No . 72 Wing RAAF No . 72 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) wing that operated during World War II . It was formed in April 1943 at Townsville , Queensland , as part of North - Eastern Area Command . Led by Group Captain Charles Eaton , the wing soon deployed to Merauke , Dutch New Guinea , where it comprised three squadron s flying CAC Boomerang and P - 40 Kittyhawk fighters , and A - 31 Vengeance dive bombers . Eaton was succeeded by Group Captain Allan Walters in mid - 1943 . No . 72 Wing took part in the defence of Torres Strait , undertaking interception , patrol and occasional ground - attack and anti - shipping duties . By July 1944 , its original squadrons had all been disbanded or transferred to other operational formations . No . 120 ( Netherlands East Indies ) Squadron , which had arrived in May 1944 , operating Kittyhawks , remained at Merauke until February 1945 . The wing headquarters returned to Australia that May , and disbanded the following month . History . No . 72 Wing was formed on 23 April 1943 at Townsville , Queensland , under the command of Group Captain Charles Eaton . Early the next month , its headquarters deployed to Merauke , described by the official history of the RAAF in World War II as " a desolate marshy little port in Dutch New Guinea " . Controlling No . 84 Squadron ( flying CAC Boomerang fighters ) , No . 86 Squadron ( P - 40 Kittyhawk fighters ) , and No . 12 Squadron ( A - 31 Vengeance dive bombers ) , the wing ' s purpose was to assist in the defence of Torres Strait . The Boomerangs , operating out of Horn Island , undertook air defence and patrol tasks in and around western New Guinea , first making contact with enemy forces on 16 May ; they exchanged fire with three Japanese bombers , but the latter escaped into cloud . Merauke airfield was only completed in late June , and Nos . 86 and 12 Squadrons began arriving early the next month ; by then the wing had also acquired No . 44 Operational Base Unit and its own medical receiving station and mobile fighter sector headquarters . Eaton ' s relations with North - Eastern Area Command in Townsville had meanwhile became strained . In his opinion , " the problems of Merauke were not understood from there . . . mountains were made out of molehills " , and he was posted that July to lead a bombing and gunnery establishment in South Australia . Later in the year he would form No . 79 Wing at Batchelor , Northern Territory . Group Captain Allan Walters , formerly in charge of No . 1 ( Fighter ) Wing in Darwin , assumed command of No . 72 Wing following Eaton ' s reassignment . Enemy contact was generally sporadic and inconclusive , but on 9 September 1943 a force of over thirty Japanese bombers and escorting fighters heading for Merauke were intercepted by fourteen of No . 72 Wing ' s Kittyhawks and four of its Boomerangs ; although most of the Kittyhawks ' guns failed to fire through oil clogging , and none of the Boomerangs made contact , the Australian aircraft claimed one bomber and two fighters destroyed without loss . No . 12 Squadron became fully operational at Merauke in September , but was mainly given patrol duty and only rarely saw enemy activity . The following month , No . 84 Squadron converted to Kittyhawks and transferred to a new formation , No . 75 Wing . During late 1943 and early 1944 , No . 86 Squadron was actively engaged in air defence , enjoying some success against Japanese bombers and their escorts , as well as participating in attacks on infrastructure and shipping in Dutch New Guinea . No . 86 Squadron departed Merauke on 25 April 1944 ; the squadron was subsequently reduced to a cadre and its Kittyhawks transferred to Nos . 78 and 81 Wings of No . 10 Operational Group on Noemfoor Island . It was replaced by the Dutch - Australian No . 120 Squadron , which arrived from Canberra in early May and became operational on the 9th of the month . The same month , Walters handed over command of the wing to Group Captain Bill Hely . In July , No . 12 Squadron was withdrawn to Strathpine , Queensland , where it was reduced to cadre status ahead of converting to B - 24 Liberator heavy bombers and eventually serving with another new formation , No . 85 Wing . Hely departed in September 1944 to establish an army cooperation formation , No . 84 Wing , at Cairns . Most of the RAAF units at Merauke were redeployed in late 1944 but No . 120 Squadron remained there until February 1945 , when it was declared non - operational . The squadron returned to operational status and departed for eventual service at Biak in April that year . No . 72 Wing headquarters returned to Townville in May 1945 , disbanding on 20 June .