No. 3 Squadron RNZAF
Encyclopedia
3 Squadron is a unit of the RNZAF. It remains on active duty.
Pilots attached to the squadron used NZPAF aircraft based at Wigram
until No.3 Squadron got its first aircraft Blackburn Baffin
torpedo bombers, in 1938.
Following the outbreak of war the unit was equipped with Vickers Vincent and Vickers Vildebeest
torpedo/patrol bombers and was tasked with protecting shipping entering Lyttelton
harbour.
The squadron received modern aircraft in the form of Lockheed Hudson
s converting to the patrol bomber role and in November 1942 became the first RNZAF squadron deployed forward in full strength to engage the Japanese, operating from Henderson Field
at Guadalcanal
in the South Pacific
in a reconnaissance role. They replaced dive bombers and long range heavy bombers in this role. Despite being lightly armed, a Hudson of F/O Gudsell twice saw off attacks by three Japanese aircraft; Gudsell was awarded the Air Medal
(US).
The Squadron subsequently re-equpped with Lockheed Ventura
s and saw service from Espiritu Santo
, Bougainville
, Emirau
, Green Island
and New Britain
.
From 1948 to 1957 No.3 Squadron reverted to being a territorial squadron, based at Wigram
with de Havilland Tiger Moth
s, North American Harvards and P-51 Mustang
s. It subsequently operated transport types such the Bristol Freighter
and Army co-operation types such as the Auster
AOP, before becoming a dedicated helicopter squadron in 1965, based at Hobsonville
, Auckland
, and equipped with Bell 47
s, and from the end of the year Bell UH-1 Iroquois
, a type it still operates.
The Squadron's Naval Support Flight flew helicopters for the Royal New Zealand Navy
's frigates from 1966 until October 2005, when the role was transferred to 6 Squadron
. The flight flew Westland Wasp
s, and later Kaman Seasprites of the naval air wing attached to the squadron from 1966 to 2005.
Pilots from No. 3 Squadron served in Vietnam
and in UN peace keeping in the Sinai
. The Squadron served in East Timor
. For many years a detachment was based in Singapore
, to support the New Zealand Army presence there, and combat Indonesia
n insurgents. Detachments have recently served in the Solomon Islands
and Antarctica.
No. 3 Squadron UH-1s transported the paticipants on the first episode of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.
Today, No. 3 Squadron provides tactical air transport for the army
. The Iroquois are scheduled to be replaced by NH90s.
The Ministry of Defense has an ongoing (as of 2008) helicopter replacement program that is to replace the Iroquois with 9 new NH90 Medium Utility Helicopters for NZ$771 million, and the Bell-47 Sioux with 5 A109
. The A109
will also provide the Airforce with a light utility and counter-terrorist support role.
crashed near Paekakariki Hill Rd, about 40 km north east of Wellington. The Iroquois was enroute to Anzac Day
commemorations from RNZAF Base Ohakea
when the helicopter crashed into a steep hill in the morning darkness, killing 3 men. A 4th crew member survived the crash with serious injuries. The cause of the crash is not yet known.
An Auster
AOP operated by the squadron is at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum
, together with an Iroqouis in 3 Squadron colours, and a Westland Wasp
and an early F model Kaman SH-2 Seasprite
formerly operated by the squadron's naval flight. Another Wasp is preserved in the Museum of Transport and Technology
, together with a Lockheed Hudson used by both No. 2 and 3 Squadrons. A number of ex 3 squadron Bristol Freighter
s have survived, including one in the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum
.
History
No. 3 Squadron RNZAF formed as a Territorial unit of the New Zealand Permanent Air Force based at Christchurch in 1930.Pilots attached to the squadron used NZPAF aircraft based at Wigram
Wigram
Wigram is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. Technically called Wigram Park, the second half of its name is rarely if ever heard. The suburb lies close to the industrial estates of Sockburn and the satellite retail and residential zone of Hornby...
until No.3 Squadron got its first aircraft Blackburn Baffin
Blackburn Baffin
-See also:-External links:* * http://avia.russian.ee/air/england/black_baffin.php...
torpedo bombers, in 1938.
Vickers Vildebeest
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 a light bomber, torpedo bomber and in the army cooperation roles...
torpedo/patrol bombers and was tasked with protecting shipping entering Lyttelton
Lyttelton, New Zealand
Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour close to Banks Peninsula, a suburb of Christchurch on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand....
harbour.
The squadron received modern aircraft in the form of Lockheed Hudson
Lockheed Hudson
The 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...
s converting to the patrol bomber role and in November 1942 became the first RNZAF squadron deployed forward in full strength to engage the Japanese, operating from Henderson Field
Henderson Field (Guadalcanal)
Henderson Field is a former military airfield on Guadacanal, Solomon Islands during World War II. Today it is Honiara International Airport.-Japanese construction:...
at Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
in a reconnaissance role. They replaced dive bombers and long range heavy bombers in this role. Despite being lightly armed, a Hudson of F/O Gudsell twice saw off attacks by three Japanese aircraft; Gudsell was awarded the Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
(US).
The Squadron subsequently re-equpped with Lockheed Ventura
Lockheed Ventura
The Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises...
s and saw service from Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
, Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
, Emirau
Emirau Island
Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The local language is a dialect of the Mussau-Emira language...
, Green Island
Nissan Island
Nissan Island is the largest of the Green Islands of Papua New Guinea. It is located at , about 200 km east of Rabaul on New Britain and about 200 km northwest of Bougainville....
and New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
.
From 1948 to 1957 No.3 Squadron reverted to being a territorial squadron, based at Wigram
Wigram
Wigram is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. Technically called Wigram Park, the second half of its name is rarely if ever heard. The suburb lies close to the industrial estates of Sockburn and the satellite retail and residential zone of Hornby...
with de Havilland Tiger Moth
De Havilland Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft...
s, North American Harvards and P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
s. It subsequently operated transport types such the Bristol Freighter
Bristol Freighter
The Bristol Type 170 Freighter was a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner, although its best known use is as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances.-Design and development:The...
and Army co-operation types such as the Auster
Auster
Auster Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1938 to 1961.-History:The company began in 1938 at the Britannia Works, Thurmaston near Leicester, England, as Taylorcraft Aeroplanes Limited, making light observation aircraft designed by the Taylorcraft Aircraft Corporation of...
AOP, before becoming a dedicated helicopter squadron in 1965, based at Hobsonville
Hobsonville
Hobsonville is a former Royal New Zealand Air Force airfield which are currently being redeveloped as a new suburb of Auckland, in the area of the former Waitakere City, New Zealand...
, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, and equipped with Bell 47
Bell 47
The Bell 47 is a two-bladed, single engine, light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. Based on the third Model 30 prototype, Bell's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young, the Bell 47 became the first helicopter certified for civilian use on 8 March 1946...
s, and from the end of the year Bell UH-1 Iroquois
UH-1 Iroquois
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...
, a type it still operates.
The Squadron's Naval Support Flight flew helicopters for the Royal New Zealand Navy
Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
's frigates from 1966 until October 2005, when the role was transferred to 6 Squadron
No. 6 Squadron RNZAF
No. 6 Squadron Royal New Zealand Air Force is the squadron operating New Zealand's navy's air arm. While historically having been disbanded several times through changes in the country's military structure, it has a history going back to before World War II, when it operated flying boats. The...
. The flight flew Westland Wasp
Westland Wasp
The Westland Wasp was a British small first-generation, gas-turbine powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. Produced by Westland Helicopters, it came from the same P.531 programme as the British Army Westland Scout, and was based on the earlier piston-engined Saunders-Roe Skeeter...
s, and later Kaman Seasprites of the naval air wing attached to the squadron from 1966 to 2005.
Pilots from No. 3 Squadron served in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and in UN peace keeping in the Sinai
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
. The Squadron served in East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
. For many years a detachment was based in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, to support the New Zealand Army presence there, and combat Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n insurgents. Detachments have recently served in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
and Antarctica.
No. 3 Squadron UH-1s transported the paticipants on the first episode of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.
Today, No. 3 Squadron provides tactical air transport for the army
New Zealand Army
The New Zealand Army , is the land component of the New Zealand Defence Force and comprises around 4,500 Regular Force personnel, 2,000 Territorial Force personnel and 500 civilians. Formerly the New Zealand Military Forces, the current name was adopted around 1946...
. The Iroquois are scheduled to be replaced by NH90s.
Current Strength
The squadron has a total personnel strength of approximately 135, and operates the following aircraft:- Utility Flight of 13 UH-1H Iroquois based at RNZAF Base Ohakea. UH-1H helicopters will remain in service until NH-90 is fully operational.
- Training Flight of 5 Bell-47 Sioux based at RNZAF Base Ohakea. These helicopters have been retired.
- Training and Light Support Helicopter- 8 Agusta A109Agusta A109The AgustaWestland AW109 is a light-weight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter built by the Anglo-Italian manufacturer AgustaWestland...
LUH helicopters. 3 in service with the remainder to arrive by 2012 - Medium Transport Helicopter- 9 NH-90 helicopters, due 2011
The Ministry of Defense has an ongoing (as of 2008) helicopter replacement program that is to replace the Iroquois with 9 new NH90 Medium Utility Helicopters for NZ$771 million, and the Bell-47 Sioux with 5 A109
Agusta A109
The AgustaWestland AW109 is a light-weight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter built by the Anglo-Italian manufacturer AgustaWestland...
. The A109
Agusta A109
The AgustaWestland AW109 is a light-weight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter built by the Anglo-Italian manufacturer AgustaWestland...
will also provide the Airforce with a light utility and counter-terrorist support role.
Accidents
On 25 April 2010, at about 5.45am, a UH-1 IroquoisUH-1 Iroquois
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...
crashed near Paekakariki Hill Rd, about 40 km north east of Wellington. The Iroquois was enroute to Anzac Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
commemorations from RNZAF Base Ohakea
RNZAF Base Ohakea
RNZAF Base Ohakea is an operational base of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Opened in 1939, it is near Bulls, 25 km north west of Palmerston North in the Manawatu...
when the helicopter crashed into a steep hill in the morning darkness, killing 3 men. A 4th crew member survived the crash with serious injuries. The cause of the crash is not yet known.
Preserved Aircraft
Auster
Auster Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1938 to 1961.-History:The company began in 1938 at the Britannia Works, Thurmaston near Leicester, England, as Taylorcraft Aeroplanes Limited, making light observation aircraft designed by the Taylorcraft Aircraft Corporation of...
AOP operated by the squadron is at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum
Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum
The 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...
, together with an Iroqouis in 3 Squadron colours, and a Westland Wasp
Westland Wasp
The Westland Wasp was a British small first-generation, gas-turbine powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. Produced by Westland Helicopters, it came from the same P.531 programme as the British Army Westland Scout, and was based on the earlier piston-engined Saunders-Roe Skeeter...
and an early F model Kaman SH-2 Seasprite
SH-2 Seasprite
The Kaman SH-2 Seasprite is a ship-based helicopter with anti-submarine, anti-surface threat capability, including over-the-horizon targeting. This aircraft extends and increases shipboard sensor and weapon capabilities against several types of enemy threats, including submarines of all types,...
formerly operated by the squadron's naval flight. Another Wasp is preserved in the Museum of Transport and Technology
Museum of Transport and Technology
The Museum of Transport and Technology is a museum located in Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand. It is located close to the Western Springs Stadium, Auckland Zoo and the Western Springs Park. The museum has large collections of civilian and military aircraft and other land transport vehicles...
, together with a Lockheed Hudson used by both No. 2 and 3 Squadrons. A number of ex 3 squadron Bristol Freighter
Bristol Freighter
The Bristol Type 170 Freighter was a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner, although its best known use is as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances.-Design and development:The...
s have survived, including one in the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum
Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum
The 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...
.