548 Squadron RAF

548 Squadron RAF was initially formed at Lawnton Airfield in south east Queensland on 15 December 1943 under temporary Commanding Officer Flying Officer F. J. Todd.

RAF Pilots arrived in Brisbane on 1 January 1944 after disembarking in Townsville on 30 December 1943. They proceeded to No. 3 Embarkation Depot at Sandgate north of Brisbane. On 2 January 1944, the new Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader William Henry Alexander Wright (70834) arrived at Lawnton to inspect the Squadron's site and returned to Sandgate on the same day.

On 3 January 1944, 44 ground crew were detached to 3 Aircraft Depot 3 AD at Amberley to assemble and service the Squadron's new Spitfires. On 4 January 1944, the RAF members of 548 Squadron, minus the Commanding Officer proceeded to 1 E.D. by train on temporary duty. The C.O. flew to 1 E.D. on 6 January 1944.

F/Lt R.A. Watts returned to Strathpine from 1 E.D. on 20 January and F/Lt J.A.C. Aiken returned on the following day. On 26 January 1944, 15 Officers, 3 Flight Sergeants, 3 Sergeants, members of RAF pilots on cessation of temporary duty at No. 1 E.D. were detached to No. 2 E.D. Bradfield Park from 1 E.D. for indoctrination at 2 F.P.R.U. from 26 January to 3 February 1944 inclusive.

The Officers who were being indoctrinated in Sydney did not do so well in their tests, most likely due to the overwhelming hospitality they were "enduring". The following personnel left Sydney by train at 1940 hours on 6 February 1944:-

They left F/O Palmer, F/O Hilton and P/O Davisen, P/O Brown, P/O Griffiths, F/Sgt Hennessey, F/Sgt Shorland and Sgt Reid behind in Sydney to complete their tests.

548 Squadron RAF received their first aircraft at Strathpine on 5 February 1944, one Wirraway A20-286 and one Tiger Moth!! More were to follow and they were used for training whilst they awaited the arrival of their new Spitfires which were still being assembled at Amberley.

The men who left Sydney by train on 6 February 1944 arrived arrived at Strathpine at 1900 hours on 7 February. They attempted to erect their camp beds, tents, fly sheets and mosquito nets in the failing light whilst combatting the numerous mosquitoes.

On 8 February 1944, both Flights spent the whole day organising their tents and getting generally dug in at Strathpine.

On afternoon of 9 February 1944, both Flights started to fly the single Tiger Moth and Wirraway. They flew them again all day on 10 February. Over 12 and 13th GFebruary the Wirraway went unserviceable due to undercarriage and generator problems.

The two flights visited Hangar 7 at Eagle Farm Airfield where the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit were rebuilding and test flying captured Japanese aircraft. Flight "A" visited on 14 February and "B" Flight on 15 February. They fired many questions at the Staff Sergeant who escorted them around the hangar. She was unable to answer any of their questions! They were disappointed that the completed Oscar that they saw was unable to do a display flight for them. Despite these issues they thoroughly enjoyed their visit to Hangar 7.

Both Flights were overworking the Tiger Moth on 16 February. No flying the next day as it was raining cats and dogs.

The party that had been left behind in Sydney for their indoctrination test at No. 2 F.P.R.U. arrived back at Strathpine Airfield on 18 February 1944.

The Wirraway went unserviceable again over the period 19 - 21 February. F/O Calder flew it over to Amberley for some work. Whilst there he enquired about their eagerly awaited Spitfires. He witnessed fitters, riggers, armourers and electricians and others climbing over the wings with hobnailed boots. Cockpits were left open, with the result that the aircraft were rapidly and visibly decaying.

A signal was received on 24 February 1944 ordering the following personnel to return to Sydney to redo their indoctrination tests:-

The Tiger Moth went in for its 40 hourly inspection on 24 February. It had been bogged many times at Strathpine since it arrival there.

F/Sgt Isaac and Sgt R.I. Buchan (Airmen pilots) proceeded to No. 2 E.D. on 25 February 1944 for their indoctrination tests prior to posting to No. 2 Operational Training Unit 2 OTU for their refresher course on Spitfires.

F/Lt Cheek flew the Wirraway back to Strathpine on 25 February and both Flights did many circuits and bumps in her that afternoon.

On 26 February 1944, P/O Bell and F/Lt Cheek came in to land in the Wirraway and when P/O Bell leveled out at approximately 10 feet the Wirraway dropped like a sack of bricks. The Wirraway ground looped heavily when it hit the runway and made off on a tangent for the trees at the side of the airfield. F/Lt Len Cheek fought the controls for a few seconds in the rear cockpit and the Wirraway finally emerged from the trees with the starboard flap and both wing tips slightly bruised.

On 28 February the pilots piled aboard the C.O.'s car and the motor cycle combination and went down to Redcliffe Beach. They had a great day and returned to Strathpine sunburnt, salt-caked and happy. The party of men who went to Sydney on 24 February returned to Strathpine on 29 February 1944.

The Tiger Moth had a workout on the morning of 1 March 1944 but there was no flying that afternoon due to bad weather.

The Commanding Officer, S/Ldr Wright, gave a talk on fighter tactics and security on the morning of 2 March 1944. After an interesting discussion on Wing and Squadron tactics it was decided that the Squadron would adopt the old "finger formation". A few timely warnings on the subject of security followed the tactical talk. "Look, listen but don't talk."

On 3 March 1944, S/Ldr Bobby Gibbes D.F.C. ex C.O. of 54 Squadron gave a talk on flying and operations in the Darwin area. Despite his assurance that Darwin was a key position, and that something would happen there, his admission that the last time enemy aircraft were plotted there was over 8 months earlier, the men were very disheartened. They were surprised to learn that the three Squadrons which completed the Wing, all used different formations, which sounded impracticable to the pilots of 548 Squadron.

The men went to Redcliffe Beach again on 4 and 5 March 1944. On 6 March 1944, F/Lt Palmer, F/O Hilton, P/O Davison, F/Sgt Shorland and a few "B" Flight members visited Hangar 7 at Eagle Farm Airfield to finding out more about the Japanese aircraft which were there. The authorities inside Hangar 7 were apparently not overly co-operative and "after pottering around pieces of Hamps and Zekes they returned to Strathpine."

The pilots were flying the Tiger Moth again on 7 and 8 March 1944. It was in the air again between showers on 9 and 10 March.

The A.O.C. visited Strathpine on 9 March and made the mistake of asking if there were any complaints. He was immediately inundated with requests for aircraft of any description - anything that would fly a little faster than their well used Tiger Moth. He promised to try to do something for them as he made his escape.

The Archbishop of Brisbane conducted a service at Strathpine on 9 March 1944. The men spent another few days at Redcliffe on 11 and 12 March.

Four Aerodrome Defence Instructors from 3 Mobile Ground Defence Instruction Section reported to Strathpine to instruct personnel in firearms, aerodrome defence, etc. P/O Davison, P/O Starkey, S/Ldr Wright, F/Lt Cheek, F/O Hickin and F/O Hilton received orders to proceed north to No. 9 Operational Group. F/Lt R.H.A. Watts was to assume temporary command of 548 Squadron in the absence of S/Ldr Wright. The party heading north were ordered to report to Amberley at 0100 hours on 14 March 1944. F/Lt Palmer joined the group at the last minute due to a cancellation by one member of the party. They boarded a Skymaster to travel to Amberley but it went unserviceable and the flight was postponed.

They eventually made it to Amberley and attended a strenuous party that night. They were then ordered to report to Archerfield on 15 March to pick up a transport which was due to leave the following day. They found that one member of the party would have to stand down, so F/Lt Palmer returned to Strathpine. The party, minus F/Lt Palmer, left for Port Moresby on morning of 16 March. P/O Hilton was violently sick during the flight, a consequence of the previous night's festivities.

At approximately 1720 hours on 18 March 1944, LAC Colin Struan Hope 130506 was killed as a result of a shooting accident at No. 1 Guard Post with a .303 rifle at Strathpine. He was practicing unarmed defence whilst on guard duty. He was buried with full service honours at the Lutwyche Cemetery at 1100 hours on 21 March 1944, Section 77, Grave No. 36. A Court of Inquiry into the death of LAC Hope was held on 21 March 1944.

Officers and Sergeant pilots returned from leave at Coolangatta on 28 March 1944.

The party returned from their visit to 9 Operational Group in New Guinea on 28 March 1944. 2 Officers and 35 Airmen marched in the Victory Loan procession in Brisbane on 29 March 1944. After three months of frustration waiting for their Spitfires to arrive, the C.O. agreed to send a letter to Group Captain Grice acquainting him with the feelings of the Squadron. Two pilots had had even written applications for transfer to the Burma theatre of operations. They were rejected.

The Wirraway was serviceable again on 31 March and together with the Tiger Moth was being used regularly.

On 1 April 1944, a signal was received to advise that the Squadron was to get some aircraft. After lunch F/Lt Cheek, F/Lt Watts, F/Lt Aiken, F/O Everill, F/O Saunders, F/Sgt Mitchell, F/Sgt Shorland and Sgt Reid went down to Redcliffe Beach again. The rest of the Squadron attended a party which the Americans hosted in their mess at Archerfield Airfield. At 0110 hours the next morning everyone except F/O Cody and F/O Hilton staggered into a staff car and were driven back to Strathpine. The driver dropped them off at a coffee shop and then did a runner when they ordered a coffee. Eight of them eventually caught a taxi to Strathpine at a cost of five shillings each. F/O Cody and F/O Hilton stayed in the deserted mess with an American friend until 0200 hours. They were very hazy about their subsequent movements, but they distinctly remembered reversing the car and going back the way they had come, when they saw a signpost which read, "Brisbane - 30 miles".

At 0930 hours on 2 April 1944, a large crowd gathered around the opening of F/O Cody's tent. F/O Cody had always maintained a negative attitude towards their American friends, despite the fact that he never missed an opportunity to consume their beer and smoke their cigarettes. It came as a shock to the gathered crowd to find F/O Cody sharing his bed with an American Lieutenant. The other bed in his tent was empty! Despite his frantic assertions that on his return from the party at Archerfield, he and the Lieutenant had both collapsed - unfortunately both on the same bed. They pulled his leg unmercifully about the novel way he had set about cementing Anglo-American relationships.

As the Wirraway was still unserviceable on 3 April 1944, "B" Flight went down to Redcliffe Beach that afternoon and left the Tiger Moth for "A" Flight to use. Enquiries at Amberley as to the possible arrival of their Spitfires were still fruitless.

"A" Flight used the Tiger Moth on 4 April 1944 and "B" Flight used the Wirraway for a total flying hours for the day of 7 hours and 40 minutes. The Wirraway was unserviceable the next day.

On 6 April 1944, Captain Rosenquist from the US Army and Allied Headquarters visited 548 Squadron a gave an interesting lecture on escape and evasion tactics in the Southwest Pacific Area. His aide, Lieutenant Ellis gave them a practical demonstration of hos to use escape kits and parachutes to the best advantage. The hammock constructed from six panels of a parachute intrigued the men immensely. Their parachute officer retired immediately after the demonstration to check his parachutes.

For the previous two days rumours existed that suggested their Spitfires were on the way to Strathpine from Laverton. The men dismissed the stories. However, much to their amazement, at approximately 1730 hours on 6 April 1944, three Spitfires flew across in the near vicinity, only to turn away and head for Amberley Airfield. A few minutes later, another Spitfire passed near the airfield, obviously looking for somewhere to land. The whole camp, airmen and officers in every conceivable state of dress and undress, rushed madly down to the strip to watch the Squadron's first operational Spitfire arrive.

When the Spitfire turned away, a loud chorus of disappointment echoed around the airfield, until one over-enthusiastic squadron member fired off a couple of Greens from a Very pistol. The Spitfire turned again and headed towards the airfield amid prolonged cheers from the men at the airfield. The excited crowd saw the wheels and flaps come down and the Spitfire turned on its final approach. Their cries soon turned to ones of alarm, as they could see that the Spitfire was going too fast on its landing approach and need to do a go-around. The pilot continued his fast approach and travelled over the end of the runway and came to a sickening stop in the adjoining paddock. After waiting three months for their Spitfires, the first one arrives and prangs. Closer inspection the next day revealed minimal damage.

Three more Spitfires arrived the next morning. They landed intact despite the efforts of one of the ferry pilots to repeat the performance of his colleague the previous afternoon. Another Spitfire arrived on 8 April from Narromine. Two more Spitfires arrived on 10 April. The C.O. flew his Spitfire on 10 April. It was the only serviceable Spitfire.

Another Spitfire arrived on 12 April 1944. All the Officers in the Squadron with the exception of two Flight Commanders, F/Lt Palmer, F/O Hilton and P/O Davison were officiating in Court Martials which lasted all day and the next day. All the flying that day was done by "A" Flight much the chagrin of the pilots who were closeted in a stuffy room dispensing the law.

Another Spitfire flew over from Amberley on 14 April 1944, bringing the total to 9 Spitfires so far. The Officers gave an informal party for the airmen on 14 April. They drank and sung songs standing around a huge fire lit in the middle of the parade ground. The RAAF members seemed to know most of the songs and a few more too.

The Squadron was stood down on 15 and 16 April 1944. It was too cold late in the afternoons to visit the beach at Redcliffe. Another Spitfire arrived from Narromine on 16 April.

The men saw a photo of a Lancaster in the morning's paper on 17 April. The caption read "Lancaster to fly over Brisbane this morning to stimulate investments in War Bonds." The men decided it would be very fitting for the Lancaster to have an escort of Spitfires. They contacted the pilot of the Lancaster and at 1130 hours a section of four Spitfires flown by F/Lt Watts, F/Lt Cheek, F/Lt Price and P/O Hilton were airborne. A flight of four Spitfires from 549 Squadron RAF also joined in and "a terrific melee ensued over Brisbane. After whistling over the city at practically nought feet for some twenty minutes, the eight Spits formed up four a side on the Lanc. and brought it over the strip. The ground crew were enthusiastic about the whole show."

By 18 April 1944, all the pilots had soloed in the Mark VIII Spitfire and pronounced various verdicts. Some were disappointed, some enthusiastic, especially those who had flown the Mk. IXs back in the UK. They all agreed however that they were a pretty good fighting aircraft. Their rate of climb was astonishing and the acceleration was good for formation. "A" Flight had started section flying and section take-offs, a step in the right direction.

On 19 April 1944, a section of three "A" Flight Spitfires flown by F/O Hilton, F/Lt Price and Sgt Alan Victor Chandler (1319672) took off at 0845 hours. After orbiting the airfield, they decided to bounce a Spitfire which had just taken off and was climbing down sun. The section of three Spitfires closed to 250 yards at about 2,500 feet and broke away to the right. Red 1 (F/O Hilton) then banked to the left to make sure that Red 2 (F/Lt Price) and Red 3 (Sgt Chandler) were still with him. They were flying line astern, when to F/O Hilton's horror, he saw that Red 3 and the other aircraft had collided. Both Spitfires went into the deck without either pilot getting out.

The unknown Spitfire was flown by the Squadron Leader William Henry Alexander Wright (70834), the Commanding Officer of 548 Squadron. The men of the Squadron were all dazed at the tragedy. It did not seem possible to them, that two good pilots should buy it in such an unfortunate accident. Had they bought it on ops, it would have been bad enough, but on a routine practice flight was beyond belief. They were all numbed with shock.

F/Lt Watts assumed the role of temporary Commanding Officer and the first thing he did was to call all the pilots of the Squadron together. He told them that the C.O. was flat out for building the Squadron into an efficient top line crowd, and that it was up to them to see that they carried it on.

Squadron Leader William Henry Alexander Wright (70834) and Sergeant Alan Victor Chandler (1319672) were buried at the Lutwyche Cemetery on afternoon of 20 April 1944 with full service honours.

On 21 April 1944, a section from "A" Flight flown by F/O Everill and F/O Hilton, assisted the Army by buzzing one of their AA gun positions giving the gunners some practice. "B" Flight sent P/O Griffiths over to Amberley to collect another Spitfire which was ready for delivery to Strathpine. Griffiths returned in tight formation with a P-38 Lightning.

On 22 April 1944, W/O Benson, in charge of signals, gave the pilots a lecture on the procedure to be followed by the Duty Pilot. The Squadron had a roster for the Duty Pilot role and they were working fairly smoothly with 8 Fighter Sector Headquarters in the Wills Building in Ann Street, Brisbane.

Between 24 and 27 April 1944, any pilots who were not flying would attend a 20minute quiz session run by P/O Healy of the Intelligence Section on aircraft recognition. They were very well equipped with models of different types of enemy and allied aircraft. Despite the pilots' protests that they knew them all, P/O Healy usually produced an aircraft that outfoxed them.

A Norseman piloted by a visiting Squadron Leader landed at Strathpine Airfield on 28 April 1944. Much to P/O Healy's chagrin all the pilots recognised the Norseman. Several members of the Squadron were invited to a rather select sort of party organised by 549 Squadron RAF on the evening of 28 April. F/Lt Watts, after an unnecessary length of time in the ablutions, emerged clean shaven for the 549 Squadron party. F/Lt Price had removed his moustache on 20 April and had regretted it ever since. He started to regrow it the following day.

29 April was a stand-down day and a party of 9 energetic souls set out early in the morning on a fishing expedition. Their goal was to catch enough fish and crabs to provide a good meal for the Officer's Mess. They returned at 1900 hours with their successful catch.

Air Commodore Grice (RAF) was to have been a dinner guest at the Squadron on the evening of 29 April. He turned up very late at 2000 hours by which time the dinner was been cancelled. Orders were received that Officers and Sergeants were to remain in their respective messes on 30 April after duty hours to meet Air Commodore Grice and put before him any complaints. The Officers' Mess laid on an excellent dinner for 1745 hours and sat down to await their guest's arrival. Everyone was famished and seditious by 1830 hours with still no sign of their special guest. They started the dinner with out Air Commodore Grice at 1845 hours. He did turn up at 2330 hours and the Orderly Room opened the bar for him. Group Captain Gibson from RAAF Command attended the function and was observed to glance at his watch several times around 1800 hours. The men apologised to him for the delay in serving dinner.

The acting C.O. F/Lt Watts flew Air Commodore Grice to Amberley in the Wirraway on 1 May 1944.

On 2 May 1944, 8 Fighter Sector Headquarters in Brisbane asked 548 Squadron RAF to provide a pansy formation to fly over Brisbane the following day as part of a combined services parade. The acting C.O. briefed 8 of the pilots who took off later that day for some practice for the following day's event. There were three flights of three which flew over Strathpine Airfield three or four times in perfect formation. The three sections were as follows:-

A Squadron dance was held on 3 May 1944. F/O Calder was charged with organising the dance. For the few days prior, he was dashing around feverishly teeing up bands, beer, girls, halls etc. He acquired agreement from the proprietress the Belle Vue Hotel Ballroom for the dance. I assume this was the Bellevue Hotel in George Street in the city. Tickets were printed, invitations issued. Then the proprietress of the Belle Vue withdrew her agreement for the use of the Ballroom. F/O Calder managed to find another venue.

The nine Spitfires took off a 1245 hours for their flypast on 3 May 1944. There had been a strong wind blowing earlier that morning. Despite the bumpy ride they put on an excellent performance over the city. Earlier that day, the C.O. had called all the pilots together and confirmed that the Squadron would be moving to a new location on 17 May 1944. The Squadron dance was very successful that night. It finished around 0100 hours the next morning when the bar ran dry.

On 4 May 1944, as they were to move north soon, the C.O. gave orders that there was to be no more flying practice, only air tests and essential flights such as cannon and machine tests. A new order had recently been received "that all aircraft are to be stripped of camouflage and will be flown silvered." Pilots and ground crew started the messy and tedious job of removing paint from 4 May 1944. Pilots were still bus scraping paint on 5 May and packing equipment. On 6 May it was found that the Stores was experiencing great difficulty in keeping Flights supplied with paint remover.

F/Lt Price, F/O Saunders and F/O Hilton and LAC Logie, decided to go fishing from 7am to Dohles Rock on their stand-down day on 7 May 1944. Dohles Rock was located six or seven miles from their camp. Although they did not return to camp until 1800 hours they had very little to show for their efforts. They caught five flathead and half a dozen crabs. They admitted that night that the fishing party that had been organised by P/O Blemings the previous week had in fact returned with fish and crabs that had been purchased and not caught!

By 8 May 1944, it appeared that "B" Flight may have been winning the race to finish stripping the camouflage paint from their Spitfires. Yet "A" Flight had two more Spitfires finished than "B" Flight. That phenomena was explained when it was discovered that "A" Flight had whipped two of their aircraft into "C" Flight for a crafty 40 hour inspection and got the "C" Flight airmen to work with the paint remover.

By 12 May 1944, "A" Flight had removed the camouflage paint from all bar three of their Spitfires and "B" Flight had five more to do. Pilot Officers Hill, Healy and Blemings went trawling for fish at 2130 hours and returned soaking wet and cold at 0400 hours on 13 May with a good hundredweight of fish including mullet, garfish, flathead and tailor.

All sections of the Squadron were working hard in readiness for their move north. Stores were packing feverishly, the carpenters were manufacturing hundreds of packing cases and the Flights were bringing their Spitfires to top line strength. The cookhouse staff cleaned and gutted the fish caught overnight and all three messes (Airmens, Sergeants and Officers) had fish for dinner that night.

By 14 May 1944, "B" Flight had only 3 more Spitfires to strip paint from, whilst "A" flight had only 2 left to complete. The Advance Party of 17 airmen under Pilot Officer Blemings left Archerfield Airfield at 0300 hours on 15 May 1944 in a Douglas transport aircraft headed for Darwin in the Northern Territory. At the last moment Pilot Officer Healy was ordered to accompany the party as well and make contact with Fighter Wing and Intelligence Headquarters on arrival in Darwin and generally report back to Strathpine on facilities and arrangements for the Squadron in Darwin. The Advance Party arrived in Darwin on 16 May and settled in at Livingstone Airfield.

The aircrew at Strathpine were scheduled to fly their Spitfires over to Amberley on 16 May 1944 prior to heading north. However delays meant they would not be ready for at least another week. By the end of the day on 17 May 1944, everyone was sick and tired of stripping paint from their Spitfires. There had been a shortage of wire wool and the men were forced to use their hands to remove the paint until fresh supplies of wire wool arrived.

By 18 May the mens' hands were in such a state that not much work could be done that day. "B" Flight had a tea party that morning and they were hounoured by the presence of the A.I.F. The Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Jones visited the Squadron by air on 19 May 1944. The Flight Commander told the men that he believed they were moving the next day. The following entry appears in the 548 Squadron ORB:-

They finished removing the paint from the last Spitfire on 20 May 1944 and they commenced adding the aircraft code letters one by one. They were advised that they were the first Squadron to try out some new anti "G" equipment. Whilst not looking forward to the experiment they were willing to give it a go and were hopeful that it would be successful.

548 Squadron had its first stand-down for two weeks on 21 May 1944. The mobile film unit was due to play that night but the film show was cancelled due to rain.

It was till raining on 22 May 1944. All the Spitfires were due to leave for Amberley by the next morning however the heavy ongoing rain looked like putting a stop to that plan. Squadron Leader Goodman of 5 T.M.O. called in the afternoon and told the Squadron they had 48 hours to make the move to Amberley. The business of packing, loading, organising and transporting both at the camp and at the siding went on without cessation. The Commanding Officer, the Adjutant, Flight Lieutenant Todd and the Equipment Officer, Flying Officer Richmond worked unremittingly from daylight to dark and even into far reaches of the night, getting things done.

The weather finally cleared on 23 May 1944, and all 23 Spitfires took off from Strathpine and flew to Amberley Airfield. It started to rain again after they arrived at Amberley. Upon arrival a Squadron Leader told them that he hoped they were not noisy and they were allowed drinks until 2300 hours provided they were quiet and they had to be in bed by 2359 hours. Eight Officers and Flight Sergeant Isaac went back to Strathpine, the Officers to finalise the packing of their particular sections and F/Sgt Isaac was to be ferried to Darwin in the Wirraway.

Eight Officers arrived back at Strathpine from Sandgate in the morning of 24 May 1944, and left for Amberley that afternoon. The crews already at Amberley spent an energetic morning manhandling the aircraft. They had a very good party in the Officer�s Mess at Amberley that night.

Group Captain Douglas, the C.O. of Amberley, was very nice to the men of 548 Squadron. He used to roar around the perimeter track in his jeep giving lifts to everyone.

On 26 May 1944, F/Lt Todd (Adjutant) and F/Lt Oldfield (Medical Officer) and 220 Other Ranks left Strathpine by train for Townsville in north Queensland. The men marched the two miles to Strathpine Railway Station carrying their full packs. The Officers at Amberley played tennis that afternoon.

On 27 May 1944, the C.O. intercepted Air Vice Marshall Bostock who happened to be at Amberley and had him use his influence to postpone the departure date of the aircrew so that the ground party more or less arrived at the same time as the aircraft in Darwin. Due to the new delay to the aircrew leaving, the following applied for and were grated leave in Melbourne:-

The Ground Crew arrived in Townsville on 28 May 1944, and were staged at No. 1 R.P.P. RAAF where they stayed for about two weeks. The ship they were due to catch was still being loaded in Brisbane. The men were able to get transport into Townsville city are and visited Magnetic Island. Their gear was unloaded off trucks and taken to Garbutt Airfield. The Squadron�s party was moving in company with a similar party from 549 Squadron.

On 31 May 1944, the Officers who were not in Melbourne on leave, did not take part in any practice flying to ensure maximum serviceability for the flight to Darwin. The C.O. was trying to get the approved route to Darwin changed. The initial approved plan involved flying from Amberley to Townsville, and then across to Inverleigh with a great deal of attendant danger by flying over wild country with very long gaps between the stops. The C.O. was negotiating to get the route changed so that they would fly through Charleville and Cloncurry. Meanwhile the Forward Party in Darwin was cleaning up and getting the camp site ready for the main party. A single Japanese aircraft carried out a recce flight over Darwin and escaped the area with any damage despite local Spitfire Squadrons being scrambled to intercept the enemy aircraft.

It was found that the ship which was to pick up the ground party in Townsville was not large enough to carry all the men and all the cargo. So signals started flashing back and forth to RAAF Headquarters. The Ground Party were then advised they would have to travel overland through Cloncurry, Mount Isa, Camooweal, and Larrimah. This was a very long, weary, dusty journey. The pilots, aircraft and servicing party meanwhile were still at Amberley. And there was still a Rear Party still at Strathpine under the Equipment Officer F/O L. H. Richmond cleaning the camp site.

P/Os Brown and Griffiths returned from their leave in Sydney on 1 June 1944 looking very fit and well.

Another Japanese aircraft flew over Darwin on 2 June 1944. The C.O. took off in his Spitfire that day at Amberley and put on a acrobatic display. A party was held in the Officers Mess at Amberley that night hosted by the Station Officers.

Not much happened at Amberley on 3 June 1944, as a consequence of the excellent party the previous night.

A Squadron formation set for the morning of 7 June 1944 at Amberley was postponed due to unserviceability of aircraft. It went ahead later that afternoon and truned out to be a massive fuel tank test.
Various tank tests were carried out at Amberley on 8 June in readiness for the move to Darwin.

They finished compass wining of the aircraft on 9 June on a dull day with low cloud and drizzle. A B-25 Mitchell crash landed at Amberley that day. News that they were due to leave for Darwin the following morning led to great excitement however a bit later that day the planned departure was delayed, yet again.

On 9 June 1944, F/Lt Oldfield and 124 Other Ranks left Townsville by rail for Mount Isa on their way to Darwin.

On 10 June 1944, the first formation of 12 Spitfires left Amberley at 1025 hours for Townsville piloted by the following personnel:-

They were escorted by 2 Beauforts and a Douglas aircraft carrying the servicing party. The weather report was 3/10 cloud at 6,000 feet over Townsville, clearing, with 10/10 cloud as far as Mackay.

After 1 � hours they were at 10,000 feet above three 7/10 cloud layers, which were 10/10 in effect. At about 1345 hours P/O Davison�s engine stopped due to a fuel problem. The C.O.�s R/T also failed. The Beaufort went through the clouds to fix, closely followed by F/Lt Watts and F/Lt Calder who were the nearest. The others were too spread out to follow. The Beaufort gave a fix, but P/O Davison was heading for the coast and as there was no VHF in the Beaufort nobody could tell him. F/O Cody gave a rendezvous to the rest of the formation, and as soon as the ETA was reached, they went down through the clouds only to find themselves out to sea with the clouds down very low.

Though some very good flying, excellent judgement, and perhaps a little good fortune, Magnetic Island was found and a safe landing at Garbutt Airfield in Townsville was executed. P/O Brown unfortunately crashed after landing which was entirely bad luck not due to his own fault. Someone had left 3 oil drums in the middle of the runway, and P/O Brown, tired after a long trip, and only too glad to be on the ground after such a harrowing flight, did not see the obstructions until it was too late and hit them with his wing and ended up on his nose.

The second formation of Spitfires took off from Amberley Airfield at 1210 hours and formed up over Amberley before setting course for Townsville. After about 30 minutes the Beaufort started climbing through light cloud to clear weather at 7,000 feet. An hour later there was more cloud which they flew through formatting on the Beaufort losing F/Sgt Merrick who later landed safely at Woodstock Airfield. F/Sgt Merrick was on loan from 549 Squadron RAF as F/Sgt Mitchell was in hospital at Amberley.

The Beaufort started circling down through very thick cloud, losing everybody. F/O Everill found the normal descent boring, so he spun down breaking cloud at 1,500 feet, heading straight for a hill, followed by F/Lt Cheek, F/Lt Palmer and F/Sgt Shorland. F/Lt Palmer with F/Sgt Shorland descended through the clouds and broke clear at 300 feet over the sea. They climbed again through the clouds, and broke cloud surface, and circled at 12,000 feet. F/Sgt Shorland found a gap in the clouds and he went down again closely followed by their aircraft to land at Woodstock Airfield.

F/Lt Aiken, F/O Hill, P/O Bell, F/Sgt Hopkins and Sgt Reid descended through the cloud and they were making their way along the coast towards Garbutt Airfield when Sgt Reid called up to say that an aircraft in the formation had crashed. The others orbited for some time but could not find anything. The unfortunate pilot was F/Sgt Hopkins whose engine had cut out at 200 feet as he broke the clouds and he saw nothing but forest. He had no choice but to attempt an emergency landing. After tearing off both wings and breaking the fuselage behind the cockpit, he ended up in a crocodile infested river. He walked around all night in the swampy river without knowing the nature of its inhabitants.

After being separated from the Beaufort, F/O Saunders and F/O Hill went through the clouds together. They broke clouds fairly low, and then flew due east and landed at Garbutt Airfield.

The C.O. was not happy when he heard that 7 aircraft had not arrived at Garbutt airfield. F/Lt Aiken and Sgt Reid went out to look for F/Sgt Hopkins and found F/Sgt Buchan in fine fettle with the Army. F/Lt Cheek went out and returned the three aircraft from Woodstock Airfield. F/O Everill remained in the Operations Room as Chief Controller in charge of operations. The other pilots proceeded to the Transient Officer�s Camp.

The net loss for the day was 3 Spitfires written off, 5 Spitfires landed away from Garbutt Airfield. The injuries all told were, 1 sprained hand, various cuts and bruises, and the mean who should have been killed, a minor cut on the arm and odd bruises.

They trained in Wirraways and Tiger Moths until their new Spitfires arrived in April 1944.

They then moved to Amberley Airfield west of Brisbane on 25 May 1944????. They relocated to Livingstone Airfield in the Northern Territory on 15 June 1944 with Detachments established at Strauss Airfield, Northern Territory and Truscott Airfield, Western Australia. They were stripped of their original camouflage scheme prior to their move to the Northern Territory. No. 7 Repair and Salvage Unit based at the Darwin Civil Drome reported that the following Spitfires of 548 Squadron RAF were camouflaged by 7RSU on the date shown below. The level of detail in the 7 RSU ORB records changed from 1 January 1945 and there were no more details of Spitfires from 548 Squadron being flown to the Darwin Civil Drome and being camouflaged.

548 Squadron RAF moved to Parap Airfield in Darwin on 22 October 1944. The Squadron was disbanded in October 1945.

I'd like to thank Derek Buckmaster and Tony Porter for their assistance with this home page.

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� Peter Dunn 2015

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Red	Yellow	Blue
No. 1 F.Lt Watts C.O.	No. 1 F/Lt Aiken	No. 1 F/O Saunders
No. 2 P/O Griffiths	No.2 F/O Hickin	No. 2 F/Sgt Mitchell
No. 3 F/O Everill	No. 3 F/Lt Palmer	No. 3 F/O Cody

Date camouflaged by 7 RSU	Spitfire RAAF Serial No.
9 Aug 44	A58-482
22 Aug 44	A58-453
1 Sep 44	A58-446
10 Oct 44	A58-405
14 Oct 44	A58-378
16 Oct 44	A58-388
17 Oct 44	A58-353
18 Oct 44	A58-334
23 Oct 44	A58-329
24 Oct 44	A58-397
27 Oct 44	A58-412
28 Oct 44	A58-409
6 Nov 44	A58-454
6 Nov 44	A58-413
7 Nov 44	A58-398
8 Nov 44	A58-343
9 Nov 44	A58-372
8 Dec 44	A58-385
18 Dec 44	A58-319