RAAF Transport Flight (Japan)

RAAF Transport Flight (Japan)
A member of RAAF Transport Flight (Japan) on a visit to Australian forces serving on the looks across the demilitarised zone towards Communist positions
Active	1955–56
Country	Australia
Branch	Royal Australian Air Force
Role	Transport
Size	Four aircraft
Part of	No. 91 Wing (1955)
Headquarters	Iwakuni, Japan
Nickname(s)	"Japan–Korea Airlines"
Aircraft flown
Transport	C-47 Dakota CAC Wirraway

Transport Flight (Japan) was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) transport unit that operated in the aftermath of the Korean War. It was formed in March 1955 at Iwakuni, Japan, and equipped with three Douglas C-47 Dakotas and a CAC Wirraway. The flight's main duty was flying a regular courier service between Japan and South Korea in support of Commonwealth military units based on the peninsula. Transport Flight (Japan) ceased operations in June 1956 and disbanded in September that year.

Transport Flight (Japan) traced its lineage to a transport contingent that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) maintained in Japan prior to the Korean War. When the war broke out in June 1950, No. 77 (Fighter) Squadron was based at Iwakuni as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. Equipped primarily with North American P-51 Mustangs, the squadron also operated a communications flight of two Douglas C-47 Dakotas and two Austers.No. 91 (Composite) Wing was established at Iwakuni in October 1950 to administer all RAAF units during the war. This included No. 77 Squadron, the newly formed No. 391 (Base) Squadron and No. 491 (Maintenance) Squadron, and No. 30 Communications Flight, formerly the No. 77 Squadron Communications Flight. It was designated No. 30 Communications Unit in November. By then it had a complement of eight Dakotas and two Austers. No. 30 Communications Unit was redesignated No. 30 Transport Unit in November 1951. By the end of 1952, its strength was eight Dakotas and one CAC Wirraway, and fifty-nine personnel.