000			02334pam a2200289 a 4500
001			14028290
003			OSt
005			20141117094804.0
008			120111s2012 nz ab b 001 0 eng
020			_a9781869796105 (hbk.) : _c$55.00
035			_a(NLNZils)1536549
035			_a(OCoLC)779340498
035			_a(Nz)14028290
035			_a(eLGAR).b26517279
035			_a(OCoLC)ocn779340498
040			_aNZNB _cNZNB
043			_au-nz---
082	0	4	_a358.400993 _223
100	1		_aMcClure, Margaret.
245	1	0	_aFighting spirit : _b75 years of the RNZAF / _cMargaret McClure.
260			_aAuckland, N.Z. : _bRandom House, _c2012.
300			_a336 p. : _bill. (some col.), col. maps ; _c27 cm.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 294-331) and index.
520			_aThis book marks the 75th anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It traces the broad sweep of the air force from the early twentieth century to the first decade of the 21st, and extends beyond the romance of early military aviation and the drama of World War Two to describe the diversity of roles it has undertaken in recent decades. This account begins in 1909 with the gift of a Bleriot plane to New Zealand in response to the first awareness of the potential of military air power. Early experiments in flying were followed by a rush of young New Zealanders to the dangerous adventure of flying over the battlefields of Europe in World War One. Then came the formation of an independent Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1937. Two years later, inexperienced and unprepared, the air force galvanised itself to train thousands of aircrew for the war in Europe. The difficult days of peace brought further radical changes for the RNZAF: dismantling wartime aircraft, demobilising most of its personnel, and forging a postwar identity. The air force's most turbulent years came in the 1980s and 1990s, when governments cut ANZUS ties with the United States, reduced the number of bases and personnel, decided to focus on peacekeeping, and killed off the air combat force. From 2001 the 'war on terror' reintroduced a global outlook, along with hectic deployments and leaps in technology, paralleled by the stress of cutbacks in personnel.
610	1	0	_aNew Zealand. _bRoyal New Zealand Air Force _xHistory.
942			_2ddc _cNZNONFIC
999			_c25625 _d25625