The Royal New Zealand Air Force had only one squadron, the 488, in the Pacific when the war on that front began, its pilots also formed the core of the RAF units based in Malaya and Singapore, when the Japanese attacked, the slow and poorly armed Buffalos dropped like flies, the surviving pilots managed to be evacuated on the last transport that left the port, but when they arrived back to Auclkand, they found that there were no planes, temporarily they received a few Harvards, little by little P-40Es were received to form the squadron, which remained in New Zealand to provide air defense to the territory, the raid on Darwin had just passed and an attack on New Zealand was feared, the days passed and the situation improved, by October 1942, the 15 Squadron took charge of the defense of Tonga, receiving the planes left there by the 68 PS of the USAAF.
By March 1943 it was considered that New Zealand pilots were fit for the heavy fighting over Guadalcanal and 15 Sqn was sent to reinforce American units in the area, fighting until June when 14 Sqn, released from air defence duties in New Zealand and rotated to the front, took part in some of the heaviest air combat of the campaign, covered the landings at New Georgia and frequent patrols over Rendova, was replaced by 16 Sqn and returned home to resume defence duties.
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