Single malt salute for fallen Air Force

94-year-old Jack Meehan helped off the helicopter by crewman Warrant Officer Whatarangi Heke. Photo / Ruth Keber

Bottles of special whisky will be auctioned tonight to mark the retirement of the Iroquois helicopter fleet and raise money for families of people killed while serving in the Air Force.

During tonight's auction at Ohakea, near Palmerston North, fourteen bottles will go under the hammer - one for each of the Iroquois being decommissioned on July 1.

Each bottle was boxed and labelled with a tailored design, showcasing the airport and its tail number.

The Oamaru-based New Zealand Whisky Company will present 16 bottles of the 25 year-old single malt whisky to the Air Force.

"14 are being auctioned and two are being held back by the military to respect [the] aircraft that went down on the Kapiti Coast in Anzac Day 2010," the company's operations manager Grant Finn said.

Proceeds from the auction will go to the Missing Wingman Trust.

Each bottle was boxed and labelled with a tailored design, showcasing the airport and its tail number.

Auction winners will also get an enclosed personalised history of the aircraft, with details including notable events in the helicopter's service career.

Mr Finn said the occasion was a "unique" event to mark the retirement of the Iroquois fleet, honour those killed in the 2010 crash, and raise funds for the Trust.

Mr Finn said Sergeant Stefan Sloan of the Air Force approached the New Zealand Whisky Company with the idea.

The Iroquois entered service nearly half a century ago and were used in tactical air transport, counter-terrorism, humanitarian aid and disaster relief, and search and rescue operations.

A Defence Force spokeswoman said people who had worked with the Iroquois or had a special connection to the choppers would be present at Ohakea tonight.

An Iroquois crashed at Pukerua Bay north of Wellington on Anzac Day 2010. Another crashed in the Kaipara area in 1972.