No. 75 Squadron
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)

Wartime History
On March 4, 1942 Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) No. 75 Squadron was formed at Garbutt Field at Townsville under the command of Squadron Leader Peter Jeffery equipped with P-40E Kittyhawks. During 1942, assigned to No. 9 Operational Group.

On March 21, 1942 the first four Kittyhawks from the squadron land at 7 Mile Drome near Port Moresby as the first fighter aircraft to defend the area. Two hours later, two Kittyhawk pilot F/O Barry Cox and Kittyhawk pilot F/L John Piper intercept G4M1 Betty pilot Kawai on a solo reconnaissance mission and shot down causing it to crash into the sea one mile west of Basilisk Light to the south of Port Moresby.

On March 24, 1942 two Kittyhawks including P-40E A29-7 piloted by F/L Les Jackson intercept a Japanese air raid over Port Moresby. Jackson claims his first aerial victory (in fact, no Japanese aircraft were lost).

On March 27, 1942 in the morning at 7 Mile Drome P-40E A29-19 piloted by P/O Ronald K. C. O'Connor and P-40E Kittyhawk A29-15 piloted by F/O Woods took off on a patrol. Later, P-40E pilot Piper and P-40E pilot Bailey took off to intercept G4M1 Bettys east of Port Moresby and damage G4M1 Betty commanded by Fujii that crashed inland from Rigo.

On April 1, 1942 in the morning, Kittyhawks took off from 7 Mile Drome to escort six A-24 Dive bombers from 8th Bombardment Squadron (8th BS) on their first combat mission to dive bomb Japanese shipping off Lae. After take off, A-24 41-15798 pilot 2nd Lt. Henry G. Swartz experienced mechanical issues and aborts. The rest of the formation experiences bad weather and diverts to bomb Salamaua Airfield (Logui) and experience only light anti-aircraft fire.

On April 7, 1942 six Kittyhawks took off on a mission to escort U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) A-24 Dive Bombers from the 8th Bombardment Squadrons (8th BS) on a strike against Lae.

On April 11, 1942 Kittyhawks took off on a fighter sweep over Lae. Over the north coast of New Guinea, intercepted by A6M2 Zero. Lost is P-40E Kittyhawk A29-38 pilot Sgt David S. Brown (POW, executed) force landed at Salamaua.

On April 24, 1942 in the morning P-40E Kittyhawk pilot Leslie "Les" D. Jackson and P-40E Kittyhawk A29-76 pilot Robert W. Crawford took off on a patrol over 7 Mile Drome. At noon, a Japanese air raid commenced. Both P-40s dove to assist B-26 "Hell's Angel" 40-1428 under attack by A6M2 Zeros. Their attack forced away the Zeros, but one turned onto Crawford's tail ad damaged the fuel tank and port rudder, forcing him to ditch in the sea. The P-40 bounced three times before finally sinking in roughly six feet of water.

On August 27, 1942 took off to intercept a Japanese air raid against No. 1 Strip (Gurney Field) near Milne Bay. During the air combat, piloted by S/L Les Jackson and wingman Sgt Roy Riddel surprised a pair of Zeros and shot down A6M3 Zero pilot Sadaô Yamashita (KIA) and A6M3 Zero pilot Ninomiya (KIA).

PARTIAL HISTORY

On January 27, 1944 at 8:20am twelve Kittyhawks led by S/L J. H. Kinninmont took off from Nadzab Airfield on a strafing mission against Jomba Island (Yomba) to the east of Madang. During one of the strafing runs at 9:20am P-40N "Ishkabibble" A29-530 pilot P/O Stanley B. Hunt (KIA) collided with P-40N A29-523 piloted by F/Sgt James M. Stirling (MIA).

References
NAA Operations record book (forms A50 & A51), 75 Squadron. [Unit history sheets] (NAA: A9186, 95)
AWM - No. 75 Squadron
War Diary 1942 (1984) by George Johnston page 40 (March 21, 1942), 43 (March 24, 1942)
"[March 21, 1942] 21 Saturday R.A.A.F. fighters arrive...."
"Fighter Squadron Doctor: 75 Squadron RAAF New Guinea 1942" (1989) by William Deane Butcher
Papua New Guinea Winged Ghosts of the Pacific (1995) by Andrew Wight discovery of P-40E Kittyhawk interview with William A. Whetters
Seek and Strike 75 Squadron RAAF 1942-2002 (2002) by David J Wilson
The Whole Nine Yards The Story Of An ANZAC P-40 (2002) by John King
44 Days 75 Squadron and the fight for Australia (2016) by Michael Veitch