Home»All Photographs»Life in New Zealand»D-Day Anniversary: NZ Warbirds 1955-2014

On 6 June, 1944, the largest seaborne invasion in history began, undertaken by the allied forces including the United States, Britain, and Canada. The invasion, commencing on what was code-named D-Day, began with an amphibious landing preceded by an airborne assault and naval bombardment.

The purpose of the invasion was to re-establish allied ground forces in western Europe, subsequently enabling the defeat of NAZI Germany in 1945 as allied Soviet forces joined from the east. (“Normandy landings,” 2014)

On June 1, 2014, NZ Warbirds and the NZ Military Reenactment Society conducted this re-enactment of one scene from the D-Day invasion. A Rolls-Royce Supermarine Spitfire joins the skies for the aerial assault along with several other historic airplanes and vehicles from WW-II.

Embedded with the invasion force, Peter “JXN” Mellalieu presents his photographs and newsreels from the first day of action.

For video footage from this event, see:
Mellalieu, P. J. (2014, June 3). D-Day 70th Anniversary: NZ Warbirds 1944-2014. Innovation & chaos ... in search of optimality. Retrieved from http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/87629301358/d-day-70th-anniversary-nz-warbirds-1944-2014-on

Or YouTube:
Mellalieu, P. J. (2014). D-Day 70th Anniversary: NZ Warbirds 1944-2014. Auckland, N.Z: MyndSurfers. Retrieved fromhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE6QeaPOMGI&feature=youtube_gdata_player