9/12/43 - No, 5 ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE OVERSEAS Headquarters AUSTRALIA - FLYERS* TEN MILLION* MILES OVER EUROPE In four years of war the. Royal -Australian-Air Force has 'multiplied its peace-time strength more than thirty times and sent its men to every part of the, world* - Australian squadrons based in Britain have’flown nearly ten million miles and completed 10,000 sorties. In all theatres, awards for gallantry have been gained by Australian Air Force men at the rate of- almost one a day. These statements, made in a Bulletin .issued by Royal Australian Force Over- seas Headquarters, add to many facts contained in a statement made by the Australian Minister for Air (Hr, Brakefcrd) ,in Canberra, Mr. Drakeford said that more than 16.000 members of the R.A.A.F, are serving in the United Kingdom, Middle East, the Mediterranean, and other theatres of war, in addition to the squadrons serving in the South-West Pacific area. In the Uni bed Kingdom, the Bulle tin said, Australian squadrons are serving under Bomber, Fighter and Coastal Command, and in addition, thousands of other Australians are serving in Royal Air Force squadrons. Australian bomber squadrons based in Britain have taken part in 300 different raids, and their crews have made more than 4,000 journeys to targets in Germany and enemy-occupied Europe, Two of the Australian bomber squadrons hold records for the number of aircraft sent out on individual raids. this One of them alone has dropped a greater tonnage of bombs on Germany year than was dropped in the first twelve months of war. - The R. a. A. F* has furnished several Spitfire and Mosquito night fighter ana late fighter-bomber squadrons. With such fighter pilots as the Wing Commander ' ""Paddy" Finucane. D.S.O., ,D. F. C. and two Bars, and the late Squadron Leader "Bluey" Truscott, D. F. C. and Bar, in the lead, one Australian fighter squadron shot down 62 enemy aircraft in eight of the earlier months of the war, and were top-scoring squadron in Fighter Command for three months. /Today 2 Today these traditions are being kept alive by such men as Squadron Leader 0. ("Peter") Panitz, D.F.C., of Queensland, the "trainbuster", who, with his observer, Flying Officer R.S. Williams, D. F. C. ,of New South Wales, once shot up six trains in six minutes in France, and Squadron Leader D. G. Andrews, D. F. C. ,of Brisbane, commanding officer of an Australian Spitfire squadron, who has had many a successful encounter with Ju.88s, this First in war, as in the last, to send a complete unit for overseas service, Australia has had Sunderland flying-boat men in Britain since July, 1939. On Boxing Day the first Australian flying-boat squadron, the famous Tenth, will mark its fourth year in Britain as a unit. The Australian Sunderlands in Britain have now flown more than four million operational miles. The U-boat hunters of these squadrons bear names known all round the English speaking world. In the United Kingdom alone, men of the R, A. A. F. have won more than awards for gallantry, among them no fewer than 270 D.F.C's and 170 D. F. M. Is. The total in all theatres is nearing 1,300, Australians serving in the Royal Air Force have gained 203 awards* of Royal Australian Air Force casualties total more than 5,000 in theatres war excluding the South West Pacific Area, Of these well over half are missing, or killed. All these figures should be reviewed against a national population figure of only seven million. AIR AFFAIRS R.A.A.F. Bulletin No. 271 A.