Royal Australian Air Force squadron
Military unit
No. 86 Squadron
was a
Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF) fighter squadron of
World War II
. The squadron was formed in March 1943 and was deployed to
Merauke
in
Dutch New Guinea
in July that year. While No. 86 Squadron was stationed at Merauke until April 1944, it saw little combat. After being transferred back to Australia its aircraft and personnel were transferred to other units, and only a nucleus of the squadron remained. While it was re-equipped with new aircraft in June 1945, the war ended before the squadron was ready for combat and it was disbanded in December 1945.
History
[
edit
]
No. 86 Squadron was formed at
Gawler, South Australia
, on 4 March 1943 and was equipped with
Curtiss P-40M Kittyhawk
fighter aircraft.
[2]
In May that year it moved to
Townsville, Queensland
, in May where it completed its training.
[3]
In early July 1943 No. 86 Squadron moved to Merauke in Dutch New Guinea to protect this base against Japanese air attack. Until this point the base had been protected by
CAC Boomerang
fighters of
No. 84 Squadron
flying out of
Horn Island
, but the completion of an airfield at Meruake allowed a Kittyhawk squadron to take on this duty. The decision to station a fighter squadron at Merauke was made in response to concerns that the Japanese could potentially attack and occupy the strategically located settlement, and the
Australian Army
garrison there was also expanded.
[4]
While there was generally little Japanese activity in the area by the time the squadron arrived, on 27 July sixteen No. 86 Squadron Kittyhawks were scrambled to intercept four Japanese aircraft which had been detected by radar. The Japanese aircraft were able to leave the area before the squadron could make contact with them, however. A force of 16 Japanese
Mitsubishi G4M
bombers and the same number of fighters raided Merauke on 9 September and were intercepted by 14 Kittyhawks from No. 86 Squadron. While most of the Kittyhawks suffered gun malfunctions and were unable to engage the Japanese, the squadron shot down two G4Ms and a
Nakajima Ki-43
fighter without loss.
[3]
From September 1943, the RAAF units in the Merauke?Torres Strait area had little to do as few Japanese aircraft operated in the area.
[5]
No. 86 Squadron next saw combat against Japanese aircraft on 22 and 23 January 1944 when it intercepted and destroyed two G4Ms and one
Mitsubishi A6M Zero
fighter near
Cape Valsch
; after these engagements the Japanese ceased sending aircraft into the Merauke area.
[3]
No. 86 Squadron also undertook other tasks in addition to its air defence duties. The squadron regularly conducted patrols of the Merauke area, escorted supply ships and exercised with Australian Army units.
[2]
It also undertook several ground attack missions, including an operation on 31 January 1944 in which four Japanese barges were sunk in the mouth of the
Lorentz River
.
[3]
The official history of the RAAF in this period notes that although the two squadrons on Merauke and Horn Island saw little action, they "fulfilled a very useful purpose" by protecting the flank of the Allied forces in New Guinea.
[6]
The squadron's tour of duty at Merauke ended on 25 April 1944, when it was replaced by
No. 120 (NEI) Squadron
. No. 86 Squadron subsequently moved to
Strauss Airfield
in the Northern Territory.
[2]
Shortly after it arrived, 19 of its Kittyhawks were transferred to
No. 77 Squadron
. This left the future of the squadron in doubt, and on 26 May it was announced that the unit was to be reduced to a
cadre
and its personnel used to form No. 5 Repair and Servicing Depot at
Bohle River Aerodrome
near Townsville, while its remaining Kittyhawks would be transferred to
No. 80 Squadron
. However, in June it was decided to retain No. 86 Squadron in nucleus form with a strength of two Kittyhawks and 30 personnel.
[7]
In late June 1944, No. 86 Squadron moved from Bohle River Aerodrome to Macrossan. It received more Kittyhawks and undertook training, and in June 1945 began to be re-equipped with
North American P-51D Mustang
fighters. The squadron established detachments at Merauke and
Thursday Island
, but the war ended before it could move forward into the combat zones. No. 86 Squadron was disbanded at Bohle River Aerodrome on 20 December 1945.
[8]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"RAAF Squadron Codes"
.
Encyclopedia
. Australian War Memorial
. Retrieved
8 December
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
RAAF Historical Section (1995), p. 92
- ^
a
b
c
d
Eather (1995), p. 97
- ^
Odgers (1968), p. 114
- ^
Odgers (1968), p. 116
- ^
Odgers (1968), p. 117
- ^
RAAF Historical Section (1995), pp. 92?93
- ^
Eather (1995), p. 98
References
[
edit
]
- Eather, Steve (1995).
Flying Squadrons of the Australian Defence Force
. Weston Creek: Aerospace Publications.
ISBN
1-875671-15-3
.
- Odgers, George
(1968) [1957].
Air War Against Japan 1943?1945
. Australia in the War of 1939?1945. Series 3 ? Air. Vol. 2 (reprint ed.). Canberra: Australian War Memorial.
OCLC
246580191
.
- RAAF Historical Section (1995).
Units of the Royal Australian Air Force. A Concise History. Volume 2 Fighter Units
. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.
ISBN
0-644-42794-9
.