[font="Times New Roman"]Turn Synopsis 26th June 1942
AAR Report for RAAF Squadron No 75, currently based at Daly Waters. O/C WCDR Jeffery
Unit returned to Daly Waters after three days at Fenton. High Command wanted our planes to lay an ambush for Japanese bombers attacking Darwin. These planes are based on Timor and thus, for the moment are out of range of our own bombers. For the past week enemy planes had been bombing Darwin without fighter escort. The enemy had got complacent and our unit flew into the small strip and Fenton on the 25th June ready to lay an ambush. The facilities at Fenton are very basic and as such only daily flights of 4 planes could be put up into the air.
The first flight on the 25th June only met empty sky other than a solitary, single engined recon plane that was far too high for any interception. The second flight on the 26th missed an enemy raid, that came in as our fighters were coming into land at Fenton to refuel. Yesterday however we timed our interception to perfection.
A flight of four Kittyhawk IA's was already in the air when the air raid warning from Darwin came in. Interception time was calculated to be around 12 minutes. Our first contact with the enemy actually came over the water, within site of the coast. FO's Kimbrough and Greenwood led the first attack that swept through a formation of Ki-48-IIa bombers that scattered as our planes cut a swathe through them. Kimbrough was allocated two confirmed shot down (making him the unit's first Ace) while Greenwood inaugurated his score by having three confirmed kills, the last two were brought down on Australian soil and the Darwin Militia brought in three baled out pilots as POW's.
A second formation of bombers, identified from wreckage around Darwin as Ki-21s, was attacked by FO Trent who was also acting wingman to SLDR Jackson (attached from 77th Squadron currently refitting at Perth). Jackson and Trent concentrated on a three plane vic at the rear of the enemy formation. Jackson brought down the plane leading the vic and recorded an aerial explosion, which indicates that his bullets must have hit the enemy's bombload, fragments of the enemy plane hit his Kittyhawk which forced him to abandon the attack. He gained altitude but bore witness to Trent's attack on the last two enemy planes. One was shot down outright while the other went down with a smoking engine, that eventually caught fire, blew up and tore the plane's starboard wing off.
The enemy formation, estimated at 40 planes, then proceeded to bomb Darwin but reports from the ground indicate little damage and accuracy on their part. All oiur fighters were back by 12:45, with only Jackson's plane having received any damage. Trent, Greewood and Kimbrough all returned with empty hoppers. Unit morale has soared but any repeat on the morrow has been denied us as the order to return to Daly Waters had arrived as our planes were in the air. 14 Kittyhawks will take off for Daly at around 16:30, two damaged planes will remain in Fenton until made fit to fly.
WCDR P.JEFFERY, O/C No 75 RAAF Squadron[/font]
Status of No 75 Squadron RAAF, Daly Waters, 25th June 1942 at 19:23
