AUSTRALIA IN THE WAR OF 1939-194 5 SERIES THRE E AIR VOLUME I ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE 1939-1942 AUSTRALIA IN THE WAR OF 1939-194 5 SERIES I (ARMY ) I. To Benghazi. By Gavin Long. * II. Greece, Crete and Syria. By Gavin Long.* III. Tobruk and El Alamein. By Barton Maughan. IV. The Japanese Thrust. By Lionel Wigmore.* V. South-West Pacific Area—First Year. By Dudley McCarthy .* VI. The New Guinea Offensives . By David Dexter.* VII. The Final Campaigns. By Gavin Long . SERIES 2 (NAVY) I. Royal Australian Navy, 1939-42. By G. Hermon Gill.* II. Royal Australian Navy, 1942-45. By G . Hermon Gill. SERIES 3 (AIR) I. Royal Australian Air Force 1939-42 . By Douglas Gillison.* II. Air War Against Japan, 1943-45 . By George Odgers .* III. Air War Against Germany and Italy, 1939-43 . By John Herington.* IV. Air Power Over Europe, 1944-45 . By John Herington . SERIES 4 (CIVIL ) I. The Government and the People, 1939-41 . By Paul Hasluck . * II. The Government and the People, 1942-45 . By Paul Hasluck . III. War Economy, 1939-42. By S. I. Butlin .* IV. War Economy, 1942-45. By S. J. Butlin . V. The Role of Science and Industry. By D . P . Mellor.* SERIES 5 (MEDICAL ) I. Clinical Problems of War. By Allan S. Walker * II. Middle East and Far East . By Allan S. Walker. * III. The Island Campaigns. By Allan S. Walker .* IV. Medical Services of the R.A.N. and R.A.A.F. By Allan S. Walker and others .* * Published. The writers of these volumes have been given full access to official documents , but they and the general editor are alone responsible for the statements and opinions which the volumes contain . ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORC E 1939-194 2 by DOUGLAS GILLISO N CANBERR A AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL First published in 1962 WHOLLY SET UP, PRINTED AND BOUND IN AUSTRALIA A T THE GRIFFIN PRESS, ADELAIDE. REGISTERED AT THE G .P .O . ADELAIDE FOR TRANSMISSION THROUGH THE POST AS A BOOK . CONTENT S Page Preface . xi Chapter 1 FORMATION OF THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE 1 2 SALMOND TO ELLINGTON . 3 1 3 DEMAND VERSUS CAPACITY 58 4 THE EMPIRE PLAN : DOCTRINES AND DECISIONS 79 5 THE NEW COMMAND . 90 6 SEA LANE PROTECTION AND AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION 12 1 7 THE MALAY BARRIER . 14 1 8 AMERICAN PREPARATIONS 173 9 DEGREES OF READINESS 190 10 JAPAN 'S SEVEN-POINT ASSAULT 207 11 THE PRICE OF HESITATION . 23 4 12 "HouRS NoT DAYS" . 264 13 THE BARRIER WEAKENS 275 14 AUSTRALIA BECOMES A BASE 29 2 15 TOKEN RESISTANCE . 305 16 MALAYA CONVOYS : JANUARY 1942 32 3 17 WITHDRAWAL FROM SINGAPORE 33 3 18 THE FALL OF RABAUL . 353 19 AMBON AND AFTER 369 20 ON SUMATRA 382 21 RETREAT FROM BURMA 40 1 22' Loss OF TIMOR AND JAVA 41 7 23 ASSAULT ON NEW GUINEA . 446 24 COMMAND AND SUPPLY 470 25 THE CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATRE 495 26 CORAL SEA AND MIDWAY 51 5 27 "No SECOND FRONT " . 53 6 28 PROBLEMS OF COMMAND 570 29 KOKODA AND MILNE BAY 599 30 ADVANCE TO BUNA 623 31 GONA, BUNA, SANANANDA . 65 3 32 WAU AND THE BISMARCK SE A 679 APPENDIXES : 1 Military Aviation 1909-1914 708 2 The Air Force List—1925 712 3 The R .A.A.F. in the Darwin Raids . 714 4 Australian, British, American and Japanese Aircraft . 717 5 Abbreviations . 75 1 INDEX 755 V ILLUSTRATIONS Page The Air Board, 1928 . 5 0 Wing Commander S . J. Goble and Flight Lieutenant I . E. McIntyre after th e first round-Australia flight . 5 0 A formation of Southampton flying-boats of No . 101 Flight . 5 1 ▪ Aircraft of No . 1 Flying Training School at Laverton, May 1937 . 5 1 Scene at a R.A.A.F . Empire Air Training Scheme School for navigators 8 2 A pick-a-back landing by two Avro Ansons near Brocklesby, N .S.W ., 28th 8 2 September 1940 . • Members of the W.A.A.A .F . at work 8 2 The Air Board, July 1940 11 4 The arrival of Beaufort aircraft in Malaya 11 5 Blenheim bombers and Buffalo fighters in Malaya . 11 5 Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham and General Sir Archibald Wavell 14 6 Officers of No. 13 Squadron and of the Royal Netherlands Air Force at R .A.A.F. Station, Darwin, March 1941 . 14 7 Flying Fortresses at Port Moresby, September 1941 . 14 7 Lieut-General George H . Brett . 30 6 Group Captain J . P. J. McCauley . 30 6 Flight Lieutenant R. Yeowart's reconnaissance of Truk, 9th January 1942 . 307 Burning Blenheims of No . 45 Squadron R.A.F . after a Japanese raid on Magwe 33 8 Vehicles of No . 45 Squadron approaching Mandalay during the retreat fro m Burma 33 8 Damage to R.A.A.F . Station, Darwin, after Japanese air raids of 19th Februar y and 25th June 1942 . 33 9 Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Burnett and Air Vice-Marshal W. D . Bostock . 354 Air Vice-Marshal George Jones, Chief of the Air Staff, with some senio r members of his staff . 354 Japanese shipping under air attack during the battle of the Coral Sea . 354 Hudsons of No. 2 Squadron attacking Japanese shipping at Ambon, May 1942 35 4 Allied bombing of Japanese installations at Lae, May 1942 . 35 5 The Macdhui on fire in Port Moresby harbour after Japanese air attacks, June 1942 . 35 5 Pilots of No . 75 Squadron at Port Moresby, August 1942 355 The Minister for Air, Mr A. S . Drakeford, visiting No . 76 Squadron at Strauss, Northern Territory, November 1942 . 355 Hudsons of No. 2 Squadron attacking Dili, November 1942 . 41 8 Dropping supplies by parachute to an A .I.B. party in Portuguese Timor, March 1943 . 41 8 Hudsons of No . 13 Squadron withdrawing after bombing Mindelo in centra l Portuguese Timor . 41 8 Bombing up a Hudson of No . 2 Squadron at Batchelor . 41 8 Vii Pag e Bombs straddling a Japanese cruiser at Ambon, January 1943 41 9 A Japanese transport in Dili Harbour, February 1943 . 41 9 Penfui airfield under strafing attack by No. 31 Squadron Beaufighters , February 1943 . 41 9 Low-level attacks by R .A.F . Blenheim squadrons in Burma . 46 6 A camouflaged radar station in north Queensland . 46 7 Bombing Japanese shipping in Simpson Harbour, Rabaul . 46 7 Generals Douglas MacArthur, Sir Thomas Blarney and George C . Kenney at Port Moresby, October 1942 . 49 8 A salvaged Zero fighter at Port Moresby . 49 8 The Starr King sinking off Port Macquarie, 10th February 1943 . 49 9 Catalinas of No . 3 Operational Training Unit on a formation flying exercise 49 9 The bombing of the Seven Mile aerodrome at Port Moresby, 17th August 1942 54 6 A Japanese petrol dump at Milne Bay and a wrecked Japanese landing barge 54 6 Allied air attacks on Lae, 1942 . 54 6 Kokoda, 10th September 1942 . 54 7 Dropping supplies in the Owen Stanleys . 54 7 A No . 30 Squadron Beaufighter in the Owen Stanleys 54 7 The destruction of the Wairopi Bridge . 547 Aerial photograph of country between Oivi and Myola . 56 2 A Wirraway of No . 4 Squadron strafing the tree-tops for snipers in the Buna-Gona area . 563 A Boston of No. 22 Squadron disintegrating over Buna . 56 3 Runa airfield after attacks by Marauders of No . 19 Squadron U.S.A.A.F . 59 4 Allied air attacks on Japanese positions and barges in the Mambare Rive r mouth area, December 1942 . 59 5 Papuans clearing a strip of kunai to fly out a salvaged light aircraft fro m Kapari Hula, December 1942 61 0 Flying Officers N . B . S . Hutchison and N. A . Jobson of No . 4 Squadron . 61 0 Lae airfield, 4th January 1943 . 61 0 A burning Wirraway of No . 4 Squadron at Wau . 61 1 A Hudson aircraft over Dobo in the Aru Islands . 61 1 Air attacks on Salamaua by No . 22 Squadron Bostons . 61 1 The arrival by air of 25-pounder guns at Wau, January 1943 65 8 Air supply of Wau . 65 8 Allied air attacks on Japanese ships during the battle of the Bismarck Sea , March 1943 . 65 9 A Beaufighter attack on Malahang airfield, near Lae, during the battle of th e Bismarck Sea . 690 Ward's Field, Port Moresby, showing the extensive development, April 1943 69 1 Parked Kittyhawks at Milne Bay, April 1943 691 MAP S Page First round-Australia flight . 25 First trans-Pacific flight . 30 The Salmond Plan . 33 R.A.A.F. on the eve of war . 56 E.A.T.S. schools for aircrew, December 1941 . 11 1 The "Horseshoe" route . 123 Development of advanced operational bases, 1939-1941 . 127 Attacks by surface raiders and mines, June-December 1940 . 13 1 The Far Eastern theatre . 153 Pacific air ferry routes 175 The Malayan theatre 194 Far East Command R.A.F., 7th-8th December 1941 203 Japan's initial assaults . 209 Japan's opening moves on Thailand and Malaya 213 The attack on Pearl Harbour . 227 The Philippine Islands . 231 R.A.A.F. dispositions and areas of responsibility, 12th December 1941 23 7 Loss of Prince of Wales and Repulse . 252 Far East Command R.A.F., 24th December 1941 . 283 ABDA and ANZAC Areas 303 Truk and other reconnaissances, January 1942 316 Southern Malaya and Singapore Island . 334 Rabaul and northern New Britain . 354 Escape routes from New Britain . 361 The Japanese advance through the Netherlands East Indies and to Rabaul 370 Ambon and Buru Islands .