Description
Title: The Wild Winds – The History of Number 486 RNZAF Fighter Squadron with the RAF
Author: Sortehaug, Paul
Condition: Near Mint
Edition: 1st Edition
Publication Date: 1998
ISBN: 1877139092
Cover: Hard Cover without Dust Jacket – 396 pages.
Comments: A great account of the air operations of the Royal New Zealand Air Force No 486 Squadron which flew Hurricanes, Typhoons and Tempests during World War 2.
486 (NZ) Squadron was a fighter squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War. It was formed under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme and served in Europe under the operational command of the Royal Air Force.Second World War.
486 (NZ) Squadron came about because of the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) which was created by the promulgatation of Article XV on 19 December 1939. The article provided for the formation of Commonwealth squadrons within the RAF. On 17 April 1941 a further agreement was negotiated allowing for six New Zealand Squadrons to be formed: Numbers 485 to 490 These units were manned and (mostly) commanded by New Zealanders trained under the EATS, although this didn’t preclude other nationalities from being members. Administratively the “Article XV squadrons” were an integral part of the RAF, with all command appointments being made by the RAF. Other Dominion or Commonwealth countries involved were Australia and Canada, Rhodesia and South Africa.
By the end of the war nearly 50% of 486(NZ) Squadron’s personnel were non-New Zealanders. Two of 486’s commanding officers, Squadron Leaders Roberts (March 1942 – April 1943) and Iremonger (January 1944 – December 1944) were also British.
486 squadron flew over 11,000 sorties claimed 81 enemy aircraft, (including two Messerschmitt 262 jets) and destroyed 223½ (or 241) V-1 “flying bombs”, 323 motor vehicles, 14 railway engines and 16 ships. Pilots attached to the squadron won 22 DFCs,a DSO and six Mentioned in Dispatches.
