No. 91 Wing RAAF
No. 91 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force wing that operated during the Korean War and its immediate aftermath. It was established in October 1950 to administer RAAF units deployed in the conflict. The wing was headquartered at Iwakuni, Japan, as were its subordinate units with the exception of No. 77 Squadron.
About No. 91 Wing RAAF in brief
No. 91 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force wing that operated during the Korean War and its immediate aftermath. It was established in October 1950 to administer RAAF units deployed in the conflict. The wing was headquartered at Iwakuni, Japan, as were its subordinate units with the exception of No. 77 Squadron, which was based in Korea and came under the operational control of the United States Fifth Air Force. It remained in Korea on garrison duty following the July 1953 armistice, and returned to Australia in November 1954. Some members of the US Far East Air Forces command favoured the establishment of a British Commonwealth Wing, to include No.2 Squadron of the South African Air Force, then en route to Korea, but the S. African government vetoed the idea. No.77 Squadron moved forward to Yonpo, near Hamhung, in November 1950, continuing its support of UN forces as they advanced up the peninsula. The squadron’s commanding officer, Wing Commander Lou Spence, was killed in action on 9 September 1950, and Air Commodore Alan Charlesworth, Chief of Staff at BCOF, temporarily took charge. The term “composite” referred to an RAAF formation made up of disparate operational elements, rather than one comprising a single type such as bombers or fighters.
No 77 Squadron converted to Gloster Meteor jets between April and July 1951, and operated primarily in the ground attack role from December that year. The following month, No 391 Squadron and No 91 Wing headquarters were disbanded. In March 1955, the newly formed RAAF Transport Flight briefly came under No.91 Wing’s control, but it was disbanded the same month. It left its main support elements at Iw Kakuni. No 91 Wing was established at the base on 20 October 1950, with No. 77 Squadron as Australia’s sole air unit in Japan. It had served with the British Commonwealth Air Group for the previous four years, equipped mainly with North American P-51 Mustangs, and was now the largest squadron in the RAAF, comprising 299 officers and men, forty Mustangs and three CAC Wirraways. It began flying missions as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force a week later. It moved to Pohang, South Korea, on 12 October 1950, leaving its mainsupport elements at Iwakun, Japan.
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