The Rescue and Communication Squadron (also No. 1 Rescue and Communication Squadron) was a

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

(RAAF) squadron formed during

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 ...

. Raised for service during 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 ...

, the squadron existed between October 1942 and November 1943, and undertook a variety of support roles including search and rescue, transportation, reconnaissance and casualty evacuation. Upon disbandment, it was used to raise two new communications units.

History

Raised on 1 October 1942 at

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

, the unit operated for around a year, serving in the

. The unit was initially formed as a single

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

, before being expanded to a full squadron in November 1942, under the command of Squadron Leader

Jerry Pentland Alexander Augustus Norman Dudley "Jerry" Pentland, (5 August 1894 – 3 November 1983) was an Australian fighter ace in World War I. Born in Maitland, New South Wales, he commenced service as a Lighthorseman with the Australi ...

,RAAF Historical Section, ''Units of the Royal Australian Air Force'', p. 186 a World War I veteran, who was considered the oldest pilot in the RAAF at the time, but who had extensive experience operating in New Guinea. At this time it was designated the "Rescue and Communication Squadron", although it was also sometimes referred to as "No. 1 Rescue and Communication Squadron". The squadron was based at various locations around New Guinea, including

Goodenough Island Goodenough Island in the Solomon Sea, also known as Nidula Island, is the westernmost of the three large islands of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It lies to the east of mainland New Guinea and southwest ...

, and mainland airfields such as Vailala, Kerma, Amau, Girua Airport, Dobodura, Gurney Airport, Gurney and Garaina. Crews often operated from remote airfield, isolated for many months. They operated across a very wide area, dropping supplies to Australian troops around Milne Bay; evacuating civilians from remote areas in the northern highlands; evacuating wounded soldiers from locations as far afield as Buin, Papua New Guinea, Buin as well as along the Kokoda Track; and rescuing downed Australian and US airmen. Tasked with many roles, including personnel and freight transportation; aerial survey; photographic reconnaissance; casualty evacuation; and search and rescue operations, the squadron operated a wide variety of aircraft, including de Havilland Tiger Moths, De Havilland Dragons, de Havilland Fox Moths, de Havilland Dragon Rapides and Avro Ansons. It was also responsible for "transmitting and relaying messages over the Owen Stanley Ranges", and for carrying out airfield suitability assessments as the Allies sought out sites for airfield construction and expansion to support ground operations in New Guinea. In the search and rescue role, the squadron also used several flying boats, consisting of Supermarine Walruses, Dornier Do 24s and Consolidated PBY Catalinas. Many of the aircraft allocated to the squadron were obsolescent, but operating at low level they proved quite versatile and effective in evading Japanese aircraft, taking advantage of the low-take off and landing speeds to land in small clearings that other aircraft could not have utilised. The squadron's Walrus aircraft were also able to put down on narrow rivers where the larger Catalinas were unable to land. Several aircraft were lost during the squadron's operations. On 21 October 1942, the squadron lost one aircraft to an accident shortly after take-off from Garalina, which killed its two crew members. Another aircraft was lost on 11 September 1943 during search and rescue operations to find the crew of a Bristol Beaufighter that had water landing, ditched off New Britain.Odgers, ''Air War Against Japan'', pp. 78–79 A Walrus was also lost when it came under heavy machine gun and small arms fire while attempting a rescue close to shore. Three members of the squadron were involved in rescuing crewmembers of a US Martin B-26 Marauder that crashed at Hood Point on 10 January 1943. Squadron Leader Walter Pye assumed command in June 1943, taking over from Pentland. The squadron continued operations until it was disbanded in November 1943, at which time it was split to form two new units: No. 8 and No. 9 Communications Units. The squadron was credited with rescuing more than 200 personnel.

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History

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