No . 71 Wing RAAF No . 71 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) wing of World War II . It was formed in February 1943 at Milne Bay , Papua New Guinea , as part of No . 9 Operational Group . The wing initially comprised two squadrons of P - 40 Kittyhawks , one of Lockheed Hudson s , and one of Bristol Beaufort s . The wing ' s mainstay soon became the Beaufort , however , eventually equipping five squadrons attached to the formation . No . 71 Wing took part in the New Guinea campaign under the auspices of No . 9 Group , before transferring to No . 10 Operational Group for the Western New Guinea campaign during 1944 . It then returned to the control of Northern Command ( formerly No . 9 Group ) to support Australian ground forces in the Aitape – Wewak campaign , and completed its final combat mission only hours before the Japanese surrender in August 1945 . Following the war , No . 71 Wing was disbanded in February 1946 . History . New Guinea campaign . No . 71 Wing was formed in February 1943 , consisting of No . 6 Squadron ( flying Lockheed Hudson s ) , No . 75 Squadron ( P - 40 Kittyhawks ) , No . 77 Squadron ( P - 40 Kittyhawks ) , and No . 100 Squadron ( Bristol Beaufort s ) . Based at Milne Bay , Papua New Guinea , the wing was led by Wing Commander Ian McLachlan , and came under the aegis of No . 9 Operational Group , the RAAF ' s " premier fighting unit " in the South West Pacific Area ( SWPA ) , whose purpose was to act as a mobile strike force in support of advancing Allied troops . In March the Beauforts took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea , " the decisive aerial engagement " in the SWPA according to General Douglas MacArthur , but was unable to score any hits against Japanese ships . Between July and October 1943 , No . 71 Wing ' s squadrons carried out operations against enemy bases , shipping and lines of communication along the coast of New Britain . In August , it was given responsibility for Goodenough Island , where it was joined the following month by No . 8 Squadron , flying Beauforts . No . 6 Squadron had meanwhile converted to Beauforts from Hudsons ; it remained at Milne Bay along with No . 100 Squadron , until both transferred to Goodenough in November . Between October 1943 and February 1944 , the three Beaufort squadrons took part in a series of major attacks on Rabaul , bombing and strafing airfields , infrastructure and shipping ; the Japanese withdrew their aircraft from Rabaul the following month . The wing ' s commanders during this period included Wing Commander Blake Pelly in 1943 , and Group Captain Colin Hannah , former leader of No . 6 Squadron , in early 1944 , before he was repatriated to Australia due to illness . Western New Guinea campaign . By early 1944 , No . 9 Operational Group had become a static garrison force for the New Guinea area , and was renamed Northern Command in April to better reflect its new role . The following month No . 71 Wing , now led by Wing Commander Ralph Moran , advanced to Nadzab , where it came under the auspices of No . 10 Operational Group ( later the Australian First Tactical Air Force ) . There Nos . 8 and 100 Squadrons engaged in attacks on Japanese positions in Wewak , each flying over 140 sortie s during the month . In June , the wing went forward to Aitape , where its Beaufort complement was augmented by No . 30 Squadron flying Bristol Beaufighter s , and No . 110 Squadron USAAF flying P - 39 Airacobras . These four squadrons undertook 1 , 510 sorties during the Battle of Aitape in July , delivering 670 tons of bombs . On 7 August , No . 8 Squadron flew 64 missions , a record for a Beaufort unit . US General Charles P . Hall praised the wing for contributing " in a large measure . . . to the success of the operation by continuous interruption of enemy lines of communication and bombing and strafing of enemy concentrations and supplies " . Commodore John Collins , who during the battle led a Royal Australian Navy task force that included the cruisers HMAS " Australia " and HMAS " Shropshire " , also paid tribute : " The accuracy of these bombardments was ensured by excellent air spotting . Beauforts of 71 Wing RAAF gave this spotting and deserve much credit for the efficient manner in which it was undertaken , particularly since the airmen were not trained spotters and a Beaufort is hardly a suitable plane for the work . " Aitape – Wewak campaign . With the decision in September 1944 that No . 71 Wing would not advance to Morotai with No . 10 Operational Group , but rather support the Australian 6th Division in the Aitape – Wewak campaign , overall control of the wing returned to Northern Command . The same month , the first Beauforts of No . 7 Squadron arrived in Aitape to augment Nos . 8 and 100 Squadrons ; the wing was further strengthened in November with a flight of CAC Boomerang s from No . 4 ( Army Cooperation ) Squadron . Wing Commander Eric Cooper , previously in charge of No . 7 Squadron , became No . 71 Wing ' s new Officer Commanding in October . The Beaufort units flew around 500 sorties per month from November 1944 to January 1945 , but thereafter had to reduce their rate of effort due to aircrew , ordnance and fuel shortages . During a three - day period in March , two Beauforts blew up in mid - air while releasing their bombs ; the aircraft were pulled from strike missions for ten days until the problem was traced to a faulty tail unit in the bombs . Cooper handed over to Group Captain Val Hancock , former commander of No . 100 Squadron , in April 1945 . To maximize support to Australian ground troops in the lead - up to the final assault on Wewak , No . 71 Wing ' s three extant Beaufort squadrons were joined by two more , Nos . 6 and 15 . Approximately sixty Beauforts and Boomerangs struck Japanese positions behind Dove Bay prior to amphibious landings on 11 May to cut off retreating enemy troops . Over the entire month , the wing dropped more than 1 , 200 tons of bombs and flew in excess of 1 , 400 sorties . By mid - year , however , the wing was again acutely short of fuel and ordnance , so much so that the squadrons took to arming their Beauforts with captured Japanese bombs . On 9 July , enough supplies arrived to enable the wing to continue operating at nominal strength . No . 71 Wing was active to the very last day of the Pacific War , flying its final combat mission involving thirty Beauforts only hours before news arrived of victory on 15 August 1945 . Thereafter its squadrons dropped leaflets to remaining pockets of Japanese resistance , making them aware of the surrender . The last entry in No . 71 Wing ' s operations book was made on 21 January 1946 .