Back to the Track 2021

[Lang]

Thanks Hanno. We leave Tuesday morning.

Five 600km days should see us there but if we can average 250km a day in case of disasters enroute there is enough time to still make the start 01 August.

PS Hanno. In the photo of rolling bombs off the back of the truck you will notice that half the people are Dutch. This was the mixed Dutch/Australian B-25 Mitchell Squadron operating out of Batchelor Strip south of Darwin

Lang

18 Squadron (NEI) RAAF

One of the RAAF's most unusual units, No 18 Squadron formed at Fairbairn in the Australian Capital Territory on 4 April 1942. The commanding officer was a Dutch national, while the remainder of the squadron's complement was a mix of Netherlands East Indies (NEI) citizens and Australians.

Allocated a bomber role, most of the Mitchell bombers were captained by Dutch pilots, with Australians and Dutch nationals making up the remaining aircrew.

On 6 July 1942, No 18 Squadron was officially deleted as a unit of the RAAF and became part of the Netherlands East Indies Forces. The Squadron moved to the Darwin area in January 1943 and, under the operational control of RAAF Command, continued its attacks and anti-shipping strikes throughout the Netherlands East Indies.

After the War, RAAF personnel were withdrawn from No 18 Squadron, which moved back to the East Indies and was later absorbed by the Indonesian Air Force