No. 454 Squadron RAAF
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No. 454 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force was formed during World War II. 454 Squadron came into existence at Williamtown in New South Wales on May 23, 1941. The squadron was raised under the Empire Air Training Scheme.
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[edit] Middle East
The squadron was destined for service in Europe with the Royal Air Force. It was, however, disbanded on 11 July, and its personnel dispersed between 456, 457 and 458 Squadrons. 454 Squadron was given a second lease of life on 30 September 1942 when it was reformed as a light bomber squadron at Aqir in Palestine. It proceeded to Iran where, equipped with Bristol Blenheims, it joined a force intended to counter German threat from the Caucasus. Based at Qaiyara, the squadron flew no operational missions and instead served to provide refresher training on the Blenheim for crews being posted to other RAF squadrons.
In February 1943 454 Squadron moved to Amiriya in Egypt, where it joined 201 Group of the RAF's Middle East Command. Having left its Blenheims in Iran, the squadron was equipped with Martin Baltimores. It commenced operations as a maritime patrol squadron and spent the next 17 months working in this capacity over the Mediterranean - its main targets were enemy submarines and merchant shipping. It was also used for long-range reconnaissance and occasionally employed in strikes against land targets in Crete and the Greek islands. During this period 454 Squadron operated from several airfields including Amiriya, Gambut III, and St Jean and Berka III.
[edit] Italy
In July 1944 The squadron relocated to Pescara in Italy and joined the Desert Air Force. Its role now changed to providing air support for the ground forces engaged in the Italian campaign, generally in the form of concentrated pattern bombing. Operating from a succession of airfields, 454 Squadron earned a reputation for efficiency, despite Italy's climatic extremes. In addition to its ground support missions, the squadron also attacked targets, experimented with radar-controlled bombing techniques, and, in early 1945, harried the retreating German forces by night. The squadron's war ended with the surrender of German forces in Italy on 2 May 1945 and it was disbanded at Villaorba on 14 August 1945.
During the war the squadron suffered 60 fatalities, all Australian.
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| Royal Australian Air Force flying squadrons | |
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| Empire Air Training Scheme squadrons
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| Joint Netherlands-Australian squadrons |
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