100 FLYPAST November 2018
THE WAY WE WERE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE 79 SQUADRON
Bristol Beauforts to bomb a
Japanese camp on the Amgen
River, near Lindenhafen. During
one strike on February 3, Fg Off
Tassiker baled out near the Amgen
and was fortunate to be rescued by
a US Navy Consolidated
PBY Catalina.
Soon after this the Allies invaded
the Admiralty Islands and in
support the RAAF sought to
neutralise Japanese air power in
central New Britain. However, 73
Wing was nominated to garrison
Los Negros, after the islandwas captured in the face of stiff
Japanese opposition. No.79
Squadron’s 12 Spitfires followed
the Kittyhawks of 76 and 77
Squadrons into Momote on the
16th, despite continued Japanese
opposition elsewhere on the island.
After much hard work, the unit
resumed offensive operations on
March 29 with a strafing attack
on Pityilu Island. These continued
against Manus and other islands
until the entire archipelago fell
under Allied control, thus isolating
the enemy base at Rabaul with its
large garrison. There were no air-
to-air engagements at all during
the campaign in the Admiralties,
a measure of how effectively thethreat of Japanese airpower had
been reduced.
Attention then switched to
flying shipping escorts. A chronic
shortage of spares meant
groundcrews had to work long
hours to maintain the Spitfires.
Sadly, Max Bott was killed on April
16 during a take-off accident – he
was replaced by Sqn Ldr Stan
Galton. To the personnel’s intense
frustration, the spares situation
eventually limited flying to urgent
operational tasks alone. This
continued for several months, andat one stage the squadron
was reduced to just two
operational aircraft.
On November 9, following a
Japanese attack on Hyane harbour
on the west coast of Manus,
Spitfires flown by Flt Lt O’Dea and
Fg Off Hugh Kennare scrambled,
but were unable to make contact.
However, a standing patrol during
daylight hours was maintained for
nearly two weeks afterwards. At
the end of the month the unit was
stood down from operations and
began moving back to Sattler, south
of Darwin, to begin conversion to
the potent Spitfire Mk.VIII. It was
established there by January 12,
1945, but less than a month later ancentral New Britain. However, 73
Wing was nominated to garrison
Los Negros, after the islandAircraft types used by by 79 Squadron RAAF
Aircraft Type Period Used
Supermarine Spitfi re Mk.Vc May 1943-March 1945
Supermarine Spitfi re Mk.VIII February-November 1945
CAC Sabre Mk.31 June 1962-July 1968
Dassault Mirage IIIO; IIID March 1986-June 1988
de Havilland Canada Caribou March 1986-June 1988
Aermacchi MB.326H July 1998-March 2001
British Aerospace Hawk Mk.127 December 2000-presentFlt Lt David Hopton’s selection of artwork on
UP-T says it all! VIA N MACKENZIE
This Spitfi re Vc of 79 Squadron, A58-185/
UP-D seen at Momote in the Admiralty Islands
during August 1944, is unusual in being in a
natural metal fi nish. VIA R L WARDSqn Ldr Stan Galton
commanded 79
Squadron for more than
a year after taking over
in April 1944.
W J STOREY
on October 31 when Spitfires
flown by Flt Sgt Faulks and Sgt
Ian Callister spotted a Kawasaki
Ki-61 ‘Tony’ attempting to outrun
them. Powering after the Japanese
fighter, Callister soon caught up
and shot down the ‘Tony’ about
40 miles (64km) north of Kiriwina.
Sadly, the 21-year old Victorian
was killed soon afterwards in a
collision with Wg Cdr ‘Woof’ Arthur
who survived the encounter with
serious burns.
On November 8, Sqn Ldr Max
Bott took command, and on the
27th led eight Spitfires to strafe
Gasmata. Over Kiriwina the next
day, 79 Squadron claimed another
scalp when Fg Off A W Moore
was vectored onto a high-flying
Mitsubishi Ki-46 ‘Dinah’ on a
reconnaissance mission. Despite
the failure of one of his cannons,
Moore shot it down into the sea.
These Japanese recce flights
preceded several air raids during
December. One of these took place
on the 21st – Fg Off Richards and
Plt Off Barry shot down another
Ki-46; this turned out
to be 79’s last
air-to-air ‘kill’. Offensive sweeps
continued, with a Mitsubishi A6M
‘Zero’ destroyed on Gasmata
airfield on the 28th, but they
were not without loss as Fg Off
Wetenhall was killed over New
Britain three days later.Invasion support
During January 1944, 79
Squadron continued
flying offensive sweeps
over New Britain,
combining strafing
attacks with bomber
escorts. The mission
on January 17 was
typical, with
eight Spitfires
escorting