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Swift To The Sky – New Zealand’s Military Aviation History by Errol W Martyn with the Air Force Museum

New Zealanders were among the world’s first aviators, with our geography and location making the prospect of flight an attractive one for our people and our nation. It comes as no surprise then that tens of thousands have served in not only the Royal New Zealand Air Force but in various air forces in peace, and in war around the world. Those New Zealanders were among the first to take to the air like a ‘swift to the sky’.

Told through the collections of the Air Force Museum of New Zealand, this book is highly illustrated with ephemera, personal accounts, aircraft and previously unpublished photographs. The text follows the progression from our military aviation’s pre WW1 origins to today’s roles and is published to coincide with the 73rd Anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

This is an important and informative book for anyone interested in New Zealand’s military history. It also covers aspects of New Zealand’s military history that have not previously been mentioned. This book not only provides comprehensive history of New Zealand’s Air force but of some of the New Zealanders who served in it and in other forces around the world. It also looks at the future of the RNZAF.

Readers might be surprised to learn that a New Zealander played a vital role as commander of 2nd TAF on D-day. The Second Tactical air Force under Arthur Conningham’s command had over 100 squadrons and their supporting units at its disposal , making it not only the largest and most powerful fighting formation ever commanded by a New Zealander, but also crucial to the success of the invasion.

If there is one thing I didn’t like about this book, it was the placement and length of some of personal stories. Rather than break a chapter, they have been inserted within the book on light blue pages They are often two pages or more long and can break a chapter in mid sentence meaning that you have to flick through pages to finish what you were reading. The light blue also can be hard to distinguish from the white pages under certain light, in my mind making it hard to distinguish what sentences or columns are part of what story. This would be only a minor criticism on what is otherwise an enthralling read. Of note though is that anyone wanting to read of Richard Pearse’s contribution to our aviation history will be sadly disappointed.

RRP $65.00
Published and distributed by Penguin Group
 

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