No. 77 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales. It operates F/A-18 Hornet multi-role fighters (pictured) and is controlled by No. 81 Wing. Formed at Pearce, Western Australia, in 1942, the squadron flew P-40 Kittyhawks in the South West Pacific during World War II. After the war, it re-equipped with P-51 Mustangs and deployed to Japan with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. The squadron was about to return to Australia when the Korean War broke out in 1950; it converted to Gloster Meteor jets in 1951 and claimed five MiG-15s and over 5,000 buildings and vehicles destroyed during the war for the loss of almost 60 aircraft. Re-equipped with CAC Sabres, the squadron briefly saw action during the Malayan Emergency in 1959–60. It operated Mirage III supersonic jets from 1969 to 1987, when it converted to Hornets. The squadron supplied aircraft to Diego Garcia in 2001–02 to support the war in Afghanistan, and deployed to the Middle East as part of the military intervention against ISIL in 2015–16. No. 77 Squadron is due to re-equip with F-35 Lightnings in 2021. (Full article...)
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