RNZAF aircraft purchased through Lend-Lease

[Dave Homewood]

Which types of RNZAF aircraft were fully supplied through the American Government's Lend-Lease programme?

My thoughts are it would have been the:
Corsairs
Avengers
Dauntless
Catalinas
Venturas
Dakotas

Is that list correct? And were any other types ever acquired through Lend-Lease directly from the USA?

I know that the P-40's came form RAF stocks, as were some of the Hudsons (the others I believe purchased outright for NZ following the 1942 "Bonds For Bombers" campaign raised a lot of loaned money from the kiwi public).

And the Harvards came from the Empire Air Training Scheme for the training system I believe, so Britain paid for them.

Is this all correct or am I way off the mark here? Errol? DavidD?

[davidd]

Well Dave, you are largely correct; however all the aircraft from "RAF" stocks (and we are talking here of the P-40Es and all the Hudsons) were from RAF Lend-Lease allocations. I will stick with the famous but somewhat misleading "Lend-Lease" (or L-L for short) term here, although it was officially called "mutual-aid", something which gives a much truer representataion of the arrangement. Lend-lease transfers from the USA govt to various Allied govts were not purchases as such, as initially no money was involved - this was not due until the postwar reconciliation of accounts, all details of which were maintained in Washington! These aircraft were transferred to friendly govts for the prosecution of war operations, with prioroties and all major strategy (except obviously those under Soviet control, and NOBODY was going to tell THEM how THEY were going to beat the Nazis!) agreed upon by the Allied Chiefs of Staff in Washington. New Zealand did not sign its "Lend-Lease" agreement with the USA until early September 1942, so all aircraft suplied prior to this were under different arrangements. All our diversions from RAF Lend-Lease allocations (the P-40Es, and Hudsons, plus all Havards up to NZ1005) were supplied under such arrangements. In other words the UK was ultimately responsible for their supply to us, but were themselves to be liable to the USA govt when came the time to "settle the accounts". It was though that separate negotiations might be necessary to settle with the UK, but nothing seems to have been done on this subject to best of my (incomplete) knowledge.

Many people seem to be under the impression that L-L aircraft (and indeed all lend L-L allocations, including services as well as hardware, spares, fuel, industrial hardware/machine tools and raw materials), were "free gifts" courtesy of the USA taxpayer, and they were, but only initially - the financial obligation to settle was always clearly understood by the recipient govts, and actual employment of the aircraft was in many cases (including New Zealand's) very tightly controlled, not only by Washington, but by American theatre commanders. It was primarily to speed transfers of equipment to Allied armed forces already in direct contact with the enemy that Roosevelt was persuaded to back the L-L proposal - brought to a head by the UK govt's looming lack of gold, and therefore inability to pay for the increasing flood of very expensive equipment on order from USA factories. As is now well known, it took the UK govt some 50/60-odd years to clear this debt, just one of the reasons why Britain was never a real world power after WW2, and unable to fund its own armed forces during the earlier years of the Cold War as covered in another recent thread on this forum.

The EATS (Empire Air Training Scheme, also known as Joint Air Training Plan (JATP), British Commonwealth Air Training Scheme (BCATP), etc) was another grand international undertaking which is only hazily understood by most, as this also included transfer of thousands of aircraft between countries with little obvious payment for them. In fact it was all included in the original agreement (with constant adjustments throughout the life of the plan until its final "wind-up" in 1945), and the cost of the scheme was calculated from a "cold-start" in December 1939. Monthly financial transfers were thereafter made by all participating governments to build up the training organisation in three countries (Canada, Australia, and NZ), utilising what was available initially in each country, plus shipments of additional aircraft as they were built in each country, as well as further aircraft built in the USA (Harvards, Cranes, Cornells) and in UK (Ansons, Oxfords) plus obsolete operational aircraft supplied in the interim (Battles, Blenheims etc to Australian and Canada, Hinds, Gordons, Vincents to NZ, plus 20 Australian Tiger Moths to RNZAF in late 1941). The monthly "itemised account" sent to each participating government included about 30 or 40 items, such as "purchase or lease of land", provision of aerdromes, accommodation, technical accommodation, lecture rooms, food and water reticulation, sewerage systems, electric power supply and reticulation, fire protection, payment of wages of staff, including civilian staff (many of the pilots at Air Observer schools were American civilians, for instance), fuel and oil, provision for replacement aircraft and spares, provision of technical equipment, including tools, MT, marine craft, etc., also provision of shipping for trainees and aircraft between countries, pay and provisioning of trainees, etc, etc.) Also the British govt was obliged to loan hundreds of experienced flying instructors and particularly skilled tradesmen to assist in initiating training at all the training schools in Canada, as well as Aust and NZ. Then there was the question of local aircraft production in the Dominions, of setting up complete aircraft industries, to be major producers of aircraft, including all the necessary engines, and all componenets (although some of these were actually obtained from USA and British factories, with Canadian firms in particular managing to avoid producing any engines at all by recourse to the major aero-engine industry south of their border). Also little understood is that when trainees were under training in Canada they were paid by the Canadian govt at local rates, and when in the UK they were payed at RAF rates by the British Govt, although Dominion govts were obliged to bring the pay of their own nationals up to their own "home rates" which were often a little higher than eqivalent RAF rates. Also interesting to note that all prewar pilots trained in NZ for the RAF at Wigram were "sold" to the British govt by payment (to the NZ govt) of a bounty equivalent to the cost of their training. This scheme soon lapsed once the EATS scheme got underway. This was by mutual agreement, and also becasue the training aircraft then used in NZ for training had been paid for by the NZ govt/taxpayer.

The picture of payment for aircraft supplied to the RNZAF in WW2 is further complicated by aircraft received from Canada, which were funded by the Canadians, although most had in the first instance been funded by the USA Govt. These included just three Harvards (NZ1100 - 1102) and 34 PB2B-1 Catalinas, originally ordered and funded by the US Navy. These must have been taken over, at least finacially, by the Canadaian government, as is made clear in some doucmentation that I have seen, although they remained under American control for allocation as well as to their operational employment. This was probably because of some arrangement between the USA and Canadian governments over which NZ had no control and little knowledge. However it is clear that much of the later Canadian aircraft construction was funded by the Canadians themselves, and it became BCATP policy to standardise on the Canadian-built Harvards to supply all Commonwealth requirements for this type in late 1944. The RNZAF was told in September that year that all subsequnent shipments of the type for NZ would be from this source, but a few weeks later the great scheme commenced to wind down as the end of the war seemed certain and near, and the Allies had by this time almost overwhelming air power, and the axis were on the ropes. Thus NZ1100 - 1102 became unwanted orphans in the RNZAF, generally verys similar, but with so many little differnces.

David D

[davidd]

Another point. The well-publicised war bonds drives held in NZ (and all other countries) at various times during WW2 generally added to government revenues, and hence increased the pool of credit available for allocation to different parts of the economy, but probably added nothing to the amount spent on aircraft. Possibly the only aircraft in fact funded directly by the NZ govt were our locally built Tiger Moths, plus the 23 Ansons purchased in 1942/43, and the nine Dominies in 1943/44, plus a number of Oxfords which, according to Air Ministry "gnomes", were being "misemployed on duties other than those agreed to under the EATS", at a cost of about 8,000 pounds each from memory. I am not entirely certain how the four Sunderland IIIs (as detailed in another thread on this forum) were financed intially, but they ultimately became NZ govt property, as did the sole Meteor jst aircraft provided to NZ "on loan" just after WW2, in December 1945. As far as "gift" aircraft for the RAF is concerned, although "financed" from NZ, were never intended to be NZ property, and the funds transferred to the British govt (based so far as I recall as 5,000 pounds for single-seat fighters, perhaps three to five times that for a bomber) again could have been spent anywhere in the British war economy, but almost certainly did NOT add a SINGLE aircraft to RAF strength, as wartime production and financing of aircraft just does not work like that! Large orders were placed and funded directly by the govt against expected future requirements (and fears!), and small "special orders from additional funds received from overseas donors" probably ended up in Britain's equivalent of what we call "Consolidated Funds".
David D

[Dave Homewood]

So our Bonds for Bombers drive in March 1942 actually funded the Ansons, not further Hudsons? I didn't know that and was misled by advertising at the time from newspapers that depicted Hudsons.

I am surprised to see that our Harvards were done under the NZ/US Lend Lease deal. I am sure I was told they were all part of the EATS plan and purchased by the UK.

It's a confusing topic. Thanks for the clarification David.

[baz62]

What about the P40s and Dauntless we got "second-hand" from the US squadrons? Were they bought at a reduced price? Loaners we had to give back or were they somehow woven in to the L-L scheme.

[davidd]

The Harvards supplied to the RNZAF are a lttle confusing in that the early ones (up to NZ1005) were paid for by UK govt after they purchased these (as yet unbuilt) aircraft from the French govt, which lost all further interest in them in June 1940. They were allocated under EATS directly to NZ so had no RAF serial numbers, and arrived from the factory with their NZ numbers painted on rudders and underwing. The calculation as to how many Harvards the RNZAF would require under the scheme must have been worked out fairly early on, but they had to wait for them to be built! Later ones (after Sept 1942) were included under tables of Lend-Lease aircraft to the NZ govt. Although originally allocated by the Munitions Assignment Committee to the RAF for training purposes (and thus receiving RAF serial numbers in addition to USAAF ones), it would have complicated matters too much to have left them out of aircraft production tables as they were sponsored by the US Army Air Forces. The Combined (or was it Joint?) Chiefs of Staff realised the value of the EATS to the general war effort, so must have instructed the committee to include them in their normal allocation tables as going to NZ. However as they were not combat aircraft, the USAAF's only demand was they they should be advised of arrivals of these aircraft in NZ (and any subsequent losses) for their own record purposes. This was quite different to their treatment of the combat aircraft, which basically remained under general United States military control for the rest of the war, no matter who was actually operating them. It appears that they learned of the fates of the RNZAF's Harvard details from the Canadians, who acted as the administrative centre of the training scheme during latter part of war; the RNZAF sent monthly summaries of all arrivals and losses of aircraft in the scheme to the Canadians, including serials numbers, and details of the loss of relevant aero engines (with their numbers as well.) There was a lot of bookeeping going on during WW2. Presumably all other governments involved in the EATS likewise provided similar information to the Canadians, so they acted as a sort of clearing house and could provide consolidated accounts of all American-built or financed training aircraft used by the scheme, which would simplify this task for the Americans.

The "Bonds for Bombers" drive of March 1942 was most likely intended to assist the RAF main bomber force rather than the RNZAF bomber force, such as it was; the Ansons were shipped here purely for training purposes, although this purpose was the provision of additional operational training for GR pilots (and a few observers) for OUR Hudsons and Singapores/Catalinas at this time (and our remaining three Vincent squadrons too! - Nos. 5, 7 and 8).
David D

[davidd]

Baz 62.
Almost missed you there! The "second-hand" aircraft were treated individually, depending on the exact circcumstances under which they were offered. All the SBDs (Dauntesses) were strictly "on loan" only (due to non-arrival of ANY of the promised 120 A-24 Army models), and were to be given back as soon as their expected period of employment was over. This ideal was, however, not entirely achieved; the newer aircraft in the forward area were all handed back to their rightful owners, but the really old ones stranded in NZ (SBD-3s and -4s) remained here, as the Americans did just not want them back. We managed to get two of them shipped away (I have NO IDEA were they ended up) but the remaining 22 were eventually scrapped in NZ after several years sitting outside at Hobsonville. The survivors of the 23 P-40s taken over at Tonga in October 1942, eventually returned to NZ and were simply absorbed into our local P-40 "fleet". However these were, for supply purposes, regarded as Lend-Lease aircraft, although about a year old when we received them. Likewise our three last PBY-5 Catalinas were also decidedly second hand, as we turned down brand new PBY-5A amphibians ("Land-cats") which the American authorities offered us to make up the shortfall of five aircraft allocated to the RNZAF for 1943. We never received the last two allocations as none could be found at short notice - the problem was that the PBY-5 model had gone out of production and the RNZAF learned from the RAF and RAAF that the amphibians had inferior operational abilities compared to the straight flying boats. We were quite prepared to wait for the PB2B-1s allocated for 1944 delivery, as these were practically the same as the original PBY-5. As it was, our losses of these aircraft on normal operations were way below standard US Navy attrition rates, although to be fair these rates were probably based on losses in 1942, which were heavy. This same low attrition (RNZAF) rate during 1944 also meant that the NZ Govt requested that a fair chunk of the 1944 L-L allocations be cancelled too, as the storage of (large sized) surplus aircraft was becoming quite a problem without adding even more to the heap, thus making them available for other governments.
David D

[suthg]

So what about the P40's and P51's? Were they all second hand and to be "returned"? I guess the NZ Govt did purchase some of these planes.

Then there was the loan of aircraft from the RAF such as they were used in the Pacific theatre after WWII had finished - Vampires, Venoms and some of our Canberra fleet. Where there is a need, then the major parties "subsidise" the effective arming of the military. It probably happened with the army as well, with the troop carriers, guns etc.

An interesting topic. Thanks DavidD for enlightening us with the details.

[Peter Lewis]

The Mustangs were paid for, cash on the barrelhead.

The money for the first batch of 30 was banked as or before they left the US.

Thus although the ship 'Dominion Park' with the P-51s on board arrived in NZ on 27Aug45, a few days after VJ day and too late for war service, they were not returnable.

[baz62]

This has certainly been a fascinating (at least for me)subject and certainly interesting regarding the Harvards and the poor old French! Must have taken a lot of research. Thanks for the education David!

[Dave Homewood]

The Lend-Lease agreement was of course mutual. The Americans may have been supplying New Zealand with aircraft, tanks, jeeps and vehicles, but in return New Zealand was supplying the US war effort with thinks such as food (most of the food (meat, cheese, grain, etc) the US forces ate in the South Pacific came from NZ and production was upped on our farms to cope). Also boots were made for the American forces in NZ (as well as for British, Indian and NZ forces, with over a million being made in 1943). New Zealand also was supplying the US forces with timber and cement and other building materials for their use in NZ and in the Pacific. New Zealand provided camps for them too and gave them free use of land and training areas, and NZ built bases for them, many of which later were turned back to NZ control and some ended up in RNZAF hands (Ardmore, Anderson Park and Te Awamutu being examples). So it wasn't just a case of NZ taking everything they could get and not giving back.

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks for all the info David, and Peter. And Baz, I take back some of the things I said on WIX because as we've seen it's a load more complex than I'd thought.

[suthg]

Thanks Dave - yes that puts things back into perspective with the produce from NZ supporting the local war effort in the Sth/west Pacific.

[alanw]

Jul 22, 2014 0:08:20 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

The Lend-Lease agreement was of course mutual. The Americans may have been supplying New Zealand with aircraft, tanks, jeeps and vehicles, but in return New Zealand was supplying the US war effort with thinks such as food (most of the food (meat, cheese, grain, etc) the US forces ate in the South Pacific came from NZ and production was upped on our farms to cope). Also boots were made for the American forces in NZ (as well as for British, Indian and NZ forces, with over a million being made in 1943). New Zealand also was supplying the US forces with timber and cement and other building materials for their use in NZ and in the Pacific. New Zealand provided camps for them too and gave them free use of land and training areas, and NZ built bases for them, many of which later were turned back to NZ control and some ended up in RNZAF hands (Ardmore, Anderson Park and Te Awamutu being examples). So it wasn't just a case of NZ taking everything they could get and not giving back.

Dave,

Interesting comment you make in your post about supplying food to the US forces.

Here in Auckland, what is now Avondale College during WWII, was a US hospital.

My Grandfather at the time was a Market Gardner (until he was called up toward the of the war)at the end of Canal Road in Avondale, and supplied vegetables to such places as the hospital for the US staff and service personell convalescing there.

DavidD -Excellent postings on lend Lease - Interesting comment you make, on the the idea people had, that the Lend Lease items were a "Gift" from the US tax payers - if only! The United States also had massive "War Bond" drives to help finance the war effort. The Federal Government could not afford the cost themselves.
Many servicemen who had completed their operational tours were "Seconded" to the war effort, visiting factories to encourage workers, but also were at war bond rallies to "encourage" the American public to buy bonds, thus supporting the war effort. Nothing better than to have a "Genuine War Hero" to bolster the war bond effort.

Regards

Alan

[davidd]

Many thanks to Dave H, for adding some background as to why the so-called "Lend-Lease" scheme was actually termed a "Mutual Aid agreement", a fact which I had mentioned but not elaborated upon. Other work carried out by the NZ govt (well, organised and financed by in the first instance) was the construction of quite a fleet of little ships (from about 1943/44 onwards), not for the US Navy, but the US Army. There were two types of tugs boats involved, small wooden ones (about 50 feet length from memory, more properly described as tow boats) and larger steel tugs (about 90 feet), although only a proportion of these were accepted by the US Army prior to the war "folding up" in August/Sept 1945. Those not already handed over became a bit of an embarrassment in NZ, as nobody wanted them initially, simply because there was no demand for such services. However most were finally disposed of to various buyers (did some get sold the the UN for relief work in China, circa 1949?), and I personally remember seeing one of them (one of the larger steel tugs) about ten years ago at Kaiapoi, purchased by a chap from its previous (Auckland?) owner for the purposes of running a scheme for "wayward boys", to turn them into productive citizens, although I am not certain that this scheme ever worked out. As Dave H also points out, all the camps used by the Americans in NZ were built and paid for by NZ taxpayers, and NOT by the Americans, but this was a fairly standard practice around the world, I believe, as it had several advantages which I will not even attempt to explain here. However the cost of designing, building and running these camps were entered in the books in Washington as credits on NZ's account books. One sometimes hears of some American {Army?) construction engineers offering to build a new road in New Zealand (Northland? or North Island east coast?) to improve local communications and transport generally, but the proposal "was turned down by the NZ authorities" as unnecessary. This tale is, in my opinion, highly dubious, as it was definitely NOT acceptable in such situations (and this would still apply in any armed force even now) for local American officers to offer to use US taxpayers equipment, labour and fuel on large scale civil construction projects in foreign lands UNLESS it was specifically approved in Washington for the good of the overall war effort. All US troops stationed in NZ were here specifically for training for upcoming war operations in the South Pacific and had to be available for such projects if and when they were ordered, possibly at short notice whould the need arise. Thus I cannot see any large scale misemployment of American engineering assets at the whim of some engineers wanting to undertake such philanthropic activities at will, even if they wanted to (which is entirely possible!) As with NZ's obligation to employ the combat aircraft transferred to its care under Lend-Lease, and to deploy them to operate under American control in the forward area as quickly as possible dependent on the rate of delivery, etc, the American armed forces stationed in New Zealand were here for one reason only. However what surprised NZ politicians of the time, considering the reason for the presence of American forces here in the first place, was that they were informed that these forces had been provided to meet this obligation, but the commanding general advised (to a somewhat stunned audience) that his brief specifically stated they were NOT here for the defence of this country! Our politicians understandably presumed that is EXACTLY why they had all been shipped here. However the reason for this attitude was not dulicity, but that the Combined Chiefs of Staff in Washington firmly believed expensive armed forces in any area were to be employed, above all else, on OFFENSIVE operations against the Japanese, to take the war to the common enemy, and were NOT to be tied down passively in timid and pointless "local defence". As everyone should know, NZ had little in the way of credible local defence in early 1942 and it would have been politically unacceptable to leave our only battle-experienced Division in the western desert with only inexperienced forces left at home to face the Japanese. The same situation prevailed in Australia at this time, and they had no hesitation in pulling their finest Divisions out of the front line in the desert to man the ramparts at home. It was however considered by Washington that it was preferable to ship an American division (green as grass, operationally speaking) to NZ than to pull out the 2nd NZ Div whilst the situation in the desert remained fragile. However the NZ population was not told, at the time, of this reasoning (and certainly not of the commanding general's comments on his supposed local defence role), but the arrival of the Americans was naturally greeted with great enthusiasm. As mentioned above, ALL American camps and facilities in NZ were funded and constructed by NZ; this seems to have been an obligation we undertook at the time, although this was prior to our entering into the Lend-Lease programme as our place in the Allied military hierarchy was still uncertain and we had not yet been placed in any of the Allied commands as the war situation was too fast changing at this stage (May 1942). Likewise all the airfields used by the USAAF in the UK from 1942 onwards were constructed and funded in the first instance by the UK government, with actual "reconciliation of accounts" being left to calmer times. Of course there was already a functioning L-L scheme beween the USA and UK, so this provided an operating framework to build on. Official histories of various countries often detail these necessary arrangements, which had usually to be agreed upon in a very short time and under great pressure, but it seems that usually general principles were agreed upon first to permit the work to be started, with the more detailed legal and financial work then being worked out in a slightly calmer and less pressurised atmosphere, as it was agreed that "final settelemt" would take place after the end of hostilities.

Hope this tidies up some of my earlier ommissions and loose ends.

Dave D

[Dave Homewood]

Speaking of the ships built for the US, I spotted this article a few weeks back.

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24941, 10 July 1944

NIGHT LAUNCHING

SHIPS FOR AMERICANS

TWO POWER LIGHTERS

Two power lighters for the United States Army were launched from the Fanshawe Street yards of United Ship and Boat Builders at a simple ceremony last night. A third vessel of the same type will be launched to-night.

The ceremony was carried out in the presence of representatives of the United States Army and Navy, and the Shipbuilding Controller was represented by Mr. Noel Burnett.

The first vessel was launched by Miss Jeanette Lowe, daughter of the managing director, Mr. T. L. Lowe, and the second by Miss Jocelyn Voss. The vessel to be put down to-night will be launched by Miss Anne McCallum.

Similar in design to vessels built by the same firm for the coastal trade, the lighters were designed by W. G. Lowe and Son, Limited, the construction being wooden planking over a steel frame. They measure 114 ft. overall and have a beam of 24ft., the deadweight tonnage being 225.

Accommodation is provided for a crew of 11, the crew's quarters being forward, and officers' in a high poop aft. A feature of the design is the provision of twin masts stepped amidships, each with double derricks to facilitate the handling of cargo from two hatches.

Power is provided by twin Diesel engines driving twin screws. Ninety per cent of the materials in the ship are of New Zealand manufacture. The night launching of ships is an innovation in New Zealand shipbuilding, but both were got away without mishap.

[Dave Homewood]

The story I have heard about the US offer to build a road was that north of Wellington to Paekakariki or somewhere, as they considered the road to their camp site there inadequate for large trucks. I thought it had been a fairly high up officer made the offer, Division Commander?

[Dave Homewood]

David said "As everyone should know, NZ had little in the way of credible local defence in early 1942 and it would have been politically unacceptable to leave our only battle-experienced Division in the western desert with only inexperienced forces left at home to face the Japanese."

Actually by 1942 the New Zealand Home Guard had around 100,000 men all trained and mostly armed to defend against an invasion. But more importantly with the Japanese entering the war the Territorial Army, who had been trained as soldiers previosuly and most had been released back into the community to await call up for regular service, were all mobilised and brought into camps all over the country (including racecourses, parks, show grounds and anywhere they could stick them). So when people think "Oh the US Division came here because or 2nd NZ Division was overseas in Egypt and we had no army to defend us" that's "bullhuckey". New Zealand's Army had the 1st Division, the 4th Division and the 5th Division, all home-based divisions who were there for the purpose of defending NZ's soil, and to train men to supply to the 2nd Division as reinforcements. There was of course also the 3rd Div that went to the Pacific. So we had FIVE Army divisions, two of which served overseas, and we had many Home Guard Divisions also protecting New Zealand. Don't underestimate the Home Guard, most were fit farmers who were all good shots with the rifle and many had already seen Army and Territorial service.

[suthg]

Jul 22, 2014 13:22:07 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

The story I have heard about the US offer to build a road was that north of Wellington to Paekakariki or somewhere, as they considered the road to their camp site there inadequate for large trucks. I thought it had been a fairly high up officer made the offer, Division Commander?

It possibly is true and the discussions I believe were around Transmission Gully from Mac Kay's Crossing by Paekakariki south towards Porirua.



Discussion of a Myth of US building a Road up Transmission Gully


Current Government Proposal for the ten year build

So it may well have been a verbal offer but there seems to be no record of such being made

Also note in a timeline:

1942 Thousands of US Marines began arriving to occupy the three camps built for them at: Oueen Elizabeth Park at MacKays Crossing, Whareroa Farm and Paekakariki.

Kapiti Coast Timeline

[davidd]

I don't doubt the dedication of the Home Guard, or the "Home divisions", which as you say, were stiffened by campaigners from the first war, plus much of our youth who had not been permitted (by their parents!) to serve overseas till they were 21. However the fact remains that they were only minimally equipped, and that with old pattern weapons, and very little in the way of automatic weapons, A/A defences, mortars, gas equipment, and decent clothing for wet and cold weather. My late dad was a member of this lot (the Territorials) and this experience apparently was not a particularly happy time for him - he also lost a new wrist watch (a rare thing in those days for young men), which he had just purchased out of hard-earned funds, during maneouvres or training, and blamed this on the obsolete bayonets they carried. Somehow his legs and arms got all tangled up with this very long weapon and the watch (which he wore at all times for fear of having it stolen) was never seen again! He escaped by transferring to the RNZAF in January 1943 (NZ43122, after 11 months in the Terries), and apparently never saw that type of bayonet again. Still, it was really the general lack of modern equipment of all types in all services that was the main source of weakness, plus the fact that the public "knew all the best men and weapons" were serving overseas. The Americans considered the equipment used by New Zealand forces as "quaint" and pathetic, but they themselves lacked any real war experience (not their fault of course). There is no doubt that the local defence forces considered themselves woefully equipped and lacking in enough realistic battle practise, but they kept themselves busy with what equipment they did have. They realised that modern equipment was on order or promised, but it was a long time coming. Probably their best transport were horses (the Mounted Rifles) which certainly kept that part of the Army very mobile. Lack of suitable vehicles for defence purposes was also a major weakness, when during an invasion, good mobility of forces was essential to meet the challenge - the railways could only do so much. Keeness can only get you so far when the bullets start to fly. Their own perceived weaknesses was apparently a constant topic of conversation in the Territorials, despite their NCOs and officers trying to get them onto other interesting subjects such as "improvised weapons" made from candlesticks and the like, and the almost complete lack of ammunition for serious target practise was always a bone of contention, exacerbated by the large size of the force. The employment of dummy field guns and even dummy rifles cannot have been good for morale in any force, although this was obviously only a desperation measure until more and better equipment arrived. That was what 1942 in the New Zealand Territorials was like. By 1943 things started to improve, with new equipment entering service, but my dad was with the other mob by then. No more lonely guard duties at deserted camps under pine trees, where the only supplies they were protecting seemed to be stacks of empty fuel drums. This version of events may seem rather negative, but it was one man's version of that year.
David D