Biggin Hill Trust's Mustang is one of only two remaining of the 30 built in the US for use at the end of World War II. They were meant to be flown over Europe, but the war ended before they arrived. Photo / Gavin Conroy
Biggin Hill Trust's Mustang is one of only two remaining of the 30 built in the US for use at the end of World War II. They were meant to be flown over Europe, but the war ended before they arrived. Photo / Gavin Conroy
The journey of New Zealand’s only active combat Mustang aircraft is shared in a new book written by Brendon Deere of the Biggin Hill Trust.
The Biggin Hill Trust was set up in 2020 by honorary group captain Deere and his wife, Shirley, to preserve New Zealand’s military aviation heritage.
The trust has a two-hangar facility at Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Base Ōhakea that has New Zealand’s largest collection of flying World War II vintage combat aircraft.
Its collection includes a 1944 Supermarine Spitfire, 1943 North American Harvard, 1945 Grumman Avenger and, most recently, a 1945 North American P-51D Mustang.
In 2024, Deere donated all the aircraft to the trust so it could continue in the future.
“These aircraft effectively now belong to New Zealand, that’s the way we look at it. We have no interest in selling or sending them off overseas or anything,” he said.
“I’d like to think that in 50 years somebody can come here and still see them – that’s the plan.”
In 2020, the trust recovered the Mustang and worked for three and a half years to restore it to its original condition.
The core project team of five worked an estimated 12,000 man-hours to complete the restoration.
The Mustang’s first flight since restoration was in November 2023, and it has since completed about 35 hours of flying time.
“It’s going really well. It’s had so little use through its history from the day it was first flown at the factory until now; it’s less than 300 hours,” Deere said.
It was originally built in a factory in Dallas, Texas.
“The combination of the American airframe and the British engine made it a magnificent aircraft, there’s no question about it,” Deere said.
“The fuel capacity was one of the big strong points of the Mustang. It could go a long way, and the armament was very effective for what they had to do.”
Author Brendon Deere's book “Mustang: Return to Flight” shares the story of New Zealand’s last surviving World War II Mustang. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
It was one of 30 Mustangs built to send to Europe towards the end of WWII, but the war ended before they arrived.
“They had no use for them, so they put them into storage at [RNZAF Base Auckland] Hobsonville for seven years. This one was in storage for nine years,” Deere said.
In 1955, it was transferred to Ōhakea to No 42 Squadron for fighter affiliation, drogue (or target) towing, communication and continuation flying before retiring in 1957 as the last RNZAF Mustang in service.
The following year, it was sold for scrap to Bill Ruffell in Blenheim, who intended to use the engine for a speedboat.
That never happened and, in 1964, it was sold to aircraft collector John Smith, based in Mapua.
The Mustang remained in his shed for more than 50 years until he died in 2019. His brother George sold it to Deere in 2020.
“[George] wanted to see this one fly and to stay in New Zealand. We met both conditions,” Deere said.
The restoration began shortly after, with a big part being rebuilding the wings and skinning.
Deere said the team’s previous Spitfire restoration taught them patience and the importance of planning every little task to minimise the surprises that inevitably arrived.
“A lot of aircraft restoration projects fall over because people are too optimistic and think they can do it in a year, but it takes six, 10 or 20 years instead.
“The average Spitfire project is probably 25 years. We did ours in five.”
He described the Mustang as “the lucky one” and said its 80-year journey was impressive.
Of the 30 Mustangs that left the US, 29 unloaded successfully, 19 survived for disposal, and two survived entirely.
The other intact one is now in the US.
“It was luck that the boat plan never proceeded, it was luck that it went to John Smith because he preserved everything, his intentions were pure for nearly 60 years – it survived all of that,” Deere said.
The trust’s aircraft each have roughly 20 hours of flight time a year and are in action, in conjunction with the RNZAF, for events such as Anzac Day, Remembrance Day, air force graduations and air shows in Wānaka, Napier and Tauranga.
The Mustang will next be on show at the Marton Christmas Parade on December 7.
“We have a great relationship with the RNZAF. I think there’s a lovely synergy with the modern stuff versus the old stuff: we filled the gap with the old and it complements the modern,” Deere said.
“Being here in Ōhakea means we have a wonderful operational environment. It couldn’t be better.”
Deere’s hardcover book Mustang: Return to Flight, published today, shares the aircraft’s incredible journey.
After the success of his previous book, Spitfire: Return to Flight, published in 2010, Deere was encouraged to write about the Mustang.
He was excited to share never-before-seen photographs and the journey the Mustang had been through.
