No. 75 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter unit based at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory. The squadron was formed in 1942 and saw extensive action in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, operating P-40 Kittyhawks. It was disbanded in 1948, but reformed the following year and operated jet aircraft throughout the Cold War. The squadron was based at Malta from 1952 to 1954, flying de Havilland Vampires, and Malaysia from 1968 to 1983, with Dassault Mirage IIIs, before returning to Australia.
No. 6 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) training and bomber squadron. It was formed in 1917 and served as a training unit based in England during World War I. The squadron was disbanded in 1919 but re-formed at the start of 1939. It subsequently saw combat as a light bomber and maritime patrol squadron during World War II, and took part in the New Guinea Campaign and New Britain Campaign before being disbanded after the war.
No. 76 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flight training squadron. Established in 1942, it operated P-40 Kittyhawk fighter aircraft in the South West Pacific theatre during World War II. Following the end of hostilities it re-equipped with P-51 Mustangs and formed part of Australia's contribution to the occupation of Japan until disbanding in 1948. The squadron was re-formed in 1949 and three years later transferred to Malta, where it operated de Havilland Vampire jet fighters on garrison duty until again disbanding in 1955. It was reactivated in 1960 and operated CAC Sabre and Dassault Mirage III fighters in Australia until 1973. No. 76 Squadron was re-formed in its present incarnation in 1989 and is currently stationed at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, where it operates Hawk 127 jet training aircraft.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) traces its history back to the Imperial Conference held in London in 1911, where it was decided aviation should be developed within the Armed Forces of the British Empire. Australia implemented this decision, the only country to do so, by approving the establishment of the Central Flying School (CFS) in 1912. The location for the proposed school was initially to be at Duntroon, Australian Capital Territory, but in July 1913 Point Cook, Victoria, was announced as the preferred location. The first flights by CFS aircraft took place there in March 1914.
No. 4 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron composed of the air force special forces Combat Controllers, aircrew who operate the Pilatus PC-21 aircraft and instructors for the Australian Defence Force Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) course.
No. 41 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) transport squadron of World War II. It was formed in August 1942 and operated flying boats in the South West Pacific area. The squadron was disbanded in September 1945.
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. 200 Flight was a Royal Australian Air Force special duties flight of World War II. The flight was formed in February 1945 to support the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) and saw action over Borneo and the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) from March that year until the end of the war in August. No. 200 Flight was disbanded in December 1945.
No. 12 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) general purpose, bomber and transport squadron. The squadron was formed in 1939 and saw combat in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. From 1941 to 1943, it mainly conducted maritime patrols off northern Australia. The squadron was based at Merauke in western New Guinea from November 1943 to July 1944, when it was withdrawn from operations. After being re-equipped, it operated as a heavy bomber unit from February 1945 until the end of the war. The squadron continued in this role until it was redesignated No. 1 Squadron RAAF in February 1948. The squadron was reformed in 1973 to operate transport helicopters but was again disbanded in 1989.
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. 15 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) light bomber and maritime patrol squadron of World War II. The squadron was formed in January 1944 and initially flew anti-submarine patrols off the east coast of Australia. From September that year elements of the squadron took part in the New Guinea Campaign, and the main body of the squadron moved to New Guinea in March 1945. Its duties in New Guinea included anti-submarine and anti-barge patrols as well as attacking Japanese positions. No. 15 Squadron was demobilised after the end of the war, and was formally disbanded in March 1946.
No. 100 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) historic aircraft display squadron. It was originally formed as a bomber and maritime patrol squadron that operated during World War II. Raised in early 1942 from the remnants of a British unit that had been destroyed in Malaya, the squadron flew Bristol Beauforts from bases in Queensland and New Guinea, undertaking torpedo- and level-bombing sorties against Japanese targets in the Pacific theatre. Following the conclusion of hostilities, the squadron was disbanded in August 1946. It was reformed as the Air Force Heritage Squadron in January 2021 to operate airworthy warbirds.
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 Williams.
No. 22 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) mixed Permanent and Reserve squadron that provides support for the RAAF in the Sydney region. Formed in 1936, the squadron served in Papua New Guinea during the Second World War, and later followed the Pacific War as far as the Philippines. Following the war, the squadron was re-formed in 1948 but was converted to a non-flying support role in mid-1960. It is currently based at RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales.
Alexander Augustus Norman Dudley "Jerry" Pentland, was an Australian fighter ace in World War I. Born in Maitland, New South Wales, he commenced service as a Lighthorseman with the Australian Imperial Force in 1915, and saw action at Gallipoli. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps the following year, rising to captain. Credited with twenty-three aerial victories, Pentland became the fifth highest-scoring Australian ace of the war, after Robert Little, Stan Dallas, Harry Cobby and Roy King. He was awarded the Military Cross in January 1918 for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" on a mission attacking an aerodrome behind enemy lines, and the Distinguished Flying Cross that August for engaging four hostile aircraft single-handedly.
No. 462 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron which forms part of the Information Warfare Directorate in the RAAF's Air Warfare Centre. The squadron was first formed in 1942 as a heavy bomber unit and saw combat in this role in the Mediterranean area until it was disbanded in March 1944. It was reformed in the United Kingdom in August 1944 to participate in the bombing campaign against Germany, and in December that year converted to a specialist electronic warfare unit. No. 462 Squadron continued in this role until the end of the European war in May 1945 and was disbanded in September that year. The squadron was reformed in its current role during April 2005.
No. 7 Squadron was an Australian flying training squadron of World War I and medium bomber squadron of World War II. The squadron was formed in England in October 1917 as part of the Australian Flying Corps, and disbanded in early 1919. It was re-formed by the Royal Australian Air Force on paper in June 1940, and operationally in January 1942. After seeing action during the Pacific War flying Lockheed Hudson and, later, DAP Beaufort bombers, the squadron was disbanded a second time in December 1945.
No. 80 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter squadron that operated during World War II. The squadron was formed in September 1943 and was disbanded in July 1946 after seeing action in the South West Pacific Theatre of the war.
No. 10 Local Air Supply Unit was a Royal Australian Air Force air transport unit of World War II. No. 84 Wing was formed on 11 September 1944 in Cairns, Queensland. Commanded by Group Captain Bill Hely, it comprised No. 5 Squadron, No. 17 Air Observation Post (AOP) Flight, No. 10 Communication Unit, and No. 39 Operational Base Unit. The wing arrived at Torokina in October to begin supporting Australian troops during the Bougainville Campaign. 10 Communications Unit flew Avro Ansons and Bristol Beauforts on courier, reconnaissance, supply, and anti-malarial spraying missions; it was renamed No. 10 Local Air Supply Unit RAAF in March 1945. The Unit was also formed at Aitape, New Guinea on 18 April 1945 to undertake the local air supply of Australian Army units in New Guinea. The Unit here was equipped with a mix of Avro Anson, Bristol Beaufort and Tiger Moth aircraft and conducted supply and casualty evacuation flights until the end of the war. When the Pacific War ended in August 1945, No. 10 Local Air Supply Unit was tasked with dropping leaflets announcing the news over Japanese positions. Following the war No. 10 Local Air Supply Unit conducted courier flights to various locations in New Guinea until it was disbanded on 6 March 1946. 17 AOP Flight was disbanded on Bougainville in December, followed a month later by the Bougainville flight of No. 10 Local Air Supply Unit.
Northern Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. Established in April 1944, it evolved from No. 9 Operational Group, which had been the RAAF's primary mobile formation in the South West Pacific theatre since September 1942, but had lately become a garrison force in New Guinea. Northern Command was headquartered initially at Milne Bay and then, from August 1944, in Madang. It conducted operations in New Guinea, New Britain, and Bougainville until the end of the war. Re-designated Northern Area in December 1945, it was headquartered in Port Moresby from March 1946 and disbanded in February 1947.
