No. 43 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...

 maritime patrol and mine laying squadron of World War II.

Squadron history

No. 43 Squadron was formed at 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...

 in 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 1 May 1943. Equipped with Catalina

PBY Catalina

The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...

 aircraft the Squadron flew its first operational patrols from 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...

 on 8 September.

While No. 43 Squadron was initially allocated a general reconnaissance role, like all the RAAF's Catalina squadrons the Squadron also operated in the mine laying and bombing roles. In addition to flying convoy protection patrols along the Australian East Coast the Squadron conducted offensive operations against Japanese shipping in the Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

 and the eastern islands of the Netherlands East Indies.

After moving to 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...

 in April 1944 the Squadron operated almost exclusively in the mine laying role. Operating alongside the other Catalina squadrons, No. 43 Squadron conducted mine laying operations throughout South East Asia, venturing as far as the Chinese coast.

Following the end of the war No. 43 Squadron performed routine patrol and transport flights until moving 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...

in November 1945. No 43 Squadron was disbanded at Rathmines on 10 April 1946.