The RNZAF in the Korean War

[Dave Homewood]

This article on men volunteering for K Force lists five who are marked as being RNZAF HERE. PUTARURU PRESS, 3 AUGUST 1950


N. Whitehouse, Waihou (R.N.Z.A.F.)
P. Brown, Morrinsville (R.N.Z.A.F.)
G. R. Robertson, Morrinsville (R.N.Z.A.F.)
O. Martin, Morrinsville (R.N.Z.A.F.)
A. E. Broderson, Waihou (R.N.Z.A.F.)

[noooby]

My old High School History teacher always told us he flew in Korea in Meteors and F-86's. Not sure if he was kidding or not and never asked him for service details. Kevin Wells (485 Sqn History author) would know. He was in the class next door.

[Dave Homewood]

What was your teacher's name, Graham?

[Dave Homewood]

Here is a Kiwi flying in Korea is not on the list of this thread:

BOMBER STRIKE

LED BY NEW ZEALANDER

FLYING WITH AMERICANS

Rec. 7.25 p.m. TOKIO, Aug. 25.
Wing Commander Alan Boxer, a New Zealander —the only RAF officer flying with the Americans over Korea —led the 150-ton bomb strike by 24 Super-Fortresses on the Konan chemical works yesterday. Early last year Wing Commander Boxer went to America under the exchange of officers plan and joined the 92nd Bomber Group. On previous raids Wing Commander Boxer had flown as an observer. Apart from combat duty, he runs one of the groups two briefing teams. He was born at Nelson in 1917, and joined the RAF in 1938.

More on AVM Boxer here rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/26921/kiwi-avm-alan-boxer-kcvo

[Dave Homewood]

Here is another Kiwi airman who served in Korea! From the PRESS, 8 September 1953

N.Z. AIRMAN IN KOREA

Work With U.S. Air Force Wing

(N.Z. Army Information Service) KOREA. September 5.

A New Zealander in the Royal Australian Air Force is working with the Americans in Korea. He is Flight Lieutenant George King, whose mother, Mrs I. King, lives in Brooklyn. Wellington. Flight Lieutenant King, who joined the R.A.A.F. after 10 years’ service with the Royal New Zealand Air Force, is a photographic interpretation officer with the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance wing of the United States Air Force. His work entails assessment of bomb damage to enemy military installations that have been hit by United Nations aircraft, and the studying of areas for future air targets. The truce has brought a temporary halt to the work, but like all United Nations units they are keeping in a constant state of readiness.

Flight Lieutenant King joined the R.N.Z.A.F. at the end of 1940, going to Canada to train as a navigator. He reached England 12 months later and served with the Transport Command until the beginning of 1945, when he was moved to Australia to join the personal aircrew of Admiral Lord Fraser, then Commander-in-Chief of the British Pacific Fleet. He returned to New Zealand in 1947, joining the 41st Transport Squadron at Whenuapai. However, he was soon overseas again when he was chosen from amongst three New Zealanders to take part in the Berlin airlift in 1948.

Singapore was his next posting when the 41st Squadron was running a courier service for the New Zealand Occupation Force in Japan. In 1951 Flight Lieutenant King transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force, and in the following year was back in Singapore, where he took part in 100 bombing missions against Communist terrorists.

In February, 1953, Flight Lieutenant King was back in Canada, this time on a photographic interpretation course, and he arrived in Korea last May. This 33-year-old airman is quite certain that Korea is the worst posting he has struck in all his wanderings.

[Dave Homewood]

I just realised that another Kiwi pilot who flew in the Korean War, Lieutenant-Commander Maxwell Hubert Simpson, R.N., has not been added to this thread. I have previously mentioned him here.

He sounds like he had a really interesting career. I'd like to know more. These two articles come from The Press newspaper. This one from the 15th of June 1955:

DUKE TO FLY HELICOPTER

LONDON. June 13. A New Zealander will teach the Duke of Edinburgh to fly helicopters, the "Evening News” says today. He is Lieutenant-Commander Maxwell Hubert Simpson, R.N., instructor with the 705 Helicopter Squadron at Gosport, Hampshire. Instruction will begin this week at the White Waltham airfield, where the Duke won his wings. The Duke is expected to be able to fly a helicopter solo after five hours’ dual control flights, says the newspaper. After about 10 hours’ solo he is likely to be sufficiently experienced to fly the bigger helicopters such as the naval Whirlwind, in which he has travelled in recent months for many of his engagements.

And this one from The Press on 30 June 1955:

N.Z. TUTOR FOR DUKE

Training In Flying Helicopters

(From the London Correspondent of "The Press") LONDON, June 22.

New Zealand-born Lieutenant-Commander Maxwell Simpson, R.N., of 705 Squadron, H.M.S. Siskin, Gosport, is the most experienced helicopter pilot in the Service, having flown these machines for two-and-a-half-years. He is the man who will teach the Duke of Edinburgh to pilot helicopters.

He has had a varied career and will have in common with the Duke of Edinburgh a love of ships and the sea. Although his father wanted him to be a lawyer, young Max Simpson had set his heart on a life at sea and ran away from home to join the Merchant Navy.

When war broke out he joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force and, towards the end of the war, transferred to the Fleet Air Arm.

During the Korean War Lieutenant-Commander Simpson served in the Australian aircraft-carrier, Sydney, and on one occasion had to crash-land his aircraft behind Communist lines.

It has always been the commander’s policy never to desert his aircraft if it can be possibly avoided. So, by crawling towards the American lines, he managed to make contact with the United Nations forces and sought help in rolling barrels of fuel to his aircraft.

After much painstaking effort he and an American soldier managed to pour sufficient fuel into the plane to allow him to take off and make his way back to his aircraft-carrier.

During his long flying career, Commander Simpson has flown nearly every type of naval aircraft. In recent years he has concentrated on helicopters. In this branch of the service he has been responsible for a number of notable rescues.

On May 25 he flew a S25 Whirlwind helicopter laden with 50 fire, extinguishers to the assistance of a vessel on fire off the enemy coast. In January this year he accomplished for the first time the difficult task of passing a line from ship to ship from a helicopter during a salvage operation carried out to assist the freighter Knightsbridge grounded south of the Isle of Wight.

Commander Simpson, who comes from Wellington, has flown the Duke of Edinburgh by helicopter on a number of occasions already and has landed on the lawns of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.