawk of No 16 Squadron in flight over the New Zealand coastline nbsp A No 16 Squadron F4U 1 on Green Island 1944 nbsp Restored RNZAF CorsairNotes edit Ross 1955 pp 302 303 Ross 1955 p 326 References editRoss J M S 1955 Royal New Zealand Air Force Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939 45 Wellington Historical Publications Branch OCLC 912824475 nbsp This military aviation article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This New Zealand related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title No 16 Squadron RNZAF amp oldid 1186831674, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
