77 SquadronPrint Page
The plaque commemorates the personnel who served in the 77 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force (R. A. A. F.) during World War Two and the Malayan Emergency.
The plaque location is indicated by a red poppy in the second image.
The squadron was formed at R. A. A. F. Station Pearce, Western Australia, in March 1942 and saw action in the South West Pacific theatre of World War Two, operating Curtis P-40 Kittyhawks. After the war, it re-equipped with North American P-51 Mustangs and deployed to Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force.
The squadron was about to return to Australia when the Korean War broke out in June 1950, after which it joined United Nation forces supporting South Korea. It converted from Mustangs to Gloster Meteor jets between April and July 1951 and remained in Korea until October 1954, claiming five MiG-15s and over five thousand buildings and vehicles destroyed during the war for the loss of almost sixty aircraft, mainly to ground fire.
The squadron re-equipped with CAC at Williamtown in November 1956. Two years later it transferred to R. A. A. F. Butterworth in Malaya to join the air campaign against communist guerrillas in the last stages of the Emergency.
Location
Address: | Fairbairn & Limestone Avenues, Captain Reg Saunders Courtyard, Australian War Memorial, Campbell, 2612 |
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State: | ACT |
Area: | AUS |
GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.280369 Long: 149.147739 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
Monument Type: | Plaque |
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Monument Theme: | Conflict |
Sub-Theme: | Multiple |
Actual Event Start Date: | 16-March-1942 |
Actual Event End Date: |
Dedication
Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Wednesday 1st October, 2003 |
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To commemorate those who served
77 Squadron RAAF
Formed Pearce W.A. 16 March 1942
Darwin New Guinea S.- W. Pacific Korea Malaya
We will remember them