No. 1 Wing RAAF
No.1 Wing was an Australian Flying Corps and Royal Australian Air Force wing active during World War I and World War II. The wing was established on 1 September 1917 as the 1st Training Wing. It commanded the AFC’s pilot training squadrons in England until April 1919, when it was disbanded. It was reformed on 7 October 1942 as a fighter unit comprising two Australian and one British flying squadrons equipped with Supermarine Spitfire aircraft, and a mobile fighter sector headquarters. It provided air defence to Darwin and several other key Allied bases in northern Australia until the end of the war.
About No. 1 Wing RAAF in brief
No.1 Wing was an Australian Flying Corps and Royal Australian Air Force wing active during World War I and World War II. The wing was established on 1 September 1917 as the 1st Training Wing. It commanded the AFC’s pilot training squadrons in England until April 1919, when it was disbanded. It was reformed on 7 October 1942 as a fighter unit comprising two Australian and one British flying squadrons equipped with Supermarine Spitfire aircraft, and a mobile fighter sector headquarters. It provided air defence to Darwin and several other key Allied bases in northern Australia until the end of the war, and was again disbanded in October 1945. In 1919 the AFC was disbanded and succeeded by the Australian Air Corps, which was in turn replaced with an independent Australian Air force. The first proposal for the RAAF’s force structure included two fighter wings, designated No. 1 Wing and No. 2 Wing, each comprising two squadrons. In July 1920 the Air Board approved the establishment of a base at Laverton, Victoria, to house No 1 and its component squadrons as well as No 2 and No 1 Squadrons. No 1 Wing was disbanded in July 1922, but No 1 Squadron was reduced to a cadre cadre and No 2 Squadron was disbanded later that year. The last entry in the 1th Training Wing’s war diary had been made in April that year, with the last entry for the wing’s personnel being made in September 1917. At least 17 members of the wing died from disease or were killed in accidents on the ground.
After the final Japanese air raid on northern Australia in November 1943, No 1 Wing saw little combat, which led to its personnel suffering from low morale. It eventually downed more Japanese aircraft than it lost in combat, but this did not eventuate. In September 1939 the Australian War Cabinet approved the formation of a RAAF Expeditionary Force for overseas service, which would have included a wing designated No 1 Fighter Wing. Under this proposal, the wing would have been responsible for the overseas service of a number of Australian airmen. The 1st Flying Corps Wing was formed on 20 September 1939 and was based at Minchinhampton, England. As of April 1918 the wing’s units were manned by approximately 1000 personnel, making it the largest single body of Australian Airmen anywhere in the world at that time. It continued to conduct pilot training courses in England. This activity was undertaken to strengthen the AFC and keep pilots and ground crew occupied until they were repatriated to Australia. In May 1919 the wing left MinchinHampton to begin the journey back to Australia, and several of its pilots took part in a fly-past over London on Anzac Day. In March 1921 the wing was disbanded, but it was re-established in January 1922 as the No.1 Fighter Wing, with No 1 Squadron and No 2 Squadrons as its component squads. It remained in service until July 1924, when No 1 Squadron and No 2 Squadron were disbanded.
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This page is based on the article No. 1 Wing RAAF published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 07, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
