No. 487 Squadron was a
Royal New Zealand Air ForceThe Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
bomber squadron, formed under
Article XV of the Empire Air Training SchemeArticle XV squadrons were Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand air force squadrons formed from graduates of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , during World War II....
. It served in the European theatre during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, under the operational command of the
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
.
History
No. 487 (NZ) Squadron was formed as a day bomber unit on
VenturasThe Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises...
, with
Royal New Zealand Air ForceThe Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
pilots, at
Feltwell, NorfolkRAF Feltwell is a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, East Anglia that is currently used by the United States Air Forces Europe. The station is located about 10 miles west of Thetford, and is in the borough of King's Lynn at approximate Ordnance Survey grid reference .A former Second World War...
on 15 August 1942. The Ventura, an update of the
Lockheed HudsonThe Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
, acquired a poor reputation in Europe, as its performance was not really in the same league as British and German aircraft of the period.
Operations began in December, over the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. They included a raid on the Phillips factory at
Eindhoven and a power station in which the squadron suffered losses. A Ramrod raid (one to be continued regardless of losses), against
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
on 3 May 1943 resulted in the loss of all but one Ventura, (the survivor having turned back with mechanical problems before crossing the coast). Squadron Leader Leonard Trent won the
Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
for his leadership in this raid. He later took part in the "Great Escape".
Following this disaster, No 487 was transferred to the
2nd TAFThe former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
on 1 June 1943 and in August it began to receive
Mosquito FB.Mk.VIsThe de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
. On 18 February 1944 the squadron took part in the raid on the
AmiensAmiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
prison (
Operation JerichoOperation Jericho was a low-level World War II bombing raid by Allied aircraft on Amiens Prison in German-occupied France on 18 February 1944. The stated object of the raid was to free French Resistance and political prisoners. The raid is remarkable for the precision and daring of the attack,...
), destroying a wall and enabling over a hundred Resistance prisoners, scheduled for execution, to escape. On 31 October 1944 the squadron destroyed the
GestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
headquarters at
AarhusAarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
resulting in the loss of German intelligence records about Resistance activities. In February 1945 the Squadron shifted to liberated Europe. The Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen received the same treatment on 21 March.
No. 487 Squadron was disbanded on 19 September 1945 (its aircraft and those of its New Zealand aircrew who wished to remain became
No. 16 Squadron RAFNo. 16 Squadron is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force. It formed in 1915 at Saint-Omer to carry out a mixture of offensive patrolling and reconnaissance and was disbanded in 1919 with the end of the First World War...
, retrospectively some weeks later,
No. 268 Squadron RAFNo. 268 Squadron RAF was a Second World War Royal Air Force squadron that operated the North American Mustang on missions over occupied Europe and in support of the D-Day landings.-History:...
).
The Squadron's
MāoriMāori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
motto is "Ki te mutunga", which can also be translated as 'Staying till it ends'. The Squadron code was 'EG'. Apart from the Victoria Cross awarded to Squadron Leader Trent, pilots were awarded 7
DFCsThe Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
, one
Bar to DFCThe Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
, a
DSOThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
and a
DFMThe Distinguished Flying Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and the other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active...
.
Aircraft operated
{|class="wikitable"
|+Aircraft operated by no. 487 Squadron RNZAF, data from
! From !! To !! Aircraft !! Version
|-
| September 1942 || September 1943 ||
Lockheed VenturaThe Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises...
|| Mks.I, II
|-
| August 1943 || September 1945 ||
de Havilland MosquitoThe de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
|| FB.Mk.VI
Squadron bases
{|class="wikitable"
|+Bases and airfields used by no. 487 Squadron RNZAF, data from
! From !! To !! Base !! Remark
|-
| 15 August 1942 || 3 April 1943 ||
RAF FeltwellRAF Feltwell is a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, East Anglia that is currently used by the United States Air Forces Europe. The station is located about 10 miles west of Thetford, and is in the borough of King's Lynn at approximate Ordnance Survey grid reference .A former Second World War...
,
NorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
||
|-
| 3 April 1943 || 20 July 1943 ||
RAF MethwoldRAF Methwold was a Royal Air Force airfield in the west of the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom which operated during and after World War II.-History:...
, Norfolk ||
|-
| 20 July 1943 || 31 December 1943 ||
RAF SculthorpeRAF Sculthorpe is a military training facility for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence, situated about west of Fakenham in Norfolk, England...
, Norfolk ||
|-
| 31 December 1943 || 17 April 1944 || RAF Hunsdon,
HertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
||
|-
| 17 April 1944 || 18 June 1944 ||
RAF GravesendRAF Gravesend was a Fighter Airfield during the Battle of Britain, and was home to the following Squadrons during the Battle:*No. 610 Squadron RAF from 26 May 1940*No. 604 Squadron RAF from 3 July 1940*No. 501 Squadron RAF from 25 July 1940...
,
KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
|| Detached to
RAF Swanton MorleyThe former Royal Air Force Station Swanton Morley, more commonly known as RAF Swanton Morley, was a Royal Air Force Station in Norfolk, England, located near to the village of Swanton Morley...
,
Norfolk, 25–30 April 1944
|-
| 18 June 1944 || 2 February 1945 ||
RAF Thorney IslandThorney Island is an island that juts into Chichester Harbour in West Sussex. It is separated from the mainland by a narrow channel called the Great Deep. The village of West Thorney lies on the east coast of the island and has been incorporated into the military base...
,
West SussexWest Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
|| Det. at
B.87/Rosières-en-SanterreRosières-en-Santerre is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated some southeast of Amiens, at the junction of the D28 and D329 roadsnext to the Mcdonalds-Population:-Places of interest:...
,
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in December 1944
|-
| 2 February 1945 || 17 April 1945 || B.87/Rosières-en-Santerre, France ||
|-
| 17 April 1945 || 19 July 1945 ||
B.58/MelsbroekMelsbroek Air Base is a Belgian Air Component facility in Zaventem, Belgium. It is located on the northern side of the same site as Brussels Airport, with which it shares runways and ground and air control facilities....
,
BelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
||
|-
| 19 July 1945 || 19 September 1945 ||
A.75/Cambrai-ÉpinoyÉpinoy is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village situated southeast of Arras at the junction of the N43 and D21 roads.-Population:-Places of interest:* Traces of an old castle....
||
Commanding officers
{|class="wikitable"
|+Officers commanding no. 487 Squadron RNZAF, data from
! From !! To !! Name
|-
| August 1942 || December 1942 || W/Cdr. F.C. Seavill
|-
| December 1942 || May 1943 || W/Cdr. G.J. Grindell
|-
| May 1943 || February 1944 || W/Cdr. A.G. Wilson
|-
| February 1944 || August 1944 || W/Cdr. I.S. Smith,
DFCThe Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
|-
| August 1944 || January 1945 || W/Cdr. R.C. Porteus
|-
| January 1945 || February 1945 || W/Cdr. F.H. Denton, DFC
|-
| February 1945 || August 1945 || W/Cdr. W.P. Kemp
Surviving Aircraft
One largely complete 487 Squadron aircraft is known to survive,
De Havilland MosquitoThe de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
FB. VI HR339, (later NZ2382) which flew with 487 Squadron in the latter part of 1944 and early 1945. The wings and fuselage aft of the leading edge are with the Ferrymead Aeronautical Society,
ChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, who are making a composite reconstruction with NZ2328. Some mementos can be seen at the
Royal New Zealand Air Force MuseumThe Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum or Air Force Museum of New Zealand as it is now known, is an air force museum located located at Wigram, the RNZAF's first operational base, in Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand...
.
A note on New Zealand Squadrons in the RAF
It is now largely accepted that the seven
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
squadrons of the
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
manned by New Zealanders are recorded by a formulation such as 486 (NZ) Squadron RAF. However some authors (e.g. Bill Gunston) have used a formulation like 486 squadron RNZAF. Some claim the latter is misleading. RNZAF units were a separate entity, formed and controlled entirely by the
RNZAFThe Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
; all RNZAF units operated in the Pacific Theatre. An anomaly exists in that the official badges of the six New Zealand units reads (e.g.:) "486 Squadron Royal New Zealand Air Force". However, as Gerard S Morris explains:
Interestingly, this carried over into the naming of the six New Zealand squadrons...It was impractical, for operational and administrative reasons to establish and maintain RNZAF squadrons in Britain. So, although the squadron badges carried the name Royal New Zealand Air Force, the squadrons were in fact receiving their pay cheques from the British government and official records such as the Operations Record Book acknowledged this. For example, 485 Squadron was referred to informally as 485 (New Zealand) or 485 (NZ) and never as 485 Squadron, RNZAF.(italics added)
On December 19, 1939 Article XV was promulgated, creating the
Empire Air Training Scheme.The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...
Under this article provision was made for the formation of Commonwealth squadrons within the
RAFThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. On 17 April 1941 a further agreement was negotiated allowing for six New Zealand Squadrons to be formed:
485 Sqn.No. 485 Squadron was a Spitfire squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War. It was the first RNZAF squadron formed under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme and served in Europe under the operational command of the Royal Air Force.-History:Manned by New Zealand...
,
486 Sqn.486 Squadron was a fighter squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War. It was formed under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme and served in Europe under the operational command of the Royal Air Force.Second World War....
, 487 Sqn.,
488 Sqn.488 Squadron was the name given to two distinct Royal New Zealand Air Force squadrons during the Second World War. Both were formed under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme and served under the operational command of the Royal Air Force....
,
489 Sqn. and
490 Sqn.490 Squadron was formed from pilots of the Royal New Zealand Air Force under RAF Coastal Command as an anti-submarine and reconnaissance unit.-History:...
These units were manned and (mostly) commanded by New Zealanders trained under the
EATS.The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...
provisions, although this didn't preclude other nationalities from being members. Administratively the "
Article XV squadronsArticle XV squadrons were Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand air force squadrons formed from graduates of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , during World War II....
" were an integral part of the RAF, with all command appointments being made by the RAF. Other
DominionA dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
or
CommonwealthCommonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
countries involved were Australia and Canada, along with Rhodesia and South Africa.
Many New Zealanders served with mainstream RAF squadrons and several were to become Wing Commanders and Group Captains. Two outstanding New Zealanders to play a vital role in the war, and two of the best commanders in aviation history were
Sir Keith ParkAir Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC, RAF was a New Zealand soldier, First World War flying ace and Second World War Royal Air Force commander...
and
Sir Arthur ConinghamAir Marshal Sir Arthur "Mary" Coningham KCB, KBE, DSO, MC, DFC, AFC, RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. During the First World War, he was at Gallipoli with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, where he became a flying ace...
.
External links