| No. 25 Squadron RNZAF | |
|---|---|
 A Dauntless of No. 25 Squadron flying over Bougainville | |
| Active | July 1943 – September 1945 |
| Country |  New Zealand |
| Branch |  Royal New Zealand Air Force |
| Role | Dive bomber (1943–1944) Fighter (1944–1945) |
| Motto | Tohe Tonu (Constant Endeavour) |
| Colors | black and white |
| Anniversaries | 31 July 1943 |
| Equipment | SBD Dauntless F4U Corsair |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge | A caspian tern diving into the sea in search of prey |
No. 25 Squadron of theRoyal New Zealand Air Force was formed at Seagrove, Auckland in July 1943 with DouglasSBD Dauntlessdive bombers and served in the Southern Pacific based at the Piva Airstrip on Bougainville, flying missions against Japanese forces onBougainville and atRabaul. It was disbanded in May 1944 and reformed as a fighter/ground attack squadron flyingF4U Corsairs. It served in Santo, Guadalcanal, Los Negros andEmirau, before returning to New Zealand and being disbanded in September 1945.
No. 25 Squadron was formed atSeagrove Aerodrome, near Auckland, in July 1943 under the command ofSquadron LeaderTheo de Lange. Its initial complement of aircraft was nine Douglas DauntlessSBD-3 dive bombers loaned from United StatesMarine Aircraft Group 14, which had been stationed at Seagrove. More Dauntlesses were received in following months as the flying personnel trained in dive bombing techniques in preparation for service in theSolomon Islands campaign.[1][2] On 13 September, Pilot Officer William McJannet and Sergeant Douglas Cairns were killed when their Dauntless crashed nearWaiuku.
On 30 January 1944 squadron personnel were flown byLodestar andC-47 aircraft ofNo. 40 Squadron toEspiritu Santo for further training with American units. Eighteen SBD-4 Dauntlesses aircraft were awaiting them so the aircrew could complete training in gunnery,dive-bombing and formation flying. During this period, one Dauntless was lost on an exercise and no trace of it or its crew were found. This aircraft was eventually discovered in 1987 and the wreckage returned to New Zealand. No remains of the crew, Flying Officer Alexander Moore and Flight Sergeant John Munro, were found.
The squadron received eighteen new SBD-5 aircraft in February 1944. The intention was to deploy the squadron immediately atPiva Airfield on the island ofBougainville, but due to the tenuous state of the Allied beachhead on the island, deployment was delayed until the risk of shelling on the Piva Airfield had reduced.
No. 25 Squadron flew in its SBD-5s toGuadalcanal on 22 March, escorted by fourVenturas and one C-47 from 40 Squadron. ACatalina from6 Squadron stood by atHalavo Seaplane Base in theFlorida Islands as a safety aircraft. From Henderson Field the squadron flew toPiva Airfield on 23 January. Upon landing at Piva, the New Zealanders found themselves on a narrow beachhead, with Japanese forces shelling and attacking the perimeter.
The first mission flown from Piva was an artillery-spotting exercise undertaken by MacLean de Lange and his gunner on 24 March. Over the course of the day, the squadron flew three more sorties against the Japanese. So close were the enemy, that during one of these raids, ground crew on the airstrip were able to watch the pilots drop their bombs. Throughout the squadron's combat tour, it would be called upon to attack Japanese supply depots and other targets on Bougainville and assist the American ground forces in their campaign on the island. However, its main focus was to assist in the suppression of the Japanese garrison on Rabaul, working withNo. 30 Squadron in attacking the Japanese airfields there to prevent resupply by air.[3]
The squadron's tour ended on 20 May. The surviving SBDs took off from Piva and landed atRenard Field in theRussell Islands where the aircraft were returned to American ownership. The squadron personnel were flown toRNZAF Base Whenuapai the following day.
No. 25 Squadron flew missions from Piva for approximately eight weeks, flying a total of 32 missions and dropping 498,800 pounds (226,300 kg) of bombs.[4]
Dozens of artillery pieces were destroyed and considerable damage caused to airfields and other military property. During its operations, five aircraft were lost; two of these were shot down by Japanese anti-aircraft fire, killing their crews. A fifth man, Flying Officer Leslie McLellan-Symonds, was lost on a ferry flight and became a prisoner of war. He died in captivity.
No. 25 Squadron was reformed in October 1944 with a new commanding officer, Squadron Leader G. M. Fitzwater. It was a fighter-bomber squadron equipped withF4U Corsairs (F4U-1s and F4U-1Ds). Several of the original pilots of the squadron were transferred to the new squadron. It went to Espiritu Santo at the end of the year, and then moved to Guadalcanal. The squadron operated from Los Negros from January to February 1945, was rested, and then returned to operations, based at Emirau from May to July.[5] Graham Howie who was killed on take-off when his engine failed and he crashed into the jungle on 13 June 1945.[citation needed] No. 25 Squadron was disbanded in September 1945.[5]