page_title: No. 81 Wing RAAF
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: No. 81 Wing RAAF / History / World War II
caption_attribution_description: Los Negros, Admiralty Islands, New Guinea. 28 May 1944. Group portrait of pilots of No. 76 Squadron RAAF, No. 73 Wing, with one of their Curtiss P40 Kittyhawk aircraft on Momote airfield. Back row, left to right: Sergeant (Sgt) Alec Makeham; Sgt Wally Nugent; unidentified Sgt; Pilot Officer (PO) Jim Morris; Sgt (Red) O'Meara; unidentified Sgt; ?Sgt Jim Cornish; unidentified Flight Sergeant. Middle row: Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) B. (Bruce) Gogerly, (later with No. 77 (Meteor) Squadron RAAF in Korea); Flying Officer (FO) J. (John) Plain; ?Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) C. (Charles) Roe or F. Humphries Medical Officer; 402846 Flt Lt F. L. (Leigh) Bowes, soon to be Squadron Leader, Commanding Officer No. 76 Squadron RAAF; FO W. (Bill) Cashmore; unidentified Flt Lt; unidentified FO. Front row: unidentified Flt Sgt; unidentified Sgt; ?Sgt F. (Frank) Miles or A. (Alan) Carthew; Flt Sgt Noel Butler; unidentified PO. Members of No. 76 Squadron RAAF at that time not identified in this photograph: Flt Lt Jim Harrison; Flt Sgt Cliff Willis; FO Bruce Caldwell; Flt Sgt Val Higgins; Flt Sgt Neville Ellis; John Lundy.
context_page_description: No. 81 Wing is responsible for operating the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet multi-role fighters of the Royal Australian Air Force. Headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, the wing comprises three combat units, Nos. 3 and 77 Squadrons based at Williamtown and No. 75 Squadron at RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory, as well as an operational conversion unit at Williamtown. No. 81 Wing headquarters oversees squadron training in air-to-air and air-to-ground tactics, and support for the Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy. Tasked with offensive and defensive counter-air operations, the Hornets have been deployed to Diego Garcia in 2001–02, when they provided local air defence, to Iraq in 2003, when they saw action flying fighter escort and close air support missions in concert with Coalition forces, and to the Middle East in 2015–16, when they undertook strike operations during the military intervention against ISIL. They have also been employed to patrol high-profile events in Australia, including the Commonwealth Games and visits by foreign dignitaries.
  Formed in April 1944, No.
context_section_description: Established at Ballarat, Victoria, on 12 April 1944, No. 81 Wing operated P-40 Kittyhawk fighters in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. Group Captain Gordon Steege set up headquarters on Los Negros in the Admiralty Islands on 30 August. Comprising Nos. 76, 77 and 82 Squadrons, the formation joined Nos. 77 and 78 Wings on Noemfoor as part of No. 10 Operational Group in September 1944. No. 10 Group was renamed the First Tactical Air Force (No. 1 TAF) in October. The same month, No. 81 Wing undertook offensive sweeps and ground attacks against targets in West Papua. In November, Nos. 77 and 82 Squadrons dive bombed Japanese airfields on Halmahera.
  The wing's aircraft flew 1,125 sorties in October and November, dropping over 400,000 pounds (180,000 kg) of bombs, for the loss of 15 Kittyhawks and 11 pilots. The relegation of No. 1 TAF to areas of operation bypassed by the main Allied thrust towards the Philippines and Japan led to poor morale. In December 1944, No. 81 Wing's new commander, Group Captain Wilfred Arthur, produced a "balance sheet" to demonstrate that the formation's combat results were not worth the cost in ordnance and casualties, setting in train events that would culminate in the so-called "Morotai Mutiny" the following year. By January 1945, the number of missions flown by No. 81 Wing had dropped to less than 400, from over 1,000 the previous month. In March, the Kittyhawks carried out some 80 patrols around Noemfoor but encountered enemy activity on less than half of these.
  No. 81 Wing was slated to take part in Operation Oboe One, the invasion of Tarakan, in May 1945 but was unable to move in time from Noemfoor to its new base on Morotai in the Dutch East Indies; only No. 76 Squadron played any part in the battle, undertaking patrols and convoy escort.  The following month, No. 81 Wing flew close support missions for the Australian 9th Division in Operation Oboe Six, the invasion of Labuan. Along with its three Kittyhawk squadrons, the wing's order of battle included No. 457 Squadron flying Spitfires, No. 25 Air Stores Park, No. 24 Medical Clearing Station, No. 22 Repair and Servicing Unit, No. 9 Repair and Servicing Unit Detachment, No. 111 Mobile Fighter Control Unit, and seven Radar Stations—a total of over 2,000 personnel. Its commander on Morotai and Labuan was Group Captain Ian McLachlan. No. 81 Wing was to have provided two squadrons in support of Operation Oboe Two, the assault on Balikpapan, in June but Tarakan airfield, from which it was to operate, was not ready in time.  The wing was still based on Labuan when the Pacific War ended in August 1945. Calls soon came to serve with the formation as part of the proposed Commonwealth occupation forces in Japan, and many personnel volunteered to do so.
caption: No. 76 Squadron pilots with a Kittyhawk fighter, 1944
exif: {}