SIX ZEROS SHOT DOWN

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23977, 18 June 1943, Page 6

SIX ZEROS SHOT DOWN

N.Z. Fighter Pilots’ Success RUSSELL ISLANDS ENGAGEMENT From Our Parliamentary Reporter WELLINGTON, June 17. New Zealand fighter pilots were in the thick of a furious dog-fight near .the Russell Islands, in the Solomons, when Allied aircraft intercepted a large force of Japanese Zero fighters last week, said the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) to-day. During an intense engagement, R.N.Z.A.F. fighter pilots were responsible for shooting down six Zeros. In all, seven New Zealand fighters participated in the engagement, and by destroying six Zeros they brought the score of enemy aircraft shot down by the R.N.Z.A.F. squadron operating in the Solomons area to 13, two of which have been shot down by New Zealand reconnaissance bombers. “One New Zealander has been reported missing in all these actions," said the Prime Minister. “Members of the R.N.Z.A.F. fighter squadron have won a high reputation for themselves since their arrival in the forward area,” said Mr Fraser. ‘A few of the pilots in our fighter squadron are veterans of air battles over Europe, one of whom has added at least two Zeros to his list of German aircraft destroyed, but the great majority of our fighter pilots are entirely New Zealand-trained and their success has been due in no small measure to the efficiency of their operational training in the Dominion. “The first R.N.Z.A.F. units in the combat zone of the south Pacific were bomber reconnaissance squadrons. They have established a fine reputation, which is now shared by the fighter squadrons.”