No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron was a joint Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n bomber squadron of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

History

No. 18 (NEI) Squadron was formed at Canberra on 4 April 1942. Like the other two joint Australian-Dutch squadrons the Dutch authorities provided No. 18 Squadron's pilots and aircraft (obtained via Lend Lease). The majority of the aircrew were Dutch while most the groundcrew were Australian. Unlike the other two squadrons, however, the RAAF also provided many aircrew to the squadron.

No. 18 (NEI) Squadron received its first five B-25 Mitchell

B-25 Mitchell

The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...

 medium bombers in April 1942. These aircraft were used for both training and anti-submarine patrols. While the Squadron briefly operated 10 A-20 Havoc

Douglas DB-7

The Douglas A-20/DB-7 Havoc was a family of American attack, light bomber and night fighter aircraft of World War II, that served with several Allied air forces, principally those of the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and United States. The DB-7 was also used by the air forces of Australia, South...

 light bombers in early 1942, it was fully equipped with 18 B-25s by 21 September 1942.

On 5 December 1942 No. 18 (NEI) Squadron deployed to a partially constructed airfield at MacDonald in the Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

 of Australia to operate in the North Western Area. The Squadron began flying operational missions in early January 1943 and was primarily tasked with reconnaissance flights and raids on Japanese ships and bases in the occupied Netherlands East Indies. While the squadron suffered considerable casualties in these raids, it did not receive any replacement crews until September 1943. No. 18 (NEI) Squadron relocated from MacDonald to Batchelor in the Northern Territory in May 1943.

Due to the declining Japanese presence in the eastern islands of the Netherlands East Indies the Dutch authorities requested that No. 18 (NEI) Squadron be re-equipped with longer ranged B-24 Liberator

B-24 Liberator

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...

 heavy bombers but this came to nothing and the Squadron continued to operate B-25s. In July 1945 No. 18 (NEI) Squadron was relocated to Balikpapan

Balikpapan

Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...

 in the Netherlands East Indies which had recently been liberated in the Battle of Balikpapan (1945)

Battle of Balikpapan (1945)

The Battle of Balikpapan was the concluding stage of the Borneo campaign . The landings took place on 1 July 1945. The Australian 7th Division, composed of the 18th, 21st and 25th Infantry Brigades, with support troops, made an amphibious landing, codenamed Operation Oboe Two a few miles north of...

. After arriving at Balikpapan the Squadron's main task was to drop propaganda leaflets and locate and drop supplies to prison camps in the NEI.

The RAAF component of No. 18 (NEI) Squadron was disbanded on 25 November 1945 and the Squadron passed to Dutch control on 15 January 1946. The Squadron relocated to Tjililitan in Java in March 1946 and saw active service against Indonesian Nationalists during the Indonesian National Revolution

Indonesian National Revolution

The Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Indonesia and the Dutch Empire, and an internal social revolution...

. Following the end of Dutch rule No. 18 Squadron was the last squadron to be handed over to the Indonesians and was disbanded on 26 July 1950.