{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}} {{Infobox military person |name = Bert Sam Wipiti |image = Bert Sam Wipiti.jpg |image_size = |alt = |caption = |birth_date = {{birth date|1922|01|16|df=y}} |death_date = {{Death date and age|1943|10|03|1922|01|16|df=y}} |birth_place = [[New Plymouth]], New Zealand |death_place = |burial_place = |nickname = |allegiance = New Zealand |branch = [[Royal New Zealand Air Force]] |service_years = 1941–1943{{KIA}} |rank = [[Warrant Officer]] |service_number = |unit = [[No. 243 Squadron RAF]]<br/>[[No. 485 Squadron RNZAF]] |commands = |battles = [[Second World War]] |awards = [[Distinguished Flying Medal]] |relations = |other_work = }} '''Bert Sam Wipiti''', [[Distinguished Flying Medal|DFM]] (16 January 1922 – 3 October 1943) was a New Zealand fighter pilot and [[flying ace]] of the [[Second World War]]. Born in [[New Plymouth]], he enlisted in the [[Royal New Zealand Air Force]] (RNZAF) in 1941 and when he was posted to [[No. 243 Squadron RAF|No. 243 Squadron]] in [[Singapore]], he was the first [[Māori people|Māori]] airman to leave New Zealand for active duty. Following the Japanese invasion of [[British Malaya]], he destroyed five Japanese aircraft before being evacuated to [[Java]] in February 1942. He later flew with the RNZAF's [[No. 485 Squadron RNZAF|No. 485 Squadron]] in Europe and was killed on operations while escorting bombers on a raid over France.
==Early life== Bert Sam Wipiti, also known as Herbert Samuel Wipiti, was born on 16 January 1922 in [[New Plymouth]], in the [[North Island]] of New Zealand. The son of Motu Tamihana Wipiti and his wife Ngamata {{nee|Lowrie}}, Wipiti was of [[Māori people|Māori]] descent and was educated at [[Mangorei|Mangorei School]] and [[New Plymouth Boys' High School]].{{sfn|Martyn|2008|p=514}}<ref>{{cite news |title=New Zealand Airmen |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19420326.2.74.1 |access-date=8 February 2020 |work=Evening Post |volume=CXXXIII|issue=72 |date=26 March 1942}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=21 December 1935 |title=Taranaki Daily News |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19351221.2.67 |access-date=24 April 2026 |work=Taranaki Daily News |pages=7}}</ref>
==Second World War== [[File:Twelve Buffaloes.jpg|thumb|right|A flight of Brewster Buffaloes from No. 243 Squadron over Malaya]] A refrigeration serviceman at the time of his enlistment, Wipiti joined the [[Royal New Zealand Air Force]] (RNZAF) in January 1941.{{sfn|Thompson|1953|p=21}} He completed flight training at [[RNZAF Base Ohakea|Ohakea]], gained his [[Aircrew brevet|flying badge]] in late May, and then proceeded to [[British Malaya|Malaya]] as a [[sergeant pilot]] in July.{{sfn|Martyn|2008|p=514}}<ref name=Taranakian>{{cite journal |title=Bert Sam Wipiti |journal=The Taranakian |date=December 1945 |volume=34 |issue=1 |page=113 |url=https://issuu.com/newplymouthboyshighschool/docs/05082015113714_part2/11 |access-date=8 February 2020}}</ref> He was the first Māori airman to go overseas for service.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bert Wipiti, Serviceman |url=https://collection.pukeariki.com/objects/87984 |website=Puke Ariki |publisher=New Plymouth District Council |access-date=8 February 2020}}</ref>
===Singapore=== On his arrival in Singapore in August, Wipiti was posted to the Royal Air Force's [[No. 243 Squadron RAF|No. 243 Squadron]], which was based at [[Kallang Airport]] and operated the outclassed [[Brewster Buffalo]] fighter.{{sfn|Martyn|2008|p=514}}{{sfn|Cull|2003|pp=14–15}} Once the Japanese [[Japanese invasion of Malaya|invaded British Malaya]] on 8 December 1941, he was part of a small detachment from No. 243 Squadron to briefly operate with an Australian squadron, [[No. 21 Squadron RAAF|No. 21 Squadron]], flying from [[Ipoh]],{{sfn|Cull|2003|p=59}} and returning to Singapore on 14 December.{{sfn|Cull|2003|p=67}}
On 10 January 1942, Wipiti was credited with helping shoot down a [[Mitsubishi Ki-46]] [[reconnaissance aircraft]], over Singapore. This was reportedly the first Japanese aircraft shot down in the [[Battle of Singapore]].{{sfn|Cull|2003|pp=112–113}}{{sfn|Ross|1955|p=86}} On 21 January, while on a patrol over the [[Batu Pahat District|Batu Pahat]] area, he shot down a [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero]] fighter{{sfn|Cull|2003|p=156}} and then, the following day, destroyed two [[Mitsubishi G3M]] bombers that were part of a raid on No. 243 Squadron's airfield.{{sfn|Cull|2003|pp=159–161}} A few days later, flying escort to several [[Vickers Vildebeest]] bombers that were attacking a Japanese transport convoy, he shot down another Ki-46.{{sfn|Cull|2003|pp=169–170}}{{sfn|Cull|2003|p=228}} By the end of January, Wipiti's squadron had been disbanded and he was one of a few sergeants that were attached to [[No. 453 Squadron RAAF|No. 453 Squadron]], an Australian squadron based at [[Seletar]], which also received the remaining serviceable Buffalo aircraft.{{sfn|Cull|2003|p=175}}
Shortly before the fall of Singapore, Wipiti was evacuated to Java, surviving the sinking of his original transport ship.{{sfn|Cull|2003|p=198}} In late March 1942 he was awarded the [[Distinguished Flying Medal]] (DFM) in recognition of his service in Malaya and Singapore, having shot down five Japanese aircraft.{{sfn|Martyn|2008|p=514}}{{sfn|Cull|2003|p=216}} The citation for his DFM, published in the ''[[London Gazette]]'', read:{{blockquote|Sergeant Wipiti has carried out a large number of operational flights and he has displayed outstanding courage and determination whilst engaging large formations of enemy aircraft. He has set a fine example to all.|''London Gazette'', No. 35502, 27 March 1942<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35502|date=27 March 1942|supp=y|page=1383}}</ref>}}
Wipiti was sent to India, where he was posted to [[No. 67 Squadron RAF|No. 67 Squadron]], flying [[Hawker Hurricane]] fighters. While stationed in India, he encountered racism from the British and after several months, was posted to England in August 1943.{{sfn|Hanson|2001|p=522}}
===Europe=== [[File:Airforce-entrance.jpg|thumb|right|The Air Forces Memorial, near [[Egham]] in England, where Wipiti is commemorated]] Wipiti joined [[No. 485 Squadron RNZAF|No. 485 Squadron]], a RNZAF unit,{{sfn|Hanson|2001|p=522}} which at the time of his arrival, was stationed at [[Biggin Hill]], in the English county of [[Kent]], and operating [[Supermarine Spitfire]] fighters on escort missions, accompanying bombers carrying out daylight raids into Continental Europe.{{sfn|Wells|1984|pp=93–101}} Wipiti shared in the destruction of a [[Focke-Wulf Fw 190]] fighter on 16 September 1943, while covering a raid by [[Martin Marauder]] bombers on an airfield in France. He was killed on 3 October 1943 over France while escorting a bombing raid on a French power station. At the time of his death, he held the rank of [[warrant officer]] and had flown 26 sorties with No. 485 Squadron.{{sfn|Martyn|2008|p=514}}{{sfn|Wells|1984|p=112}} Initially reported as missing<ref>{{cite news |title=Roll of Honour |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19431113.2.83 |access-date=8 February 2020 |work=Evening Post |volume=CXXXVI|issue=117 |date=13 November 1943}}</ref> he was reported as being presumed dead the following year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Air Force Casualties |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19440905.2.73 |access-date=8 February 2020 |work=Evening Post |volume=CXXXVIII|issue=57 |date=5 September 1944}}</ref>
==Legacy== Wipiti has no known grave and is commemorated on the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]]'s [[Air Forces Memorial]] near [[Egham]] in [[Surrey]], England.<ref>{{cite web |title=Casualty – Wipiti, Bert Sam |url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1531922/ |website=Commonwealth War Graves Commission |access-date=27 August 2019}}</ref> After the war, his parents were presented with their son's DFM by the [[Governor-General of New Zealand]], [[Cyril Newall, 1st Baron Newall|Sir Cyril Newall]], in a ceremony at [[Government House, Wellington|Government House]] in Wellington.<ref>{{cite news |title=Awards Presented – Deceased Service Personnel |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19450913.2.84 |access-date=8 February 2020 |work=Evening Post |volume=CXL|issue=64 |date=13 September 1945}}</ref> On 26 April 2023, a portrait of Wipiti was unveiled at his former secondary school, New Plymouth Boys’ High School, by his family. The painting, executed by Matt Gauldie, a former war artist of the [[New Zealand Army]], was donated to the school by the New Zealand Remembrance Army.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harvey |first1=Helen |title=Portrait of World War II Ace and 'Perfect Gentleman' Bert Wipiti Unveiled at New Plymouth Boys' High School |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/131807886/portrait-of-world-war-ii-ace-and-perfect-gentleman-bert-wipiti-unveiled-at-new-plymouth-boys-high-school |access-date=7 January 2024 |work=Taranaki Daily News |date=27 April 2023}}</ref>
== External Links ==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL3Vevyl6O0 Whakaata Maori Short Documentary] * [https://airforcemuseum.co.nz/blog/exceptional-friends-bert-wipiti-and-charlie-kronk/ Airforce Museum of New Zealand] blog post on Wipiti and his friend Kronk * [https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/F01162 Crashed Japanese plane in Singapore] - Archival Footage featuring Wipiti. Australian War Memorial Museum
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== *{{cite book|last=Cull|first=Brian|year=2003|title=Buffaloes Over Singapore: RAF, RAAF, RNZAF and Dutch Brewster Fighters in Action over Malaya and the East Indies 1941–42|publisher=Grub Street|location=London|isbn=1-904010-32-6}} *{{cite book|last=Hanson|first=C. M.|year=2001|title=By Such Deeds: Honours and Awards in the Royal New Zealand Air Force 1923–1999|publisher=Volplane Press|location=Christchurch|isbn=0-473-07301-3}} *{{cite book |last1=Martyn |first1=Errol |title=For Your Tomorrow – A Record of New Zealanders Who Have Died While Serving with the RNZAF and Allied Air Services Since 1915 – Volume Three: Biographies & Appendices |date=2008 |publisher=Volplane Press |location=Christchurch|isbn=978-0-473-12829-6}} *{{cite book|last=Ross|first=J. M. S.|year=1955|title=Royal New Zealand Air Force|url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2AirF.html|series=[[Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45]]|publisher=Historical Publications Branch|location=Wellington|oclc=912824475}} *{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=H. L.|year=1953|title=New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force|volume=I|url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1RAF.html|series=[[Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45]]|publisher=War History Branch|location=Wellington|oclc =270919916}} *{{cite book|last=Wells|first=Kevin W.|year=1984|title=An Illustrated History of the New Zealand Spitfire Squadron|publisher=Hutchinson Group|location=Auckland|isbn=0-09-159360-3}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wipiti, Bert}} [[Category:1922 births]] [[Category:1940s missing person cases]] [[Category:1943 deaths]] [[Category:Missing in action of World War II]] [[Category:New Zealand Māori people]] [[Category:People educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School]] [[Category:New Zealand military personnel killed in World War II]] [[Category:New Zealand World War II flying aces]] [[Category:People from New Plymouth]] [[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal]] [[Category:Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel]] [[Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Aviators killed by being shot down]]