No. 107 Squadron was a
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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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 ...
. It was formed in May 1943 and was equipped with
Vought OS2U Kingfisher aircraft. The squadron conducted anti-submarine patrols off the Australian east coast during the last years of the war, but did not encounter any enemy submarines. It was disbanded in October 1945.
History
No. 107 Squadron was formed on 10 May 1943 at
RAAF Station Rathmines, New South Wales. The squadron was equipped with 15
Vought OS2U Kingfisher aircraft which had been ordered by the
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 ...
(NEI) Naval Service but delivered to Australia following the Japanese conquest of the NEI. These aircraft had previously been used by the
Seaplane Training Flight and
No. 3 Operational Training Unit for training purposes.
[RAAF Historical Section (1995), p. 92] The squadron's first commanding officer was Flying Officer N.J. Lennon.
[Eather (1995), p. 102]
As soon as it was formed, No. 107 Squadron began conducting anti-submarine and convoy escort patrols.
Detachments of
Consolidated PBY Catalinas from
No. 11 Squadron and
No. 20 Squadron were briefly attached to the squadron during June and September–October 1943.
One of the squadron's Kingfishers was lost as a result of damage sustained by an in flight cockpit fire on 22 September 1943, but both its crewmen survived after they made an emergency landing in the sea off
Pittwater
Pittwater is a semi-mature tide dominated drowned valley estuary, located about north of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia; being one of the bodies of water that separate greater Metropolitan Sydney from the Ce ...
.
In mid-1944 it was decided to transfer No. 107 Squadron from Rathmines, which had become crowded, to
St Georges Basin
St Georges Basin is a town in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. St George Basin is located on the shores of St Georges Basin, within the City of Shoalhaven. It is roughly south of Nowra, and approximately south of Sydney.
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to the south of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
The squadron began moving south on 1 July 1944, but this process was delayed by bad weather. The facilities at St Georges Basin were greatly inferior to those at Rathmines, and hot water and ablution facilities were not initially available. No. 107 Squadron resumed its routine shipping protection patrols from St Georges Basin on 7 July.
[RAAF Historical Section (1995), p. 93]
No. 107 Squadron's patrols were intensified after the German submarine ''
U-862'' sank the American
Liberty Ship ''Robert J. Walker'' 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 ...
on 25 December 1944.
The squadron flew five sorties a day for the next week in search of the submarine.
On 29 December one of the squadron's Kingfishers attacked what its pilot believed was a submarine periscope near the point at which ''Robert J. Walker'' had been sunk.
[RAAF Historical Section (1995), p. 94] However, by this time ''U-862'' was in the Tasman Sea near New Zealand.
This was the only deliberate attack made by a RAAF Kingfisher during the war.
During early 1945 No. 107 Squadron's duties were expanded to include providing search and rescue support for elements of the
British Pacific Fleet as they passed along the Australian east coast.
The number of anti-submarine patrols was also decreased in early 1945 as the threat of attack had greatly diminished. Following the end of the war, No. 107 Squadron ferried its Kingfishers to the RAAF's Flying Boat Repair Depot at
Lake Boga, Victoria
Lake Boga () is a town in Victoria, Australia, located next to the lake of the same name. It is situated within the Rural City of Swan Hill within the Mallee region of north-west Victoria. At the 2016 census, Lake Boga had a population of 985. ...
, during August 1945; the last Kingfishers departed St Georges Basin on the 29th of the month. The squadron was disbanded at St Georges Basin on 28 October 1945.
References
;Notes
;Works consulted
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External links
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{{List of RAAF Squadrons
107 107 may refer to:
*107 (number), the number
*AD 107, a year in the 2nd century AD
*107 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
*107 (New Jersey bus)
See also
*10/7 (disambiguation)
*Bohrium
Bohrium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Bh a ...
107 107 may refer to:
*107 (number), the number
*AD 107, a year in the 2nd century AD
*107 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
*107 (New Jersey bus)
See also
*10/7 (disambiguation)
*Bohrium
Bohrium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Bh a ...
107 107 may refer to:
*107 (number), the number
*AD 107, a year in the 2nd century AD
*107 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
*107 (New Jersey bus)
See also
*10/7 (disambiguation)
*Bohrium
Bohrium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Bh a ...