No. 84 Squadron RAAF

No. 84 Squadron RAAF
No. 84 Squadron Kittyhawks over Thursday Island in 1943
Active	1943–46
Country	Australia
Branch	Royal Australian Air Force
Role	Fighter
Engagements	World War II
Insignia
Squadron code	LB
Aircraft flown
Fighter	CAC Boomerang Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk CAC Mustang

No. 84 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter squadron of World War II. It was established in February 1943 and was part of the defences of the Torres Strait area from April 1943 until May the next year. After being withdrawn from the Torres Strait the squadron was reduced to a cadre until May 1945, when it began to receive new aircraft. No. 84 Squadron was disbanded in January 1946.

No. 84 Squadron was formed at RAAF Station Richmond, New South Wales, on 5 February 1943. It was selected as the first operational squadron to be equipped with Australian-designed CAC Boomerang fighters in March, but did not take delivery of any of these aircraft at the time. During late March the squadron moved to Horn Island in the Torres Strait via Cairns; its main party arrived on 1 April and the rear party disembarked on 1 May. No. 84 Squadron's first ten Boomerangs arrived at Horn Island on 4 April, and the squadron was declared operational that day. More Boomerangs arrived on 15 April, and by 1 May the squadron had a strength of 20 Boomerangs, 23 officers and 275 other ranks.

In early 1943 the Allied leadership believed that Japanese forces could attack the Torres Strait area, and No. 84 Squadron's role was to provide air defence of the region. It initially operated alongside the Bristol Beaufort-equipped No. 7 Squadron, which conducted anti-submarine patrols to protect Allied shipping. From late April the squadron came under the command of No. 72 Wing, which was headquartered in the strategically located town of Merauke on the south coast of Dutch New Guinea. From early May, No. 84 Squadron regularly conducted patrols of the Merauke area, and it maintained a standing patrol over the town from the 8th of the month. However, due to the short range of the Boomerangs they could only remain over Merauke for an hour at a time. No. 84 Squadron first saw combat on 16 May, when a patrol of two Boomerangs intercepted three Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers near Merauke. The guns of one of the fighters jammed, and the other did not score any hits during the brief engagement, which ended when the bombers escaped into clouds.