No. 72 Wing RAAF

No. 72 Wing RAAF
Three men in light-coloured uniforms with peaked caps seated on a jeep bonnet
Group Captain Allan Walters (right) with senior officers of No. 72 Wing in New Guinea, December 1943
Active1943–45
CountryAustralia
BranchRoyal Australian Air Force
RoleFighter; attack
SizeThree flying squadrons
Part ofNorth-Eastern Area Command
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Charles Eaton (1943)
Allan Walters (1943–44)
William Hely (1944)
Aircraft flown
AttackA-31 Vengeance
FighterP-40 Kittyhawk
CAC Boomerang

No. 72 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wing that operated during World War II. It was formed in April 1943 at Townsville, Queensland, as part of North-Eastern Area Command. Led by Group Captain Charles Eaton, the wing soon deployed to Merauke, Dutch New Guinea, where it comprised three squadrons flying CAC Boomerang and P-40 Kittyhawk fighters, and A-31 Vengeance dive bombers. Eaton was succeeded by Group Captain Allan Walters in mid-1943. No. 72 Wing took part in the defence of Torres Strait, undertaking interception, patrol and occasional ground-attack and anti-shipping duties. By July 1944, its original squadrons had all been disbanded or transferred to other operational formations. No. 120 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron, which had arrived in May 1944, operating Kittyhawks, remained at Merauke until February 1945. The wing headquarters returned to Australia that May, and disbanded the following month.


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