Operation Cartwheel
From mid-1943, at Guadalcanal, starting with No. 15 and No. 14 Squadrons, several RNZAF Kittyhawk units fought with distinction. Several RNZAF pilots became aces against the Japanese, including Geoff Fisken, the Commonwealth's leading ace in the Pacific war. Other squadrons flew the elderly but effective Douglas Dauntless and, later, the modern Grumman Avenger torpedo bomber. From 12 October 1943, as part of Operation Cartwheel, RNZAF aircraft joined an allied air campaign against Japanese held airfields and the port of Rabaul.