16/09/2026
E whakanui ana mātou i Te Wiki o te Reo Māori mā te aro ki ngā kōrero hītori o te Te Taua Moana e whakatauira ana i ngā uara o Te Taua Moana.
We’re celebrating Te Wiki o te Reo Māori by focusing on stories from Navy history that exemplify the Navy’s values. Today we're focusing on the Navy's value: Tū Kaha - Courage. Steve has selected the story of Lieutenant Commander Archibald Richardson RNZNVR
Soon after the outbreak of WW2, Richardson left Gisborne to volunteer for the RNZAF and was put on the waiting list. In 1940 he opted to join the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. In July 1942, he joined 891 Squadron and was posted to es**rt carrier HMS Dasher. He flew a Sea Hurricane in Operation ‘Torch’, the American landings on Vichy Algeria.
In June 1944, he was on fleet aircraft carrier HMS Indefatigable, one of three carriers and support ships that participated in Operation ‘Mascot’. Eighty-nine aircraft attacked the German battleship Admiral Von Tirpitz, which had been discovered hiding in a Norwegian fiord.
On 24 August, LT CDR Richardson led a strike force of 78 aircraft to attack the Tirpitz. Without any regard to his own safety, he led three low-level attacks through intense anti-aircraft fire, but on his last dive he was hit and crashed into the ship. He received a posthumous Mention in Despatches and is commemorated on the RNZN Memorial, Devonport, Auckland.
Another New Zealander, Sub Lt. Clive Woodward RNZNVR, was also killed on the same raid and is buried at Tromso Cemetery, Norway.
Image: L-R LT CDR (A) Richardson, SLT Fraser, Lt Gilbert, SLT Leighton FAA 2014.32
