Douglas A-4 Skyhawk in New Zealand service

Some were donated to aviation museums in New Zealand and Australia and the remainder were sold to Draken International, a private military contractor to the United States, in 2012.

[2] Its relatively low weight meant that it was able to incorporate new technologies as these were introduced and also carry a heavy payload, which led to a prolonged service life for the type, extending well into the 1990s.

[4][5] At the time, the RNZAF's Strike Wing was composed of one squadron equipped with English Electric Canberra jet-powered medium bombers, plus another that had a complement of de Havilland Vampire jet fighters albeit non-operational.

[6] By May 1966, a number of aircraft had been considered as replacements for the RNZAF's Strike Wing, among them the General Dynamics F-111 bomber, Northrop F-5 Tiger, and the F-4 Phantom, the latter being the preference of both Morrison and the Defence Council.

His replacement, Air Vice-Marshal Cameron Turner, together with Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Leonard Thornton, continued with the efforts to modernise the Strike Wing.

[9] Approval was given for a team of RNZAF personnel to go to the United States to assess the Skyhawk for its suitability for its intended operational role in New Zealand.

[13] The RNZAF requested some minor changes be made to its aircraft: a drag chute, a VHF radio and armament pylons suitable for carrying the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile.

A notable inclusion was a dorsal hump aft of the cockpit, intended to house additional avionics controllers that was required to operate electronic countermeasures (ECM).

[14][15] In June 1969, prior to the delivery of the RNZAF's Skyhawks, one pilot and some ground crew personnel were sent to the United States for training on the type at VA-44 at the USN's Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida.

The pilot, Squadron Leader Ross Donaldson, had qualified on the type by December but then suffered serious injuries in a bird strike while flying as a passenger in a TA-4F.

[16][17] Some other RNZAF ground crew personnel gained experience with the Skyhawks when sent to Vietnam for six weeks to serve with an A-4 squadron of the United States Marine Corps.

[19] With training in the United States completed by April, all fourteen Skyhawks were loaded onto the USS Okinawa, a helicopter carrier, for transport to New Zealand.

[26] In 1984, ten more Skyhawks were purchased, these being sourced from Australia as they were surplus to requirements following the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)'s decommissioning of the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne.

[29] The ten Australian Skyhawks, which cost AU$28 million, also came with a significant amount of spare parts which considerably bolstered the RNZAF's stocks.

The squadron also routinely engaged in training with the air forces of many of the major Southeast Asia countries: Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

In late March 1976, three Skyhawks were deployed to deter the escape of a Taiwanese fishing vessel that had been detected inside the 12-mile limit and had ignored the commands of a Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) patrol boat to heave to.

Flight Lieutenant Jim Jennings fired the 20-mm cannons of his Skyhawk across the bows of the vessel, bring an immediate halt to its attempt to flee.

In the event, the New Zealand Government opted to send transport aircraft as the RNZAF's contribution to the United Nation's Desert Storm operations.

At the time, there was considerable civil unrest in East Timor, to the north, and, in anticipation of a possible intervention from Australia, the Skyhawks carried out strike and maritime exercises with the RAN, the RNZN, as well as the Indonesian and Papua New Guinean military.

[40] The final overseas deployment of the squadron was in September, to Singapore, where its Skyhawks engaged in mock combats with the jet fighters of the Singaporean Air Force.

[42] In December 1984, due to the increased number of Skyhawks following the acquisition of the Australian aircraft earlier in the year, the RNZAF formed another squadron to begin training on the type.

2 Squadron moved to Australia in 1991 to commence a five-year deployment where it was to operate six Skyhawks in a training role from the Naval Air Station Nowra, in New South Wales.

This was advantageous for the RNZAF, as it meant increased opportunities for cooperative training with the RAAF while for the RAN, the Skyhawks could provide the naval support lost when it had rid itself of its own fleet of the aircraft type.

[29] By this time, it was recognised that the Skyhawk's avionic equipment was dated and it was limited in its ability to perform both in the desired maritime strike role as well as ground attack while still being able to be used defensively.

[25][45] A drawback to the project was that much of the new electronics was bespoke equipment, which subsequently caused supply and maintenance problems that was exacerbated when the Skyhawks were deployed overseas.

Making a simulated attack at low level, the pilot, flying solo, was crossing the Ruahine Range when he appeared to have misjudged his height and crashed into a ridge.

75 Squadron's display team were practicing when they collided in mid-air; one Skyhawk (NZ6210) crashed into a paddock adjacent the airfield at Ohakea, killing the pilot on impact.

2 Squadron's commanding officer, fatally struck the ground while carrying out a barrel roll while plugged in by an air refuelling hose to another Skyhawk.

[64] Morale in the RNZAF immediately slumped and several Skyhawk pilots left the service, either going into the private sector or joining the air forces of other nations.

Taking delivery of the aircraft the following year, Draken flew the Skyhawks as part of its defence contract with the United States armed forces.