No. 41 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

 (RAAF) transport squadron

Squadron (aviation)

A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...

 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...

. It was formed in August 1942 and operated flying boat

Flying boat

A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...

s in the South West Pacific area

South West Pacific theatre of World War II

The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....

. The squadron was disbanded in September 1945.

Squadron history

No. 41 Squadron was formed from 'A' Flight of No. 33 Squadron

No. 33 Squadron RAAF

No. 33 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force transport squadron. It was formed in 1942 for service during World War II. Following the completion of hostilities the squadron was disbanded in 1946. In 1981 the squadron was re-raised as a flight-sized organisation before being expanded to a full...

 at Townsville, Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 on 21 August 1942. It was initially equipped with two ex-Qantas

Qantas

Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...

 Short Empire

Short Empire

The Short Empire was a passenger and mail carrying flying boat, of the 1930s and 1940s, that flew between Britain and British colonies in Africa, Asia and Australia...

 flying boats and flew its first transport flights on the day it was established. The unit was later allocated two Dornier Do 24

Dornier Do 24

-See also:-References:* -External links:* * * * * * * * *...

 flying boats.

The squadron's main task throughout the war was to conduct regular transport flights between towns in northern Australia and Allied military bases in New Guinea. Regular destinations included Bowen

Bowen, Queensland

Bowen is a town on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Bowen had a population of 7,484.-Geography:Bowen is located on the north-east coast of Australia, at exactly twenty degrees south of the equator. In fact, the twentieth parallel crosses the main street...

, Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

, Cairns, Darwin

Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

 and Karumba

Karumba, Queensland

Karumba is a town in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia, 71 km by road from Normanton and 2159 km from the state capital, Brisbane. The settlement was previously known as Norman Mouth and Kimberely. Karumba was used by the local aborigines to describe the place...

 in Australia and Finschhafen

Finschhafen

Finschhafen is a district on the northeast coast of the Morobe province of Papua New Guinea. It is named after the port of the same name.The port was discovered in 1884 by the German researcher Otto Finsch. In 1885 the German colony of German New Guinea created a town on the site and named it...

, Goodenough Island

Goodenough Island

Goodenough Island in the Solomon Sea is the westernmost of the three large islands of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It lies to the east of mainland New Guinea and south west of the Trobriand Islands.It should not be confused with Goodenough's Island...

, Hollandia

Jayapura

Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....

, Los Negros

Los Negros Island

Los Negros Island is the third largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is significant because it contains the main airport of Manus Province on its eastern coastline, at Momote. It is connected to Lorengau, the capital of the province, on Manus Island via a highway and bridge...

, Madang

Madang

Madang is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century....

, Milne Bay

Milne Bay

Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....

, Port Moresby

Port Moresby

Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...

, Salamaua

Salamaua

Salamaua was a small town situated on the north-eastern coastline of Papua New Guinea part of Morobe province. The settlement was built on a minor isthmus between the coast with mountains on the inland side and a headland...

 in New Guinea. The squadron also had a large maritime section

Royal Australian Air Force Maritime Section

The Royal Australian Air Force Maritime Section was the branch of the Royal Australian Air Force responsible for manning boats operated by the Air Force...

 and performed a number of air-sea rescues. During its existence the squadron's boats and aircraft rescued more than 150 people.

In June 1943 No. 41 Squadron had a strength of three Empires and two Do 24s, but the Empires were returned to Qantas in July that year. The Do 24s were in poor mechanical condition and serviceability rates were constantly low. Martin Mariners supplemented the Do 24s from February 1944 and these larger and more reliable aircraft became the squadron's only aircraft from May. The squadron moved to RAAF Base Rathmines

RAAF Base Rathmines

RAAF Base Rathmines was a Royal Australian Air Force base located on Lake Macquarie in New South Wales.RAAF Base Rathmines was established in 1939 and was the RAAF's main flying boat base during World War II and the early 1950s...

 on 11 May 1944 but maintained detachments at Townsville and at Rose Bay

Rose Bay, New South Wales

Rose Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rose Bay is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Waverley Municipal Council and Woollahra Council .Rose Bay has views of both the Sydney...

 in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. It moved again to Cairns on 2 July and added longer flights to Nouméa

Nouméa

Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...

, Espirito Santo and other islands to its routes.

The squadron was originally scheduled to be disbanded on 10 June 1945, but it was decided to maintain it. Some personnel were posted to No. 114 Air-Sea Rescue Flight, however. During June the squadron continued to fly a daily service to Madang, a bi-weekly service to Brisbane and occasional flights to Merauke

Merauke

Merauke is a town considered to be one of the easternmost towns in Indonesia, located in Merauke Regency, Papua province, Indonesia. It is next to Maro River.In 2006 it had a population of 71,838....

and Darwin. No. 41 Squadron was officially disbanded on 27 September 1945.