No . 78 Wing RAAF No . 78 Wing is a Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) operational training wing , headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown , New South Wales . It comprises Nos . 76 and 79 Squadrons , operating the BAE Hawk 127 lead - in fighter , and No . 278 Squadron , a technical training unit . No . 79 Squadron , located at RAAF Base Pearce , Western Australia , is responsible for converting new pilots to fast jets , while No . 76 Squadron at Williamtown conducts introductory fighter courses ; both units also fly support missions for the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army . Formed as a fighter wing in November 1943 , No . 78 Wing comprised three flying units , Nos . 75 , 78 and 80 Squadrons , operating P - 40 Kittyhawks in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II . After the war , it re - equipped with P - 51 Mustangs at Williamtown . During the early 1950s , the wing was based at Malta on garrison duties with the Royal Air Force , operating two squadrons of De Havilland Vampire jet fighters . Re - equipped with CAC Sabre s , it deployed with Nos . 3 and 77 Squadrons to Malaya in 1958 – 59 , flying sortie s against communist insurgents in the final years of the Emergency . In the 1960s , it was tasked with providing regional air defence during the " Konfrontasi " between Indonesia and Malaysia , and supplied the equipment and personnel for the RAAF contingent operating from Ubon Air Base in Thailand . No . 78 Wing was disbanded in November 1967 , and re - formed for its present role as an operational training wing in February 2000 . History . World War II . No . 78 Wing was established on 24 November 1943 at Townsville , Queensland , under the command of Wing Commander ( later Group Captain ) W . D . Brookes . Along with No . 77 Wing , it came under the control of No . 10 Operational Group , a mobile strike force formed to support the Allied armies as they advanced in the South West Pacific theatre . No . 78 Wing ' s flying units were originally to have consisted of No . 80 Squadron , operating P - 40 Kittyhawk fighters , and Nos . 452 and 457 Squadrons , operating Spitfires . However the Spitfire squadrons could not be released from duty in the North Western Area as planned , and Nos . 75 and 78 Squadrons took their place , making the formation an all - Kittyhawk force . No . 78 Wing flew combat air patrols and ground attack missions during Operation Reckless , the assault on Hollandia and Aitape , New Guinea , in April 1944 . By the middle of the year , the wing ' s flying hours in New Guinea were consistently higher than those of its counterparts in the US Fifth Air Force . When No . 10 Operational Group was re - formed as the Australian First Tactical Air Force ( No . 1 TAF ) in October 1944 , No . 78 Wing constituted its fighter contingent along with the recently arrived No . 81 Wing , which also operated Kittyhawks . The relegation of No . 1 TAF to areas of operations bypassed by the main Allied thrust towards the Philippines and Japan led to poor morale in late 1944 and early 1945 . In April 1945 , the newly appointed Officer Commanding No . 78 Wing , Group Captain Wilfred Arthur , helped bring about the so - called " Morotai Mutiny " in protest at the employment of Australian fighter squadrons for apparently worthless ground attack missions . A subsequent inquiry cleared the pilots involved , finding their motives in tendering their resignations to be sincere . Arthur retained command of No . 78 Wing for the invasion of Tarakan , which commenced on 1 May . Augmented by No . 452 Squadron ' s Spitfires , the wing was a last - minute replacement for No . 81 Wing — which had been delayed while moving its aircraft forward from Noemfoor and northern Australia — and had only ten days to prepare for the operation . In addition to its flying squadrons , No . 78 Wing ' s complement included No . 114 Mobile Fighter Control Unit ( No . 114 MFCU ) , No . 29 Air Stores Park , No . 28 Medical Clearing Station , and No . 11 Repair and Servicing Unit . On 25 May 1945 , Arthur was succeeded by Wing Commander Alan Rawlinson . In June and July , the wing took part in the assaults on Labuan and Balikpapan , undertaking convoy escort in the former and , joined once more by No . 452 Squadron , ground attack missions and close support of the Australian 7th Division in the latter . During July it flew 858 sortie s , dropping over of bombs and expending almost 350 , 000 rounds of ammunition , for the loss of six aircraft and four pilots killed or missing . Cold War and after . Following the end of hostilities , No . 78 Wing , comprising Nos . 75 , 78 and 80 Squadrons , and No . 114 MFCU , departed Tarakan for Australia . Arriving in December 1945 , the formation was based initially at Deniliquin , New South Wales , where its squadrons were reduced to cadre status , and where No . 80 Squadron was disbanded in July 1946 . The wing and its remaining squadrons relocated in May and June to RAAF Station Schofields , New South Wales , and then in August to RAAF Station Williamtown , where they re - equipped with P - 51 Mustangs . Rawlinson , now a group captain , completed his appointment as officer commanding in December 1946 . No . 378 ( Base ) Squadron was formed under the aegis of No . 78 Wing at Williamtown in June 1947 ; the base squadron was an administrative and logistical unit intended to make its wing self - supporting and mobile , in case of deployment . No . 478 ( Maintenance ) Squadron formed the same month to take responsibility for all aircraft and equipment operated by No . 78 Wing . Nos . 75 and 78 Squadrons disbanded in March and April 1948 , respectively . Nos . 478 and 378 Squadrons also disbanded in April , the latter re - forming as Station Headquarters at Williamtown . For the remainder of the year , No . 78 Wing ' s aircraft and staff were gradually transferred to other units ; by December it had been reduced to a strength of four airmen and no officers , and was declared " non - operative " . The wing was re - established in January 1949 , comprising Nos . 75 , 76 , and 478 Squadrons , and No . 114 MFCU . It became the first wing in the RAAF to equip with jet aircraft , when its flying units took delivery of De Havilland Vampire F . 30 fighters between 1949 and 1951 ; it was also allocated Mustangs and CAC Wirraway s . The wing subsequently re - equipped with Vampire FB . 9s leased from the Royal Air Force , in exchange for Australia ' s commitment to support RAF operations in the Middle East . Comprising Nos . 75 and 76 ( Fighter ) Squadrons , No . 378 ( Base ) Squadron and No . 478 ( Maintenance ) Squadron , No . 78 Wing was deployed to Malta on garrison ing duties under Wing Commander ( later Group Captain ) Brian Eaton . As the RAAF ' s presence was essentially a symbolic gesture to demonstrate the Commonwealth ' s solidarity in the midst of the Cold War , the combat squadrons were half - strength only , operating eight aircraft each . In addition to the Vampires , two Gloster Meteor trainers were provided . Personnel departed Australia in July 1952 ; the posting overseas being a minimum of two years , families were permitted to make the journey as well . Although under the operational control of the RAF ' s No . 205 Group , the wing was under no circumstances to be used in combat without the express permission of the Australian government . The airmen participated in many NATO exercises while stationed at Malta , and one year took first and second place in the Middle Eastern Gunnery Contest for the " Imshi " Mason Cup . Originally based at the Royal Navy ' s Ħal Far airfield , in south - east Malta , the wing moved in June 1953 to the centrally located RAF Station Ta ' Kali , command of which was given to Group Captain Eaton . By this time , with plans afoot to form a Far East Strategic Reserve to contain communist aggression in South East Asia , the British and Australian governments began to discuss withdrawing No . 78 Wing from the Middle East when its planned two - year garrison was complete . Eaton handed over command to Wing Commander Geoff Newstead in September 1954 . The wing flew its last sorties in December , and returned to Australia the following month . Following its tour in the Mediterranean , No . 78 Wing was reorganised at Williamtown . On 16 March 1954 , the wing headquarters was re - formed , and Nos . 76 and 378 Squadrons were disbanded . No . 75 Squadron remained with the wing , augmented on 21 March by Nos . 3 and 77 Squadrons . On 1 April , No . 478 Squadron absorbed the maintenance functions of No . 77 Squadron . Nos . 75 and 77 Squadrons initially operated Meteors from Williamtown and No . 3 Squadron was based at RAAF Station Canberra , where it flew P - 51D Mustangs . By November 1956 the wing had re - equipped with CAC Sabre s and all of its units were stationed at Williamtown . Group Captain Glen Cooper took command of the wing in 1957 , deploying it between October 1958 and February 1959 to RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaya , where its flying units consisted of Nos . 3 and 77 Squadrons . No . 75 Squadron remained at Williamtown , subsequently joining No . 81 Wing with a re - formed No . 76 Squadron . Among the first aircraft to wear the Air Force ' s new " leaping kangaroo " roundel , the Butterworth - based Sabres flew ground - attack missions against communist guerrilla forces in the last stages of the Malayan Emergency . Ground support for the aircraft was provided by No . 478 ( Maintenance ) Squadron . Armed with Sidewinder missiles , the Sabres were responsible for regional air defence during the " Konfrontasi " between Indonesia and Malaysia from 1963 until 1966 , though no combat took place . Between October and December 1965 , a detachment of six Sabres , initially from No . 77 Squadron and later from No . 3 Squadron , was based at Labuan to conduct combat patrols over the Indonesian – Malaysian border on Borneo . In May 1962 , in response to communist insurgency in Laos , No . 79 Squadron was re - formed in Singapore utilising No . 78 Wing aircraft and personnel . For the next six years this squadron operated from Ubon Air Base in Thailand and was manned by personnel from No . 78 Wing serving on six - month to one - year rotations . The RAAF was careful to not acknowledge any connection between the two units , however , as Malaysia had a policy of neutrality towards war in South East Asia . The squadron was disbanded in July 1968 . No . 75 Squadron , equipped with Dassault Mirage III supersonic fighters , relieved No . 3 Squadron at Butterworth in May 1967 . No . 78 Wing was disbanded in November 1967 , and Nos . 75 , 77 and 478 Squadrons became independent units under the command of Headquarters RAAF Butterworth . No . 77 Squadron returned to Williamtown in 1969 for conversion to Mirages , and was replaced at Butterworth by the Mirage - equipped No . 3 Squadron . In 1986 , No . 79 Squadron was re - formed at Butterworth from No . 3 Squadron , disbanding two years later . No . 75 Squadron redeployed from Butterworth to RAAF Base Darwin , Northern Territory , in October 1983 , and No . 478 Squadron was disbanded the same month . No . 78 Wing re - formed in February 2000 to take charge of all aircrew and technical training on the F / A - 18 Hornet and the BAE Hawk 127 . Headquartered at Williamtown , it comprised No . 76 Squadron at Williamtown and No . 79 Squadron at RAAF Base Pearce , Western Australia , both operating Hawks , and No . 2 Operational Conversion Unit ( No . 2 OCU ) at Williamtown , operating Hornets . Each of these units had previously been part of No . 81 Wing . No . 79 Squadron ' s role was to convert graduates of No . 2 Flying Training School at Pearce to fast jets , No . 76 Squadron ' s to conduct lead - in fighter courses , and No . 2 OCU ' s to convert pilots to the Hornet fighter . In February 2002 , No . 78 Wing came under the control of the newly established Air Combat Group , formed by merging Tactical Fighter Group and Strike Reconnaissance Group . The merger expanded the wing ' s responsibilities , as it took on lead - in training for the General Dynamics F - 111C s of No . 82 Wing . In July 2003 a technical training and simulator unit , No . 278 Squadron , with detachments at RAAF Bases Amberley , Tindal and Pearce , was added to the wing ' s complement . No . 2 OCU subsequently returned to the control of No . 81 Wing . As of 2012 , No . 78 Wing ' s strength consisted of Nos . 76 and 79 Squadrons , operating Hawks , and No . 278 Squadron . No . 79 Squadron continues to provide fast - jet conversion for recently graduated pilots , as well as refresher courses , while No . 76 Squadron conducts introductory fighter courses preparatory to students undertaking conversion to " classic " Hornets at No . 2 OCU or F / A - 18F Super Hornets with No . 6 Squadron at Amberley . Both squadrons also fly close support missions for the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Navy .