No. 15 Squadron was a

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) light bomber and maritime patrol squadron of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The squadron was formed in January 1944 and initially flew anti-submarine patrols off the east coast of Australia. From September that year elements of the squadron took part in the

New Guinea Campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 Jan ...

, and the main body of the squadron moved to New Guinea in March 1945. Its duties in New Guinea included anti-submarine and anti-barge patrols as well as attacking Japanese positions. No. 15 Squadron was demobilised after the end of the war, and was formally disbanded in March 1946.

History

No. 15 Squadron was formed at

Camden, New South Wales Camden is a historic town and suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, located 65 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district. Camden was the administrative centre for the local government area of Camden Council until July/August ...

, on 27 January 1944. The squadron was issued with 19

Bristol Beaufort The Bristol Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) is a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber. At l ...

light bombers and 380 air and ground crew, and had the roles of conducting anti-submarine patrols off the full length of the Australian east coast as well as supporting

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

and

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

operations and conducting photo reconnaissance.RAAF Historical Section (1995), p. 46 The unit's headquarters moved to nearby

Menangle, New South Wales Menangle is a village in the Macarthur region of New South Wales, Australia. Location Menangle is part of the Wollondilly Shire. At the , Menangle had a population of 875 people. At the , Menangle's population had risen to 1,150. History The t ...

in late February, but returned to Camden in May. In July 1944, No. 15 Squadron began preparations to deploy to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. An advance party departed on 21 July, but elements of the squadron remained in Australia where they continued to undertake anti-submarine patrols until the end of the war. On 25 December 1944 No. 15 Squadron Beauforts located the damaged

liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

''Robert S. Walker'' and her surviving crew shortly after the ship was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

ed by the German submarine ''U-862'' off

Moruya Moruya is a town located on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about south of Sydney and from Canberra. At the , Moruya had a population of 4 ...

. The liberty ship subsequently sank.RAAF Historical Section (1995), p. 47 No. 15 Squadron gradually moved to New Guinea between September 1944 and March 1945, and its headquarters was relocated to Madang Airfield at

Madang Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century. Histor ...

on 20 March 1945. A detachment was established at

Middleburg Airfield Middleburg Airfield (also known as Klenso Airfield or Toem Airfield) is a World War II airfield located on Middleburg Island, to the north of Sansapor in Southwest Papua, Indonesia. The airfield was abandoned after the war and today is almost tota ...

off the north-west tip of New Guinea shortly afterwards. The squadron's roles in New Guinea were to conduct anti-submarine and anti-barge patrols and attack Japanese ground positions. It also conducted photo reconnaissance sorties, and carried mail and other supplies.RAAF Historical Section (1995), p. 48 As at late April 1945, No. 15 Squadron's headquarters was located at Madang and it had operational detachments at Middleburg,

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

and

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

and a rear echelon at Camden.Eather (1995), p. 52 From 4 to 11 May 1945, a detachment of eight No. 15 Squadron aircraft was assigned to No. 71 Wing and supported the Australian Army forces engaged in the

Aitape–Wewak campaign The Aitape–Wewak campaign was one of the final campaigns of the Pacific Theatre of World War II. Between November 1944 and the end of the war in August 1945, the Australian 6th Division, with air and naval support, fought the Imperial Japane ...

alongside other Beaufort-equipped RAAF squadrons. These aircraft operated from Tadji Airfield at

Aitape Aitape is a small town of about 18,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun Province. It is a coastal settlement that is almost equidistant from the provincial capitals of Wewak and Vanimo, and marks the midpoint of the ...

. The aircraft bombed Japanese positions throughout the region, and mounted an intensive effort on 11 May to support the landing at Dove Bay. No. 71 Wing's operations were successful, though they were hampered by a continual shortage of

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

s.Odgers (1968), pp. 344–346 From June many of the squadron's operations from Madang were conducted in conjunction with the

P-40 Kittyhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

-equipped

No. 120 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron No. 120 Squadron was a joint Dutch and Australian Squadron (aviation), squadron of World War II. The squadron was first formed in December 1943 as part of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and saw combat in and around New Guinea during 1944 ...

. Following the end of the war on 15 August 1945, No. 15 Squadron dropped leaflets on Japanese positions. The unit also undertook transport and courier flights. The squadron received orders to return to Australia on 22 September, and its air echelon departed Middleburg Island late in the month. The sea echelon sailed on 2 October and No. 15 Squadron's headquarters arrived at

Kingaroy Kingaroy is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the junction of the D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highways, north-west of the state capital Brisbane and south west of Gympie. As a ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

on 5 October. The squadron began the demobilisation process as soon as it was established at Kingaroy, and was formally disbanded there on 23 March 1946.RAAF Historical Section (1995), p. 49 No. 15 Squadron suffered 15 fatalities during its existence.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 15 Squadron Raaf 15 Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 1946 disestablishments in Australia