Near my accomodation in Christchurch, albeit 8km from the centre of Christchurch itself, is the Air Force Museum of New Zealand. As at April 2018, it is a work in progress, expanding, but there is still plenty to see. The history is interesting, and the numbers of pilots and others from New Zealand involved in the World Wars is salutary – giving the lie to the idea of plucky Britain standing alone. The museum does a great job in livening things with the stories of individuals, though there are facts and figures as well. Those from combat operations are poignant in themselves, and also because those squadrons are now retired; most with the end of WW2, but some more recently, when New Zealand removed its combat capability.
A gallery of some of the sights to see is below.
View over Wigram airfield.
Wigram airfield terminal building.
Wigram airfield terminal building.
Museum front.
Alenia Aermacchi trainer cockpit.
Alenia Aermacchi trainer, all now mothballed since NZ ended combat readiness.
Main hall
Souvenir of Baron von Richthofen.
Sopwith with view over the main hall; Kingston on Thames on the tailplane.
Gun emplacement overlooking DC plane.
POW exhibition.
Spitfire and engine, latter retrieved from its crash site in France.
Sioux helicopter.
George West, first Maori member of RZNAF.
Hangar View.
Large hangar out the back. Vehicle in foreground is a Hucks Starter, used to spin propellor to start the engine. Plane is an Avro 626.
That’s not a knife. This is a knife.
T F Duck, fabric mascot from a Wellington bomber.
T F Duck
Bear – Flight Lieutenant Harry B Fanshaw, mascot of no 75 squadron RNZAF.
Air force museum twitter feed on the big screen.
Link Flight trainer.
Link Flight trainer, used bellows to move it around.