Maintenance work in Australia on one of the Military Air Force Division's aircraft, probably belonging to the 18th Netherlands East Indies Squadron.

 

 

Military Air Force Division

Staff from the KNIL’s Military Air Force Division were sent to Australia even before the Dutch East Indies capitulated. Their assignment was to fetch the B-25 bombers that the Dutch East Indies government had ordered in the US and fly them to Java. However, the bombers were not delivered on time. In the meantime, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) looked after the Dutch crews. They were assigned to a new unit, the 18th Netherlands East Indies Squadron, which was established in Canberra on 4 April 1942. The unit operated from this location on the east coast of Australia until the end of that year. Although the squadron was not yet complete, the RAAF rapidly deployed the Dutch crewmembers. They successfully conducted flights to protect Australia’s merchant shipping.

 

In late 1942, the squadron was moved to the MacDonald air base near Darwin in northwest Australia. It was easier to deploy the squadron from there, as it was closer to the theatre of war. With the arrival of more RAAF personnel, the squadron was soon up to full strength: 40 officers and 210 servicemen from the Military Air Force Division, and 8 officers and 300 servicemen from the RAAF. The squadron became operational in January 1943 and the first flights were made over the theatre of operations, stretching from the islands of Sunda and Flores in the west, to the Tanimbar, Kai and Aru islands in the north, and the southwest coast of New Guinea. Between January 1943 and August 1945 the 18th squadron conducted about 1,900 flights destroying 85 Japanese ships or ships sailing for Japan. The squadron also bombed enemy airfields and dropped propaganda leaflets over occupied areas. The flights were not without risk, and 95 members of the squadron were killed.

 

In May 1943 the squadron was transferred to Batchelor, 80 kilometres south of Darwin. In October of that year, the squadron’s composition changed when Dutch personnel arrived from the US. In November the squadron was assigned to a new unit, No. 79 Wing of the RAAF. Together with the Australians, they conducted several reconnaissance flights before the squadron was transferred again. From April 1944, No. 79 Wing, including the 18th squadron, operated from New Britain to support the advancing ground troops. Finally, in July 1945 it was transferred to Balipapan to support the liberation of Borneo. However, no action was necessary as Japan capitulated on 15 August.

 

In December 1943 a Dutch squadron of fighter pilots was formed in Canberra. This had not previously been possible due to the shortage of pilots. It was named the 120th Netherlands East Indies Squadron, and initially consisted of 31 officers and 19 servicemen from the KNIL’s Military Air Force Division, and 6 Australian officers and 232 servicemen. It was stationed in Merauke, Dutch New Guinea, in April 1944, and began operations in late June. However, owing to a lack of targets, the fighter pilots carried out hardly any offensive operations. No hostile missions were carried out in New Guinea until after the squadron had moved to Biak in early 1945.

 

In addition to the two combat units, the Military Air Force Division also acquired a transport unit in late 1944. This 1st Netherlands East Indies Transport Squadron, with 25 aircraft and about one hundred men, made transport flights for Dutch and Dutch East Indian military bodies, and maintained communications between MacDonald, later Batchelor, and Merauke for the 18th and 120th squadrons. On 15 August 1945 the unit was renamed the 19th Transport Squadron.