No.79 Squadron was formed in May 1943 as a fighter unit equipped with Supermarine Spitfires. It saw combat in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. Between June 1943 and the end of the war in August 1945 it flew air defence patrols to protect Allied bases and ships. It was disbanded in November 1945, but was re-formed between 1962 and 1968 to operate CAC Sabres from Ubon Air Base in Thailand. No. 79 Squadron was active again at RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaysia between 1986 and 1988. It has operated Hawk 127 jet training aircraft since 2000.
About No. 79 Squadron RAAF in brief
No.79 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force flight training unit that has been formed on four occasions since 1943. The squadron was established in May 1943 as a fighter unit equipped with Supermarine Spitfires, and subsequently saw combat in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. Between June 1943 and the end of the war in August 1945 it flew air defence patrols to protect Allied bases and ships, escorted Australian and United States aircraft, and attacked Japanese positions. It was disbanded in November 1945, but was re-formed between 1962 and 1968 to operate CAC Sabres from Ubon Air Base in Thailand. No. 79 Squadron was active again at RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaysia between 1986 and 1988 where it operated Mirage III fighters and a single DHC-4 Caribou transport. It has operated Hawk 127 jet training aircraft since 2000. The unit’s main role is to provide introductory jet aircraft training to RAAF pilots as well as refresher training on the Hawk for experienced pilots. It also supports Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy training exercises in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. No 79 Squadron was formed on 26 April 1943 under the command of flying ace Squadron Leader Alan Rawlinson. Its 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. It 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.
The allocation of 24 Spitfires to the squadron led to No. 1 Wing RAAF, which was stationed near Darwin and responsible for protecting the town against air attack, to suffer a shortage of these aircraft during June and July. No 79 Squadron moved to Goodenough Island in mid-May 1943 and began flying air defence sorties from there as part of No. 73 Wing. It did not intercept any Japanese aircraft while operating from this base. It moved to Kirwina Airfield on Kiriwina between 9 and 18 August, from where itoperated alongside the P- 40 Kittyhawks-equipped No. 76 Squadron. No Japanese raids were made on the airfield during the first weeks of the squadron’s deployment there, and its pilots were disappointed to not see combat while conducting patrols in support of United States Army Air Forces raids on Rabaul. In early October the squadron claimed its first victory when one of its Spitfires shot down a Kawasaki Ki-61 fighter 2 miles north of Kitava, New Guinea. After a training period of a few weeks No.79 squadron flew its first sweep over New Britain, however. The next day one ofits Spitfires were dispatched to Gasmata on New Britain to shoot down a Mitsubishi Ki-46 Ki-Dinah46 reconnaissance aircraft.
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