John “Skip” Bailey

5.0
RAAF in World War 2

From the declaration of war in the European Theatre of World War II, RAAF personnel were especially notable in RAF Royal Air Force Bomber Command; although they represented only two percent of all RAAF personnel during the war, they accounted for 20% of the total number killed in action. This statistic is further illustrated by the fact that No. 460 Squadron RAAF, mostly flying Avro Lancasters, had an official establishment of about 200 aircrew and yet had 1,018 combat deaths. The squadron was therefore effectively wiped out five times over. [17]

With the war in the Pacific Theatre, the RAAF expanded greatly and assembled or manufactured many different bombers and fighters designed by the British and Americans. At the end of the war, a total of 53 RAAF squadrons were serving in the Pacific and a further 17 in Europe. With over 152,000 personnel operating nearly 6,000 aircraft it was the world’s fourth largest air force, after those of the USA, the USSR and the UK. [18]

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[17] Wikipedia - RAAF
[18] Wikipedia - RAAF