Some interesting bits of information in this article
Richie McCaw becomes Air Force squadron leader | Stuff.co.nz
"the 74-test veteran has accepted a request by the RNZAF to become an honorary squadron leader until December 31, 2011. "
" The position is fitting for McCaw, who is proudly following in the jetstream of his late grandfather Jim McCaw who was a RNZAF fighter pilot during World War II.
"We had a pretty good relationship. I learnt to fly in the same place as he learnt to fly and he used to tell me stories about the war all the time," McCaw told the TimesOnline in 2006.
In 1944 McCaw senior saved countless Londoners' lives by shooting down German V1 rockets and when he ran out of ammunition bravely risked his life by bumping missiles off-target using the wing-tip of his Hawker Tempest MK5.
He was credited with 19 1/2 "kills" and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his attacks on German-controlled railways and missions over sea which saw 73 ships destroyed."
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