No. 5 Squadron RNZAF

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A P-3K Orion maritime patrol aircraft of 5 Squadron in the 1980s

No. 5 Squadron RNZAF is a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, formed in November 1941 in Fiji, equipped with Vickers Vincents and Short Singapores. From the outbreak of hostilities with Japan the squadron operated on maritime patrol and anti-submarine duties, successfully attacking a submarine with the elderly Singapores. These types were superseded by Consolidated Catalinas, which added air-sea rescue capability. The Squadron moved from Fiji in late 1944 to operate between Espiritu Santo and the Admiralty Islands.

Following the war the squadron was re-equpped with 16 Short Sunderland MR5s and based at Lauthala Bay in Fiji, tasked with "maritime surveillance over the vast South Pacific Ocean, medical evacuation flights and communications flights for the colonial administrators". From 1965 the squadron relocated to Whenuapai, Auckland, to re-equip with Lockheed P3B Orions in the anti-submarine role. The squadron withdrew its last flight of Sunderlands from Lauthala Bay in 1967.

No. 5 Squadron won the Fincastle trophy for anti-submarine work on a number of occasions although in recent years focus has shifted from anti-submarine warfare to broader maritime patrol and search and rescue missions. The squadron is equipped with 6 Orions (6th frame purchased RAAF surplus).

The fleet was upgraded in the mid 1980s (Project Rigel) with a more modern radar (APS-134), a FLIR, a digital computing bus and electronic displays/information management system. They were subsequently redesignated P3K.

The aircraft have been deployed to assist international efforts on several occasions. From May 2003 - Feb 2004 a detachment operated in support of Operation Enduring Freedom by patrolling the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman.

In 2005 the first of the six P-3K Orions began being upgraded to the new P-3KII standard, modernising the avionics and mission systems. In January 2006 No. 5 Squadron conducted trials to prove the aircraft could operate from Antarctica. This is to better police illegal fishing, however the trial occurred at a time when New Zealand was under pressure to intervene in the increasingly dangerous dispute between Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd and Japanese commercial whaling ships. In 2006 an Orion was used to search for survivors on Raoul Island after a small volcanic eruption.