The Forgotten War, RNZAF Stations, WW 2, Fiji

Laucala Bay

Island Viti Levu

FIELDS

Nadi [ Nandi]
Nausori
Narewa
Martins
Suva Harbour
Laucala Bay [18^7’60” S, 178^30’0” E]

NADI
Construction Started: 3 September 1939
Finished: March 1940

UNITS
No 4 [BR] Bomber Reconnaissance Squadron: October 1940 November 1944

No 15 [F] Fighter Squadron: 20 March 1943 April 1943

NAUSORI
Construction Started: 3 September 1939
Finished: March 1940

UNITS
No 8 [BR] Squadron: November 1944 December 1944

No 9 [BR] Squadron: January 1945 March 1945

SUVA HARBOUR

UNITS

No 5 [M] Maritime Squadron: November 1941

LAUCALA BAY

C. O.s

S/L R J R H Magill, 1942

W/C G Stead, 1943
DFC

W/C J W M Bray, 1944
DFC

W/C S L Gilkinson, 1945

W/C R G Linklater, 1945
AFC

G/C R J Cohen, 1945 to March 1946
AFC

W/C J W M Bray, March 1946
DFC

W/C J M Checketts, 1947
DSO, AFC

W/C R Webb, 1949
DSO, DFC

W/C K W Trigance, 1951
OBE, DFC,

W/C B V Le Pine, 1953

G/C A S Agar, 1955
AFC,

G/C A A N Breckon, 1958
DFC,

G/C J D Robbins, 1960

G/C J J Mc Dowell, 1962
MBE,

No 5 [M] Squadron, January 1942 to November 1942

No 5 [M] Squadron, July 1944 to October 1944

No 5 [M] Squadron, 1947 to March 1967

No 6 [M] Squadron, March 1943 to October 1943

No 3 Flying Boat OTU [Operational Training Unit], February 1944 to September 1945

No 3 Flying Boat O T U, March 1943 to 1945

CODES

No 3 FB OTU G F

Aircraft at Laucala Bay

Image Source

Short Singapore

Ground crew working on a Singapore Flying Boat at Laucala Bay.

Singapore

K6912
K 6916
K6917
K6818

Sunderland

At various time all the Sunderlands would have been based there

Closing Down Parade 31 March 1965

Land and Buildings Donated to University Of The South Pacific

Nadi & Nausori

D H 60 NZ 522

D H 86

NZ 552

NZ 553

NZ 555

NZ 556

NZ 559

D H 89 B

NZ 523
[in the hanger at Nausori]

Vincent

NZ 306
NZ 309
NZ 338
NZ 348
NZ 355
NZ 358
NZ 361

Prior to Dec 1942, the following personnel were stationed in Fiji [there probably were more that haven’t been recorded where I found these]

Nausori & Suva

F/O H S Mc Hardy

Sgt W F Nelson

Cpl E J Murray
Cpl W J Scullion
Cpl R F Stevenson
Cpl M D Surgenor
Cpl W Van Praagh

LAC R V Gibbs
LAC L G Houston
LAC K W Kennedy
LAC I V Mc Donald

AC1 H A Cossar
AC1 R G Dahi
AC1 A D Dixon
AC1 J B Donaldson
AC1 W T Harvey
AC1 H J Keeling
AC1 K R Mc Dougall

Nadi & Lautoka

P/O Branch
P/O Fraser
P/O Sargenson

W/O J W Moynihan

F/S T F Warren

Sgt I L Bary Pilot

LAC O S Hayward
LAC P J Kennedy
LAC R S Mercer
LAC B A Miler
LAC R J Todd

AC1 A S Blackledge
AC1 H J K Farey
AC1 W H Frame
AC1 M A Rich

AC2 A J Dore

+*+
To assist defending Fiji an area of 117 acres was acquired at Nadi, near Lautoka on the West coast of Viti Levu and an airfield with 3 runways was planned.

At Nausori, 15 miles from Suva, on the East Coast of Viti Levu, a single runway airfield was projected.

The contract for the two sites was let to the Southern Cross Construction Company and work on them began on the day war was declared [3 September 1939]

Both Fijian airfields were practically completed by the following March, the construction equipment was then shipped to Tonga to commence construction there.

By September 1940 the international situation in the Pacific was worse, with Japan’s attitude becoming more and more threatening.

It was decided to send troops and a detachment of the RNZAF to reinforce Fiji.

As a preliminary, work was begun at Nadi to provide accommodation, roading, sewerage, electric power and a hanger.

This work was carried out by the Fijian Government under the direction of the NZ Public Works Department.

The RNZAF detachment, under the command of Squadron Leader Baird, formed at Rongotai, Wellington and the advance party left on the SS Kaiwarra on the 1st November 1940, they arrived in Lautoka 5 days later.

The main party left on 11th November and arrived 4 days later, dividing into 2 sections, 1 at Nadi, the other to Suva.

The advance party carried with it most of the detachments equipment, transport vehicles, timber, building materials, petrol, oil and other miscellaneous stores as well as the aircraft.

These were 4 DH 89 De Havilland Dragon Rapides, modified and equipped for operational flying, and 1 De Havilland DH 60 Moth for communications.

The fuselages, with engines and undercarriages attached, were carried on the deck, the main planes and tail assemblies were crated and stowed between decks.

The morning after the ship arrived unloading commenced, the aircraft were lowered onto lighters and towed the 5 miles to Nadi, where they were manhandled ashore and pushed down the road to the airfield.

Until the hangers were completed they were housed in native built shelters, a thatched roof on top of long poles.

Building the station was slow, due to most of the materials and manpower being used by the Army building their defences.

By December a small HQ and stores building were completed and a start was made on the accommodation, but it was late March, early April before they were ready for occupation.

The party that went to Suva were accommodated at the Army Camp at Nasese, the Officers were put into the Grand Pacific Hotel.

The HQ was set up in the grounds of the Government Buildings.

The RNZAF was tasked with the reconnaissance of the New Hebrides - Fiji - Tonga area.

On the 17th November, 11 days after arrival, the first of the DH 89s had been assembled and was test flown at Nadi,

The following day Squadron Leader White flew it to Nausori, becoming the first pilot to land at the airfield.

The first operational flight was made on the 21st November when they were ordered to intercept the ships Rangatira and Monowai, who were bringing troops and supplies to Fiji.

Regular operational flights were made over outlying islands where enemy shipping might be sheltering, including the Lau Group, providing escorts for ships entering and leaving Suva and Lautoka, dawn and dusk patrols over the approaches to Suva and extended Ocean searches.

These were more than 400 nautical miles, with few navigational checks, and frequent changes of course.

Flying activities were severely curtailed on 17th February 1941, when a hurricane destroyed 2 DH 89’s that had been picketed in the open at Nausori, on the 20th and 3 days later, another was badly damaged through hitting a truck while being flown low over the airfield.

As this left 1 operational aircraft left in Fiji, 2 DH 86s were shipped from New Zealand, arriving on the 13th March 1941.

This left 3 other DH 86s in New Zealand, however, the only other operational aircraft available were the single-engined Vincents and Vildebeestes, which were not considered safe for reconnaissance work over shark-infested waters.

In August it was decided to send 6 Vincents to be used on short-range reconnaissance and Army co-operation work.

On the 8th October, the unit was officially named No 4 GR Squadron [General Reconnaissance]

While the airfields were being planned in 1939, possible flying boat landing areas were surveyed in Fiji.

Three areas were found suitable, Lautoka, Suva Harbour and Laucala Bay, 3 miles around the coast from Suva.

Lautoka was the best natural site, but it was too far from HQ in Suva.

After many meetings, it was agreed in February 1941 that the British Government, the New Zealand Government and the Fijian Government would share the costs of building a base at Laucala Bay, but as much development work had to be done first, the moorings were established in Suva Harbour.

On 18th November the RNZAF received the first 2 Short Singapore Flying Boats that had been taken over from the RAF in Seletar, Singapore.

The first 2 left early in November, while the last two didn’t depart until the 13th December, due to mechanical problems.

They flew to Fiji via Java, New Guinea, The Solomons and the New Hebrides.

The aircraft were old and barely fit to fly, being heavily loaded with fuel and equipment, they rarely reached an altitude of more than a few hundred feet above the sea.

The Servicing party was left behind in Singapore and were attached to No 205 Squadron RAF, they were evacuated to Java, where they were discovered by Squadron Leader E C Smart, who attached them to his RNZAF Construction Squadron to ensure they were evacuated to Australia with the other New Zealanders

The flying boats and their crews were formed into No 5 GR Squadron [General Reconnaissance] and started operations in early January 1942.

The Mooring buoys at Laucala Bay

Laucala Bay

It is interesting to note that the Squadron Motto is in Fijian, to recognize where it was formed.]

Before Japan’s entry into the war, the main re-supply air route for the USA was from Hawaii, Midway, Wake Island, Port Moresby, and Darwin.

As this passed close to the Japanese mandated Islands of the Carolines and the Marianas it was considered to be vulnerable in the event of war, so a more Southern route was planed passing through Christmas Island, Canton Island, Fiji and New Caledonia.

After much discussion, it was decided that Nadi would be upgraded to 3 concrete strips with a minimum length of 7,000 feet and a width of 500 feet, and a new strip was to be built at Narewa, a few miles from Nadi.

The RNZAF was to move and operate from Nausori, near Suva.

No 2 Aerodrome Construction Squadron left New Zealand at the end of November 1941 to begin work on the accommodation buildings.

Ten days later 1,000 men who had been formed into a Civil Construction Unit by the Public Works Depart followed them.

By the end of May 1942, the task was completed and the Civil Construction Unit was withdrawn.

800.000 cubic yards of earth was moved, 20,000 tons of cement were poured, and 3.5 million super feet of timber were used in the construction.

+*+
.+*+ Info From

=
To stem the rapid advance of the Japanese in the South Pacific a chain of Island Air Bases was developed from Northern Australia, through New Caledonia, the New Hebrides, Fiji, Tonga to Samoa.

These were intended as a protection for the major bases in Australia and New Zealand from which an offensive could eventually be launched.

The most vital link in the defensive chain was Fiji, if the enemy could establish himself there he could dominate the whole South Pacific and could launch attacks against New Zealand.

An American fighter Squadron disembarked at Fiji at the end of January 1942, and a flight of Flying Fortresses arrived a few days later.

American forces landed in New Hebrides in March, and New Caledonia in April.

By June all these bases were occupied by large USAAF forces, but still not secure from a major attack.

New Zealand sent all of its Anti-Aircraft artillery and a fair proportion of the available Hudson aircraft.

A further detachment of 6 Hudsons from No 2 Squadron was sent to strengthen the defences in the face of what appeared to be an imminent attack, they arrived on 11th February 1942 and were attached to No 4 Squadron at Nadi.

On the 13th February, the aircrew were briefed for an attack on a Japanese Task Force which was reported to be approaching the Islands.

Coastwatchers from further North had reported a force including 3 Aircraft Carriers apparently heading for Fiji.

It was estimated that they would arrive on the 13th or at dawn on the 14th.

An Allied Task Force, including the Aircraft Carriers Lexington and Saratoga, were also heading for Fiji, but it was doubtful whether they would arrive in time to intercept the Japanese forces, also the Allied Task Force included no Battleships.

The Hudson crews were briefed to bomb from 9,000 feet, the Fortresses from 16,000 feet, and the pilots were told that unless the Allied Task Force arrived in time, they would stand very little chance of coming out of the action alive as the sky would be thick with Japanese fighters.

The aircrews remained at readiness all that day and night.

On the following day, the Fortresses took off before dawn on patrol, as there had been no further sightings the Hudsons took off at 10 am and carried out a parallel track search in the vicinity of the Ellice Islands.

No sightings of the enemy were made during the day, apparently they had turned back and occupied Islands further to the North.

With the arrival of Allied reinforcements and the averting of the immediate threat to Fiji, two of the No 2 Squadron’s Hudsons returned to New Zealand, leaving the other two, and crew, to join No 4 Squadron.
=
= Info From

Image Source

The common type of building in Fiji

Of course, war was not the only worry in the Pacific. Weather also caused much damage. Here one of the Fijian huts has suffered from a hurricane, probably the same one that destroyed several RNZAF communications aircraft in 1942.

Image Source

The war must go on! Despite the high wind of the hurricane, the sentry keeps his post.

Image Source

with thanks to son-of-satire for the banner