No . 90 Wing RAAF No . 90 ( Composite ) Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) wing that operated during the early years of the Malayan Emergency . Its purpose was to serve as an umbrella organisation for the RAAF units deployed in the conflict , No . 1 ( Bomber ) Squadron , flying Avro Lincoln s , and No . 38 ( Transport ) Squadron , flying Douglas C - 47 Dakotas . The wing was established in July 1950 and headquartered at Changi , on the east coast of Singapore . No . 1 Squadron operated from Tengah , in Singapore ' s west . No . 38 Squadron was based at Changi and , from April 1951 to February 1952 , at Kuala Lumpur in central Malaya . Following No . 38 Squadron ' s departure in November 1952 , No . 90 Wing was disbanded , leaving No . 1 Squadron to carry on as the sole RAAF unit in the campaign until its withdrawal to Australia in July 1958 . History . Origins and formation . In response to the British Government ' s request for assistance in combating communist insurgents during the Malayan Emergency , Australia determined in April 1950 that it could commit a squadron of eight Douglas C - 47 Dakota transports and a flight of four to six Avro Lincoln heavy bombers . Soon afterwards , the Federal Government formally announced its decision to send the Dakotas ; on 27 June , it confirmed the commitment of six Lincolns . No . 1 ( Bomber ) Squadron , operating the Lincolns , would be detached from the control of No . 82 Wing at RAAF Station Amberley , Queensland , and be based at Tengah airfield in the west of Singapore . No . 38 ( Transport ) Squadron , operating Dakotas , would be detached from No . 86 Wing at RAAF Station Richmond , New South Wales , and be based at Changi , in Singapore ' s east . The transport commitment was made possible by the recent return of ten Australian Dakota crews from service in the Berlin Airlift . Operationally , the RAAF squadrons were to be under the control of RAF Air Headquarters Malaya ( later No . 224 Group RAF ) . However the Chief of the Air Staff , Air Marshal George Jones , was mindful of repeating the experience of World War II , when RAAF units and personnel based in Britain had been absorbed by the Royal Air Force , rather than operating as a national force and being led by high - ranking Australian officers . He therefore decided that Nos . 1 and 38 Squadrons should be formed into a " composite " organisation ( i . e . one made up of disparate elements such as bomber , fighter , and reconnaissance units ) and administered by an overarching RAAF headquarters . No . 90 ( Composite ) Wing was duly established at Richmond on 10 July 1950 , under the command of Group Captain Paddy Heffernan . Operations and disbandment . No . 38 Squadron ' s Dakotas began arriving at Changi on 19 June 1950 , and No . 1 Squadron ' s Lincolns at Tengah on 16 July . No . 90 Wing staff departed Richmond by air and established headquarters at Changi on 22 July . The Dakotas had flown their first mission the previous day ; the Lincolns undertook their first operations on 26 July . Nos . 1 and 38 Squadrons performed their own routine maintenance , with aircraft rotating back to Australia for major work . The Lincolns generally conducted area bombing missions , as well as strikes against pinpoint targets . Not having to contend with anti - aircraft fire , the Lincolns operated mainly by day . After completing a bomb run , they would make another pass over the target to strafe with machine guns and 20 mm cannon . The Lincolns were considered well suited to the campaign , owing to their range and ability to fly at low speeds to search for targets , as well as their fire power and heavy bomb load . Although the original purpose of the bombing campaign was to kill as many insurgents as possible , the impracticality of achieving this in operations over dense jungle resulted in a shift towards harassing and demoralising the communists , driving them out of their bases and into areas held by ground troops . The Dakotas were tasked with airlifting cargo , VIPs , troops and casualties , as well as supply drops to friendly forces and aerial despatch of propaganda leaflets . On other missions they acted as pathfinders for No . 1 Squadron , dropping smoke canisters on suspected communist hideouts that the Lincolns following above and behind would attempt to bomb . No . 38 Squadron ' s operations ranged throughout Malaya and into Borneo , the Philippines , Japan and Korea ; transport requirements in the latter areas led to a reduction in No . 90 Wing ' s strength when four of the Dakotas were transferred to Iwakuni , Japan , in November 1950 . That month , Group Captain Frank Headlam was appointed to take over command of No . 90 Wing from Heffernan . In April 1951 , No . 38 Squadron ' s four remaining Dakotas relocated to Kuala Lumpur in central Malaya , where they undertook supply drops in concert with No . 41 Squadron RNZAF . Wing Commander R . F . M . Green was appointed the new commanding officer of No . 90 Wing in December 1951 , replacing Headlam . On 4 April 1952 , Green took part in a Lincoln sortie in place of another pilot , who was injured . The first aircraft he took off had to turn back owing to engine failure . The second completed the mission but had lost brake power when the time came to land ; the crew was able to slow the aircraft on the runway by trailing a parachute from the rear turret as they touched down . No . 38 Squadron relocated to its former base at Changi in February 1952 . Having airlifted more than 17 , 000 passengers and evacuated over 300 injured troops , the squadron departed for Australia on 1 December and rejoined No . 86 Wing at Richmond ten days later . Following this withdrawal , No . 90 Wing was disbanded at Changi , and No . 1 Squadron became the only Australian flying unit in Malaya . It continued the bombing campaign against the communists until it was withdrawn to Australia in July 1958 , having flown almost 4 , 000 sorties in its eight years of operation and dropped over 14 , 000 tonnes of bombs — 85 per cent of the total delivered by Commonwealth forces during the Emergency .