No.
2 Squadron
No.
2 Squadron
No. 2 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps was formed in Egypt during
September 1916. Shortly afterwards the squadron embarked for the United
Kingdom, arriving there on the 30th of January, 1917, and was sent to
Lincolnshire for training with the Royal Flying Corps.
The main body of 2 Squadron flew to St. Omer, France, on the 21st of
September, 1917. The following day the squadron made Baizieux Aerodrome
its base and was attached to the 13th (Army) Wing, Royal Flying Corps,
operating with the British Third Army. On the 2nd of October, the squadron
fought the first Australian air combat in France when a patrol of four aircraft
pursued a German aircraft.
During the Allied advances of late 1917 to early 1918, the squadron
was involved in support of the army. For its efforts during the Battle of
Cambrai, the squadron was commended by the commander of the Royal
Flying Corps. The squadron’s DH-5 aircraft were replaced by SE-5a aircraft
from the end of 1917.
From April, the squadron operated from Bellevue Aerodrome. The
squadron operated from this airfield with great success, and many German
aircraft were shot down. on the 12th of June, Major R.C. Phillipps destroyed
four enemy aircraft.
By August, 1918, the Allies had gained air supremacy on the northern
sector of the front. 2 Squadron was able to carry out bombing and strafing
attacks almost unopposed. German airfields around Lille were harassed with
large numbers of aircraft being destroyed on the ground. Any enemy aircraft
that ventured into the air was shot down. As a result of the lack of enemy
aircraft to fly against, the squadron reverted to bombing and ground strafing
during October, 1918.
After the Armistice, 2 Squadron remained in the vicinity of Lille until
demobilization. By the end of February, 1919, the squadron had handed over
its aircraft in preparation for its move back to Australia. 2 Squadron arrived in
Australia in June and was disbanded later in that month.
When the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) formed in 1921 the
formation of squadrons followed slowly. 2 Squadron did not reform until the
10th of January, 1922, and then only as a nucleus of two officers and four
airmen at Point Cook. The following July the squadron was disbanded.
2 Squadron reformed at Laverton on the 3rd of May, 1937, as a
General Reconnaissance Squadron, equipped with two Hawker Demon
aircraft. The squadron participated in a few air displays while keeping up its
general service flying training. The squadron was re-equipped with Avro
Anson aircraft by the end of 1937. Early in 1938, the squadron became the
first to be equipped with the CAC Wirraway aircraft.
Mobilization for war was completed in September, 1939, by which time
the squadron had eleven officers, one hundred and thirty airmen and ten
Ansons. The squadron was still based at Laverton and for the first part of the
war conducted many seaward searches for enemy raiders.
In June, 1940, the squadron re-equipped with Lockheed Hudson
aircraft. Four Hudsons were moved to Darwin on the 5th of December, 1941,
with the remaining aircraft arriving a few days later.
Another move saw the squadron established at Penfoei, on Timor, by
the 10th of December, 1941. From there the squadron flew patrols and was
able to attack a Japanese pearler which was a suspected communications
ship. The ship proved difficult to sink, but was eventually abandoned and
drifted aground. During the period of the 9th to 12th of December, 1941, 2
Squadron provided anti submarine patrols and general air cover for the
movement and disembarkation of Australian Imperial Force troops.
In January, 1942, 2 Squadron was operating simultaneously from
Darwin, Boeroe Island and Penfoei. The Japanese landing during the
northern Celebes invasion required an increased effort from the squadron. 2
Squadron, operating in conjunction with 13 Squadron, operated continually
making attacks on Japanese convoys.
The RAAF base at Koepang was bombed on the 26th of January, 1942.
Many aircraft were damaged while on the ground as there was not an
adequate warning system on the airfield to give warning of enemy raids. With
the enemy advance, the squadron moved back to Darwin on the 18th of
February, 1942.
Darwin was attacked on the 19th of February during which time 2
Squadron was moved south to Daly Waters. During the next few months, 2
and 13 Squadrons formed a joint operations room at Darwin. Most aircraft
were based at Daly Waters, but staged through Darwin. The squadron flew
reconnaissance missions over Timor and the islands situated to the north.
Offensive operations were carried out with reduced numbers of aircraft
consisted chiefly of attacks on bases newly acquired by the Japanese,
particularly Koepang Port and Penfoei Airfield.
During May, 2 Squadron carried out several large offensive missions.
These missions were mainly against Japanese shipping in the harbour at
Ambon and the enemy positions at Dili and Koepang. While the squadron was
involved in these attacks it still kept up its reconnaissance tasks and
anti-submarine patrols. Supplies were dropped to ‘Sparrow Force’ who were
still resisting in Portuguese Timor.
During the months of June to October, 1942, 2 Squadron was involved
in many attacks on Japanese positions. While overall these attacks were
successful the squadron did sustain several losses due to enemy action.
Thirteen crews were lost in 1942.
On the 4th of July, 1943, advice was received from General MacArthur
that 2 Squadron, RAAF, had been cited in his recommendation in the name of
the President of the United States as public evidence of the deserved honour
and distinction. The citation reads:
Number 2 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force is cited for outstanding
performance of duty in action during the period from 18 April 1942 to
25 August 1942. Operating from bases in North Western Australia, this
Squadron equipped with aeroplanes highly vulnerable to enemy
fighter aeroplanes made repeated attacks on enemy shipping,
aerodromes, troops, and installations on and near Timor, Amboina and
other Islands in the Banda Sea, inflicting heavy damage to enemy
material and causing numerous casualties. It successfully maintained
continuous long range reconnaissance over the waters to the North
West of Australia. The courage of its members in combat and high
morale of this Unit under hazardous combat situations, contributed
greatly to the success of operations in the area.
From August, 1943, 2 Squadron was tasked with escorting Allied
shipping in the north-western area. Other tasks included reconnaissance over
the Timor and Arafura Seas and enemy bases.
2 Squadron started replacing its Hudsons with Beauforts during
January, 1944, and operated both types until April. The first operational
mission flown by Beauforts was on the 12th of January, 1944.
May, 1944, saw 2 Squadron once again withdrawn from operations in
order to be re-equipped with B-25 Mitchell aircraft. The squadron became
operational by the end of June and at that time was the only RAAF squadron
to be flying Mitchells. The first strike using Mitchells was on the 27th of June,
1944, with an attack on Lautem West, on Timor.
During the following months, 2 Squadron was involved in joint
operations with other RAAF units. Most of these operations were aimed at
harassing Tanimbar, Kai and Aroe Islands in an attempt to blockade the
Japanese in the Arafura Sea.
While these operations were going on the squadron changed
significantly. A slow replacement of aircrew meant that the squadron was
undermanned and many aircrew who did arrive were not trained on B-25
aircraft. To fix the problem the squadron reduced its operational tasks for
several weeks in order to train new crews.
In December the squadron was devoted to destroying enemy barges
and smaller freighters. The Japanese were relying on these vessels to supply
their outlying garrisons with food and equipment. From the 15th to 18th of
December shipping sweeps were made along Soemba-Savo-Roti Islands.
They proved particularly successful as a total of 1,000 tons of shipping was
either damaged or destroyed.
The new year saw 2 and 18 Squadrons once again engaged in joint
operations and their combined operations were largely responsible for the
removal of all enemy shipping from their area of operations.
During March, 1945, 2 Squadron limited its operations in order to move
to Jacquinont Bay. Advance ground parties flew and sailed to Jacquinot Bay
during February and March. The squadron aircraft stayed at Hughes Airfield.
The ground crew then moved to Balikpapan and the aircraft flew there from
Hughes.
The long awaited move to Borneo was effected in August but it was not
until the 23rd that the squadron was reunited at Balikpapan. It was ironic that
a squadron which had been partially immobilized for a period of six months
awaiting movement to a forward area should arrive in that area several days
after the cessation of hostilities. Despite this the squadron was able to play a
significant role in the location of prisoner-of-war camps. The squadron made
supply drops to all the camps in the Celebes area.
In October the squadron became a transport squadron until November
when it ceased operations. On the 20th of December it began moving to the
mainland. When the squadron arrived in Australia it was based at Laverton
and was reduced to a cadre basis until it disbanded on the 15th of May, 1946.
On the 23rd of February, 1948, 21 Squadron was renamed as 2
(Bomber) Squadron. It was based at Amberley and equipped with Lincoln
aircraft as part of 82 (Bomber) Wing. The squadron quickly settled down and
embarked upon a rigorous training program. In December, 1953, the
squadron exchanged its Lincolns for Canberra aircraft.
Early in September, 1957, three Canberras from the unit flew to Malaya
to celebrate the independence of that state. 2 Squadron deployed to
Butterworth on the 1st of July, 1958, and became a part of the British
Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve.
In April, 1967, the Squadron was sent to South Vietnam and
commenced operations out of Phan Rang as a part of the USAF’s 35th
Tactical Fighter Wing. While in Vietnam the squadron achieved a 97%
serviceability rate and flew 4-6% of the wings missions but accounted for 16%
of the bomb damage. The squadron initially flew high level missions under
radar control, then changed to low level visual bombing with unsurpassed
accuracy.
2 Squadron moved back from Vietnam to Australia on the 4th of June,
1971. Five days later the squadron was reformed as an aerial photographic
squadron based at Amberley.
In this new role the squadron was responsible for survey mapping.
This task lasted for some nine years, covering most of Papua New Guinea,
Indonesian Islands and large areas of Australia.
The last operational flight of 2 Squadron was made on the 26th of July,
1982. This mission was a flypast over Brisbane on the 30th of June, 1982.
We would welcome any additions to be added to this section.
When visiting Australia, drop in at
Wagga Wagga and give us a call