In the 1950s it also served as a Territorial Air Force unit flying Harvards and Mustangs from Taieri in Otago.

The final commanding officer was Squadron Leader G S A Stevenson until the unit was disbanded in September 1945 at Los Negros.

[2] It took over obsolescent Vickers Vincent biplane torpedo bombers and later re-equipped with modern Lockheed Hudsons.

On 25 May a squadron machine sighted a surfaced submarine while escorting an American convoy and dropped four depth charges.

An oil slick appeared – after the war it emerged a Japanese submarine was lost at this time in the area.

The patrol had been hastily prepared by Squadron Operations following a report of a Japanese submarine stalking a supply ship north west of Viti Levu.

During the patrol the crew encountered bad weather and electrical interference that caused navigation problems.

Subsequent searches failed to find any trace of the aircraft or crew who were posted Missing in Action - believed killed.

An extensive search was carried out over the next few days by 12 long range aircraft from RNZAF Base Whenuapai near Auckland, but no sightings were made in the area where they were presumed to have gone missing.

After working in the office of the Public Service Commissioner he joined Sir James Allen, Minister of Defence's staff.