to air commodore, Scherger led No. 10 OG in Operation Persecution, the assault on Aitape, New Guinea, in April 1944. With airfield construction elements of No. 10 OG going ashore shortly after the attack, Aitape airstrip was repaired and No. 78 Wing was operating from it within three days. This operation was followed by the attack on Noemfoor, commencing in June, by which time No. 10 OG's combat strength consisted of Nos. 71, 77, 78 and 81 Wings RAAF. Scherger was injured in a jeep accident that August and replaced by Air Commodore Harry Cobby. First Tactical Air Force No. 10 OG's name was changed to First Tactical Air Force (No. 1 TAF) on 25 October 1944, ostensibly to emphasise "the formation's impressive size and ambitious purpose". Its complement of units was much greater than that typically assigned to RAAF groups, which were themselves considerably larger than USAAF "groups" that consisted of three or four squadrons. As the conflict gradually shifted further north, however, No. 1 TAF was relegated—in the absence of a Japanese air presence—to patrol, reconnaissance and some ground attack duties, including the Philippines campaign in 1944 and the Borneo campaign in 1945. By early 1945, there was widespread dissatisfaction among the fighter squadrons of No. 1 TAF due to its new focus on close air support duties. The underlying cause was the reluctance of the Allied Supreme Commander in the SWPA, Douglas MacArthur, to use non-American forces for the main advance towards Japan. Frustration was especially evident among highly experienced pilots, such as Australia's top-scoring ace, Group Captain Clive Caldwell, who commanded No. 1 TAF's Spitfire squadrons. This led to a series of events known as the "Morotai Mutiny" in April 1945. Officers based at Morotai in the Dutch East Indies, including Caldwell, protested the missions against what they saw as unimportant targets and tendered their resignations. Cobby was held responsible for the incident and eventually dismissed, being replaced by Air Commodore Scherger, who had recovered from his earlier injuries and who immediately set about restoring morale. He took over No. 1 TAF as Operation Oboe One, the Battle of Tarakan, was under way; the formation's airfield construction teams had been tasked with opening the runway on Tarakan Island within a week of Allied landings but extensive pre-invasion damage and adverse environmental conditions delayed this until the end of June. Poor planning on the RAAF's part was