No. 25 Squadron

25 Squadron was first formed as 23 Squadron at Laverton in Victoria on 3 May 1937. It moved to Pearce in Western Australia on 1 January 1939 and was subsequently renamed. The outbreak of the Second World War involved the unit in convoy protection and anti-submarine patrols around Fremantle and Rottnest Island. During this period, the squadron’s Avro Ansons were replaced with Wirraways.

Following Japan’s entry into the war, the squadron was equipped with a number of Brewster Buffalo fighters, anticipation of a Japanese invasion of the mainland. The unit was rearmed with Vultee Vengeance dive-bombers in mid-1943, and afterwards took part in a variety of significant search operations, including attempts to locate HMAS Sydney II.

25 Squadron converted to Liberator heavy bombers towards the end of 1944 and soon after began operating out of Cunderdin in Western Australia. In March 1945, the squadron bombed Japanese barges on Sumbawa Island in the Netherlands East Indies and conducted a successful search for a torpedoed merchant ship. Throughout this period, it continued to attack enemy barges and airstrips across Java. Afterwards, the Squadron supported the allied landings at Tarakan as part of Operation Oboe One, and later at Labuan as part of Operation Oboe Six. The squadron continued bombing exercises in the Pacific until the end of the war, and completed their final mission on the 5th of August 1945, having carried out some 85 sorties against the enemy.

After the end of the war, the squadron was involved in transporting Australian ex-prisoners of war and internees from Borneo and Morotai. The unit was disbanded at Cunderdin on 9 July 1946.