No. 79 Squadron RAAF - History - World War II

World War II

No. 79 Squadron was formed at RAAF Base Laverton in Victoria on 26 April 1943 under the command of flying ace Squadron Leader Alan Rawlinson. The squadron's intended role was to use Spitfire Vc fighters to provide 'high cover' escort for the RAAF's P-40 Kittyhawk-equipped units which were engaging Japanese forces in the New Guinea Campaign. This requirement was considered urgent, and the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal George Jones, directed that No. 79 Squadron receive priority for the RAAF's limited stock of Spitfires. The squadron moved to Wooloomanata Aerodrome several days after it was formed, and received its first Spitfires on 3 May. While at Wooloomanata No. 79 Squadron undertook training exercises to prepare for combat. The allocation of 24 Spitfires to the squadron resulted in No. 1 Wing RAAF, which was stationed near Darwin and responsible for protecting the town against air attack, suffering a shortage of these aircraft during June and July.

No. 79 Squadron began moving to Goodenough Island in the war zone off the north coast of Papua in mid-May 1943. Its advance party departed Wooloomanata on 17 May, followed by the pilots on 4 June. The main body of ground crew sailed from Sydney on 7 June. The squadron suffered its first fatality on 13 June, when Flight Lieutenant Virgil Brennan—an experienced fighter pilot who had shot down 10 Axis aircraft over Malta—died from wounds incurred when his Spitfire collided with another while they were landing at Cairns. During the unit's transit to Goodenough Island, No. 79 Squadron Spitfires were scrambled from Gurney Airfield at Milne Bay on several occasions between 19 and 25 June to intercept Japanese reconnaissance aircraft, but did not damage these intruders.

The squadron completed its movement to Goodenough Island on 26 June and began flying air defence sorties from Vivigani Airfield as part of No. 73 Wing. It did not intercept any Japanese aircraft while operating from this base, however. The squadron moved to Kirwina Airfield on Kiriwina between 9 and 18 August, from where it operated alongside the P-40 Kittyhawk-equipped No. 76 Squadron. This was the closest Allied airfield to the major Japanese base at Rabaul and was expected to be regularly attacked. No Japanese raids were made on the airfield during the first weeks of the squadron's deployment there, however, and its pilots were disappointed to not see combat while conducting patrols in support of United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) raids on Rabaul. The Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF) began a series of attacks on Goodenough Island and Kiriwina in early October, however, and the squadron claimed its first victory in 31 October when one of its Spitfires shot down a Kawasaki Ki-61 fighter 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Kiriwina (this type of aircraft was labelled the "Tony" by the Allies).

After a period of training, No. 79 Squadron flew its first sweep over Japanese-held territory on 27 November when eight Spitfires were dispatched to Gasmata on New Britain. The next day one of its Spitfires shot down a Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" reconnaissance aircraft south of Kitava. As few Japanese attacks were made against Kirwina, No. 79 Squadron's pilots became restive. The offensive patrols over New Britain improved their morale, however. Another Ki-61 was intercepted and shot down by a Spitfire on 21 December, and an A6M Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighter was destroyed on the ground at Gasmata seven days later. A Spitfire was lost during a patrol over New Britain on 31 December, however. During January and February 1944 the squadron conducted offensive sweeps over New Britain, strafed Japanese positions and escorted Allied bombers. On 17 January, eight No. 79 Squadron Spitfires took part in an attack against a Japanese camp near Lindenhafen which involved 73 Australian aircraft; this was the largest RAAF operation of the war up to that time. Two Spitfires were lost during the operations in January and February.

In early 1944 No. 73 Wing was selected to support the US Army's Admiralty Islands campaign. The 1st Cavalry Division began to land on the islands on 29 February, and the wing moved to Momote Airstrip on Los Negros Island in March 1944. No. 79 Squadron became operational there with 24 aircraft on the 29th of the month. From Momote, the squadron flew ground attack sorties in support of US troops until Japanese resistance ceased. No Japanese aircraft were encountered throughout this operation. By the end of April, No. 79 Squadron's main role was to escort Allied shipping, though flying was hampered by a shortage of spare parts. The squadron's commanding officer, Squadron Leader M.S. Bott, was killed in an accident on 16 April. Shipping escort patrols continued in May, but difficulties maintaining the Spitfires reduced the squadron to just two operational aircraft with another 12 awaiting repair. Due to a shortage of aircraft the squadron's flying activities were limited to training sorties between August and October, and aircraft availability continued to be a problem until late November. On 9 November, two Spitfires unsuccessfully attempted to intercept three Japanese A6M fighters which had raided Hyane Harbour; while the Japanese force had been tracked by Allied radar for 25 minutes prior to the attack, the Spitfires were scrambled only after the raiders had left the area. No. 79 Squadron subsequently maintained a three-aircraft patrol over Los Negros during daylight hours until 22 November. Two days later the squadron was released from operations ahead of moving to Darwin in northern Australia to be re-equipped with more modern Mark VIII Spitfires.

No. 79 Squadron arrived at Sattler Airfield south of Darwin on 12 January 1945 and received its new aircraft shortly afterwards. It began to move to Morotai in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) on 6 February and became operational there as part of No. 80 Wing at the end of March. The squadron conducted ground attack sorties against Japanese positions on nearby islands until the end of the war and also became responsible for Morotai's air defence from 28 May. Although no Japanese aircraft were encountered in this area, several Spitfires were shot down by anti-aircraft fire during ground attack sorties. Operations were hindered at times by personnel shortages, and many of the airmen who were posted to the unit were judged by the squadron's commander to have been inadequately trained. On 30 July No. 80 Wing was disbanded and the squadron became the first flying unit assigned to the newly formed No. 11 Group. This group was responsible for garrison duties in much of Borneo and the eastern NEI. No. 79 Squadron dropped leaflets on Japanese positions after Japan agreed to surrender on 15 August and returned to Australia in October 1945. It was disbanded at Oakey Airfield on 12 November that year. The unit suffered 13 fatal casualties during the war. In late 2010 the squadron was awarded battle honours for its World War II service in the Pacific, New Britain and Morotai.