OVERVIEW of 30 SQUADRON

As I write this in March 2017 we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the formation of 30 Squadron at RAAF Station Richmond just west of Sydney on March 9, 1942. The squadron consisted of only a handful of ground staff who had arrived there on posting that day and they were soon put to work around the station with tasks such as sweeping the parade ground. The squadron had no officers until May and no aircraft were handed over until early in June.

It was during June and July that pilots and navigators began to arrive at Richmond. Some pilots had flown the Beaufighter on operations in the UK with RAF squadrons, but for others it was to be a few hours in a dual control Beaufort at Richmond before they were sent solo for the first time. For the navigators it was learning how to operate brand new equipment in an aircraft that had never been seen before in Australia.

In mid August after only a few weeks of flying training the squadron headed north to Bohle River and in early September three aircraft were sent to Milne Bay where they were involved in an attack on a Japanese cruiser and destroyer. The following week the squadron moved to New Guinea and in mid September they carried out their first operation against the Japanese from Wards strip which was an attack on Lae.

In 2014 Brazenor and Anderson were the only pilot/navigator combination out of the 24 crews who flew north from Richmond in August 1942 who were both still alive. Brazenor has since died. There are now no pilot/navigator combinations that flew in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea on March 3, 1943, with only two navigators Fred Anderson and Fred Cassidy still with us.

A19-15 'O' - Brazenor and Anderson returning from WAR 47 an attack on Lae January 18, 1943.
One of a series of shots taken by Bill Cameron in A19-8 - Little and Cameron.
Photo - Fred Anderson

The Beaufighters of 30 Squadron played a key role in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea which is now acknowledged as one of the key Battles for Australia during WW2. The Beaufighters task was to attack at low level and strafe the bridges of the merchant ships in the convoy so as to kill the officers and also knock out gun positions on their decks. This combined attack by USAAF and RAAF aircraft was a complete success with the convoy being destroyed. On March 3, 2018 we will celebrate the 75th anniverary of the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.

In July 1943 the squadron moved from Wards strip to Goodenough Island using Vivigani strip. They then began island hopping which was linked to American landings designed to attack and then cut off Japanese troops from further reinforcement. In November they moved to Kiriwina strip in the Trobriand Islands where they were based until June 1944 when they moved to Tadji strip near Aitape on the north coast of New Guinea for two months.

In August 1944 they moved to Nooemfoor Island using Kamiri strip. Then in November to Morotai Island and Wama strip and in May to Sanga Sanga strip on Sanga Sanga Island in the Tawi Tawi Province when Tarakan strip in Borneo could not be made serviceable, before returning to Morotai in June 1945 where they were based when the war ended.

The squadron was disbanded on August 15, 1945 and remaining ground staff sent home. A few personnel remained at Morotai where a pool of aircraft from several Beaufighter squadrons were kept and serviced. By November 1945 they had finished escorting fighters back to Australia and to Japan and remaining Beaufighter aircraft returned to Australia. All that remained of 30 Squadron by December 2, 1945, was one officer and four airmen based at Tarakan and that day they embarked for home on HMS Glory, arriving in Sydney on December 12, 1945.

30 Squadron operations were confined to black border line of the pink area on the map.

30 Squadron was the first RAAF Squadron to fly the Bristol Beaufighter and it was also the only RAAF squadron to serve continuously on the front line throughout the whole, of World War II.

From 1942 onwards a total of 218, A19- series Beaufighters were imported from England for use in Australia. Also a total of 365, A8- series DAP 21 Beaufighter aircraft were built in Australia gradually replacing the ageing A19- series aircraft later in the war.