56 FLYPAST May 2018
GHOSTGHOST
Andy Hay artwork of a Beaufighter that flew with the
Royal Australian Air ForceO
ne of five Royal Australian Air
Force (RAAF) units to operate
the Bristol Beaufighter in
the Pacific theatre (two others used
them in Europe), 93 Squadron was
armed with the robust twin-engined
fighter from January 1945 until its
disbandment in August 1946.
The last operational Beaufighter
unit, it was formed at Kingaroy,
Queensland, under the command
of Sqn Ldr Donald Gulliver.
Although it had no official motto,
it was nicknamed the Green Ghost
Squadron, presumably due tothe colour of its aircraft and the
sometimes covert nature of its
operations. Its unofficial badge
proclaimed it to be ‘Spookus
Sneakinus’.
The squadron was based at Labuan
in what is now Malaysia, following
the territory’s liberation from the
Japanese, and participated in what
remained of the Borneo Campaign,
the last major Allied offensive in the
South West Pacific during World
War Two. Our subject, A8-116, was
adorned with a particularly striking
image on its tailfin – described atthe time as a ‘pistol packin’ gremlin’.
Coded ‘SK-N’, it was usually flown
by W/O L W Mutton and his
navigator, F/Sgt C G Curthoys.
This aircraft survived the war
but force-landed on Noemfoor
(sometimes spelled Numfor)
Island, Western New Guinea,
after its starboard engine seized
on November 9, 1945. Following
a lengthy period in storage, it was
struck off charge on August 8, 1949.GREEN
WINGS OVER THE EAST BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER
Artwork
Bristol Beaufi ghter Mk.21
‘SK-N’ A8-116 of the
RAAF’s 93 Squadron in- ANDY HAY-2018
56 FLYPAST May 2018
Although it had no official motto,
it was nicknamed the Green Ghost
Squadron, presumably due toWar Two. Our subject, A8-116, was
adorned with a particularly striking
image on its tailfin – described atGHOSTGHOST
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WINGS OVER THE EAST (^) BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER