|
The RAAF in the post war
years and before Vietnam
|
 |
| Flying low over the placid waters of Lake Burley Griffin, with Parliament House in the background, this Dakota of No. 34 Squadron is making its final run back to its home base at Fairbairn, Australian Capital Territory. The Dakota, probably the most famous transport aircraft ever designed, served in almost every theatre during the war years, and although it has long since been replaced as a top-line transport, it is still in service in the RAAF on a limited scale. |
When the Royal Australian Air Force reached its twenty-fifth birthday on 31 March 1946, the large wartime force which in 1944 had a total strength of 164,000 officers and men was being rapidly demobilised. From the 1944 peak it fell during 1946 to
12,509 and by 1948 to 8,025, the lowest point in the post-war years.
In 1946 the Government fixed a figure of 12,000 men for the post-war RAAF and brought into being the Interim Air Force as a temporary measure until the peacetime air force could be established. This post-war organisation called for a strike force and home defence force totalling 16 squadrons and 144 aircraft. By
1950, aircraft in use included Lincolns (bombers), Mustangs and Vampires (fighters, the latter being the first jet-propelled aircraft in the RAAF) , Dakotas (transports) , Catalinas (flying boats) , Mosquitoes (survey aircraft), and Tiger Moths, Wirraways, Oxfords, Ansons and Beaufighters (training aircraft) .
To provide permanent officers, the RAAF College (later RAAF Academy) was established at Point Cook in 1948, and to ensure the flow of skilled personnel in the various trades, the RAAF School of Technical Training was established at Wagga, New South Wales. By 1970 this school had turned
out 2,500 apprentice graduates whose contribution to the service has been and continues to be invaluable. In addition, since 1951 the school has graduated almost
18,000 adult trainees.
No squadrons of the RAAF had served outside Australia until the 1939-45 War. From 1939 to the present day the RAAF has had squadrons overseas continuously. All except three squadrons returned to Australia when the war ended. These were the three fighter squadrons of No. 81 Wing which were assigned to the
Allied occupation forces in Japan.
No. 81 Fighter Wing was at Labuan in Borneo when the war ended. Its three squadrons -
Nos 76, 77 and 82 - which had been operating in Kittyhawk fighter aircraft were re-equipped with Mustangs before proceeding to Japan via the Philippines. The Wing, with a strength of
1,750, became a major component of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces in Southern Japan. The RAAF Mustangs flew surveillance patrols over the Yamaguchi, Hiroshima, Tottori and Shimane prefectures and Shikoku Island. They also kept watch on the movements of vessels in the Inland Sea and Tsushima Strait to check the smuggling of aliens into Japan. In 1949,
Nos 76 and 82 Squadrons were withdrawn to Australia, leaving only No. 77 Squadron in Japan when, in June 1950, the Korean War began.
In the meantime, in 1948-49 ten RAAF transport crews had been sent to Germany as a contribution to the airlift which supplied Berlin with essential food and supplies during the Russian blockade of the city. The RAAF crews flew into Berlin almost sixteen million pounds of supplies and carried 7,702
passengers.
|
 |
| A de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber on a cross-country
test in Australia. |
 |
| The Vampire jet became common sight in the skies around
Australia in the post-war years. |
 |
| Flying high over the Queensland countryside, a Lincoln bomber of No. 6 Squadron makes a striking picture. RAAF Lincolns were deployed to Malaya in 1950 to aid the British Far East Air Force in its air campaign to crush the uprising by communist terrorists, and over a number of years contributed substantially to the success of the campaign. |
 |
| In the immediate post-war years the RAAF still maintained a very high state of readiness, and although in numbers the Service was dramatically decreased, those who remained to form the Permanent Air Force were kept constantly on their toes to ensure that standards built up over the war years did not slip. Air exercises were just one avenue to maintain this standard, and these Mustangs, of No. .3 Squadron, are preparing to leave their dispersal bays for such an exercise. |
 |
| Due to go into retirement, this Lincoln of No.
1 Bomber Squadron gets a final polish at Amberley before the Squadron is fully re-equipped with
Canberra bombers. The Squadron's Lincolns performed outstandingly during eight years of operations against terrorists in the Malayan Emergency. |
|
MALAYA |
| In 1950 the RAAF despatched a transport squadron (NO. 38)
to Malaya to assist in the operations against the Communist terrorists. The Dakotas of
No. 38 Squadron carried out supply dropping and air transport flights.
No. 38 Squadron was soon followed by No. i (Bomber) Squadron equipped with the Australian-built Lincoln aircraft. Operating from Tengah airfield on Singapore Island, the Lincolns carried out day and night bombing raids year after year until in mid 1958 the Squadron was withdrawn to Australia. The Australian Lincolns dropped 85 per cent of the bomb tonnage expended in the Malayan emergency operations - five times more than all other squadrons in Malaya together.
Although the Lincoln operations did not directly cause the death of more than a few of the terrorists, the bombing sorties had a
demoralising effect by causing them to move continually from areas where they were in established camps and could
obtain food and supplies. Two years after No. 1 Squadron was withdrawn from Tengah to Amberley, Queensland, in July 1958, the Malayan Government officially declared the
emergency at an end. |
 |
| It is 1953 and these Lincoln bombers of No.
1 Squadron are setting out over the Malayan jungle on a strike mission against Communist terrorists who staged an uprising against the Malayan Government in 1948During eight years of the emergency the Squadron's Lincolns contributed substantially to the eventual success of the campaign. |
 |
| Another souvenir for the trophy wall of No.
1 Squadron. Two Squadron signallers, Warrant Officers Alan Townsend (left) and Tom
Felily, inspect a Communist terrorist flag presented to the Squadron by an army unit in Malaya. The Warrant Officers served in RAAF Lincoln bombers during the eight year Malayan Emergency, which started in 1948. |
 |
| Mustangs and ground crew or No. 77 Squadron lined up on the tarmac
at Iwakuni, Japan, waiting for an inspection. The Squadron arrived in
Japan early in 1946 as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation
Forces, and in 1950 was committed to the war in Korea, initially using Mustangs, then later Gloster
Meteors. |
When the well-equipped North Korean army crossed Korea's -38th parallel early on Sunday, 25 June
1950, members of No. 77 Squadron RAAF were celebrating in the Sergeants' Mess at
Iwakuni, Southern Japan. Some of their Mustang aircraft had been crated and prepared for return to Australia. The Squadron was going home after four years of occupation duty. But the war that began with the North Korean army's attack and the uneasy peace that followed was to delay the return of
No. 77 Squadron for another four and a half years. As soon as Wing Commander L. T. Spence, the Squadron C.O., was informed of
the outbreak of the Korean conflict he immediately ordered his men to prepare their aircraft for action. However, no air attack
was made by the North Koreans on Iwakuni.
The Squadron's base at Iwakuni was within easy reach of the Korean battle area and General Douglas MacArthur, who became commander, through the United Nations, of all Allied forces in Korea, asked for
No. 77 Squadron to be committed to the war. The Australian Government agreed and
No. 77 Squadron became not only the first Australian squadron, but the first of the whole British Commonwealth to enter the fighting.
The first action for the Squadron came on 2 July, when four pilots, after breakfasting with their wives, took off before dawn to escort American transport aircraft bringing wounded out of Korea. A second mission escorted American light bombers attacking bridges near Seoul and a third mission escorted American B29 bombers attacking the North Korean airfield of
Hamhung. |
 |
Two Korean youngsters, orphaned through the war, seem happy to make friends with an Australian airman, LAC Bob Newton, outside
Kimpo, South Korea, not far from the airbase where members of the RAAF were serving with the British Commonwealth Forces.
Flight Lieutenant Bruce Gogerly, of Westmead, New South Wales, who achieved the distinction of shooting down a superior-performance Russian built MiG while serving with
No. 77 Squadron in Korea.
Flight Lieutenant Gogerly completed a tour of duty with the Squadron, then returned at a later date to serve at a USAF radar site.
Even though this was a ground job he kept his hand in by flying with the Squadron when he had a day off from official duties. |
 |
| An artist's impression of Meteors of No. 77 Squadron carrying out a bombing and strafing run against Communist positions in Korea. The Squadron originally went to Korea equipped with Mustangs, but later were withdrawn to Japan to convert to jets before once more taking over an attacking role against Communist ground positions. |
| No. 77 Squadron was engaged in the following weeks in continuously harassing the enemy forces in their drive to seize all of South Korea before American forces and other United Nations military formations could be deployed to stem the tide. In a desperate struggle, the Pusan perimeter in the south-east corner of the Korean Peninsula held and following General MacArthur's successful counter blows at Inchon and Wonsan,
No. 77 Squadron moved from its base at Iwakuni to a bare airfield at Pohang on the east coast of Korea from which they supported the drive northwards across the 38th parallel.
In November the Squadron moved again, going north to Hamhung in North Korea where ground crews had to sweep snow from the wings of the Mustangs before the pilots took off on missions. Servicing aircraft was a constant battle against the freezing conditions, but with the Chinese armies now pushing southwards from Manchuria, the RAAF had to maintain a maximum combat effort. Flying out of Hamhung the RAAF pilots struck heavily at Chinese transports pouring down the
roads out of Manchuria. They flew close support missions for the Turks and the Australian 3rd Battalion in action in
Pakchon. But the Chinese armies soon gained the upper hand and in the general withdrawal
No. 77 Squadron was ordered south to Pusan where missions continued on a maximum effort
basis.
In April 1951, the Squadron was withdrawn to Iwakuni to be re-equipped with Meteor 8 twin-engined jet fighters. In July, with training in Meteors completed, the squadron went back to Korea and joined the American 4th Fighter Group at Kimpo, near Seoul. The following month the RAAF pilots fought their first battle against the Russian
MiG aircraft and this and later battles demonstrated that the Meteor was no match for the
swept-wing MiG-15s. The Meteors were fitted with rocket rails and assigned to the ground attack role using rockets and cannons and they continued in this role until the fighting ended in July
1953.
In three years No. 77 Squadron lost thirty-five members dead and in addition a number of RAF
pilots on exchange duty with the Squadron were killed in action. The Squadron carried out 81,872 individual sorties, destroying
3,700 buildings, 1,500 vehicles and 16 bridges. It shot down three MiG-15s and three other enemy fighters.
RAAF Dakotas of No. 30 Transport Unit carried out most of the aerial supply and medical evacuation for the British Commonwealth forces in Korea. The Transport Unit grew into
No.36 Squadron in March 1953. In the medical air evacuation role alone the Dakotas carried a total of
12,000 troops out of Korea. They carried 100,000 passengers and
13,500,000lbs of freight and mail.
|
 |
| A last minute briefing to pilots of No. 77 Squadron from their commanding officer, Squadron Leader R. C. Cresswell, before take off from a base in Korea on an operational mission. On this particular mission the RAAF Meteor pilots were assigned as escort to United States Air Force Shooting Stars on a photographic sortie. |
 |
| A formation of RAAF Meteor jets of No. 77 Squadron in flight over Korea. Under the wing of the nearest jet can be seen the rails for the high explosive rockets which the Squadron used with deadly accuracy against enemy troops and
installations. |
 |
A high explosive rocket used by No. 77 Squadron for their
attacks against Communist ground positions in Korea.
Holding the rocket is RAAF armourer AC1 Keith Inglis, of Wentworthville, Sydney. |
 |
| Former prisoners of war in North Korea, these two RAAF pilots were all smiles when they received new uniforms at the RAAF base at Kimpo soon after their release. Flight Lieutenant Gordon Harvey, D.F.C. (left) pins a new set of wings on the uniform of Flying Officer Ron Guthrie. Harvey, now a Group Captain, escaped from his prison camp once, but was recaptured when he was almost in sight of freedom. Altogether four RAAF pilots were taken prisoner during the Korean war. |
 |
| MiG killers: Pilot Officer Bill Simmonds (left) and Pilot Officer John Surman exchange mutual congratulations on their successes against
superior performance Russian-built MiG 15 aircraft over North Korea. Both were serving in NO- 77 Squadron, operating Gloster Meteor jets. Pilot Officer
Surman, of Burwood, Sydney, claimed a probable when he and another Squadron pilot were 'jumped' by two MiGs from a flight of nine. Pilot Officer Simmonds from Bunbury, West Australia, had his 'kill' confirmed when he was providing cover for American fighter bombers blasting targets near Pyongyang |
 |
| A RAAF nursing sister offers a litter patient some reading material during an air ambulance flight from Korea to
Iwakuni, in Japan, during the Korean war. RAAF aircraft flew hundreds of wounded and sick from the war theatre to Japan throughout the conflict. |
 |
| Hard-hitting 20mm cannon shells being loaded into the weapons. system of a RAAF Meteor jet at Kimpo during the Korean war. The armourer is LAC P. O'Toole, of Strathmore, Melbourne, serving with No. 77 Squadron. |
 |
| The end of another successful mission over enemy lines during the Korean war, and this
Meteor jet of No. 77 Squadron is marshalled back into its revetment for refuelling and rearming, ready to scramble at short
notice. |
|
