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Guest: Mike Harold (Chairman of The Phil Lamason Trust) Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎7th of October 2026 Released: 9th of October 2026 Duration: 2 hours 4 minutes 23 seconds Dave Homewood talks with Mike Harold of Dannevirke. Mike is the chairman of the Phil Lamason Trust, which is a group that is doing its best to ensure the memory of one of New Zealand’s bravest men is not forgotten. Squadron Leader Phil Lamason, DFC and Bar, was a pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War. After undertaking flight training in New Zealand, he was shipped to the UK and was attached to the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command. He flew his first tour of operations with No. 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron, RAF, on Vickers Wellingtons and Short Stirlings. He was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) while on this squadron and he managed to get his aircraft and crew back to the safety of England after it his Stirling suffered a bad fire in the air. His second tour was with No. 15 Squadron RAF, on Avro Lancasters. It was halfway through this tour that Phil’s aircraft was shot down while attacking railway yards in France. Managing to escape the stricken aeroplane and parachuting to safety, he was picked up by French Resistance workers and with his navigator Ken “Chappy” Chapman, he was passed off down the Comet Line, an escape route for downed airmen. However, unfortunately one of the contacts on the line was a doble-agent and they were handed over to the Gestapo. Following a bad stay at Fresne prison, Phil was among 168 downed airmen moved from there by train on a harrowing journey to a new prison – not a Prisoner of War camp as they’d hoped, but in fact Buchenwald concentration camp. By the time they arrived, Phil Lamason had already taken charge of the multi-national bunch of Allied airmen. Over the next two months he rallied his fellow captives, he made friends with other prisoners already there in Buchenwald, and he continued to stand is ground and challenge the Gestapo camp staff. His bravery kept the morale up among his men and almost all survived the ordeal by the time the Luftwaffe got wind that they were being illegally held there and got them moved to a regular P.O.W. camp. Mike Harold, who grew up as a neighbour to the Lamason family and knew Phil personally, tells his story in detail. He also talked about the books about Lamason and the new memorial to his memory and all the airmen who were held at Buchenwald, which is being unveiled in Dannevirke on the 28th of November 2026. Quick Links: •  The Phil Lamason Trust Official Website •  Phil Lamason on Facebook • Ric Martini’s site Buchenwald Airmen • WONZ 136 – Ric Martini on The Lost Airmen of Buchenwald • Mike Dorsey’s The Lost Airmen of Buchenwald on Facebook • Phil Lamason on Wikipedia • Allied Airmen at Buchenwald on Wikipedia • I Would Not Step Back by Hilary Pedersen and associated writers on Amazon • A One Way Trip graphic novel on Amazon

Guest: Chris Newey Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎28th of September 2026 Released: 1st of October 2026 Duration: 43 minutes Dave Homewood chats with Chris Newey about his latest book, Evader: On The Run In Wartime Europe – A Brief Account. The book focuses on the story of RNZAF pilot Ron Clark who was shot down in an Avro Lancaster bomber over occupied Europe. Landing by parachute on the Dutch-Belgian border, Ron was helped by locals and was put on the Belgian Lifeline, which was a network of brave people who assisted downed airman to get back to neutral and Allied territory. But unfortunately Ron was eventually betrayed to the Gestapo, and he ends up as a prisoner of war. Chris explained how this book came about: “In March 2020, NZ Bomber Command Association President Bruce Hebbard received an email from a Belgian woman, Evi Verhaert. The subject line read ‘How can I find relatives of a New Zealand aviator shot down in Belgium?’. Evi’s grandmother had guided a shot-down New Zealand pilot from one safe house to another in Antwerp in August 1944, when she was only 17 years old. Her father was a local organiser for ‘De Witte Brigade’, one of the Belgian underground organisations that helped run a sanctuary for evaders in thecellars of a bombed-out hospital. She delivered him safely to the care of the nuns who ran the hospital but never knew what happened to him after that. Over the years she had wondered, and had often told her children and grandchildren the story of “that New Zealand soldier”. Anna Julia “Julleke” Van Craen was by now 93 years old. With time on her hands during the COVID lockdown, Evi had offered to see if she could find him. A previously unseen document amongst her grandmother’s things named one of the hospital “refugees” as “Ronald Thomas Clark, Greystreet 27, Onehunga–Auckland”. She quickly found information online that appeared to confirm Clark had stayed at a hospital in Antwerp. Could we help find him or his family? Bruce passed the enquiry on to NZBCA Executive Officer (the late) Peter Wheeler who passed it on to me, as Ron Clark had served with 75 (NZ) Squadron, my specialist area. I knew a little bit about Ron’s story and had a connection; he was shot down on his very first “second dickey” op in Lancaster ND802 JN-D, the predecessor of my uncle’s Lancaster, HK601 JN-D. I was already in contact with the cousin of the pilot the night they were shot down. Sadly Frank Scott, from Christchurch, had been killed, along with Bomb Aimer Steve Cook from Invercargill, and Wireless Operator Ron Howson from Leicester. The other five survived. Author Max Lambert had written briefly about the incident in his book “Victory”, quoting from Ron Clark’s own account of that night. I emailed Max, who very kindly helped us obtain copies of Ron’s original POW Liberation and Escape & Evasion Reports. These provided further confirmation that Ron was in fact Julleke’s “soldier”. Sadly, we next found that Ron had died in October 2000, but through his funeral records were able to trace his family, in particular Christine, Ron’s oldest daughter and the family historian. Christine has carefully preserved all her father’s letters, photos and memorabilia and is very happy and proudto share them. She explained it was only in later years that Ron opened up about his dramatic wartime story, much to the family’s astonishment, and only then that he attempted to write it down. In 1991 he wrote his most detailed “brief account”, around which this book is based. It is an amazing story of evasion and survival, and one that has only become more fascinating as we have discovered more details through the many letters Ron received from his Belgian helpers after the war, throughdiaries and letters kept by his crewmates, through documents kept by Julleke and through our own research. Dutch aviation historian Henk Brul joined the team, helping us understand the crash and trace the surviving crew members’ evasion efforts. Then Evi made contact with a relative of one of the key DeWitte Brigade operatives who had written about the drama that was playing out behind the scenes as Ron Clark was passed along the compromised escape line. In 2025 I had the privilege of meeting Julleke, Evi and Henk, and of visiting the crash site and the graves of the three crewmates lost that night. Re-tracing Ron’s steps from Holland into Belgium, and eventually Antwerp, and talking with the Verhaert family helped me  understand something of the nightmare it must have been living under occupation. It has been six years. As the story grew it became clear that it needs to be told. As a record of the bravery and resilience of “that New Zealand soldier” and his crewmates, and as a tribute to the selfless bravery of the many unsung civilian heroes of the war, good people like Julleke and her family. Ron’s admiration and gratitude could be passed on, in his own words. Finally, we are able to give Julleke the full story of what became of her New Zealand soldier.“ EVADER – ‘A Brief Account’, by Chris Newey, with Evi Verhaert & Henk Brul Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aviation Books Limited, UK (25 August 2026)Paperback: ‎ 148 pagesISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1915335884ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915335883Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 0.8 cm •  The New Zealand Bomber Command Association •  The New Zealand Bomber Command Association Facebook Page By The Book Here •  Air Force Museum of New Zealand Shop  •  The Great British Book Shop •  Amazon The front cover of Evader The back cover Ron Clark’s POW photo taken at Dulag Luft-ID on the 13th of September 1944 No longer wondering what happened to her ‘soldier’. Julleke with her book, photographed on the 7th of September 2026. The music at the end of this episode is Wild Flower by Joachim Karud.

Guest: Wing Commander Donald Ferguson Fleming, retired, RNZAF, known as Don Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎22nd of January 2026 Released: 26th of September 2026 Duration: 2 hour 37 minutes 27 seconds Dave Homewood sits down with Don Fleming, who grew up in the wild back blocks of the Whanganui River in the 1930s and early 40s. He got interested in aviation while at New Plymouth Boy’s High School as a boarder. And he was inspired when Squadron Leader Bob McKay flew the country’s first jet, Gloster Meteor NZ6001, over his school. Don joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1950, hoping to become a pilot, but instead finding himself training as an engineer. After training he was posted to No. 75 Squadron who were still operating de Havilland Mosquitoes, but this did not last long because he swapped his posting with a friend, and he ended up on No. 14 Squadron RNZAF which had just been re-equipped with and were converting onto de Havilland Vampire jets. Don was on the Advanced Party of No. 14 Squadron when they deployed to Nicosia in Cyprus in October 1952, and he was assigned as the mechanic who looked after pilot Stuart McIntyre’s Vampire. He talks about life on the squadron at Cyprus, and the squadron’s Coronation tour in Africa. He tells how at the end of his Cyprus tour, a last minute decision to fly to England to meet the RNZAF Handley Page Hastings there and catch it to fly home (instead of waiting for it to reach Cyprus) nearly ended in disaster with him stuck there. But he ended up at Pembroke Dock in Wales where he joined the crew of newly purchased Short Sunderland MR.5 NZ4115, which was being ferried to New Zealand. He tells about how the hull was holed in Egypt and he had to find a way to stop water rushing in. And then further incidents along the trip to New Zealand. Don was commissioned and spent time as a Transport Officer at RNZAF Shelly Bay. During that time he studied by correspondence for a New Zealand Certificate in Engineering. He passed that and was then sent off by the RNZAF Engineering Branch to England for a post-gradate course at the College at RAF Henlow. Following the RAF course, Don was posted in as second-in-charge of the Airframe Reconditioning Squadron at No. 1 Repair Depot, RNZAF Base Woodbourne. He then did a crash course at No. 2 Technical Training School, Wigram, to refresh his avionics knowledge, before being sent to NAS Moffett Field in the USA where he joined the RNZAF team who were learning all about the Lockheed P-3B Orion. They were responsible for receiving the RNZAF’s new fleet of five Orions from Lockheed. Once the Orion mission was completed, Don was back at Whenuapai and posted to No. 40 Squadron, looking after the Lockheed C-130H Hercules. And then he was back to Wellington, working in Air Department. After three years at Air Department Don was planning to leave the RNZAF, but instead he found himself posted to London as the Engineer Officer representative. He was involved in overseeing the building of the BAC167 Strikemaster fleet and the Westland Wasps. He was at the launch of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s frigate HMNZS Canterbury and went on its sea trials with the Wasp Flight. When his London posting ended, Don returned to New Zealand as chief training officer of the RNZAF, looking after all the training and exams. He retired with the rank of Wing Commander in 1976, or 1977. When he left the RNZAF after more than quarter of a century, he went to work with U.E.B (United Empire Box), and he ended up managing and rescuing a paper bag factory in Wellington. Once he had put that factory back on it’s feet, he was then shifted to manage the Bremworth Carpet Mill. And then he was shifted again to manage Roxburgh Furniture, in Te Atatu. Don’s next role was heading up the textile and apparel trade training board. And he became trade training officer for the security guard industry. And then he joined Hawker Pacific as quality control manager and worked there for eleven years, till he retired in 1983. In retirement Don kept busy, serving for around a decade as a member of the Aeronautical Council of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and Chairman of the Auckland Branch of the RAeS. He also worked with for years with Geoff Rodliffe in building a replica of Richard Pearse’s Flyer, in association with MOTAT. They even took the aeroplane to England and displayed it with the engine running at Old Warden, and in Cornwall. Don also talks about working at Buckingham Palace Garden Parties, and working with Governor-General Sir Denis Blundall. The music at the end of this episode is Wild Flower by Joachim Karud. Don Fleming in January 2026

Guest: Squadron Leader Peter Pennell, retired, RNZAF Navigator Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎17th of August 2026 Released: 27th of August 2026 Duration: 1 hour 59 minutes 6 seconds Dave Homewood sits down with Peter Pennell, a former RNZAF Navigator, for a chat. Peter was posted straight from completion of his training at Wigram to England where he joined No. 75 Squadron RNZAF and began conversion to the English Electric Canberra bomber. The squadron then collected six Canberra B.2’s and ferried them to their new base at Tengah, Singapore. The unit replaced No. 14 Squadron and were soon involved in operations as part of the Malayan Emergency. Peter talks in detail and tells some classic stories about those days in Canberras, particularly with No. 75 Squadron in Singapore for 2.5 years, and also about his next posting to No. 14 Squadron back home at Ohakea in the Canberra B(I).12 bombers and T.13 trainers. Peter was again deployed to Singapore with the Canberras, this time on No. 14 Squadron during the Indonesian Confrontation. After a year with No. 14 Squadron, Peter was posted to the Transport Support Unit at RNZAF Station Whenuapai where he converted onto Bristol Freighter transport planes. Once trained up as a navigator on the Freighter, he was then posted to No. 41 Squadron RNZAF, and made his way back to Singapore. The squadron was flying in support of Australian and US forces in South East Asia. He had a stint in Douglas C-47 Dakotas of No. 42 Squadron next at Ohakea, and then was posted back to Whenuapai to a non-flying role in Base Operations. He ended up having control of every aircraft movement in the RNZAF throughout New Zealand and overseas. Peter tells some absolutely classic stories, and in detailed clarity. Air to air view of No. 75 Squadron Canberra WH739 dropping bombs over Malaya.These are the first bombs dropped by No. 75 Squadron in the Malaya Emergency. Photo taken by Peter Pennell from the lead Canberra. Air Force Museum of New Zealand photo DPRSEA228-58. Above: Peter Pennell The music at the end of this episode is Wild Flower by Joachim Karud.

Guest: Dr. Dan Ellin of the International Bomber Command Centre, and Andrew Panton of the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at East Kirkby Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎28th of July 2026 Released: 21st of August 2026 Duration: 58 minutes 56 seconds Lincolnshire is Bomber County, remembered as the heart and home of RAF Bomber Command in WWII (even though a lot of Bomber Command stations were also situated in Cambridgeshire, Yorkshire and beyond, too.) In this episode Dave Homewood revisited the amazing Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at East Kirkby in Lincolnshire with Dr. Dan Ellin of the International Bomber Command Centre, which is based in Lincoln. Dan, who was last on the WONZ Show three years ago, updates Dave on everything that is now happening at the of the International Bomber Command Centre’s archive. This is an amazing and ever growing collection of Bomber Command photos, logbooks, documents and ephemera. And Dave and Dan then caught up with Andrew Panton, the General Manager of the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre. Andrew gives an update on the different things happening around the museum, including the restoration on Lancaster ‘Just Jane’, as well as plans to expand the collection and to build a new hangar and display building. He also talks about the recent visit of the Avro Anson Mk. 1 which used to be in New Zealand. Andrew also talks about their then-upcoming airshow (which took place on the 1st of August.) Quick Links: •  The International Bomber Command Centre •  The IBCC Digital Archive •  The Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby Previous WONZ Show Episodes •  WONZ 285 Andrew Panton on East Kirkby •  WONZ 286 Dr Dan Ellin at the International Bomber Command Centre The music at the end of this episode is Wild Flower by Joachim Karud. Dr Dan Ellin watching Lancaster ‘Just Jane’ complete her taxi run.

Guest: Paul Waite of the Tangmere Aviation Museum Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎18th of July 2026 Released: 15th of August 2026 Duration: 53 minutes 25 seconds In this episode Dave Homewood visits the Tangmere Aviation Museum and he speaks with the museum manager Paul Waite. The museum is situated on the former RAF Tangmere airfield, famous as a front line station in the defence of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain, and as a base for numerous Fighter Command an No. 2 Tactical Air Force squadrons taking the offensive back to the Germans thereafter. In the postwar years it also became the base of the High Speed Flight of the Central Fighter Establishment, whose pilots set some of the world speed records of the 1950s. Paul Waite outside the Tangmere Aviation Museum. Quick Links: •  Tangmere Aviation Museum Website •  Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Community on Facebook •  Tangmere Aviation Museum – Founder’s Page The music at the end of this episode is Wild Flower by Joachim Karud.

Guest: Howard Heeley Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎15th of July 2026 Released: 9th of August 2026 Duration: 1 hour 56 minutes 54 seconds In this episode Dave Homewood visits the Newark Air Museum, at former RAF Winthorpe, situated at Coddington, just outside of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire. Dave was hosted by Howard Heeley, Secretary & Museum Trustee, who has had a long affiliation with the museum, and was the perfect person to talk about the history of the site and the collection, and the current and future happenings there. The Newark Air Museum has an amazing collection of military and civilian aeroplanes and helicopters, and tells the story of aviation in Nottinghamshire, Britain and beyond. It also honours the wartime and postwar crews who trained on the site, former RAF Winthorpe, and the sacrifices they made. The following photos taken on the day by Dave Homewood are laid out below in the order of how the exhibits are discussed in the podcast so you can follow along with visuals as you listen. Howard Heeley with the English Electric Lightning (Photo supplied) The RAF Winthorpe Memorial Garden Blue Steel in the workshop. This was a British air-launched, rocket-propelled nuclear armed standoff missile, built to arm the V bomber force.  Hangar OneStarting with the Lee-Richards Annular Biplane replica that was constructed for the film Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. A rare General Aircraft Monospar VH-UTH The unique Reid & Sigrist RS.4 Bobsleigh (Desford) The Avro Anson, behind the Taylor Monoplane. Saab Viggen Above: The Upkeep mine that was recovered from Reculver, in Kent, where the weapon was tested before sed on the Dams Raid in 1943. WW1 heritage items The ‘Half and Half’ Tiger Moth with half the skin off to show the construction of the aeroplane. The Gnome with a watering can, inside the SAAB Viggen The famous prototype Taylor Monoplane, built by John Taylor in his living room. The Clutton Fred, G-BJAD de Havilland Sea Venom FAW.21 The Zurowski ZP.1 helicopter Hawker Seahawk FB.3 The SAAB Safir Parts recovered from the crash site of Avro Lancaster ME846. A wall dedicated to the memory of the crew of Lancaster ME486. The plaque create by the Dutch resistance members. The propeller from No. 617 Squadron pilot P/O Lewis Burpee’s Lancaster, ED865 (AJ-S), shot down on its way to Germany during the Dams Raid. All aboard were killed. A section of original Avro Lancaster, W4964. The Saunders-Roe (SARO) Skeeter AOP.12 military helicopter XL764, which Howard admits he owned himself as a 21-year-old. Below Left and Centre: Two-seat de Havilland NF.3 Venom. Below Left: de Havilland Vampire T.11. MBA Tiger Cub 440 The Avro Vulcan Howard Heeley with the Vulcan (Photo supplied) The e Havilland Heron airliner, ‘Sir James Young Simpson’. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23ML “Flogger” and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-27K “Flogger” Hangar Two Gloster “Prone Pilot” Meteor F8  Gloster Meteor FR.9 (Mod) The Hawker Siddeley Dominie T1 The Folland Gnat and the BAC Jet Provost SAAB Viggen AJSH 37 BAe Sea Harrier FRS.1 / FA.2, ZA176 Avro Shackleton MR.3/3 Lockeed TriStar SIM (cockpit) Sud Puma HC.1 XW208 Handley Page Hastings T.5, TG517 English Electric Canberra T.19 Radar Trainer, WH904 Blackburn Buccaneer S.1 Cessna 310, right, and MS.880 Rallye de Havilland Dove North American Harvard The Avro Ashton fuselage Westland Wessex More Photos at the Newark Air Museum Quick Links: •  Newark Air Museum’s Website •  Newark Air Museum Facebook Group The music at the end of this episode is Wild Flower by Joachim Karud.

Guest: Clive Woodward Estcourt NZ391045, Pilot, Bomb Aimer (14th of October 1917 – 17th of Aug 2017 ) Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎13th of August 2013 Released: 9th of August 2026 Duration: 2 hour 33 minutes 11 seconds Clive Estcourt had been a commercial artist and signwriter in Hamilton in 1939 when the war broke out, and he immediately volunteered to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force. He was sent to the newly-opened RNZAF Station Ohakea in the Manawatu region, and became one of the very first airmen posted into that base after it opened on the 18th of September 1939. He thought when he first joined that he was going to fly aeroplanes…. they made him the station postman! He soon was sidelined to become Ohakea’s station signwriter. He was able to set up his own workshop to make all the signs on the ever-expanding station. But he was still wanting to become a pilot however, and eventually in 1942 he managed to convince the RNZAF to post him to an aircrew course, starting at RNZAF Station Rotorua for his Initial Training Wing course. He then underwent flying training on Tiger Moths at No. 3 Elementary Flying Training School, at RNZAF Station Harewood. He was then sent to Canada to continue his training in October 1942, where he continued training at RCAF Dunnville flying Harvards. But this training did not go well, and he ended up getting getting the chop from the course. Clive was remustered to Observer trade, and completed his training in Canada, before being sent to Britain where he crewed up at No. 11 Operational Training Unit, Westcott. Clive suffered a severe mishap at the OTU and was forced to bail out, which he details, and was forced to do the course again. He was then posted to No. 75 (NZ) Squadron with his almost all-New Zealand crew, consisting of: Captain – Pilot Officer John Rees “Aussie” Layton DFC, RNZAF (NZ425914) Navigator – Flight Sergeant John Christie, RNZAF (NZ4212829), aka Jack, aka BenAir Bomber – Warrant Officer Clive Woodward Estcourt, RNZAF (NZ391045)Wireless Operator/Air Gunner – Flight Sergeant Ta Tio Tuaine “Tai” Nicholas, RNZAF (NZ425658) Mid-Upper Gunner – Flight Sergeant David Onslow Light, RNZAF (NZ4212848)Rear Gunner – Flight Sergeant Leslie Dixon Moore, RNZAF (NZ421327)Flight Engineer – Sergeant F. Samuel, RAFVR After one and a half months at RAF Mepal with the New Zealand squadron, Clive and his crew were selected to be posted from No. 75 (NZ) Squadron to No. 7 Squadron Pathfinder Force at RAF Oakington. They were on Pathfinder operations from October 1944 through till February 1945. During the tour with No. 7 Squadron PFF, the Navigator John Christie was badly injured in a motorcycle accident and he was replaced by:Navigator – Sergeant. Lloyd Edward Anger, RCAF (R200903) However, due to a non-operational error by the captain when he failed to turn up for a briefing, the strict command chain in PFF saw the crew sent back to No. 75 (NZ) Squadron without completing the PFF tour. This included Lloyd Anger who stayed with the crew. They carried on with the New Zealand squadron through February and March 1945 till the original members of the crew were tour expired. Clive completed 36 operational sorties over enemy territory in total, plus several other OTU flights close to enemy territory as well where they were creating a diversion to confuse German defences. Once he completed operational flying he became an instructor at No. 17 Operational Training Unit at Silverstone and Turweston. Postwar, Clive returned to New Zealand and was a member of a Light Anti-Aircraft unit in the Territorial Air Force in Auckland, before becoming the Adjutant of No. 7 Squadron Air Training Corps in Hamilton for 17 years. He was very active in the RNZAF Association, and as a special associate member of the Mess at RNZAF Te Rapa, Hamilton, till its closure. Clive was one of the New Zealand Bomber Command veterans who was selected to be flown to London for the unveiling of the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park, on the 28th of June 2012. He was the oldest veteran in the New Zealand party, aged 95. Clive passed away on the 17th of Aug 2017, two months before his 100th birthday. Clive Estcourt with his “Memory Lane” as he called it, with his favourite photos and model Lancaster. Above: Clive Estcourt during WWII. Below: Photo from RNZAF Station Ohakea in 1939. Below: Ohakea, 1940. Clive is second from left. Below: Sports at Ohakea (1939-1942). Clive seated left. Airspeed Oxfords behind. Below: Aircrew training at RNZAF Station Harewood, Christchurch. Below: Training in Canada. Below: At Westcott, England. Below: Photos of Clive and his crew taken at No. 1657 Heavy Conversion Unit, RAF Shepherd’s Grove, before they were posted to No. 75 (NZ) Squadron. Below: Target photos from operations Clive and his crew undertook, Below: Postwar photos, including with the LAA Flight Note: This episode ends abruptly simply because that is how the original recording was. The music at the end of this episode is Wild Flower by Joachim Karud.

Guests: Don Simms and Chris Newey Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎1st of June ‎2026 Released: 6th of June 2026 Duration: 55 minutes 27 seconds “Maximum Effort” was a docu-drama made by the Ministry of Information during WWII about a crew of a No. 75 (NZ) Squadron Avro Lancaster bomber based at RAF Mepal in mid-1944. In this episode Dave Homewood, Don Simms and Chris Newey discuss the making of this film, the real life characters who appear as themselves, and the Lancaster that is featured, ND752. Portions of the original film footage, along with original black and white and recently colourised photographs are used to illustrate the discussion. This all-but-forgotten film is an amazing time capsule showing life at RAF Mepal, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, which became a little bit of New Zealand back in 1944-45. NOTE: It is recommended that you watch the original 18 minute “Maximum Effort” first, and the watch the WONZ 354 Maximum Effort video. There is an audio podcast version of the latter but the video is much more satisfying. Above: Avro Lancaster ND752 of No. 75 (NZ) Squadron as features in Maximum Effort, as the Whitting Crew’s regular aircraft. This is a colourisation from an original black and white from the collection of the late Bomb Aimer and New Zealand Bomber Command Association President Ron Mayhill DFC. Quick Links: •  The Air Force Museum of New Zealand •  The Museum of Transport and Technology – Home of the New Zealand Lancaster •  The New Zealand Bomber Command Association •  The New Zealand Bomber Command Association Facebook Page Footage and original soundtrack used from Maximum Effort in this podcast are Crown Copyright but are in the Public Domain. These clips are used here only to illustrate the narrative of the podcast. Below are other publicity stills from the film, which have been colourised by Dave Homewood using a mix of ChatGPT and Photoshop, as seen in the WONZ Show video episode. The original monochrome images came from the Air Force Museum of New Zealand collection, but will have been Crown Copyright images, and are therefore in the public domain.

Guest: Flying Officer John de Hoop (RAF 1810752, 191161) Wireless Operator-Air Gunner Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎19th of November 2013 Released: 29th of May 2026 Duration: 1 hour 6 minutes 13 seconds John de Hoop was a Londoner who joined the Royal Air Force in 1943, and trained as a Wireless Operator-Air Gunner. The following year he was posted to No. 75 (NZ) Squadron at RAF Mepal, as a Wireless Operator on Avro Lancasters, in the crew captained by New Zealand pilot F/Lt Wylie Wakelin DFC. His final few ops were flown with S/Ldr Bob Rodgers as his captain. This recording was made at the time using Skype, as John lived in the UK. It was recorded as part of a wider WONZ Show project I was working on at the time that ended up not proceeding to completion. So it seems like it’s about time to share it with listeners. John passed away on the 7th of August 2016. John de Hoop (Photo via Dee Boneham) Two more photos of John, from Dee Boneham. Quick Links: •  John de Hoop obituary on the 75 (NZ) Squadron Blog •  The Wylie Wakelin Crew on the 75 (NZ) Squadron Blog •  The Bob Rodgers Crew on the 75 (NZ) Squadron Blog The music at the end of this episode is Wild Flower by Joachim Karud.

Guest: Warrant Officer Leslie James Olsen N74992 Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎18th of March ‎2026 Released: 24th of May 2026 Duration: 1 hour 55 minutes 48 seconds Les Olsen joined the RNZAF as a Boy Entrant in January 1952. He trained as an Armourer in 1953, and ended up [...]

Guest: Air Commodore Stuart McIntyre CBE, DFC Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎25th of ‎August ‎2025 Released: 15th of May 2026 Duration: 1 hour 2 minutes 21 seconds Air Commodore Stuart McIntyre CBE, DFC joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force on the 31st of August 1949. Following an elongated [...]

Guest Speakers: Brendon Deere, Tim Costley MP, SQN LDR Craig Clark, FLT LT Stu Glendinning, Roger Dalziell, and SQN LDR Michael Williams Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎28th of February 2026 Released: 9th of May 2026 Duration: 3 hours 14 minutes 55 seconds In this bumper-sized 350th episode in the Wings Over New Zealand [...]

Guests: Bil Thuma, Don O’Rorke, Arthur Palmer and Dave O’Malley Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎24th of ‎March ‎2026 Released: 14th of April 2026 Duration: 57 minutes 40 seconds A search is currently underway with the aim of locating the remains of a missing Lockheed Ventura, AE665, which vanished in WWII off the eastern [...]

Guest: Wing Commander Barry “Patch” Nelson Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: ‎29th of ‎December ‎2025 Released: 1st of March 2026 Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes 26 seconds Have you ever wondered what is involved when a new aircraft type is selected for service in the Royal New Zealand Air Force? In this [...]