Our History
1964 – 1998
Detailed below are some of the many fascinating events that have happened for Number 3 Squadron.
May 1964 Air Reconnaissance Flight Established
Air Reconnaissance Flight moves to Hobsonville and is equipped with Austers and Harvards
27 Apr 1965 No 3 Battlefield Support Squadron is established
No 3 BSS comprising a Medium Range Transport Flt and a Light Recce Flt.
Aircraft are the Bristol Freighter and Auster
August 1965 New Zealand Army Air Corps established
The first four Army Pilots
17 Dec 1965 The first 3 Sioux Helicopters arrive
NZ 3701 is unloaded at Whenuapai
15 June 1966 The first UHID Iroquois arrives
NZ 3801 is unloaded at Whenuapai
6 October 1966 The first Wasp arrives
NZ 3902 is unloaded at Hobsonville
July 1967 Attachments to No 9 Sqn RAAF commence
FGOFF Bud Mills becomes the first Huey Pilot to see duty in Vietnam
July 1967 Helicopter Crewman trade established
The Helicopter Crewman Brevet
August 1967 First afloat platform
HMNZS Waikato (Leander Class) arrives in Auckland
September 1967 First Tropic Exercise in Fiji
Groundies erect a light at Nandi Airfield
1970 Exercise Bersatu Padu (Complete Unity)
The first RNZAF helicopter deployment to South East Asia. 3 Iroquois & 1 Sioux in a clearing at Bukit Besi (Dungun)
1970 East of Suez & FPDA
Bersatu Padu also marked the withdrawal of British Forces “East of Suez” and the creation of the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA)
Plane spotters will note the aircraft in the foreground is a DH Dove. The sharp eyed will spot the 2 Westland Wessex in the background. All from 103 Sqn RAF
1971 4 x Iroquois join No 41 Squadron in Singapore
No 41 Squadron Colour presentation
May 1970 PTS Sioux Flight established
No 7 Hangar at Wigram Home of the Sioux Basic Course
August 1970 No 3 Sqn Detachment established
2 x UHID Iroquois form the Wigram detachment
November 1972 VXE6 Attachments commence
Vaughan Paul and Keith Jolly become the first pilot secondments to VXE6 Squadron in Antarctica
1974 Formation of NZ Force South East Asia
No 41 Sqn flypast at a parade to celebrate the establishment of NZFORSEA
1974 Joint Exercises at Waiouru
AVM DF St George (CAS) chats to WGCDR Graham Derby at Waiouru
1975 Wet Winching Training becomes a common sight.
Whiskey 44 (Naval Launch) assist with wet winching training at Hobsonville.
1977 RNZAF Support Unit Singapore established.
3 Hueys on the flight line at RSAF Base Tengah
1979 Exercise Tropic in Fiji
2 Hueys practice hi level navigation in Fiji
1980 New colour scheme
NZ 3806 shows off the new hi viz colour scheme during a Singapore ‘Round Island’
1981 No 3 Squadron Standard presented.
HRH Prince Charles presents the No 3 Squadron Standard
1981 No 3 Squadron Standard
No 3 Squadron Standard with battle honours for The Pacific, Guadalcanal, Solomons, Bougainville and Rabaul
21 March 1982 RWAU Sinai established
No. 3 Squadron air and ground crews join with the RAAF to form the Rotary Wing Aviation Unit at El Gorah airfield.
They are part of the eleven nation Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in the Sinai
1982 RWAU a true ANZAC unit.
The RNZAF lease two UHIH Iroquois from the USA to join with 8 UHIH supplied by the RAAF.
The Kiwi birds are fitted with Omega Navigation units.
March 1982 All 3 Sqn Iroquois upgraded to H model standard
No 3 Squadron detachment achieve new levels of service with the H Model.
Base Commander Wigram (Ross Donaldson) enjoys the new service standard provided by DJ Watson and Keith Adair
Oct 1985. First RNZAF Iroquois deployed to Antarctica
Replete with a special colour scheme RNZAF Iroquois deploy to the ice for the first time.
1988. Cable Cutters fitted to Iroquois Fleet
It took 22 years and numerous close calls but Cable Cutters are finally fitted to the fleet.
July 1988. First Attendance at Helimeet in the UK
Although the photo shows the crew at Bulford School during Helimeet 94, in 1988 the team won; Best Precision Flying, Concours d’Elegance, Navigation Trophy, Spirit of the Meet, and Greatest Distance Travelled.
Apr 1989. RNZAF’s first female helicopter pilot
Angie Dickinson becomes the first female helicopter pilot on No. 3 Squadron
July 1989 RNZAF leave Singapore
RNZAF 141 Flight is disbanded at Sembawang ending a 34 year continuous basing of RNZAF units in Singapore
August 1989 RNZAF Ventura found in Honiara
The wreckage of Ventura NZ4607 is found during Exercise Tropic and returned to NZ.
Oct 1990 RNZN Commendation
The Crews of HMNZS ships Waikato, Wellington and Endeavour are awarded a commendation for their role in the Bougainville Peace Talks
1991 25 Years of Hueys
A 12 ship Huey formation celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Iroquois in RNZAF service
1991 NVGs and Rad Alts
A bit late, but Night Vision Goggles, Radar Altimeters and Mode C IFF are finally added to the capability list of the Iroquois
1993 Sioux leave Wigram
Basic Helicopter training returns to 3 Sqn at Hobsonville
1994 – Pilot becomes Infrastructure manager in Sarajevo
FLT LT Jim Finlayson is awarded the OBE for is work under fire while attached to UNPROFOR
1994 – NZ Army Aviation Corps disbanded
A sad day as 3 Sqn becomes a little less “Joint”
1995 RNZAF Base Wigram closes…
An even sadder sad day as the RNZAF’s “Home” is closed
… but 3 Sqn stays
No 3 Sqn Det takes over SGHQ and 4 Hangar
1997 NZ 3816 Purchased
NZ 3816 is bought to replace NZ 3813. Can anyone lay claim to having flown in all 18 RNZAF Iroquois?
I know of one person that can claim all 16 NZ based Hueys.
1997 4 SH2F Seasprites purchased
With the two ANZAC frigates about to arrive the NZDF makes an interim purchase of ‘F’ model Seasprites.
1997 Op Bel Isi Bougainville
Arguably the most successful Peace Keeping operation ever. The first ANZAC operation led by NZ.
1997 3 x Iroquois and Canterbury’s Wasp deploy to Bougainville
Mt Bagana Bougainville 6086 ft and an active volcano
1998 Wasps Withdrawn from Service
3 April 1998
May 1998 Homecoming
Vietnam Vets finally recognised at a parade in Wellington
Inset Robin Klitscher one of the sixteen No 3 Sqn Pilots who served in Vietnam
1998 Bougainville Peace Agreement
Ceasefire signed at Ararawa
3 x Iroquois returned to NZ on HMAS Tobruk
