No . 76 Wing RAAF No . 76 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) wing that operated during World War II . Initially based in Far North Queensland , its headquarters transferred to Darwin , Northern Territory , in September 1944 to take control of three PBY Catalina units , Nos . 20 , 42 , and 43 Squadrons . The prime task of these squadrons was minelaying in the South West Pacific theatre , and they conducted these operations as far afield as Java , Borneo , the Philippines , and China . In addition to minelaying , No . 76 Wing ' s Catalinas flew bombing , patrol , and transport missions , and dropped millions of propaganda leaflets in the closing months of the war . The wing headquarters disbanded in November 1945 . History . No . 76 Wing headquarters was established at Townsville , Queensland , on 3 January 1944 , and moved to Cairns mid - month . Led by Wing Commander Reginald Burrage , it transferred to Darwin , Northern Territory , in September to coordinate and control minelaying operations in the North Western Area by Nos . 20 , 42 , and 43 Squadrons . Each of the squadrons was equipped with PBY Catalina flying boats , nicknamed " Black Cats " ; No . 20 had been based in Cairns with No . 76 Wing headquarters , No . 42 had just been formed at Darwin in August , while No . 43 had been operating out of Darwin since March . Minelaying missions carried out by the RAAF over the past year had been credited with successfully disrupting enemy shipping for a much smaller outlay of operating hours than conventional bombing , and were thus considered profitable enough to dedicate a wing with three squadrons to furthering the work . Although the Catalinas were relatively slow and susceptible to enemy fighter attack , their loss rate was no more than one per 95 sortie s . In addition to its flying squadrons , the wing controlled No . 2 Flying Boat Maintenance Unit , No . 11 Air Sea Rescue Flight , and No . 3 Mobile Torpedo Unit . All units were located in Darwin except No . 42 Squadron , which was based at Melville Bay . The Catalina squadrons were expected to carry out a total of 100 missions per month from Darwin . In their first three weeks of operation from 13 September 1944 they accomplished 98 , mining targets in Celebes , Java , and Surabaya . In October , they were able to use the recently liberated island of Morotai as a forward base for operations against Balikpapan and Tarakan . On 14 December , No . 43 Squadron , augmented by Catalinas from No . 11 Squadron based at Rathmines , New South Wales , mined Manila Bay to keep Japanese shipping " bottled up " , thus supporting the Allied landing at Mindoro taking place the next day . Flying from Leyte , the 24 Catalinas successfully dropped 60 mines in the heavily defended target area for the loss of one of their number , and returned to base at the limit of their fuel reserves . In the early part of 1945 , monsoonal weather in Darwin reduced the number of missions flown by No . 76 Wing . On the night of 5 / 6 April , three Catalinas kept watch on the Japanese cruiser " Isuzu " , which was subsequently struck by Allied bombers and sunk by submarines . During the month , the Catalinas mined Hong Kong harbour , as well as targets on the coast of mainland China , flying up to sixteen hours per mission . On 26 May , they undertook the RAAF ' s most northerly operation during the Pacific War , against Wenchow . The same month , Group Captain Stuart Campbell , former leader of No . 42 Squadron , took over command of the wing . In May – June , reinforced by a detachment from No . 11 Squadron , No . 76 Wing flew mining and bombing missions in support of the forthcoming Operation Oboe Six , the Battle of North Borneo , and Oboe Two , the Battle of Balikpapan . Before Oboe Six , while some of the Catalinas concentrated on mining the approaches to Surabaya harbour , others bombed airfields in Java and Celebes in concert with RAAF B - 24 Liberators . The Catalinas and Liberators combined again in the lead - up to Oboe Two to raid any Japanese airfields that could threaten Balikpapan , in some cases bombing the same target around the clock , the Catalinas by night and Liberators by day . With the Allies ' decision to confine RAAF minelaying operations to areas south of China from June onwards , the number of worthwhile targets for the Catalinas was reduced . Sorties for the month were down to 58 , a number of which were carried out from Labuan against Banka Strait . The wing ' s last minelaying missions of the war took place in July , again in the Banka Strait . In the final months before the Japanese surrender , the Catalinas also delivered propaganda leaflets around the Dutch East Indies and South China Sea , dropping over a million in June alone . No . 76 Wing and its squadrons remained at Darwin in the immediate aftermath of the war , conducting routine patrols , transporting supplies and medicine to prisoners - of - war in the South West Pacific , and assisting in the repatriation of Australian personnel . In November 1945 , under a reorganisation of RAAF units at Darwin , the wing headquarters was given orders to disband . It became non - operational on 16 November and was officially dissolved five days later . No . 42 Squadron disbanded the same month , while Nos . 20 and 43 Squadrons transferred to Rathmines , where they disbanded in 1946 .