Hi all,
Here's a little something I put together over the last two weekends:
Jaguars of the RNZAFNigeria ordered 13 single-seat SN and 5 two-seat BN variants, as well as an option on 18 more Jaguars (six with Agave radar); BAe was due to deliver the first of the 18 in May 1984. However a coup by rogue military leaders that January deposed the government, and the subsequent embargo imposed on the now-Communist country meant the Jaguar deal was impossible and that the airframes would remain in the UK.
Around this time, the government of New Zealand was looking at options for its fleet of nearly-15-year-old McDonnell-Douglas A-4K Skyhawk fighter-bombers and TA-4K trainers. Two courses of action were being explored: upgrading and essentially remanufacturing the existing fleet (and purchasing additional A-4G airframes from Royal Australian Navy); and purchasing new aircraft. Types examined included the Lockheed F-16, McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 (recently announced as the RAAF’s new machine) and the Jaguar.
Investing in the F/A-18 and sharing a common fleet with Australia was a favoured option however the price was prohibitive and quickly put aside. Although the F-16 was also attractive, the RNZAF top brass had received glowing reports from exchange pilots about the Jaguar. Once BAe heard that Jaguar was an option for New Zealand, the company created a package deal involving the Nigerian airframes and a batch of Hawk trainers to replace the RNZAF’s aging Strikemaster fleet.
Although the upgrade and remanufacture of the Skyhawks was projected to be cheaper, RNZAF submitted that it would be better in the long run to retire the Skyhawks. In September 1984 the New Zealand Government approved the purchase of 12 Jaguar SK (effectively the RAF’s GR.1 but optimised for the RNZAF’s mainly US-based weapons) and four Jaguar BK (equivalent to the T.2 trainer) and took an option on a further 4 SK airframes and six MK with the Agave radar and Sea Eagle missiles for anti-ship missions. 75 Squadron would be the only unit equipped with the type, the aircraft being serialled in the NZ64xx (SK) and NZ645x (BK) blocks.
After the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior was bombed and sunk by French agents in Auckland Harbour in July 1985, public outcry and anti-French sentiment led to a public assurance by BAe and the RNZAF that none of the Jaguars would contain any components made in France. This meant the proposed Jaguar MK purchase was put on hold until a radar to replace the Thomson Agave could be found. The controversy led to a significant delay as BAe remanufactured existing components built in France and the first Jaguars – two SK and one BK – arrived at RNZAF Base Whenuapai after ferry from the UK on February 15, 1986. Delivery of the fleet was completed by December that year.
Pilots of 75 Squadron received conversion training at Lossiemouth in Scotland with the RAF’s 226 Operational Conversion Unit and the surviving Skyhawks were operated alongside the new machines at RNZAF Base Ohakea until their formal retirement on December 12 1986. The first RNZAF pilots to be trained solely in New Zealand on the Jaguar BK graduated the following year.
Pilots enjoyed flying the Jaguar and they were popular with the service’s engineering corps, however the lack of anti-ship capability quickly became a sore point with the unit’s commanders. As a result in 1989 they petitioned the head of the RNZAF to take up the option for the maritime variant, the MK. The Government agreed there was such a need – until then the only dedicated anti-ship weapon in the arsenal was the Harpoon missile carried by P-3K Orions – and ordered six MK airframes with the Westinghouse AN/APG-66NZ in place of the French Agave. Four additional SK were also purchased, as were several Sea Eagle missiles to equip them.
In early 1990 2 Squadron was reformed to operate the new aircraft as well as two each BK trainers and SK single-seaters transferred from 75Sqn. The operation of two combat squadrons meant that more of the country could be covered, necessitating two separate bases. With this in mind, the decision was made to base 2Sqn at Ohakea and relocate 75Sqn at RNZAF Woodbourne, near Blenheim. This marked the first time 75Sqn had been permanently based at a site other than Ohakea since it was formed in the 1940s and was initially an unpopular move among crews. However as 2Sqn’s key role would be maritime strike 75’s crews accepted that the move to Ohakea, being located closer to the inbound sea lanes and disputed fishery areas, made strategic sense.
In late 2006 the RNZAF approached the Government to explore options for replacing the Jaguars as, although they had given sterling service and performed well, the airframes were beginning to show their age. In addition, with the announcement that the RAF would retire its own Jaguar fleet by 2012 spares support from BAe was drastically curtailed. Once again the concept of a common Australia-New Zealand fleet was being looked at as the RNZAF’s preferred Jaguar replacement – the Boeing Super Hornet – was ordered by the RAAF in 2007 to take over from the F-111. On April 2 2009 the NZ Government signed a deal with Boeing for 16 F/A-18Fs (eight for each squadron), the first aircraft arriving in late 2010.
The Jaguar fleet was formally retired on February 6, 2012 after the final F/A-18Fs were delivered to Ohakea. Some examples of the British jet were donated to museums around New Zealand but the majority were scrapped, although a handful of stripped nose sections were preserved by private collectors.
MODEL SERIAL HISTORY
SK NZ6401 del 15/02/86. On display MOTAT, Auckland.
“ NZ6402 del 15/02/86. Scrapped at Woodbourne 2012.
“ NZ6403 del 25/03/86. Crashed in sea near New Plymouth 05/07/1989, pilot ejected.
“ NZ6404 del 25/03/86. On display at Classic Flyers Museum, Tauranga.
“ NZ6405 del 25/03/86. Scrapped at Woodbourne 2013, nose preserved.
“ NZ6406 del 11/04/86. To 2Sqn 01/02/90. Scrapped at Ohakea 2012.
“ NZ6407 del 11/04/86. Scrapped at Woodbourne 2012.
“ NZ6408 del 30/04/86. Instructional airframe at Woodbourne.
“ NZ6409 del 30/04/86. Scrapped at Woodbourne 2013.
“ NZ6410 del 30/04/86. Crashed in farmland near Ohakea 16/03/1996, pilot killed.
“ NZ6411 del 02/05/86. On display at RNZAF Museum, Wigram. Last RNZAF Jaguar flight 08/09/2012.
“ NZ6412 del 02/05/86. Scrapped at Woodbourne 2012.
“ NZ6413 del 08/11/89. Crashed in Auckland Harbour 14/09/2005, pilot ejected.
“ NZ6414 del 08/11/89. To 2Sqn 01/02/90. Scrapped at Ohakea 2014, nose preserved.
“ NZ6415 del 23/11/89. Gate guard at Woodbourne.
“ NZ6416 del 09/12/89. Used for spares to rebuild NZ6451, remains later scrapped.
MK NZ6430 del 08/11/89. To 2Sqn 01/02/90. Scrapped at Ohakea 2013.
“ NZ6431 del 23/11/89. To 2Sqn 01/02/90. Scrapped at Ohakea 2013.
“ NZ6432 del 09/12/89. To 2Sqn 01/02/90. Crashed near Nowra, NSW 23/05/2002, pilot ejected.
“ NZ6433 del 22/12/89. To 2Sqn 01/02/90. Scrapped at Ohakea 2014.
“ NZ6434 del 22/12/89. To 2Sqn 01/02/90. Scrapped at Ohakea 2012.
“ NZ6345 del 22/12/89. To 2Sqn 01/02/90. Scrapped at Ohakea 2014.
BK NZ6451 del 15/02/86. Landing crash at Woodbourne 15/04/1990, f/f/r 20/02/1992.
“ NZ6452 del 25/03/86. To 2Sqn 01/02/90. Scrapped at Ohakea 2014, nose preserved.
“ NZ6453 del 11/04/86. On display at RNZAF Museum, Wigram.
“ NZ6454 del 02/05/86. To 2Sqn 01/02/90. Gate guard at Ohakea
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This is the old Hasegawa kit with Sidewinders from my spares, Italeri Jag tanks, an F-15 tank for the new nose, and a mix of kit, Ventura and OldModels decals. I dunno about you, but this looks rather nice to me in our colours! For the camo I took the real-world Nigerian scheme and swapped out the tan for Dark Grey, like the RNZAF did when it repainted its SEA-schemed A-4s in the mid-80s.
Enjoy!
