No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron was a joint Dutch and Australian bomber squadron of World War II. Formed in April 1942, the squadron was staffed by a mixture of Dutch and Australian personnel and placed under Royal Australian Air Force operational command. Initially it undertook anti-submarine patrols on the east coast of Australia, before moving to northern Australia and taking part in operations against the Japanese in the islands of the Netherlands East Indies (NEI). At the conclusion of hostilities, the squadron came under Dutch control and Australian personnel were transferred out. The squadron then undertook operations during the Indonesian National Revolution, before eventually being disbanded in July 1950 after being transferred to Indonesia.
B-25 Mitchell bombers from No. 18 (NEI) Squadron flying in formation near Darwin in 1943
No. 18 (NEI) Squadron was formed at RAAF Station Canberra on 4 April 1942, under the operational command of the Royal Australian Air Force's No. 79 Wing.[1][2] Like the other two joint Australian-Dutch squadrons – Nos. 119 and 120 Squadrons – the Dutch authorities provided No. 18 Squadron's pilots and aircraft, which had been obtained from the United States via the Lend Lease program. The majority of the aircrew were Dutchmen who had been evacuated from the Netherlands East Indies after the Japanese invasion, while most of the groundcrew were Australian.[1] Unlike the other two squadrons, however, the RAAF also provided many aircrew to the squadron: on formation there was a total of 242 Dutch and Javanese personnel and 266 Australian personnel; all aircraft were captained by a Dutch officer, while the remaining aircrew positions were filled by a mixture of Dutch and Australian personnel.[2] The squadron was commanded overall by a Dutch officer throughout the war; but the unique situation of having Dutch and Australian members meant that Dutch personnel were administered under Dutch regulations, while the Australian component was administered and commanded separately by an Australian officer of the rank of squadron leader. The squadron's aircraft were painted with Dutch flags, instead of RAAF markings.[3][4][5]
No. 18 (NEI) Squadron received its first five B-25 Mitchell medium bombers in April 1942. These aircraft were used for both training and anti-submarine patrols. While the squadron briefly operated 10 A-20 Havoc light bombers in early 1942,[6] it was fully equipped with 18 B-25s by 21 September 1942, following what was wrongly believed to have been a successful attack by one of the squadron's Mitchells, piloted by Captain Guus Winckel, on a Japanese submarine off the New South Wales coast near Moruya in June.[1][2][7]
On 4 December 1942, No. 18 (NEI) Squadron deployed to a partially constructed MacDonald Airfield in the Northern Territory to operate in the North Western Area. After a period of further training, the squadron began flying operational missions in early January 1943 and was primarily tasked with reconnaissance flights and raids on Japanese ships and bases in the occupied NEI, focusing on East Timor, and on Tanimbar and Kai Island.[7] While the squadron suffered considerable casualties in these raids, it did not receive any replacement crews until September 1943 when new and more heavily armed B-25s were delivered along with fresh crews who had been trained at a Dutch flying school in the United States.[6]
No. 18 (NEI) Squadron relocated from MacDonald to Batchelor in May 1943.[8] As the Japanese presence in the eastern NEI declined, the Dutch authorities requested that No. 18 (NEI) Squadron be re-equipped with longer ranged B-24 Liberator heavy bombers, but was declined and the squadron continued to operate B-25s.[9] Throughout 1943, the squadron undertook further reconnaissance missions and attacks on Japanese shipping around the NEI, before shifting focus in November 1943 and March 1944 upon Japanese supply routes to north-eastern Papua New Guinea, during which the squadron sank over 25,000 tons of Japanese shipping.[7] Part of the squadron was detached to Exmouth, Western Australia in March 1944, in response to Allied intelligence that a Japanese attack on Fremantle or Perth was likely, but it returned to Batchelor shortly afterwards after which the squadron attacked targets in the NEI for the remainder of the year, focusing especially on Japanese airfields.[4][7] Anti-shipping attacks were also undertaken, and on one raid around Tioor Island on 23 June, the squadron's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel E.J.G. Te Roller, was killed.[6][8]
In February 1945, part of the squadron was moved to New Britain, where it was based at Jacquinot Bay,[4] as part of a plan to relocate the entire squadron.[6] In April, the squadron took part in an attack that damaged the Japanese cruiser Isuzu north of Sumbawa. The detachment on New Britain was moved to Morotai Island in June after the plan to move the squadron to New Britain was reversed following Dutch appeals to be sent to the NEI instead.[6] The following month, the whole squadron was relocated to Balikpapan in Borneo, which had recently been liberated following the Battle of Balikpapan. After arriving at Balikpapan the squadron's main task was to drop propaganda leaflets and locate and drop supplies to Allied personnel in prison camps throughout the NEI. It also provided support to an Australian amphibious landing on Makassar in late September 1945, after the conclusion of hostilities with Japan.[4] During World War II, No. 18 (NEI) Squadron flew over 900 operation sorties;[1] 102 airmen were killed, including 25 Australians.[4]
Post World War II
The RAAF component of No. 18 (NEI) Squadron was disbanded on 25 November 1945 and the squadron passed to Dutch control on 15 January 1946. The squadron relocated to Tjililitan in Java on 9 March 1946 and saw active service against Indonesian Nationalists during the Indonesian National Revolution flying a variety of missions including reconnaissance, bombing and close support to Dutch troops fighting against the Indonesians.[10] Following the end of Dutch rule, No. 18 Squadron was the last squadron to be handed over to the Indonesians and was disbanded on 26 July 1950.[5] A total of 4,000 personnel from 38 nationalities served in the squadron during the eight years it existed.[11]
Aircraft operated
No. 18 (NEI) Squadron operated the following aircraft:[7]
RAAF Historical Section (1995). Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History Volume 3: Bomber Units. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN9780644427968.
Wallace, Gordon (1983). Up in Darwin With the Dutch: A Tribute to the Mitchell Bomber Boys. Ringwood, Victoria: Rossprint. ISBN0-9591254-0-X.
The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II, and after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 B-25s were built, It was the most-produced American medium bomber and the third most-produced American bomber overall. These included several limited models such as the F-10 reconnaissance aircraft, the AT-24 crew trainers, and the United States Marine Corps' PBJ-1 patrol bomber.
The Netherlands entered World War II on May 10, 1940, when invading German forces quickly overran the country. On December 7, 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Netherlands government in exile also declared war on Japan. Operation Market Garden, which started in 1944, liberated the southern and eastern parts of the country, but full liberation did not come until the surrender of Germany on May 5, 1945.
No. 30 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Raised in 1942 as a long-range fighter unit, the squadron saw action in the Second World War, serving in the South West Pacific Area against the Japanese and operating mainly in the ground attack and anti-shipping roles from bases in New Guinea and the Netherlands East Indies. After the war, the squadron was disbanded, however, it was re-raised a short time later as a unit of the part-time Citizen Air Force, operating in the target towing and air defence role in New South Wales. In 1960s the squadron ceased flying aircraft and operated surface-to-air missiles, providing for the defence of Sydney and Darwin before disbanding in 1968. The squadron was re-raised again in 2010 and since then it has served as an airbase support squadron located at RAAF Base East Sale.
No. 2 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron that operates from RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle, New South Wales. From its formation in 1916 as part of the Australian Flying Corps, it has flown a variety of aircraft types including fighters, bombers, and Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C). During World War I, the squadron operated on the Western Front conducting fighter sweeps and ground-attack missions. It was disbanded in mid-1919, following the end of hostilities. The squadron was briefly re-raised in 1922 as part of the newly independent RAAF, but was disbanded after only a couple of months and not reformed until 1937. It saw action as a bomber unit in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II and, equipped with English Electric Canberra jets, in the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War. The squadron was again disbanded in 1982, following the retirement of the Canberra. It was re-formed in 2000 to operate the Boeing 737 AEW&C "Wedgetail". One of the six Boeing 737s was deployed to the Middle East in September 2014, as part of Australia's contribution to the military coalition against ISIS.
No. 119 Squadron was a joint Dutch and Australian squadron of World War II which formed part of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The squadron was formed in September 1943 but could not be made operational due to a shortage of Dutch personnel. As a result, it was disbanded in December 1943.
No. 120 Squadron was a joint Dutch and Australian squadron of World War II. The squadron was first formed in December 1943 as part of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and saw combat in and around New Guinea during 1944 and 1945 equipped with P-40 Kittyhawk fighters. Following the war, No. 120 Squadron was transferred to the Netherlands East Indies Air Force in 1946 and participated in the Indonesian National Revolution.
No. 87 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) air intelligence squadron. It saw action during World War II as a photo reconnaissance squadron, being raised in September 1944 through the re-designation of No. 1 Photo Reconnaissance Unit, which had been formed in June 1942. Throughout the war, No. 87 Squadron flew a variety of aircraft from bases in Australia, gathering photographic intelligence on Japanese forces and installations throughout the Pacific. At the conclusion of hostilities, the squadron was disbanded but was later re-formed in 1948, carrying out aerial survey operations in Australia until 1953. In 2006, it was re-raised again as a non-flying squadron tasked with air intelligence analysis as part of the Information Warfare Directorate within the RAAF's Air Warfare Centre.
No. 13 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron. The unit saw combat during World War II as a bomber and maritime patrol squadron and is currently active as a mixed regular and reserve RAAF unit located in Darwin, fulfilling both operational support and training duties.
No. 452 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) air traffic control unit. It was established in 1941 as a fighter squadron, in accordance with Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme during World War II. The squadron flew Supermarine Spitfires for the entire war, initially over the United Kingdom and Nazi-occupied Europe. It was later based in Australia and the Netherlands East Indies, before being disbanded in 1945. It was re-raised in its current role in February 2011.
No. 21 Squadron RAAF is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) general reserve squadron. Formed in the mid-1930s as a unit of the part-time Citizen Air Force (CAF), it was mobilised for service during World War II, when it saw action against the Japanese as a fighter unit in the Malayan campaign, a dive bomber unit in the New Guinea campaign, and a heavy bomber unit in the Borneo campaign. After the war, the squadron continued to fly until 1960, when the CAF ceased flying operations. At that time, No. 21 Squadron converted to a non-flying support role, which it currently fulfils at RAAF Base Point Cook and RAAF Williams - Laverton.
No. 25 Squadron is a general reserve squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is based at RAAF Base Pearce in Perth, Western Australia, and forms part of the Combat Support Group. The squadron was formed in early 1937 and until early 1939 was designated as No. 23 Squadron. During World War II, it provided local air defence for the Perth region, before undertaking Army co-operation duties in 1943–1944 and then converting to a heavy bomber role in 1945. Flying B-24 Liberators, the squadron took part in operations against Japanese targets in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) and supported Allied ground operations during the Borneo Campaign.
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The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force was the air arm of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies from 1939 until 1950. It was an entirely separate organisation from the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
Merauke Force was an Australian-led military force of World War II which was responsible for defending Merauke in Dutch New Guinea from Japanese attack amidst the Pacific War. The force was established in late 1942 and was disbanded at the end of the war, having never seen combat. The Japanese attack did not eventuate and from mid-1944 the force was progressively drawn down and its assigned units redeployed to Australia or elsewhere in the Pacific. At its height, Merauke Force included troops from Australia, the Netherlands East Indies and the United States, as well as several squadrons of aircraft, including a joint Australian-Dutch fighter unit.
During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces established a series of airfields in Australia for the collective defense of the country, as well as for conducting offensive operations against the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. From these airports and airfields in Australia, the Fifth Air Force was able to regroup, re-equip and begin offensive operations against the Empire of Japan after the disasters in the Philippines and Dutch East Indies during 1942.
No. 79 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wing of World War II. It was formed in December 1943 at Batchelor, Northern Territory, as part of North-Western Area Command. Led by Group Captain Charles Eaton, the wing comprised four squadrons on its establishment, flying Beaufort and B-25 Mitchell bombers and Beaufighter heavy fighters. No. 79 Wing took part in the New Guinea and North-Western Area Campaigns during 1944–45, eventually transferring to Balikpapan in the Dutch East Indies as the Allies advanced northward. By the end of the Pacific War, the wing was attached to the Australian First Tactical Air Force and was made up of Nos. 2 and 18 Squadrons, both flying Mitchells. The latter transferred to the Netherlands Air Force in late 1945, while the former returned to Australia where it disbanded the following year. No. 79 Headquarters itself disbanded in October 1945, soon after the end of hostilities.
120 Squadron was a Netherlands East Indies Air Force unit which was later re-raised part of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The squadron was first formed in December 1943 as part of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and saw combat in and around New Guinea during 1944 and 1945 equipped with P-40 Kittyhawk fighters. No. 120 Squadron was transferred to the Netherlands East Indies Air Force in 1946 and attacked Indonesian forces during the Indonesian National Revolution. It was disbanded in 1950 as a result of the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference, but was re-formed in 1961 as an air defence unit. 120 Squadron was disbanded in 1983.
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North-Western Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. Its wartime sphere of operations included the Northern Territory, adjacent portions of Queensland and Western Australia, and the Dutch East Indies. The command was formed in January 1942, following the outbreak of the Pacific War, from the western part of Northern Area Command, which had covered all of northern Australia and Papua. Headquartered at Darwin, North-Western Area Command was initially responsible for air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries.
The Free Dutch Forces refers to the Dutch military formations of the Dutch government-in-exile and its colonies that were formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II following the Dutch surrender in May 1940.
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