452 (Spitfire) Squadron RAAF Plaque

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A simple brass plaque dedicated to the memory of the 452 Squadron and its service duringt he Second World War. The plaque displays a stylised Spitfire aircraft and the RAAF Crest, with areas of conflict listed. Additional Information No. 452 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, was the first Australian squadron to form in Britain during the Second World War. Its first personnel took up their posts at Kirton in Lindsey on 8 April 1941 and, flying Supermarine Spitfires, the squadron became operational on 22 May. Part of 11 Group of Fighter Command, 452 Squadron operated from a series of airfields in south-eastern Britain. The focus of its operations were the skies above occupied France and Belgium, where it escorted bombing raids and conducted sweeps to engage enemy aircraft. The squadron was also employed to conduct defensive patrols over Britain and the English Channel. During its first year of operations 452 Squadron established itself as one of the most successful squadrons in Fighter Command, destroying 62 enemy aircraft and damaging another 17. Its aircraft also severely damaged a German destroyer with a strafing attack mounted during the "dash" through the English Channel made by the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prince Eugen on 11 February 1942. 452 Squadron returned to Australia and was based at Batchelor in the Northern Territory and joined 1 Fighter Group, defending Darwin. On 1 July 1944, 452 Squadron moved to Sattler in the Northern Territory. The protection of Darwin had been handed over to two Royal Air Force squadrons, allowing 452 Squadron to be employed in a ground attack role for the rest of the war. Initially, the squadron operated against targets in the Dutch East Indies from Sattler but on 11 December 1944 it relocated to Morotai in the Indies to support Australian operations in Borneo. The squadron's ground staff established themselves at the newly captured airfield on Tarakan on 10 May 1945. Following the landing at Balikpapan on 1 July, a detachment of 452 Squadron aircraft moved there on 15 July to support the land campaign. The squadron's last sorties of the war were flown on 10 August 1945. It disbanded on 17 November 1945. Battle Honours Fortress Europe 1940-1944, Pacific 1941-1945, Darwin 1941-1944, Morotai, Borneo 1945 (Source: Australian War Memorial www.awm.gov.au)