No. 450 Squadron was a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force that operated during World War II. Established at RAAF Station Williamtown, New South Wales, in February 1941, it was the first Australian Article XV squadron formed under the Empire Air Training Scheme. Over the next 15 months, it fought in the North African and Tunisian Campaigns in both fighter and fighter-bomber roles. In July 1943, it took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily and the Italian campaign, primarily in the close support role. The squadron began converting from Kittyhawks to North American P-51 Mustang fighters in May 1945, but never saw action with its new aircraft.
About No. 450 Squadron RAAF in brief
No. 450 Squadron was a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force that operated during World War II. Established at RAAF Station Williamtown, New South Wales, in February 1941, it was the first Australian Article XV squadron formed under the Empire Air Training Scheme. Over the next 15 months, it fought in the North African and Tunisian Campaigns in both fighter and fighter-bomber roles. In July 1943, it took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily and the Italian campaign, primarily in the close support role. The squadron began converting from Kittyhawks to North American P-51 Mustang fighters in May 1945, but never saw action with its new aircraft. It was disbanded in August 1945 following the conclusion of hostilities, having suffered 63 fatal casualties during the war. Today, by agreement with the RAAF, the squadron’s number is carried by a Royal Canadian Air Force unit, 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron. No. 450 Squadrons were paid and loaned to the Royal Air Force by the British government for all practical purposes for all RAF squadrons in every way in every theatre of operations. Seventeen RAAF squadrons were formed during the War under Article XV of the agreement. The majority of the pilots were from Australia, Canada, Britain and New Zealand, but personnel could be drawn from any Commonwealth nation. In October 1941, a batch of 20 trainee Australian, British and Canadian pilots—the majority being Australian—were posted to the squadron. A fortnight later these pilots were posted to an Operational Training Unit, and it began duties as an advanced and repair and repair unit.
By December 1941 the squadron was taking delivery of Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk fighters and began receiving pilots and it took service in North Africa and the Middle East. In August 1941, its personnel were separated from No. 260 Squadron RAF to form No. 260450 Squadron, which briefly operated Hawker Hurricane fighters in Syria. In December 1941, RAF Command issued an administrative instruction declaring that although primarily manned by Australians, Nos. 450 and 451 Squadrons should be regarded as RAAF RAAF Squadrons for practical purposes. No 450 Squadron moved to Rayak airfield, Lebanon, where it was allocated Hurricanes and Miles Magister trainers. In February 1942, it flew 61 sorties against airfields, 20 on offensive patrols and six on bomber-escort duties during the Syrian campaign. In May 1942, the unit moved to Burg El Arab, Egypt, and began operating as anAdvanced and Repair and Repair unit, taking service in the South African Campaign. In June 1942, its pilots joined the pilots and Hawker Hurricanes of No. 260 Squadron RAF, which had been established without ground crew, to form an operational squadron. Its first operation was on 29 June 1941, when the Hurricanes attacked Vichy French airfields and infrastructure during the invasion of Syria. At RAF Abu Sueir, Squadron Leader Gordon Steege took command of the squadron before it was combined with the pilots to form a combined unit, known as No. 250450 Squadron.
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This page is based on the article No. 450 Squadron RAAF published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 08, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
