In our continuing series on RAAF operations, we take a look at the defence of Port Moresby. In 1942, Port Moresby stood between the Japanese advance and Australia’s north-eastern approaches. After the fall of Rabaul, the town came under relentless air attacks and...
In January 1942, the Australian outpost at Rabaul stood directly in the path of Japan’s advance across the Pacific. Poorly defended, under-equipped, and relying on outdated aircraft, the men of the RAAF and Lark Force faced overwhelming odds as Japanese air raids...
The fall of Malaya in 1941–42 was one of the fastest and most decisive airpower collapses of the Second World War. In just ten weeks, Allied air forces were overwhelmed by superior Japanese aircraft, flawed assumptions, and a rapidly shifting operational environment....
Between 1942 and 1945, tens of thousands of young Allied airmen flew into the heart of Nazi Germany—day after day, night after night—knowing that every mission could be their last. This powerful documentary explores the psychological toll on the bomber crews of RAF...
Top fighter squadrons of WWII, including Luftwaffe's JG 52 with over 10,000 kills and aces like Erich Hartmann (352 victories), dominated skies using Bf 109s on the Eastern Front. Allied standouts like RAF No. 303 Squadron (204 kills in Battle of Britain) and US Navy...
Oskar Ziesig, a Luftwaffe fighter pilot born in 1919 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, recounts his WWII journey from glider training to combat in aircraft like the Bf 109. Claiming victories including a B-17 bomber in December 1943, his experiences highlight the challenges...
Clive Robertson Caldwell, was Australia's air ace of World War 2, officially credited with shooting down 28.5 enemy aircraft in over 300 operational sorties, including an ace-in-a-day. Australia’s highest scoring fighter pilot of WWII By Kristen Alexander Clive...
No. 9 Squadron RAAF history traces its WWII roots to formation on 1 January 1939 at Richmond, NSW, from No. 5 Fleet Cooperation Squadron, operating Supermarine Seagull V amphibians for naval reconnaissance, gunfire spotting, and anti-submarine patrols. Deployed on RAN...
The Battle of Hamburg, codenamed Operation Gomorrah, was a devastating WWII RAF Bomber Command campaign from July 24 to August 3, 1943, unleashing firebombing raids on the German city using Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Stirlings with "Window" chaff to evade radars....