618 Squadron RAF - based in Australia during WW2

618 Squadron RAF arrived with its Mosquitos in Melbourne, Australia on board HMS Fencer and HMS Striker on 23 December 1944. The Mosquitos were sent to Fishermans Bend for reassembly. Twelve disassembled FB Mk VI Mosquitos were also sent to Sydney arriving there in February 1945. 618 Squadron disembarked and proceed to No. 1 PD, Ransford, in Melbourne on 28 December 1944. 618 Squadron RAF moved from No. 1 P.D. Melbourne to RAAF Station Narromine on 24 January 1945. Group Captain R. C. Keary was the Commanding Officer.

By arrangement with the Air Ministry, effective from 21 March 1945, No. 618 Squadron RAF was placed under the command of the Royal Australian Air Force RAAF for the purpose of administration and discipline until further notice. 618 Squadron RAF was a Visiting Force within the meaning of the Visiting Forces Act. From 21 March 1945, No. 618 Squadron RAF was assigned to the command of Eastern Area Headquarters and was a lodger unit on RAAF Station Narromine. The postal address for 618 Squadron RAF was:-

This was followed up by a "Safe Hand" delivered letter dated 3 July 1945, confirming:-

The target date for disbandment was set as 21 July 1945. An application was forwarded to the Air Officer i/c Records for the transfer of 236 other ranks personnel from 618 Squadron at Narromine to Air Command, South East Asia. The 236 personnel comprised 1 Warrant Officer, 13 Senior N.C.O.s and 212 Airmen.

Air Ministry offered 618 Squadron's aircraft to the RNZAF with the exception of two Mosquito PR16s which were earmarked for the RAAF. The RNZAF did not accept the offer of taking the aircraft. Air Ministry then considered whether to hand them over to the RAAF on transfer terms.

The records in the NAA file are inconclusive as to what happened to these aircraft. The RAAF seemed to have lost interest in acquiring them, so that may have been scrapped.

Subject:    618 RAF SQUADRON
Date:          Fri, 3 Nov 2000 21:25:31 +0930
From:           "Dennis Whiley" <pcdrw@esc.net.au>

I would have thought that every one would have know about 618 Sqn, must be my age showing again well you know the story of 617 Squadron and Barns Wallis bouncing bomb which he developed for use on three dams in Germany.

There was a bomb developed to test the theory and this was much smaller and was like a big golf ball and was carried by a DH Mosquito if you get a chance to see the film "Dam Buster's" there is a shot of a mosie dropping a Highball in the UK.

In the 1950's when I was a Air Cadet we were taken to see the film, one of our instructors was with 618 in the UK and had done a few drops over the dams in the UK and as an aside we still have two old member of 618 Sqn in the RAAFA and I see them from time to time.

Back to the story the Highball was developed for use against large shipping but by the time the squadron was ready for operations there were no targets left for them to attack so they were sent to Australia to be part of the operation force against Japan complete with there special aircraft which were Mk XVI, I will attach there record in Australia for you.

It was interesting that when 618 Sqn was sent out to Australia they brought some Fairy Barracudas Mk. II with them now this point is also of interest as in 1942 some Fairy Swordfish were left by the FAA at Perth and due to the desperate situation they were taken on charge of 14 Sqn for a few weeks until the FAA wanted them back.

By the time the squadron was ready for operations in the North again all of the major shipping targets were gone so there was no use for the squadron and at the end of the war they went back to the UK.

While the squadron was at Narromine there were a number of accidents some of which you have already listed and other that you have not but at the time they were not reported in the press as being part of 618 Sqn. but as RAAF aircraft, I guess they did not want to alert the Japanese that the squadron was in Australia.

After the war the aircraft were disposed of to the RAAF who only wanted the special engines the rest of the airframe was sold as scrap and as luck would have it last year a aircraft restorer in the Barossa about 20 minuets away from me managed to obtain about 10 tons of the metal parts of these aircraft he is now rebuilding two aircraft and they look the part.

In 1982 David Vincent wrote a book "Mosquito Monograph" and in that there is a hole chapter on 618 Sqn.

Subject:    618 RAF
Date:             Fri, 3 Nov 2000 23:10:02 +0930
From:           "Dennis Whiley" <pcdrw@esc.net.au>

Sorry but I had to look up the details of where the squadron was, by the way one of there aircraft blow up over Petersham a suburb of Sydney on 11 October 44 (sic: this date is before the Squadron arrived in Australia. I think this is meant to be 2 May 1945) and pieces of the aircraft fell all over the area this crash was widely reported in the press.

As I said before the squadrons roll was to attack large shipping targets such as the aircraft carrier "Shinano" but she never left Japan, and the battleships "Musashi" and "Yamato" never came south of the Philippines after the start of 1944 and any way both were sunk by submarines.

The Highball was any intended to be used against very large ships, smaller ships could be taken out by skip bombing from B-25 so as there were no targets there was just no need to go to a lot of trouble in moving the squadron to the forward area.

Not with standing that the squadron was active in its training while at Narromine and it was only after the fall of the Philippines that the squadron stood down.

618 Squadron (Attack)	FISHERMAN'S BEND, MELBOURNE	23.12.44	21.01.45	Airfield Temp Huts
618 Squadron (Attack)	NARROMINE, MITCHELL Hwy. NARROMINE	24.01.45	27.07.45	Airfield Temp Huts

618 Squadron may have used the airfield at Triamble while they were based at Narromine.

Commanding Officers	FISHERMAN'S BEND	W.Cdr HUTCHINSON G.B.H	23.12.44	24.01.45
Commanding Officers	NARROMINE	W.Cdr HUTCHINSON G.B.H	24.01.45	27.07.45

John Rose contacted me in February 2019. John told me he had bought a Merlin 25 engine in 2003 from Peter Jensen (ex RAAF) in Melbourne. John restored the engine in two years and had it running as "sweet as". He was told it came from a Mosquito in NSW but not quite sure of the exact location. It had no propeller hub. He asked Peter Jensen if he had one. They tried a couple of three bladers which had a different spline. He had a four blade which fitted the spline but was told it was not for that engine as DH98 never had 4 blades.

John Rose sold the original wiring harness to a collector in about late January 2019. The collector told John that he had a very rare Merlin engine as the hub took a 4 bladed propeller and that the engine would have come from 618 Squadron at Narromine. The engine had reverse flow coolant which John changed to a normal arrangement. John still has the original pipes and blank off plug to port side of the coolant pump. The mounting frames for the engine were made in the United Kingdom.

I need your help

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