No. 489 Squadron RNZAF

No. 489 (NZ) Squadron RAF
Active	12 August 1941 - 1 August 1945
Country	United Kingdom
Allegiance	New Zealand
Branch	Royal Air Force
Role	Anti-Shipping
Motto	Māori: Whakatanagata kia kaha (Translation: "Acquit yourselves like men, be strong")
Insignia
Squadron Badge	Standing on a Torpedo, a Kiwi[1][2]
Squadron Codes	XA (Jan 1942 - Nov 1943)[3][4] P6 (Nov 1943 - Aug 1945)[5][6]

489 (NZ) Squadron was formed from pilots of the Royal New Zealand Air Force on 12 August 1941 under RAF Coastal Command as an anti-submarine and reconnaissance unit.^[1]

History

On 19 December 1939 Article XV was promulgated, creating the Empire Air Training Scheme. Under this article provision was made for the formation of Commonwealth squadrons within the RAF. On 17 April 1941 a further agreement was negotiated allowing for six New Zealand Squadrons to be formed: 485 Sqn., 486 Sqn., 487 Sqn., 488 Sqn., 489 Sqn. and 490 Sqn. These units were manned and (mostly) commanded by New Zealanders trained under the EATS. provisions, although this didn't preclude other nationalities from being members. Administratively the "Article XV squadrons" were an integral part of the RAF, with all command appointments being made by the RAF. Other Dominion or Commonwealth countries involved were Australia and Canada, along with Rhodesia and South Africa.

No. 489 was formed at RAF Leuchars with Bristol Beaufort, the squadron had some time becoming operational. As Beauforts were in short supply, they were supplemented and eventually replaced by the Bristol Blenheim Mk.IVf aircraft, handed over from No. 143 Squadron RAF. These were used over the North Sea and Norway. The Squadron converted to Hampdens in April and became a dedicated anti-submarine torpedo bomber unit in March 1942, carrying out its first torpedo attacks in July 1942 during sorties in the Trondheim fjord. The squadron converted to Beaufighters in November 1943.^[1] Beaufighters were used to attack shipping in the North Sea and along the coast of Occupied Europe, Northern Germany and Scandinavia. From April 1944 it formed part of the Anzac Strike wing. It also flew air sea rescue missions, escorted convoys and continued anti-submarine work. The squadrons last operational mission in Europe was flown off the Norwegian coast on 21 May 1945. It began to re-equip with Mosquitos in June 1945 with a view to moving to the Pacific, but following the collapse of Japan, it was disbanded on 1 August 1945, before completion.^[2]

The squadron operated out of several stations: RAF Leuchars, RAF Thorney Island, RAF Wick, RAF St Eval, RAF Skitten, RAF Langham, RAF Dallachy and RAF Banff. It flew 2,380 sorties and 9,773 hours on operations. Awards were two Distinguished Service Orders, three Distinguished Flying Medals a Conspicuous Gallantry Medal and 19 Distinguished Flying Crosses.

The Squadron's Māori motto is Whakatanagata kia kaha, which can be translated as "Quit ye like men, Be Strong".

No 489 Squadron aircraft are known to survive, but relics are preserved at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 489 Squadron RNZAF, data from^[2][7][8][9]

From	To	Aircraft	Version
August 1941	January 1942	Bristol Beaufort	Mk.I
January 1942	March 1942	Bristol Blenheim	Mk.IVf
March 1942	November 1943	Handley Page Hampden	Mk.I
November 1943	August 1945	Bristol Beaufighter	Mk.X
June 1945	August 1945	de Havilland Mosquito	Mk.VI

Commanding officers

Officers commanding no. 489 Squadron RNZAF, data from^[7][10]

From	To	Name
August 1941	October 1942	W/Cdr. J.A.S. Brown
October 1942	August 1943	W/Cdr. V.C. Darling
August 1943	August 1944	W/Cdr. J.S. Dinsdale, DSO, DFC
August 1944	February 1945	W/Cdr. L.A. Robertson
February 1945	August 1945	W/Cdr. D.H. Hammond, DSO, DFC and Bar

Squadron bases

Bases and airfields used by no. 489 Squadron RNZAF, data from^[7][8][11]

From	To	Base
12 August 1941	27 February 1942	RAF Leuchars
27 February 1942	5 August 1942	RAF Thorney Island
9 May 1942	19 June 1942	RAF St Eval (D)
13 June 1942	19 July 1942	RAF Abbotsinch (D)[2]
12 July 1942	5 August 1942	RAF Tain (D)[2]
March 1942	5 August 1942	RAF Wick D
5 August 1942	6 October 1943	RAF Skitten
6 October 1943	8 April 1944	RAF Leuchars
8 April 1944	24 October 1944	RAF Langham
24 October 1944	16 June 1945	RAF Dallachy
16 June 1945	1 August 1945	RAF Banff

Roll of Honour August 1941 to August 1945

BACON Frederick William 4 April 1943 BAILLIE William Russell 31 March/ 1 April 1944 BARNARD Anthony Edgar Buchanan 14 April 1943 BILLINGTON Harold Joseph 31 March / 1 April 1944 BOLDING Theodore 25 September 1944 BRANDON Charles Henry 14 / 15 September 1942 BRIGHTWELL John Mostyn 14 April 1945 BROWN Alexander George 14 / 15 September 1942 BROWN Alfred George Greenwood 23 January 1943 BURT Robert Erskine 13 February 1943 CAMERON William Hugh Iain 19 May 1944 CARLSON Stanley Carl Walter 28/ 29 October 1942 CHAPMAN Douglas Launcelot Blackmore 5 June 1944 CLEGG Tom Ransley 14 June 1944 DOUGLAS Wallace John 4 April 1943 EASTON Reginald William 19 May 1943 FISHER Henry Guy 28/ 29 October 1942 FOY Edgar Joseph 14 April 1945 FREEMAN Sydney 5 June 1944 FRESHNEY Charles John 4 April 1943 FRICKER Douglas John 10 August 1944 GAITENS James Joseph 22 July 1942 GARRISON Wilfred Reed 1 November 1944 GRIFFITHS Ivor 13 April 1943 HEY Ronald John William 8 August 1944 HOLOBROW Frederick Michael 13 April 1943 HORWOOD Cyril Ernest 2 October 1941 HUGHES Thomas Edward 1 November 1944 HURLEY John Joseph 11 August 1942 JONES George Arroll 11 August 1942 KEEPING John Ross 19 May 1943 KELLOW Stanley William 10 August 1944 LANIGAN William Percival 4 April 1943 LATTA Selwyn 9 April 1943 LAWRENCE Jack Bailey 28/ 29 October 1942 LONDON Jack Adrian Colin 8 April 1942 LOWCOCK Charles Henry 14 May 1944 McALLISTER John 9 April 1943 McEACHERN Gerald Joseph 19 May 1943 MacERLICH W I 13 April 1943 McKECHNIE William 1 July 1943 MacQUACKER Robert 19 May 1944 MAGUIRE James 23 January 1943 MORRISON John Kendall 26 April 1945 MOYNIHAN Frederick Kingsmill 17 June 1944 MURRAY Thomas Donald Gordon 14/ 15 September 1942 NEWMAN Douglas 14/ 15 September 1942 NUGENT Royden Leslie 14 April 1945 OLIVER Jack Moss 1/ 2 April 1944 PARKIN Graham George 19 April 1945 PETTITT Ivan Alfred 14 May 1944 POLLARD Cyrus Ralph 17 June 1944 PRIEST Cedric Hubert Owen 8 March 1942 RICHARDSON Alan 13 February 1943 RICHES Leslie 22 July 1942 SALMOND William Clive 23 January 1943 SELTHUN Leo Norman 9 April 1943 SHEPPERD John Henry 23 January 1943 SMITH Geoffrey Harcourt 9 April 1943 SPINK Frederick Ellis 8 August 1944 STOURTON Brinley Edward 20 April 1944 STUCHBERY Lloyd Robert 28 January 1945 TOOMBS William Henry Clemens 29 December 1943 TRIPTREE Alan Charles 11 August 1942 TUCK William Robert 30 July 1944 WAIT Stanley William 1 February 1944 WALPOLE Sydney Herbert 9 April 1943 WARD Ronald Leslie 4 April 1943 WARDE Brian James Douglas 22 July 1942 WHEELER Denis Walton 9 April 1943 WHITE Robert Lawrence 20 April 1944 WHITSED Edward Miles 19 May 1943 WILKINSON Francis Henry 8 March 1943 WILKINSON Frederick Raymond 26 April 1945 WOODCOCK William Robertson 12 August 1944 WRENCH Horace 13 February 1943 WRIGHT James Alan Skirrow 19 May 1944 WRIGHT Laurie Aubrey 19 May 1944

Sourced: www.cwgc.org, ORB - 489 Squadron, RNZAF Museum, Christchurch NZ and David Burrowes

A note on New Zealand Squadrons in the RAF

It is now largely accepted that the seven World War II squadrons of the Royal Air Force 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 RNZAF; all RNZAF units operated in the Pacific Theatre. An anomaly exists in that the official badges of the six New Zealand units units reads (e.g.:) "486 Squadron Royal New Zealand Air Force".^[12] 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)^[13]

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Rawlings 1982, p. 224.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Halley 1988, p. 532.
3. ^ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 113.
4. ^ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 117.
5. ^ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 84.
6. ^ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 96.
7. ^ ^{a b c} Rawlings 1982, p. 225.
8. ^ ^{a b} Jefford 2001, p. 95.
9. ^ Bowyer 1984, p. 113.
10. ^ New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
11. ^ No.489 Squadron RNZAF on rafcommands
12. ^ History of squadrons 485 till 490 on rafweb
13. ^ Morris 2000, p. 20.

Bibliography

• Bowyer, Chaz. Mosquito Squadrons of the Royal AIr Force. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd., 1984. ISBN 0-7110-1425-6.
• Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. Squadron Codes, 1937-56. Bar Hill, Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
• Burrowes, David M. (ed). 489 - An Unofficial History of No. 489 Torpedo Bomber Squadron RNZAF, 1941 to 1945.Published by David Burrowes, Nelson, NZ - Nov 2006. ISBN 978-0-473-11888-4
• Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. Combat Codes: A Full Explanation and Listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied Air Force Unit Codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
• Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
• Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE, BA, RAF (Retd). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
• Morris, Gerard S. Spitfire, the New Zealand Story. Auckland, New Zealand: Reed Books, 2000. ISBN 0-7900-0696-0.
• Rawlings, John D.R. Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.
• Tunnicliffe, Donald McKenzie. From Bunnies to Beaufighters: the Autobiography of Donald McKenzie Tunnicliffe, DFC, incorporating a history of 489 Squadron RNZAF, November 1943 - May 1945. Christchurch, New Zealand: Alan Tunnicliffe, 1990. ISBN 0-95978-302-4.
• Thompson, Wing Commander H.L. Official New Zealand History New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force (Vol I): European Theatre September 1939-December 1942. Wellington, New Zealand: War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1953. ISBN N/A
• Thompson, Wing Commander H.L. ;Official New Zealand History New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force (Vol II): European Theatre January 1943-December 1945. Wellington, New Zealand: War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1956. ISBN N/A

External links

• Australian site on Article XV
• Canadian site on Article XV
• New Zealand site on article XV
• Article about 489 squadron - the precusor to its unofficial history