Fighting Spirit: 75 Years of the RNZAF

Marking the 75th anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Airforce Fighting Spirit celebrates the history of the RNZAF’s history and can-do nature which have given it a distinctive culture, much admired in New Zealand and around the world.

On the 14th March Fighting Spirit was launched at Parliament House as part of the Royal New Zealand Air Forces 75th anniversary celebrations. This major new history captures the way in which politics, people and machines have been interwoven through the years to develop the RNZAF as it is today.

 Fighting Spirit traces the broad sweep of the air force from the early 20th century to the first decade of the 21st, and extends beyond the romance of early military aviation and the drama of World War II to describe the diversity of roles it has undertaken in recent decades.

About the author:

Margaret McClure is a public historian who was commissioned to write this book by the Ministry for Culture & Heritage and the RNZAF. Her first book, The Story of Birkenhead in 1988 was joint winner of the J.M Sherrard Award for Regional History. Since then she has published widely in the fields of social history and the history of government policy. Her major publications include A Civilised Community: A History of Social Security in New Zealand (Auckland University Press, 1998) and The Wonder Country: Making Tourism in New Zealand (Auckland University Press, 2004).