What's on at Air Force Museum of New Zealand
Latest from the museum
Birthday Parties
Mission: Best birthday ever
Zip up a flight suit, grab your dog tags, and dive into a fully hosted birthday “mission”. From air & sea adventures for preschoolers to rescue and cadet challenges for older children. Our Programmes team runs the activities, the children get awesome photo moments (and party bags), and you can add catering through our café.
Book a birthday party
Latest Exhibition
Victory!
It is 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
Our Victory exhibition, upstairs in the atrium, marks this significant milestone in world history, and the story of the RNZAF.
Victory includes images and memories of Victory in Europe (VE) Day and Victory over Japan (VJ) Day which have been sourced from photographs, letters, postcards and personal histories in our collection.
Victory includes insights into how Kiwis celebrated, and how they felt.
Many found it difficult to rejoice after so much loss and suffering.
You’re welcome to come along and learn all about the end of World War Two with us.
Exhibition
The Mighty Hercules
The Mighty Hercules exhibition is on in the Cochrane Gallery upstairs in our atrium. Come and visit and learn all about this extraordinary aircraft.
Learn More
Update
Overseas visitor charge
A $15 entry charge was introduced for all international visitors to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand from 31 March 2025. Tickets available online or from our Welcome Desk on arrival.
The charge is required to cover rising costs and to contribute to our new $20 million extension to house the newest members of our collection – our historic Hercules and Orion aircraft.
Learn More
Our Aircraft
Explore AircraftMore to explore
RNZAF UNICORN OF THE WEEK: Air force treasure Peter Thorpe arrived at our place the other day to reconnect with his old stomping ground and his favourite aircraft - the beautiful Bristol Freighter.
What makes Peter our unicorn of the week (and possibly year!) is the sheer breadth and length of his career – from apprentice to engineering officer to pilot – and the fact he is still working for the NZDF 68 years since he started.
Our story begins in 1958 when young Peter Thorpe joined the RNZAF at Station Woodbourne as a 17-and-a-half-year-old with his heart set on an airframe engineering apprenticeship.
Before long he found himself with a three-year posting to RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire, England, where he graduated in 1961 as a corporal airframe fitter.
During his time at RAF Halton – in 1960 to be exact - he took a flight in a glider and fell in love with flying – but more about that later.
Over the next 30 years or so, he built a successful career in the RNZAF, ending up as an engineering officer with postings including Singapore, Thailand, RAF Henlow, Wellington, Hobsonville, Woodbourne, London, Canberra, Whenuapai and a few stints here at Wigram.
His roles including serving as aide-de-camp to Governor General Sir Paul Reeves, and a seven year stint as commanding officer of the technical wing at Whenuapai.
Along the way – and what makes his career even more unusual - he was selected for pilot training here at Wigram and earned his wings.
He was able to train as a pilot on the understanding he would not fly operationally – but the training would be valuable to his skills as an engineering officer.
In 1993 he retired from the RNZAF (or so he thought) as a Wing Commander and he worked in quality assurance and engineering related roles for the next 15 years.
Around 2009, when most people would be ready to retire, he spotted a job working for the RNZN as a Quality Assurance Officer which shortly after became an NZDF position in the Defence Munitions Management Group HQ at Kauri Point on Auckland’s North Shore.
He joined as a civilian quality assurance officer, and 17 years later he is still working fulltime with no plans to retire after 68 years in the workforce.
His specialty is quality assurance work, process, attention to detail and of course, the experience of a year or two in engineering.
His hobby is gliding and was President of Gliding New Zealand for several years, and he still has a pilot’s licence and flies glider tugs.
His best memories as a young man in the RNZAF are from his time in Singapore and Thailand in the 1960s with No. 41 Squadron and the mighty Freighter.
“There’s nothing quite like the time when you’re on squadron overseas and I loved working on the Freighters,’’ Peter says.
“They used a heck of a lot of oil and were also a bit prone to oil leaks. It was pretty easy to tell if something had gone wrong. When they landed the engine nacelles were always oily, but if their tail planes were dripping with oil, you knew they had a leak.’’
In his later career his most memorable posting was to London for nearly three years with his family.
Welcome home our unicorn Peter and thank you for your extraordinary service.
NOTE: Peter's dad served from 1937 until 1946 as a Flying Officer. Peter's son served 20 years, ending up as a Squadron Leader. That's three generations of Thorpes!
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Hi. I also learned to fly gliders as an ATC cadet at RAF Halton early 1960's.
BARTON FREIGHTER: When the team from Barton Rural School in South Canterbury rolled through town today they had one aircraft on their wishlist for pictures - the mighty Bristol Freighter. Thanks for visiting the home of the RNZAF and the Freighter! If you are a school wanting a tailored educational tour with a difference get in touch at education@airforcemuseum.co.nz #bartonruralschool #RNZAF ... See MoreSee Less
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KEEPING THE PEACE IN IRAN: As everyone crosses their fingers for a peaceful solution to the current conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran, it is worth noting the RNZAF once played a vital peacekeeping role in the region.
Wind the clock back to September 1988 and the United Nations had brokered a ceasefire in the war between Iran and Iraq. New Zealand was one of the nations to commit to the peacekeeping mission known as the United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observers Group or Uniimog (not to be confused with the Mercedes truck!).
No. 42 Squadron RNZAF’s Hawker Siddeley Andover NZ7629 was painted white with a large United Nations added to its side, and headed off to Tehran via Amberley, Townsville, Darwin, Bali, Singapore, Butterworth, Colombo, Bombay, and Dubai.
The RNZAF’s role was to fly services between airfields where the Uniimog observers were working, with the mighty Andover delivering passengers, cargo and mail.
The Uniimog deployment lasted two years, with eight rotations of RNZAF and Army personnel. NZ7629 was rotated with NZ7627.
In 1991 Iran and Iraq ended their eight-year war.
Iran remained neutral when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait – but that’s another story!
The pictures show the Andover in its UN livery, and the first rotation crew in 1988: L-R: Sergeant Greg Pryce (Loadmaster), Flight Lieutenant Dave Rennison (Navigator), Flying Officer Adam Currey (Pilot), Flying Officer Kerry Wilton (Pilot), Leading Aircraftman Kerry Tyne (Maintainence), Warrant Officer Dennis Kelland (Maintainence).
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I saw a few of these in central Africa, is that where the RNZAF aircraft ended up?
I think I was on the 3rd or 4th rotation second half of 89
I was part of the last tour 1990. Good times
Nice reminder, thanks for posting. That must have taken an age to get in to theatre. And back home.
Great Aircraft, great people great combo of a top bird and crew. RIP. Dennis ( aka Hondalulu) an absolute blinder of a man, taken way too early. A sad theme for many great blokes and ladies who have served 🥲🥲🥲
Proud to have been part of the second rotation. An amazing experience. Loved the Andover.
A nice aircraft to fly in. had a few flights when they did the Monday and Friday shuttle Auckland to Wigram return
17 in the Detachment living in a house in Tehran. All 17 directly involved in aircraft ops. Very early morning starts so ops could be completed before it got too hot in the early afternoon. An extraordinary example of kiwi ingenuity and persistence with an exceptionally high serviceability rate. I wasn’t allowed to go as I had to keep the training sausage machine going back home.
the Andover was a unique sight to many of the national observers on the ground- but the service provided much appreciated- thanks guys - NZ Army contingent member
Did Mt Cook Airline fly a civilian version? Flew Christchurch to Rotorua once. Took ages! To the Gulf must have seemed like an eternity? How long did it take?
I was lucky enough to do 3 tours on the Mk1 Andover with the RAF. Very nice aircraft indeed, so pleased the RNZAF were able to make very good use of them. Nice also that the Museum still has an aurcraft in the hangar at Wigram.
Good work by the Andover troops. 40 Sqn were tasked to support them in Tehran when carrying out MFO flights to the Sinai. Always good to get the supplies and spares to them etc and say gidday. There are some great helmet wearing stories that have come out from that deployment and the squadron should be commended for their efforts. I also remember that one of our C130’s was on one of these resupply missions around the time the US Vincennes shot down the Iranian airliner/F14? Great photo.
Kerry Wilton a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.... 🫶
Good on the R.N.Z.A.F. 👍👍
I was on the 2nd rotation. Interesting times
Yep, remember the white ones.
Brings back some memories.
Fond memories of these birds....
Luke Oxford
Wasn't there a heuy over there as well
Hey DR!
Kerry Tyne. 2nd from right.
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