No. 451 Squadron RAAF

No. 451 Squadron RAAF

No. 451 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force army cooperation and fighter squadron of World War II. The squadron was formed at Bankstown in New South Wales on 12 February 1941 and began flying operations on 1 July that year as part of the North African Campaign in Egypt and Libya. In early January 1942 No. 451 Squadron was withdrawn for refitting and spent the remainder of the year performing garrison duties in Syria. In January 1943 the squadron was transferred to Egypt and contributed to the air defence of Egypt but saw almost no combat. This inactivity caused morale among the squadron's personnel to greatly deteriorate.

The squadron returned to combat in April 1944 when, operating from bases in Corsica, it took part in the Italian Campaign and Allied invasion of Southern France until September. No. 451 Squadron moved to Italy between September and October 1944, but was transferred to the United Kingdom in November. From January to April 1945 the squadron took part in the liberation of Europe by escorting Allied bomber units and conducting air strikes against German V-2 rocket sites and transportation targets. Following the war No. 451 Squadron was deployed to Germany from September 1945 as part of the Allied occupation forces, but was disbanded on 21 January 1946 when the Australian Government dropped plans for a permanent Australian contribution to the occupation of Germany due to a shortage of volunteers for this duty.