This month in Australian Military aviation

Shamelessly copied from the Australian War Memorial website
http://www.awm.gov.au



1 November
1951
No. 77 Squadron awarded South Korean Presidential citation
No. 77 Squadron, RAAF, is awarded a Republic of South Korea Presidential
Citation. 77 Squadron was awarded this citation for its early service in
Korea as an effective ground-support unit.

2 November
1942
Kokoda airstrip re-occupied
The capture of Kokoda, New Guinea, and its airstrip enabled the Australian
advance across the Owen Stanley Range to continue.

5 November
1950
Battle of Pakchon, Korea
The 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, successfully assault and hold
crucial hill features overlooking Pakchon in the face of heavy North Korean
and Chinese resistance.

5 November
1950
77 Squadron supports 3RAR
No. 77 Squadron, for the first time in the Korean War, flies in support of
the 3rd Battlion, Royal Australian Regiment, in the Pakchon - Sinanju road
area, Korea. Australian Mustang fighters strafed Chinese positions just
before 3RAR commenced its assault at Pakchon.

6 November
1971
HMAS Sydney at Vung Tau
HMAS Sydney embarks its final Australian army units from Vietnam at Vung
Tau.

8 November
1944
'G' George arrives at Amberley
This Lancaster bomber survived 90 operations with 460 Squadron RAAF. After
touring to support war loan campaigns, it was presented to the Memorial.

10 November
1964
Selective conscription introduced
Australian Government introduces selective conscription of 20 year old males
by ballot under the National Service Act. The National Service Scheme saw
19,450 young men serve in Vietnam.

11 November
1941
Opening of the Australian War Memorial
By the time a memorial to the dead of the Great War was ready to open,
Australia had been involved in the Second World War for over two years.

12 November
1943
Last Japanese air raid on Darwin
This, the 64th raid since February 1942, saw a conclusion of the air war
fought across northern Australia.

20 November
1968
HMAS Sydney at Vung Tau
HMAS Sydney disembarks the 9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, at Vung
Tau, Vietnam.

27 November
1939
Inauguration of the Empire Air Training Scheme
Over 37,000 Australian airmen trained under the scheme, in Australia, Canada
and Rhodesia, one of the Commonwealth's greatest achievements in wartime.

28 - 29 November
1942
Middleton, VC
Flight Sergeant R.H. Middleton, RAAF, attached to No. 149 Squadron, Bomber
Command, RAF, wins the Victoria Cross after a raid on Turin, Italy. This was
a posthumous award. Though terribly wounded, Middleton kept his damaged
bomber flying, saving the lives of his crew at the cost of his own.
Middleton came from Sydney, New South Wales.

30 November
1950
President Truman threatens use of atomic weapons in Korea
United States President Truman refers publicly to the possible use of atomic
weapons in Korea. Fortunately, despite the crisis that United nations troops
faced after China's entry into the war, atomic weapons were not used in
Korea.




Cheers

Dave Kearton