Dreams shot down in flames of despair

SCOTT MacLEOD, FRANCESCA MOLD and GREG ANSLEY plot the fallout from yesterday's decision to scrap the air combat force.

Pilot Jim Jennings raced through the skies after a fishing boat crewed by Taiwanese poachers.

It was March 30, 1976 - a day he will never forget because he became the first and only New Zealand-based Skyhawk pilot to fire shots away from the training ground, in a live and risky situation.

Squadron Leader Jennings chased the ship, which had been poaching within New Zealand's 12-mile limit, to about 70 nautical miles west of New Plymouth, where he was given a ministerial order to fire warning shots across its bow.

He fired 53 cannon shells about 100m in front of the boat, which stopped dead in the water.

His Skyhawk circled the vessel for 20 minutes until Navy patrols caught up, boarded the boat and towed it back to port.

Yesterday, Squadron Leader Jennings and hundreds of other Air Force staff based at the Ohakea airfield received the devastating news that New Zealand's air combat force will be scrapped, including 75 Squadron, which has a history of more than 85 years.

The squadron originated with the Royal Air Force in 1913. Its name and heritage was gifted to the Royal New Zealand Air Force by the British Government after the Second World War to recognise the contribution made by our pilots and crew.

But by the end of the year, the squadron's aircraft, along with the country's entire fleet of Skyhawks and Aermacchis, will be grounded and eventually sold.

What will we lose?

First, here are the numbers.

Our 17 Skyhawks will be put in storage and probably sold "as is" next year. The 17 Macchis, which are newer and more attractive to buyers, will be sold as a "going concern."

The air attack force comprises 600 posts, but not all are filled. Some people will be shifted to other jobs, but 200 personnel and 55 civilians are likely to be sacked by the end of this year and another 100 by the middle of next year.

However, those numbers show nothing of what we are losing in tradition.

Kiwi pilots have fought and died since the infancy of aviation, starting in the First World War.

About 4200 New Zealand aircrew died in the Second World War out of our total death toll of 11,600.

New Zealand has flown Skyhawks for 31 years, but their design dates to 1954.

They are relatively slow compared with F-16s and other modern jets, but have a good power-to-weight ratio and can roll quickly to either side. United States Top Gun instructors flying the jets have beaten many rookies in their new Tomcats, Phantoms, Crusaders and Hornets.

But for New Zealand, the Skyhawks have seen little action - if any.

Yesterday, 75 Squadron crew arrived at Ohakea by 3 am, preparing Skyhawks for a training exercise with the Special Air Service at Waiouru. Just 12 hours later, they joined a sombre gathering of staff in a hangar to hear the decision that would cost them their jobs.

The Government estimates disbanding the air combat force will save about $870 million over 10 years. The money will be used to boost the Defence Force budget.

Ohakea staff received some relief yesterday when they learned the base would remain open and that its runway would receive a $20 million upgrade.

A review is also being carried out into whether the base could be opened to commercial air traffic as well as military.

Air Vice-Marshal Don Hamilton says if the decision to disband the air attack force is ever reversed, it will take 15 years to build the division back to a state of readiness.

Although the force has lost one of its roles, it will continue to carry out military air operations with professionalism, integrity and teamwork.

He says staff are deeply disappointed with the decision but will now concentrate on implementing the Government's plans.

Some will retrain, but attack pilots such as Ohakea-based Wing Commander Nick Osborne say they have no desire to fly transport craft and will begin looking for work in either Australia, Britain or the Middle East.

"There's a real art to becoming a combat pilot. It's not something I want to give up."

The departing pilots are likely to be joined by specialist support crew, including armament technicians, who say their only option is to leave New Zealand if they want to continue to work in their field of expertise.

Wing Commander Osborne is responsible for 12 Skyhawks and 70 crew, including 10 pilots.

He says the disbanding of the squadron is a devastating loss.

"Many are just dumbfounded - they can't believe this is happening.

"There's a lot of anger at the Government. Many feel the decision hasn't been thought through.

"But we're not politicians. Our job is to do what the Government says, but we've lost the chance to do what we wanted to do here at home."

Wing Commander Osborne says New Zealand needs an air combat force but to be realistic, the country is probably not left vulnerable by its loss.

"We've got the world's biggest moat around us as protection, but our air combat division allows us to fulfil our wider responsibilities."

Other staff at Ohakea say crew who work behind the scenes maintaining aircraft and preparing them for use are often forgotten.

These people also face losing their jobs.

One armament technician, who prepares and installs weapons on Skyhawks at Ohakea, says he is devastated by the loss of an air combat force. "We have a heritage here. We're deeply attached to our job - it's all we want to do."

Yesterday's decision will also have a flow-on effect in nearby Bulls. Shop-owners say the town will survive because of the income reaped from State Highway 1 traffic. But the loss of hundreds of Air Force staff will still be devastating.

Century 21 real estate manager Bill Larking, who was an Air Force technician and engineer for 38 years, says as long as Ohakea remains open Bulls businesses will reap benefits.

But months of uncertainty created by leaks to the media about changes to the defence force has put workers off buying property in Bulls.

"We really still don't know what the future holds."

Mr Larking says the loss of the air combat division will leave the rest of the defence force vulnerable in a conflict.

The decision by "trendie lefties" will put hundreds of Air Force personnel on the dole when they could have instead learned a trade and developed skills within the force.

"If there was a referendum about the Government's decision today, I believe public opinion would be firmly in favour of retaining and supporting the air strike force."

Squadrons 2 and 14 will also disappear with No 75.

In the southern New South Wales town of Nowra, where 2 Squadron has been based for 10 years, the decision was greeted with dismay.

Two decades ago, some of the squadron's Skyhawks were part of the Royal Australian Navy Force, disbanded when the aircraft carrier Melbourne was scrapped. Last February, with its future still under a cloud, the squadron celebrated 10 years in Nowra with tea and a cake in the shape of a Skyhawk.

Nowra Mayor Greg Watson says the decision is an absolute tragedy - more so for New Zealand than Australia - and that there will be a good deal of nostalgia about the loss of the Skyhawks for a second time.

He believes most of the RNZAF families in Nowra cannot see any future for themselves in New Zealand and will stay in Australia.

Mr Watson says the Kiwis are hedging their bets because they have seen the writing on the wall for some time and want the option of staying in Australia.

Nowra residents say the New Zealanders are part of the community, from clubs and social events to schools and sport.

Apart from the social loss to Nowra, the area will miss the income from the families at the base - estimated at $A2 million ($2.4 million) a year - and other contracts for the support of the squadron.

The news was delivered to a hushed audience of about 65 air and ground crew by Air Commodore John Hamilton, air officer commanding RNZAF Air Command, in the squadron briefing room.

Air Commodore Hamilton says they were expecting the worst as he began his briefing - the hardest thing he had had to do in his career.

The briefing shifted from the loss of the combat force to the future of the Air Force and 2 Squadron.

Air Commodore Hamilton says the Royal Australian Air Force is desperately short of fighter pilots, but the number of RNZAF jet pilots is reasonably small and the Air Force has to work through policy and training issues.

For those young New Zealanders who dream of flying jet fighters, Australia may still hold some hope.