New exhibiton: Insights
Insights
Caldwell Gallery
From delicate pastel and crayon sketches to the brutality of a crash-damaged German bomber engine, Insights offers a tantalising peek at the breadth and depth of our collection. Like many museums, space constraints mean that only a fraction of our one million or so objects can ever be on display. It is a collection containing stories more than 100 years in the making and a source of endless fascination for the team of people who work to catalogue, conserve and care for it.
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From delicate pastel and crayon sketches to the brutality of a crash-damaged German bomber engine, Insights offers a tantalising peek at the breadth and depth of our collection. Like many museums, space constraints mean that only a fraction of our one million or so objects can ever be on display. It is a collection containing stories more than 100 years in the making and a source of endless fascination for the team of people who work to catalogue, conserve and care for it.
Featured Exhibition
P-3 Orion
Located upstairs in our Cochrane Gallery, our Orion exhibition traces the origins and service history of the RNZAF’s fleet of maritime aircraft which performed exceptional service for almost 60 years.
The exhibition includes a scale model of the aircraft dating back to 1968, and a 13-minute documentary featuring interviews with pilots and crew, and a yachtie rescued by the aircraft back in 1994.
P-3 Orion: The story of an extraordinary aircraft is not to be missed!
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The exhibition includes a scale model of the aircraft dating back to 1968, and a 13-minute documentary featuring interviews with pilots and crew, and a yachtie rescued by the aircraft back in 1994.
P-3 Orion: The story of an extraordinary aircraft is not to be missed!
A fun way to explore the Museum together
Museum Hunts
We offer a range of fun Museum Hunts suitable for 4 – 12-year-olds, with changing themes and challenges every school holiday. Each hunt also enters you in the draw for an awesome prize!
Check out our latest Morse Code Hunts today.
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Our Aircraft
Explore AircraftMore to explore
We remember Sergeant David Ernest Hughes, who lost his life 84 years ago today during the Battle of Britain.
Hughes was born in Dunedin in 1912 and was educated at Opunake High School in Taranaki.
He joined the RNZAF and trained at RNZAF Station Wereroa near Levin and later Station Ohakea, as an air gunner. He sailed to England aboard the Rangitata and was posted to No. 600 Squadron at Redhill in Surrey.
On Thursday 3 October 1940 he was assigned to Bristol Blenheim L4905/M (similar to the aircraft opictured).
With three crew aboard the Blenheim took off at 3.25am but soon reported that one of the aircraft’s two engines was not running well. The engine failed 20 minutes later and soon after the aircraft crashed on high ground at Broadstone Warren, Forest Row, Sussex. There were no survivors.
David Hughes was 27 years old and was on his third operation. He is buried at Whyteleafe in Surrey.
He was one of 20 Kiwis to lose their lives in the Battle of Britain, which was waged in the skies over Britain from 10 July 1940 until 31 October 1940.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
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URGENT CLARIFICATION: A recent news post about our Avro 626 may have inadvertently caused some confusion with the Mazda 626 among the general public, which we are now happy to clarify.
Easy mistake to make of course since they both have fixed undercarriages.
There are two key differences to help tell them apart quickly.
The Avro 626 is a three-seater and sports a 277-horsepower Armstrong Siddelely Cheetah V seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine.
The Mazda 626 is a five-seater powered by a water-cooled inline four-cylinder power plant, with the 2.0 version capable of generating 88 horsepower.
Of course, the easiest way to tell them apart is by their paint schemes.
The Avro 626 came in a silver colour scheme, while the RNZAF motor pool Mazda 626 came in a strange beige/cream colour. The colour differences are quite stark, as you can see from both these pictures taken here at Wigram.
You’re welcome!
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Which is which please? I am not an engineer.
Was it the 626 that came with the electronically controlled suspension (you choose which 626 you wish to answer for!)
Is the Avro ex Jim Frogley (Havelock North)?
I built the Armstrong Sidley Cheetah mk V for that aircraft
Easy to tell them apart by the L/D, which, while not spectacular on the Avro is pretty much all D on the Mazda.
So just to clarify, the Mazda is the one with the wings, correct?
Was the Avro 626 manual transmission or automatic?
You have to wonder sometime just how people can get confused. Being an Air Force museum, you will of course feature aircraft in your posts. These may be offset by cars, boats, submarines, and even spacecraft. One moment of commonsense will allow the odd few to realise the difference I would hope? 😍
The AVRO is a tail-dragger. The Mazda looks to be a little heavy at the nose…
My uncle 79510 Flt / Lt Norman John Edwards RAFVR flew NZ 203 pre-war in training 1939.
And another difference is the availability of spares for the engines - pretty sure we managed to get a replacement crankshaft for the Cheetah back in the1980s while in Air Staff Engineering- not sure Mazda is quite as good in aftermarket support after 60 years.
Plus it’s silver, like my 626!
I'm waiting for the Mustang......😁
Thanks for these important clarifications, loving the deadpan humour......I should know, I was a Provo once 🤣🤣
What does AVRO stand for ? Appreciate an answer.
My grandfather slightly banged-up this 626 (NZ 203) into a parked bus, but still managed to “park it up” perfectly… the bus not so much… Evening Post of 4 May 1936 reported: SWOOP LOW TO GROUND AEROPLANE STRIKES BUS NEWSPAPER MEN INJURED MISHAP AT MOUNT COOK (By Telegraph—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, May 3. Flying-Officer F. Truman landed his Air Force Avro aeroplane at the Wigram aerodrome this afternoon without one of the landing wheels and without part of his left tail plane. These he had lost at the new aerodrome at Mount Cook, where he was present at the official opening today. Flying Officer Truman brought the machine down otherwise undamaged and his passenger and himself unhurt, a very skilful feat of flying. The wheel and tail plane were lost in a mishap at Mount Cook in which two other men were not so fortunate. After the official opening ceremony, Flying Officer Truman took off, with Mr. Harry Wigley, son of the managing director of the Mount Cook Tourist Company, as a passenger, to give an exhibition of aerobatics. At an altitude between 3000 and 4000 feet he commenced inverted flying, rolling and looping. Then he dived from about 2000 feet and swooped over the aerodrome very close to the ground. He turned and dived down the valley again, swooping low, greatly to the alarm and consternation of spectators. In a moment the undercarriage of the machine struck a parked motorbus, shearing through the roof, shattering the glass, and tearing the sheet metal as if it were paper. One wheel of the undercarriage of the aeroplane and part of the left tail plane were torn off. A wheel was at once taken out into the flying field and shown to the men in the aeroplane. The pilot flew low for a moment as if undecided what to do, then pointed in the direction of Christchurch and flew to Wigram. The two men injured were Mr. H. Max Whatman, a "Star-Sun" reporter, and Mr. Reginald N. Downes, chief reporter of the "Timaru Herald." They were sitting in the bus which the aeroplane struck. Mr. Whatman suffered severe shock and was cut by flying glass. His spectacles were smashed but his eyes escaped injury. Mr. Downes was also cut and suffered shock, but not so seriously. Mr. Whatman was brought to Christchurch by another aeroplane for medical attention. He was also once the only OG RNZAF Officer trained by the RAF pre WW2 to hunt subs and was the primary instructor when WW2 kicked-off. He also foolishly gave his life savings to his once girlfriend/fiancee Jean Batten, so she could complete her pilots license and fund purchasing an aircraft… Sadly he didn’t live long enough to see a Mazda 626, but one thing is for sure, no one in the remaining family has ever brought a Mitsubishi ;-)
Thank you so much for clearing that up. I haven't been able to sleep at night.
Think I'd go the Avro if I had the choice, though I'd need someone to fly it for me. (I can fly a Blanik).
I trust the Mazda to take me to the moon
I miss my 626! That 2.2 liter 3-valve engine was a gem.
My mazda 626 manual was a bloody great car to drive.
Superb, keep these coming.
Yall get me every time with these😂
Love that 😀
Like looking in a mirror 🤭
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EMERGENCY LIFESAVER: This is no ordinary flying jacket, and it is one on the hidden gems from our collection that features in our new Insights exhibition.
In their mission to protect Allied shipping routes and disrupt those of the enemy, air crew in RAF Coastal Command and the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm routinely faced the risk of ‘ditching’ into open water. Because of this, some were issued a special version of the famous ‘Irvin’ sheepskin flying jacket that had features designed to increase a person’s chances of survival.
Unlike standard patterns, this jacket has a hood, providing the wearer with extra protection in cold conditions. The hood’s yellow finish was intended to increase visibility should a rescue need to take place.
New Zealanders were involved in many of the squadrons that that made up Coastal Command during World War Two, but particularly Number 489 (NZ) Squadron RAF. A torpedo-bomber squadron, 489 Squadron formed part of the Coastal Command Strike Wings and operated primarily in the North Sea and along the Norwegian coast, where it served with distinction.
You can see this special jacket and much more in our Insights exhibition, which is on now in our Caldwell Gallery.
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Wow, interesting. How many were issued within the RNZAF? And who to? Ferry pilots perhaps?
Paul Goodman Vince could have had online this.
Mal Deeley
NEW BLOG: If there’s one thing the Air Force has loved, it’s a pennant. This isn’t exactly unique. Colourful, cheap, and quick to produce, the small triangular flags have immortalised all manner of towns, events, teams, and groups that have nothing to do with the Defence Force. However, our collection of more than 900 pennants shows they were certainly a popular memento within the RNZAF.
Read Murray McGuigan's blog about how the RNZAF loves to do pennants here: airforcemuseum.co.nz/blog/fun-with-flags/ ... See MoreSee Less
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When did the RNZAF logo change from the fern wreath to the current design?
My Brother has all the pennants that my Uncle Norman Mitchell (he's on the wall in the Muesum) collected, along with his diaries etc. I have a little metal "notebook" that he recorded his ladies phone numbers in 🙂
Most of these don't exist anymore, I will donate when I'm next in chch
My recruit course
And mine, they're getting harder to find these days.
John Clark
Some real beauties there!
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