Fleet Air Arm Museum, Auckland, 2009. PB in very tidy condition.
In the overall scheme of things of World War 2, the 760 New Zealand airmen in the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) were just a drop in the ocean compared with those serving in our other military forces. But they made up 20% of the Royal Navy’s FAA, a great contribution of gallant young seafaring airmen from a small country. Of those, 155 lost their lives, including two, Lt (A) Evan Baxter and Lt (A) John Haberfield, executed by the Japanese at Changi Beach, Singapore in July 1945.

The author looks into the FAA’s origins, its predecessor (the Royal Naval Air Service formed in April 1914), and the high-ranking squabbles over whether the young service should be the responsibility of the Royal Navy or the newly established Royal Air Force.