No. 75 Squadron RAAF
Encyclopedia
No. 75 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

 (RAAF) fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

 unit based at RAAF Base Tindal
RAAF Base Tindal
RAAF Base Tindal is a Royal Australian Air Force air base located near the town of Katherine in the Northern Territory. The base is currently home to No...

 in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

. The squadron
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...

 was formed in 1942 and saw extensive action in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....

, operating P-40 Kittyhawks. It was disbanded in 1948, but reformed the following year and operated jet aircraft throughout the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

. The squadron was based at Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 from 1952 to 1954, flying de Havilland Vampire
De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...

s, and Malaysia from 1968 to 1983, with Dassault Mirage III
Dassault Mirage III
The Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the late 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. It was a successful fighter aircraft, being sold to many air forces around the world and remaining in production for over a decade...

s, before returning to Australia.

The squadron was re-equipped with F/A-18 Hornet fighters and moved to RAAF Base Tindal in 1988. It was placed on alert to support the Australian-led INTERFET
INTERFET
The International Force for East Timor was a multinational peacekeeping taskforce, mandated by the United Nations to address the humanitarian and security crisis which took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers...

 peacekeeping deployment to East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...

 in 1999 and saw combat in 2003 as part of the Australian contribution to the invasion of Iraq
Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
The Howard Government supported the disarmament of Iraq during the Iraq disarmament crisis. Australia later provided one of the four most substantial combat force contingents during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, under the operational codename Operation Falconer. Part of its contingent were among the...

.

Port Moresby and Milne Bay

In February and March 1942 the Allied position in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

 was under pressure and Japanese aircraft had been sighted over the Torres Strait Islands
Torres Strait Islands
The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands which lie in Torres Strait, the waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea but Torres Strait Island known and Recognize as Nyumaria.The islands are mostly part of...

 and Cape York
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...

 in northern Australia
Northern Australia
The term northern Australia is generally known to include two State and Territories, being Queensland and the Northern Territory . The part of Western Australia north of latitude 26° south—a definition widely used in law and State government policy—is also usually included...

. As a result, priority was given to basing a fighter squadron at Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...

 in New Guinea to defend the town's important airfields and port facilities. The RAAF received an allocation of 25 P-40 Kittyhawk fighters in late February that were flown to Townsville, Queensland
Townsville, Queensland
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2006 census...

 and used to form No. 75 Squadron on 4 March 1942. The need to reinforce Port Moresby's defences was so pressing that the squadron was allowed only nine days to train with the aircraft before it deployed. Commanded initially by Squadron Leader Peter Jeffrey
Peter Jeffrey (RAAF officer)
Peter Jeffrey DSO, DFC was a senior officer and fighter ace in the Royal Australian Air Force . Born in Tenterfield, New South Wales, he joined the RAAF active reserve in 1934, and transferred to the Permanent Air Force shortly before World War II...

, No. 75 Squadron's advance party arrived in Port Moresby on 17 March and its aircraft followed between the 19th (when Squadron Leader John Jackson
John Francis Jackson
John Francis Jackson DFC was an Australian fighter ace of World War II, credited with eight aerial victories. Born in Brisbane, he was a grazier and businessman when he joined the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve in 1936...

 assumed command) and 21st of the month. At this time only four of the squadron's 21 pilots, including its commander, had previously seen combat.

No. 75 Squadron took part in the Battle of Port Moresby
Battle of Port Moresby
The Battle of Port Moresby was an aerial battle fought between aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force , United States Army Air Force and aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy between 3 February 1942 and 17 August 1943 over Port Moresby, New Guinea.-References:**...

 between March and April 1942. The squadron scored its first "kill" on the afternoon of 21 March when two Kittyhawks shot down a Japanese bomber which was conducting a reconnaissance of the town. On 22 March nine Kittyhawks attacked the Japanese airstrip at Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...

, destroying 14 aircraft (including two during a dogfight
Dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...

) and damaging another five; two Australian aircraft were lost in this operation though another three crashed in separate accidents on 22 March. The Japanese launched a retaliatory raid on Port Moresby the next day. No. 75 Squadron was in action over Port Moresby or Lae almost every day during late March and April, and was generally outnumbered by Japanese aircraft. As well as mounting their own attacks on Japanese positions, the Kittyhawks also frequently escorted a squadron of United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....

 (USAAF) A-24 Banshee dive bombers, which were stationed at Port Moresby. No. 75 Squadron's casualties quickly mounted and were exacerbated by high rates of disease. Squadron Leader Jackson was shot down and killed on 28 April, shortly after he had destroyed a Japanese fighter. His younger brother Squadron Leader Les Jackson
Leslie Douglas Jackson
Leslie Douglas Jackson DFC & Bar was an Australian fighter ace of World War II, credited with five aerial victories. Born in Brisbane, he was a businessman when he joined the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve in 1937...

 assumed command the next day. By the time two USAAF squadrons arrived to reinforce it on 30 April, No. 75 Squadron had been reduced to just three serviceable aircraft and a further seven Kittyhawks in need of repair. The squadron was withdrawn from operations on 3 May after losing two aircraft the day before. During its period at Port Moresby No. 75 Squadron was confirmed to have destroyed 35 Japanese aircraft, probably destroyed another four and damaged 44. The squadron suffered twelve fatalities and lost 22 Kittyhawks, including six in accidents.

The squadron departed Port Moresby to return to Australia on 7 May 1942. It was first located at Townsville and later moved to Kingaroy followed by Lowood
Lowood, Queensland
Lowood is a town in south east Queensland, Australia. The town is located on the Brisbane River, 66 kilometres west of the state capital, Brisbane or 17 km birds line and 31 kilometres north of Ipswich...

 to be re-equipped. During this period it also received a number of pilots who had served in Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...

-equipped squadrons in Europe. In late July the unit departed Queensland and returned to New Guinea.
No. 75 Squadron arrived at Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....

 on 31 July 1942 where it joined No. 76 Squadron
No. 76 Squadron RAAF
No. 76 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force flight training squadron. Established in 1942, the squadron operated P-40 Kittyhawk fighter aircraft and saw combat during World War II. Following the war it formed part of Australia's contribution to the occupation of Japan until it was...

, which was also equipped with Kittyhawks. At the time an Allied base was being developed at Milne Bay to both protect Port Moresby and mount attacks against Japanese positions in New Guinea and nearby islands. Japanese aircraft made their first major raid on Milne Bay on 11 August, which was intercepted by Kittyhawks from both No. 75 and No. 76 Squadrons. In mid-August the Milne Bay defenders were warned that they might be the target of a Japanese landing, and on 24 August Japanese barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...

s were sighted heading for the area. These vessels were destroyed the next day on Goodenough Island
Goodenough Island
Goodenough Island in the Solomon Sea is the westernmost of the three large islands of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It lies to the east of mainland New Guinea and south west of the Trobriand Islands.It should not be confused with Goodenough's Island...

 by nine No. 75 Squadron Kittyhawks. However, on the night of 25/26 August another Japanese convoy landed an invasion force at Milne Bay. During the resulting Battle of Milne Bay
Battle of Milne Bay
The Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea on 25 August 1942, and fighting continued until the Japanese retreated on 5...

 the two Kittyhawk squadrons provided important support to the Allied defenders by heavily attacking Japanese positions and intercepting Japanese air raids on the area. On 28 August the Kittyhawks were withdrawn to Port Moresby when the Japanese troops came close to their airstrips, but they returned to Milne Bay the next day. No. 75 and No. 76 Squadrons later supported the Allied counter-offensive at Milne Bay which ended with the remaining Japanese troops being evacuated in early September. Following the battle Lieutenant General Sydney Rowell
Sydney Rowell
Lieutenant General Sir Sydney Fairbairn Rowell, KBE, CB was an Australian soldier who served as Chief of the General Staff from 17 April 1950 to 15 December 1954...

, the commander of New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force was a military command unit for Australian, territory of Papua and territory of New Guinea troops serving in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. Formed in April 1942 it was responsible for planning and directing all operations within the territory up until October 1944,...

, stated that the attacks made by the two squadrons on the day of the Japanese landing were "the decisive factor" in the Allied victory. From 21 to 23 September No. 75 Squadron flew sorties in support of the 2/12th Battalion
2/12th Battalion (Australia)
The 2/12th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army which served during World War II. Raised in late 1939 as part of the all volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force, the battalion served throughout the course of the war in the United Kingdom, North Africa, New Guinea and on...

 during the Battle of Goodenough Island
Battle of Goodenough Island
The Battle of Goodenough Island was the Allied invasion of Goodenough Island, Papua during World War II, in the South West Pacific Area to deny the Imperial Japanese the ability to use the island prior to the Buna campaign. The island was occupied by the Allies on 24 October 1942 after a short but...

.

In late September the two Australian squadrons at Milne Bay were relived by two USAAF squadrons, and No. 75 Squadron was redeployed to Horn Island. It subsequently moved again to Cairns for a period of rest before returning to Milne Bay in February 1943, under the command of Squadron Leader Wilfred Arthur
Wilfred Arthur
Wilfred Stanley Arthur DSO, DFC was an Australian fighter ace of World War II. He is officially credited with ten aerial victories...

. During this deployment the squadron operated alongside No. 77 Squadron
No. 77 Squadron RAAF
No. 77 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron. The Squadron was formed in 1942 and currently operates F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown.-History:...

. No. 75 Squadron flew patrols over Milne Bay and Goodenough Island, and on 14 May a mixed force of 17 Kittyhawks from it and No. 77 Squadrons inflicted heavy casualties on a force of 65 Japanese aircraft bound for Milne Bay while only a single Australian aircraft was lost. This was No. 75 Squadron's last major air battle of the war. From August to December the squadron was issued with two F-4 Lightning aircraft for photo reconnaissance tasks. No. 75 Squadron moved to Goodenough Island in October 1943 to support the Allied offensive in the Louisiade Archipelago
Louisiade Archipelago
The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread over an ocean area of between the Solomon Sea to the north and the Coral Sea to...

 and New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...

.

Offensive operations

In December 1943 No. 75 Squadron became part of No. 78 Wing
No. 78 Wing RAAF
No. 78 Wing is the Royal Australian Air Force's operational training wing. It is headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, and operates the BAE Hawk 127 lead-in fighter. The wing was formed in 1943 and operated P-40 Kittyhawk fighters in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II...

, which in turn formed part of the newly established No. 10 Operational Group
Australian First Tactical Air Force
The Australian First Tactical Air Force was formed on 25 October 1944 by the Royal Australian Air Force . Its purpose was to provide a mobile force of fighter and ground attack aircraft that could support Allied army and naval units fighting the Empire of Japan in the South West Pacific Area...

. This group had been formed to provide a mobile organisation capable of supporting the offensives in and around New Guinea which were planned for 1944. During the first half of 1944 the squadron frequently moved between air bases to support Allied operations and was based at Nadzab
Nadzab
-History:A Lutheran mission station was established at Nadzab around 1910. Nadzab was the site of the only Allied paratrooper assault in New Guinea on 5 September 1943.The Lae Nadzab Airport is a regional airport served by regional aircraft with domestic flights....

 from January to March, Cape Gloucester
Cape Gloucester
Cape Gloucester is a headland, in the northwest of the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, at . During World War II, the Japanese captured New Britain, and had driven most of Cape Gloucester's native population out to construct two airfields...

 from March to May, Tadji
Tadji, Papua New Guinea
Tadji is a small town on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun Province. It is located to the east of Aitape....

 in May, Hollandia
Jayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....

 from May to June and Biak
Biak
Biak features a tropical rainforest climate with nearly identical temperatures throughout the course of the year. The average annual temperature in the city is 27 degrees celsius, which is also generally the average temperature of each day in Biak...

 from June to July. During this period its role was to provide close air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...

 for Australian and US ground troops and protect Allied shipping from air attack. No. 75 Squadron was stationed at Noemfoor
Noemfoor
Numfor is one of the Biak Islands in Papua province, Indonesia. It was the site of conflict between Japanese and the Allied forces during World War II, and was major airbase for both sides.-Geography:The island is situated just north of the large Cenderawasih Bay...

 from July to November 1944 where it conducted long-range attacks on Japanese airstrips and shipping in the eastern islands of the Netherlands East Indies. No. 10 Operational Group was renamed the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF) on 25 October 1944; at this time No. 75 Squadron continued to form part of No. 78 Wing alongside No. 78
No. 78 Squadron RAAF
No. 78 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron of World War II. The Squadron was formed in July 1943 and was disbanded in April 1948 after seeing action in the South West Pacific.-History:...

 and No. 80 Squadrons
No. 80 Squadron RAAF
No. 80 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron of 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.-History:...

. The squadron was ordered back to Biak by 1TAF on 2 November to provide air defence for the island, to the displeasure of the pilots who considered that they were "being taken out of the war". Only 149 sorties were flown from Biak before No. 75 Squadron returned to Noemfoor on 11 December.

No. 75 Squadron and the rest of No. 78 Wing moved to Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...

 in the Netherlands East Indies in late December 1944. The squadron arrived at Morotai on 21 December and flew 147 operational sorties that month during attacks on Japanese positions in the nearby Halmahera
Halmahera
Halmahera is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia.Halmahera has a land area of 17,780 km² and a population in 1995 of 162,728...

 islands. Attacks on Halmahera and other islands in the NEI continued in early 1945, and No. 75 Squadron also flew sorties in support of US troops who were attacking the remaining Japanese on Morotai
Battle of Morotai
The Battle of Morotai, part of the Pacific War, began on September 15, 1944, and continued until the war ended in August 1945. The fighting began when United States and Australian forces landed on the south-west corner of Morotai, a small island in the Netherlands East Indies , which the Allies...

. These and similar operations were seen as wasteful by many of 1TAF's fighter pilots and their leaders. On 20 April, eight officers including Wilf Arthur, now a Group Captain and No. 78 Wing's commander, attempted to resign in protest during the "Morotai Mutiny
Morotai Mutiny
The "Morotai Mutiny" was an incident in April 1945 involving members of the Australian First Tactical Air Force based on the island of Morotai, in the Dutch East Indies...

".

From May 1945 No. 75 Squadron participated in the Borneo Campaign
Borneo campaign (1945)
The Borneo Campaign of 1945 was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area, during World War II. In a series of amphibious assaults between 1 May and 21 July, the Australian I Corps, under General Leslie Morshead, attacked Japanese forces occupying the island. Allied naval and...

. While the squadron's ground crew landed on Tarakan
Tarakan Island
Tarakan is an island off the coast of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is a marshy island situated in the eastern Celebes Sea, off the northeastern coast of Borneo. The island occupies an area of .-Petroleum:...

 with the invasion force
Battle of Tarakan (1945)
The Battle of Tarakan was the first stage in the Borneo campaign of 1945. It began with an amphibious landing by Australian forces on 1 May, code-named Operation Oboe One...

 in early May 1945, delays in bringing the island's airstrip into operation meant that its aircraft could not be deployed there until mid-July rather than 3 May as had been originally planned. During this period No. 75 Squadron's pilots remained at Morotai but conducted little flying, causing their morale to decline. Once established at Tarakan the Kittyhawks attacked targets near Sandakan
Sandakan
Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...

 and supported Australian forces during the Battle of Balikpapan
Battle of Balikpapan (1945)
The Battle of Balikpapan was the concluding stage of the Borneo campaign . The landings took place on 1 July 1945. The Australian 7th Division, composed of the 18th, 21st and 25th Infantry Brigades, with support troops, made an amphibious landing, codenamed Operation Oboe Two a few miles north of...

 in the war's last weeks.

Following the Japanese surrender No. 75 Squadron flew reconnaissance patrols over prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

 camps and continued general flying. The Kittyhawks were later flown to Oakey, Queensland
Oakey, Queensland
Oakey is a rural town situated in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. It is situated west of the state capital, Brisbane, and west of the regional city of Toowoomba. At the 2006 census, Oakey had a population of 3,657.-History:...

 and the ground crew returned to Australia in December 1945 onboard the British aircraft carrier . The squadron suffered 42 fatalities during World War II.

Cold War

From December 1945 to May 1946 No. 75 Squadron was maintained as a cadre located at Deniliquin
Deniliquin
Deniliquin, known locally as "Deni", is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales close to the border with Victoria.Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina and Cobb Highway approximately south west of the state capital, Sydney and north of Melbourne...

 and manned by one officer and three airmen without any aircraft. In May 1946 the squadron moved to RAAF Station Schofields
RAAF Station Schofields
RAAF Station Schofields was an aerodrome built by the Royal Australian Air Force between 1942-1944 at Schofields, New South Wales, Australia during World War II.The aerodrome was constructed for use as a satellite aerodrome for RAAF Station Richmond...

 near Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, but was not issued with any aircraft or further personnel until it moved to RAAF Base Williamtown
RAAF Base Williamtown
RAAF Base Williamtown is a Royal Australian Air Force base and headquarters to Australia's Tactical Fighter group. The base is located north of the coastal city of Newcastle, New South Wales in the Local Government Area of Port Stephens. The military base shares its runway facilities with...

 in September that year and was equipped with P-51 Mustang fighters. No. 75 Squadron used these aircraft for routine training and exercises until it was disbanded on 25 March 1948.
The squadron was re-formed at Williamtown on 24 January 1949 equipped with de Havilland Vampire
De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...

 jet fighters. From 1949 to early 1952 No. 75 Squadron conducted training exercises, which included teaching new pilots to operate Vampires, as well as making acceptance flights of Vampires delivered to the RAAF. During this period a key role for the squadron was training pilots for combat in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 with the Gloster Meteor
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...

-equipped No. 77 Squadron. In March 1952 the Australian Government decided to reform No. 78 Wing and deploy it to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 where it would form part of a British force which sought to counter the Soviet Union's
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 influence in the Middle East. No. 75 and No. 76 Squadrons were selected to form the wing's flying units, and they arrived at RAF Hal Far
RAF Hal Far
The RAF Hal Far airfield in Malta, titled HMS Falcon during the Royal Navy base, was constructed and opened on 1 April 1929, and was used by Royal Navy air crews. It was the first permanent airfield to be built in Malta. It was transferred to the Maltese Government and redeveloped as from January...

 in Malta during July 1952 and were equipped with Vampires leased from the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 (RAF). While based at Malta the wing took part in numerous training exercises in the Mediterranean region as well as Europe, including a large-scale NATO exercise in 1953 which involved 2,000 aircraft and 40,000 personnel. In addition, the wing participated in a royal review to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was the ceremony in which the newly ascended monarch, Elizabeth II, was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon, and Pakistan, as well as taking on the role of Head of the Commonwealth...

. No. 78 Wing moved to the RAF station at Ta' Qali in June 1953 where it remained until it returned to Australia in late December 1954. In preparation for its return to Australia No. 75 Squadron was disbanded in November 1954.

No. 75 Squadron was reestablished at Williamtown in April 1955. It was initially equipped with Vampires and Gloster Meteor
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...

 fighters, but these were replaced with CAC Sabre
CAC Sabre
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Allward, Maurice. F-86 Sabre. London: Ian Allen, 1978. ISBN 0-71100-860-4.* Curtis, Duncan. North American F-86 Sabre. Ramsbury, UK: Crowood, 2000. ISBN 1-86126-358-9....

 aircraft in early 1957. While operating Sabres the squadron made a number of deployments to Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

 for air defence exercises which often involved RAF units. On 8 December 1958 No. 75 Squadron transferred from No. 78 Wing to become an independent unit under the direct command of RAAF Base Williamtown. In November 1964 several of the squadron's pilots took part in an emergency deployment to Darwin when an Indonesian attack was feared as part of an apparent escalation of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation.
The squadron became the first Australian fighter unit to be equipped with Dassault Mirage III
Dassault Mirage III
The Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the late 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. It was a successful fighter aircraft, being sold to many air forces around the world and remaining in production for over a decade...

 fighters in December 1964 and was declared operational with these aircraft on 1 August 1967. It subsequently maintained a detachment of Mirages at Darwin from 2 May 1966 until early 1967. Following a period of training No. 75 Squadron transferred to RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaysia during May 1967. From this base the squadron took part in regular exercises with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), Royal New Zealand Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...

 (RNZAF), Republic of Singapore Air Force
Republic of Singapore Air Force
The Republic of Singapore Air Force is the air arm of the Singapore Armed Forces. It was first established in 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command...

 (RSAF) and occasional exercises involving the RAF. No. 75 Squadron also trained with the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 and United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 on occasion, including the large-scale Cope Thunder series of exercises during which it deployed to Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base is a former United States Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located 3 miles west of Angeles City, about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991...

 in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. Throughout its period based at Butterworth No. 75 Squadron deployed detachments of six Mirages to Tengah Air Base in Singapore on a rotational basis with No. 3 Squadron RAAF
No. 3 Squadron RAAF
No. 3 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron. It was first formed in 1916 and currently operates F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle, New South Wales.-World War I:...

, with this responsibility swapping between the two units every three months.

In 1981 the Australian Government decided to withdraw a RAAF fighter squadron from Malaysia to Darwin pending the completion of RAAF Base Tindal
RAAF Base Tindal
RAAF Base Tindal is a Royal Australian Air Force air base located near the town of Katherine in the Northern Territory. The base is currently home to No...

 near Katherine
Katherine, Northern Territory
Katherine is a town situated southeast of Darwin in the "Top End" of Australia in the Northern Territory. It is the fourth largest settlement in the Territory after the capital Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs...

 in the Northern Territory. No. 75 Squadron was the unit selected, and it arrived in Darwin in October 1983, becoming the first fighter squadron to be permanently based in the Northern Territory since World War II. The unit began to convert to F/A-18 Hornets in May 1988 and moved to Tindal in October that year. No. 75 Squadron also became part of No. 81 Wing
No. 81 Wing RAAF
No. 81 Wing is the Royal Australian Air Force's air superiority wing. Formed during World War II, it operated in the South West Pacific theatre, flying P-40 Kittyhawks. Following the end of hostilities, it converted to P-51 Mustangs and was based in Japan as part of the Allied occupational forces...

 during 1988. Tindal was close to the RAAF's newly developed Delamere Air Weapons Range and the squadron was assigned two GAF Nomad
GAF Nomad
The GAF Nomad is a twin-engine turboprop, high-winged, "short take off and landing" aircraft . It was designed and built by the Australian Government Aircraft Factories at Fishermens Bend, Melbourne. Major users of the design have included the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, the...

 light transport aircraft between January 1989 and 1993 to fly supplies to the facilities there.

Current role

During late 1999 No. 75 Squadron was placed on alert to provide close air support and air defence to protect the international forces which had deployed to East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...

 as part of INTERFET
INTERFET
The International Force for East Timor was a multinational peacekeeping taskforce, mandated by the United Nations to address the humanitarian and security crisis which took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers...

. However, despite the threat posed by Indonesian forces, ultimately they were not required.

No. 75 Squadron saw action for the first time since 1945 as part of the Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
The Howard Government supported the disarmament of Iraq during the Iraq disarmament crisis. Australia later provided one of the four most substantial combat force contingents during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, under the operational codename Operation Falconer. Part of its contingent were among the...

. The Australian Government announced that it would deploy a squadron of F/A-18s to the Middle East on 1 February 2003 and 14 No. 75 Squadron Hornets flew from Tindal to Al Udeid Air Base
Al Udeid Air Base
Al Udeid Air Base is a military base west of Doha, Qatar. It houses foreign coalition personnel and assets. It is host to a forward headquarters of United States Central Command, headquarters of United States Air Forces Central Command, and home to both No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group RAF and the...

 in Qatar via Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude....

 between 13 and 16 February. Following the outbreak of the Iraq War on 20 March the squadron was initially used to escort high-value Coalition aircraft such as tankers and E-3 Sentry aircraft. As it became clear that the Iraqi Air Force
Iraqi Air Force
The Iraqi Air Force or IQAF is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations...

 posed no threat, the role of No. 75 Squadron shifted to providing close air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...

 to Coalition ground forces and air interdiction
Air interdiction
Air interdiction is the use of aircraft to attack tactical ground targets that are not in close proximity to friendly ground forces. It differs from close air support because it does not directly support ground operations and is not closely coordinated with ground units...

 against Iraqi forces. These missions were initially flown in support of the US Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 but the squadron was later switched to supporting the US Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

. The squadron also supported the Australian Special Air Service Regiment and 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
The 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, was an Australian Army infantry battalion and part of the Royal Australian Regiment. The battalion was formed on 1 February 1964 and was renamed the 2nd Commando Regiment on 19 June 2009....

 on 12 April when these units captured Al Asad Airbase. No. 75 Squadron flew its last combat sortie on 27 April. During the war the squadron flew 350 combat missions and dropped 122 laser guided bombs. During these operations the squadron was augmented with pilots from No. 81 Wing's other F/A-18 squadrons. No. 75 Squadron's aircraft returned to Tindal on 14 May 2003 and its ground crew arrived there the next day.

In August 2005, a group of current and veteran members of No. 75 Squadron travelled to Papua New Guinea to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the Pacific War, and the 63rd anniversary of the Battle of Milne Bay. As at 2011, No. 75 Squadron remained at Tindal and was the RAAF's largest F/A-18-equipped unit. The squadron regularly exercises with units from the RMAF, RNZAF, RSAF and US Military and conducts training using the facilities of the Delamere Air Weapons Range.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK