A fragment of aircraft fuselage known to a few, serves as a poignant reminder of a wartime training accident that took place more than 80 years ago.
The fragment is believed to be from a Kittyhawk fighter aircraft that crashed in 1943 during a routine Royal New Zealand Air Force training exercise. The pilot reportedly encountered difficulties while manoeuvring over the steep ridge behind Skerretts Creek, resulting in the aircraft’s demise in the rugged Wainuiomata terrain.
Since then, the crash site has not remained static. Floodwaters, river shifts, and landslides have repeatedly displaced the scattered wreckage throughout the valley. This slow, natural redistribution of debris has made the site difficult to locate and study in detail, with fragments appearing in new places over the decades.
The ongoing movement of the wreckage is a powerful reflection of the dynamic landscape of the Wainuiomata valley. It also serves as a silent tribute to the region’s aviation history, where traces of the past endure not only in the stories of the people, but in the land itself.
As pieces continue to emerge, the story of the 1943 Kittyhawk remains an evocative chapter in Wainuiomata’s lesser-known wartime heritage.
