Courage. Tragedy. Heroism. Goodwill. Loyalty. Commitment. Respect. Even, surprisingly often, humour. The experiences and emotions show on every page of the Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War.
Published by the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs in the decades after the end of the war, this fifty volume series covers all areas of New Zealand’s involvement, from detailed accounts of particular battalions, to the political and economic background and consequences, to full accounts of particular episodes and campaigns.

Lasting from 1940 to 1943, North Africa was the longest and most important land campaign fought by New Zealanders in the Second World War. Forces from the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the British Empire, together with contingents from enemy-occupied European states, and in the later stages the United States, battled against those of Italy and Germany.

The term 'fighter ace' is generally held to mean a pilot who has scored at least five confirmed victories in air to air combat.

index to the materials in the archive

Web site links for WW2 in the Pacific