No. 119 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron was a joint Dutch and Australian
squadron of
World War II which formed part of the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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(RAAF). The squadron was formed in September 1943 but could not be made operational due to a shortage of Dutch personnel. As a result, it was disbanded in December 1943.
History
No. 119 (NEI) Squadron was raised at
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
on 1 September 1943. As a joint Australian-Dutch unit it was intended that the Dutch authorities would provide all the squadron's aircrew and aircraft while the RAAF would provide its ground crew. Once formed No. 119 (NEI) Squadron was to operate alongside
No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF, which had been formed on the same basis in April 1942 and was flying operations against the Japanese from Australia's
Northern Territory under RAAF command as part of the
North Western Area Campaign.
[RAAF Historical Section (1995), p. 105]
Personnel began to be assigned to the squadron from 1 September, though its commanding officer, Squadron Leader E.C. Rutter, was not appointed until the 16th of the month. By the end of September the squadron had a strength of 11
Netherlands East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
officers and 14 other ranks as well as three Australian officers and 32 other ranks. It was loaned two
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
bombers and a
Lodestar transport, but there is no record of these aircraft being flown while assigned to the squadron.
Due to a shortage of Dutch personnel it was decided to disband No. 119 (NEI) Squadron in late 1943, before the unit had become operational.
Accordingly, the squadron was disbanded at Canberra on 10 December.
The concise history of the squadron published by the RAAF Historical Section states that its personnel were posted to the newly formed
No. 120 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF while an essay by historian Albert Palazzo published on the
Australian War Memorial's website states that they were transferred to No. 18 (NEI) Squadron.
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
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Further reading
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{{List of RAAF Squadrons
119
119 may refer to:
* 119 (number), a natural number
* 119 (emergency telephone number)
* AD 119, a year in the 2nd century AD
* 119 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
* 119 (album), 2012
* 119 (NCT song)
*119 (Show Me the Money song)
* 119 (film), a ...
119
119 may refer to:
* 119 (number), a natural number
* 119 (emergency telephone number)
* AD 119, a year in the 2nd century AD
* 119 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
* 119 (album), 2012
* 119 (NCT song)
*119 (Show Me the Money song)
* 119 (film), a ...
Military units and formations established in 1943
Military units and formations disestablished in 1943
Military units and formations of the Netherlands in World War II
Dutch East Indies