page_title: No. 450 Squadron RAAF
section_title: Middle East and North Africa
hierarchical_section_title: No. 450 Squadron RAAF / History / Middle East and North Africa
caption_attribution_description: English: North Africa, c. 1943. A P40 Kittyhawk of 450 Squadron RAAF, loaded with six 250 lb bombs.
context_page_description: No. 450 Squadron was a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force that operated during World War II. Established at RAAF Station Williamtown, New South Wales, in February 1941, it was the first Australian Article XV squadron formed under the Empire Air Training Scheme.
  The squadron embarked for the Middle East in April 1941; its personnel initially consisted solely of ground crew, who joined the pilots of No. 260 Squadron RAF to form No. 260/450 Squadron, which briefly operated Hawker Hurricane fighters in Syria. It was not until February 1942 that No. 450 Squadron, now with its own pilots and equipped with Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk fighters, commenced operations in earnest. Over the next 15 months, it fought in the North African and Tunisian Campaigns in both fighter and fighter-bomber roles, claiming 49 German and Italian aircraft destroyed in the air and earning the nickname "The Desert Harassers".
  Beginning in July 1943, No. 450 Squadron took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily and the Italian campaign, primarily in the close support role. Its aircraft attacked targets in Yugoslavia as well as in Sicily and Italy.
context_section_description: Under the temporary command of Flight Lieutenant Bruce Shepherd, No. 450 Squadron left Australia on 11 April 1941, embarking on the troopship Queen Elizabeth at Sydney, and arriving in Egypt on 3 May. At RAF Abu Sueir, Squadron Leader Gordon Steege took command of the squadron before it was combined with the pilots and Hawker Hurricanes of No. 260 Squadron RAF, which had been established without ground crew, to form an operational squadron. The combined unit, known as No. 260/450 (Hurricane) Squadron, then relocated to Amman in Transjordan. Its first operation was on 29 June 1941, when the Hurricanes attacked Vichy French airfields and infrastructure during the invasion of Syria. No. 260/450 Squadron operated for ten days only and flew 61 sorties against airfields, 20 on offensive patrols and six on bomber-escort duties during the Syrian campaign.
  In August 1941, No. 450 Squadron personnel were separated from No. 260 Squadron, when the latter received its own ground crew. No. 450 Squadron moved to Rayak airfield, Lebanon, where it was allocated Hurricanes and Miles Magister trainers. A batch of 20 trainee Australian, British and Canadian pilots—the majority being Australian—were posted to the squadron in early October, and it began duties as an Operational Training Unit. A fortnight later these pilots were posted out and, lacking trained pilots, the squadron's aircraft were re-allocated. On 20 October, the squadron moved to Burg El Arab, Egypt, and began operating as an advanced repair, salvage and service unit, taking part in the North African Campaign.
  By December 1941, the squadron was receiving pilots and it began taking delivery of Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk fighters. On 19 December, RAF Middle East Command issued an administrative instruction declaring that although manned primarily by Australians, Nos. 450 and 451 Squadrons were "paid by and loaned to the Royal Air Force under the Empire Air Training Scheme and for all practical purposes they should be regarded as R.A.F. squadrons in every way". Confusion reigned for a time, but after intervention by the British Air Ministry, a further communique on 23 January 1942 announced that "450 and 451 E.A.T.S. Squadrons are to be regarded as R.A.A.F. squadrons". Training began the same month, and No. 450 Squadron commenced operations from RAF Gambut on 19 February 1942, with an uneventful patrol near Tobruk. Three days later Sergeant Raymond Shaw became the first pilot from the squadron to claim an aerial victory, after he intercepted a Junkers Ju 88 near Gazala.
  The squadron became part of the Desert Air Force's newly formed No. 239 Wing on 1 March 1942, serving alongside one Australian squadron, No. 3, and two RAF squadrons, Nos. 112 and 250 Squadrons. No. 450 Squadron's main roles—escorting daylight raids by Douglas Boston bombers, and ground-attack missions in support of the Eighth Army—were hazardous and resulted in relatively heavy losses. From 26 May, as Rommel launched an assault on the Gazala–Bir Hacheim line, all Kittyhawk units began to focus on the fighter-bomber role rather than air-to-air combat, to support retreating Commonwealth forces. On 29 May, No. 450 Squadron claimed two Junkers Ju 87s and a Messerschmitt Bf 109, for the loss of three pilots killed, including Shaw. Flight Sergeant Don McBurnie, the squadron's highest-scoring pilot with five solo victories and one shared, claimed his final "kill" on 4 July 1942 when he shot a Messerschmitt Bf 110 into the sea following a bombing mission on airfields west of Daba.
  No. 450 Squadron took part in the decisive Second Battle of El Alamein, during October and November 1942, attacking enemy airfields and claiming three German and Italian fighters destroyed in the air.  It suffered several losses during this time, including one of its leading scorers, Squadron Leader John Williams, who was shot down and taken prisoner on 31 October 1942, three days after he had been appointed commanding officer. The squadron was frequently on the move as the Allies advanced following Second El Alamein, changing locations six times d
caption: Kittyhawk of No. 450 Squadron, loaded with six 250 lb (110 kg) bombs, in North Africa, c. 1943
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