| No. 453 Squadron RAAF | |
|---|---|
 Brewster Buffalo aircraft at Sembawang Airbase, Singapore, November 1941 | |
| Active | 23 May 1941 – 15 March 1942 18 June 1942 – 21 January 1946 16 February 2011–current |
| Country | Australia |
| Branch | Royal Australian Air Force |
| Role | Fighter (1941–1946) Air traffic control (2011–current) |
| Part of | No. 44 Wing |
| Motto(s) | Ready to strike[1][2] |
| Battle honours[3] | English Channel and North Sea, 1939–1945 Fortress Europe, 1940–1944 France and Germany, 1944–1945 Normandy, 1944 Rhine Malaya, 1941–1942 |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron badge heraldry | Perched on a branch a kookaburra[1][2] |
| Squadron codes | TD (May 1941 – March 1942)[4][5] FN (June 1942 – August 1942)[6][7] FU (June 1942 – January 1946)[6][8] |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | Brewster Buffalo Supermarine Spitfire |
No. 453 Squadron is an air traffic control unit of the Royal Australian Air Force. It was established at Bankstown, New South Wales, in 1941 as a fighter squadron, in accordance with Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme for overseas service with the Royal Air Force during World War II. No. 453 Squadron saw combat first in the Malayan and Singapore campaigns of 1941–42. Severe aircraft losses effectively destroyed the squadron and it was disbanded in March 1942. A successor unit by the same name was raised in Britain from mid-1942, to take part in fighting against Nazi Germany in Europe until 1945. The squadron was disbanded in 1946. It was re-formed in its current role in 2011.
- ^ a b Rawlings 1978, p. 445.
- ^ a b Halley 1988, p. 475.
- ^ "453 Squadron RAAF". Second World War, 1939–45 units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 96.
- ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 107.
- ^ a b Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 42.
- ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 72.
- ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 73.