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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 0689.PDF
13 April 1951 427 Hawker Demons, Bristol Bulldogs and Avro Ansons arrayed for inspection by the Governor of Victoria, at Laverton in 1937. Arthur, Perrin, and—now running an airline in New Guinea —Bobby Gibbes. Under the famous Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme agreement, Australia formed 17 Squadrons in the U.K. and Middle East, as well as feeding thousands more aircrew and groundcrew into R.A.F. and R.C.A.F. squadrons. Many people tend to forget what a great achievement the E.A.T.S. was. The R.A.A.F. alone trained 27,387 aircrew in Australia and gave elementary training to a further 4,760 pilots, 2,282 navigators, and 3,309 wireless operator/air- gunners who were sent to Canada. This demanded an enormous training organization. It was my privilege to command the No. 1 Initial Training School at Somers, Victoria, which helped to inaugurate this wonderful scheme in Australia in 1940. Soon afterwards it was again my privilege to see the product of the E.A.T.S. training actually operating in Britain, where I served with the R.A.A.F. for several years. Bomber pilots such as Middleton, our V.C. there, Peter Isaacson, Hampshire, Kingsford-Smith, Davenport, and many others made the name of Australia a proud badge to wear in Britain. The R.A.A.F.'s bomber pilots took part in all the main raids over Germany, including the very first 1,000-bomber raid and the celebrated attack on the dams. R.A.A.F. fighter pilots such as "Bluey" Truscott made a great reputation, too, in our fighter squadrons in the U.K.— units which began by defending Britain against the Luft- waffe in 1941 and later helped to smash German defence in Normandy in 1944 and to shoot down the flying bombs over England in 1945. The war in the Pacific, actually defending our own hearth and home, is perhaps more familiar to Australians. The RA.A.F. had four squadrons operating in Malaya in Decem- ber, 1941, and their Hudsons, Wirraways and Buffaloes were thrown into the Japanese War immediately. R.A.A.F. Hudsons attacked Japanese transports off the Malayan coast, then retired to the East Indies, fighting all the way. No. 75 Squadron's Kittyhawks, led by the Queenslander John Jackson, provided air cover for Moresby until U.S. Air Force Airacobras came. Only one of the 25 Kittyhawks returned to Australia; the Japanese lost 40 aircraft. At Milne Bay, R.A.A.F. Kittyhawks helped to inflict the first repulse experienced by the Japanese in an invasion attempt. Trus- cott, one of the R.A.A.F.'s aces in Europe, fought here. From Australian aircraft factories, Beaufort bombers, Beaufighters, Boomerangs, Wirraway army co-operation aircraft and, finally, Mosquitoes and Mustangs, flowed into the R.A.A.F., helped by Spitfires from England and Vultee Vengeances, Hudsons, Catalinas, and Liberators from America. From North Australian and Island bases, the °A.A.F. pressed home attacks against the Japanese in a mounting scale until, as the army made invasion after invasion, roundels bit deep into the East Indies ... Rabaul, Goodenough, Airape, Motatoi, Noemfoor. At the end, Australian Liberators helped the A.I.F. invade Borneo, Australian Mosquitoes photographed Jap bases even into the Philippines, Australian Catalinas mined even Hongkong harbour. One R.A.A.F. pilot, W. E. Newton, won a post- humous V.C. in the South-West Pacific. In all these operations throughout the war theatres of the world, the R.A.A.F. won 2 V.C.s, 62 D.S.O.s, 1,880 D.F.C.s, 401 D.F.M.s, and many other awards. It is a proud record. After the war, the R.A.A.F. was, naturally, demobilized in the same way as were the other forces. A permanent Air Force was planned and organized on a small scale, but it soon became obvious that another war threat was upon us. It was apparent that the R.A.A.F.'s post-war strength had to be reviewed. The Service today is rearming for the possibility of an international conflict. We are securing new aircraft types of the most modern kind—Australian-made Vampires are now being used to re-equip our home-based fighter squadrons, while Meteors have been bought in England for our squad- ron No. 77, in Korea. We have purchased Lockheed P2V-5S for long-range reconnaissance and anti-submarine patrols, and a small number of the wonderful new Canberra jet bombers. At the same time Australian factories are tooling up to produce Canberras here, with their engines, and also a very modern jet fighter type, the identity of which is still to be announced. Meanwhile, No. 77 Squadron has created a fine record in Korea. It was the first non-American unit of any arm to fight in Korea and since July 2nd it has flown more than 3,000 sorties. We also have No. 1 (Lincoln) Squadron and No. 38 (Dakota Transport) Squadron in Malaya operating against the Red bandits. After 30 years, the R.A.A.F. can look back upon great achievements. Our Air Force has built traditions not ex- celled by any other service; and we can be proud today that in the midst of the troubles which beset us in the world of 1951, the R.A.A.F. is again a first-class fighting force, both in morale and professional ability of its personnel and in the equipment which it is now receiving. The R.A.A.F. strives always to live up to its motto Per ardua ad astra. One of the Gloster Meteor 8s lately delivered to No. 77 Sqn., R.A.A.F., en route tc its airfield from aircraft carrier which ferried it.
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