From Emergency to Confrontation. (RNZAF)

[corsair67]

From Emergency to Confrontation - the New Zealand Armed Forces in Malaya and Borneo 1949-66 by Christopher Pugsley
Hard Back - 528 pages.
ISBN 0 19 558453 8
First Published in 2003 by Oxford University Press.

A very thoroughly researched and well written book that covers all facets of the NZ involvement in these conflicts. I must admit that before I started reading this book, my knowledge of the Kiwi involvement in Malaya and Borneo was pretty much restricted to the RNZAF operation of Venoms, Canberras and the Bristol Freighters over there: and even then I didn't really know much about that anyway! Now I have come to understand what a very important part the Kiwis played in Malaya, Singapore, Thailand and Borneo during the period of 1949-66, and how even though NZ is a small nation we pulled our weight as best we could and showed our allies what we could do, given half a chance. I also realised that penny-pinching on defence spending is not a totally new thing in New Zealand politics!!!

Highly recommended to all who are interested in a 'forgotten' time in NZ military history.

[Dave Homewood]

I too know very little at all about these conflicts. My only real knowledge apart from the RNZAF Venoms and Canberras being there, is through my best mate's Dad who was in the RAF and flew the SAS around in Borneo at low level. He talks very little about his time there, especially to his sons. He did open up a bit to me one time about it. He said that they flew at tree top level over totally unchartered country constantly, no maps at all had been made of the interior of most of Borneo. He said it was bloody scary flying.

Pennypinching has been an issue from day one of Military aviation in this country, with a brief intermission from 1939-45, before the pinching resumed sharply. Read about the struggle Wigram had in convincing Government an air force was a good thing.

I'd like to read this book someday, thanks for bringing it to our attention.

[corsair67]

It's a real eye-opener this book, especially when you read how close things were to all out war with Indonesia. The RNZAF Canberras were tasked with destroying the Indonesian Air Force's Tu-16 Badger bombers if the "balloon went up". They wanted to catch them on the tarmac before they got airborne, and were to going to use unguided rockets to take them out!

As is pointed out in this book, New Zealand's involvement in Malaya and Borneo was far greater than the later deployments to Vietnam, yet most people hardly know anything about the Emergency or Confrontation.

Makes you even more proud to be a Kiwi when you read this book.