No. 75 Squadron RAAF

No. 75 Squadron RAAF
No. 75 Squadron's crest
Active	1942–48 1949–54 1955–current
Branch	Royal Australian Air Force
Role	Fighter
Part of	No. 81 Wing, Air Combat Group
Garrison/HQ	RAAF Base Tindal
Motto(s)	Seek and Strike
Engagements	World War II (1942–45) Iraq War (2003) Military intervention against ISIL (2015)
Decorations	Meritorious Unit Citation
Commanders
Notable commanders	Peter Jeffrey (1942) John Jackson (1942) Les Jackson (1942–43) Wilfred Arthur (1943) Melvin Hupfeld (2001–04)
Aircraft flown
Fighter	P-40 Kittyhawk (1942–45) P-51 Mustang (1946–48) de Havilland Vampire (1949–54, 1955–57) Gloster Meteor (1955–57) CAC Sabre (1957–65) Mirage III (1965–88) F/A-18 Hornet (1988–current)
Reconnaissance	F-4 Lightning (1943)
Transport	GAF Nomad (1989–93)

No. 75 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter unit based at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory. The squadron was formed in 1942 and saw extensive action in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, operating P-40 Kittyhawks. It was disbanded in 1948, but reformed the following year and operated jet aircraft throughout the Cold War. The squadron was based at Malta from 1952 to 1954, flying de Havilland Vampires, and Malaysia from 1968 to 1983, with Dassault Mirage IIIs, before returning to Australia.

The squadron was re-equipped with F/A-18 Hornet fighters and moved to RAAF Base Tindal in 1988. It was placed on alert to support the Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping deployment to East Timor in 1999, and saw combat in 2003 as part of the Australian contribution to the invasion of Iraq and in 2015 during the military intervention against ISIL.

In February and March 1942 the Allied position in New Guinea was under pressure and Japanese aircraft had been sighted over the Torres Strait Islands and Cape York in northern Australia. As a result, priority was given to basing a fighter squadron at Port Moresby in New Guinea to defend the town's important airfields and port facilities. The RAAF received an allocation of 25 P-40 Kittyhawk fighters in late February that were flown to Townsville, Queensland, and used to form No. 75 Squadron on 4 March 1942. The need to reinforce Port Moresby's defences was so pressing that the squadron was allowed only nine days to train with the aircraft before it deployed. Commanded initially by Squadron Leader Peter Jeffrey, No. 75 Squadron's advance party arrived in Port Moresby on 17 March and its aircraft followed between the 19th (when Squadron Leader John Jackson assumed command) and 21st of the month. At this time only four of the squadron's 21 pilots, including its commander, had previously seen combat.