page:  = No. 20 Squadron RAAF = 
   
   No. 20 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) support squadron . Coming under the control of No. 96 Wing , it is responsible for the management of the airfield at RAAF Base Woomera , South Australia . The squadron originated as a maritime patrol unit during World War II . Raised in August 1941 , it operated PBY Catalina and Short Empire flying boats from bases in New Guinea , Queensland and the Northern Territory , conducting search @-@ and @-@ rescue , mine @-@ laying , anti @-@ submarine and bombing missions against Japanese targets in the Pacific theatre . Following the conclusion of hostilities , the squadron was disbanded in March 1946 . It was reactivated as an airfield support squadron in April 2015 . 
   
   = = History = = 
   
   
   = = = World War II = = = 
   
   No. 20 Squadron was formed at Port Moresby , New Guinea , on 1 August 1941 for a general reconnaissance role , under the command of Squadron Leader <unk> Gibson . Its establishment was six PBY Catalina flying boats and 133 personnel , but only five aircraft ( all transferred from No. 11 Squadron ) and 55 personnel were available initially . The squadron conducted long @-@ range patrols between bases scattered around the islands to Australia 's north in conjunction with No. 11 Squadron . On 18 November , No. 20 Squadron 's Catalinas were augmented by two Short Empire flying boats transferred from No. 11 Squadron . 
   On 25 November 1941 , following the loss of HMAS Sydney , one of No. 20 Squadron 's Catalinas was despatched to Western Australia to join a No. 11 Squadron Catalina in search @-@ and @-@ rescue missions , but they found only oil slicks . By the outbreak of war in the Pacific , No. 20 Squadron had a strength of six Catalinas and two Empire flying boats . Its personnel at the beginning of December numbered 14 officers and 118 men . The squadron undertook its first sortie of the Pacific War on 8 December ; a Catalina located three Japanese luggers in the vicinity of Thursday Island , Queensland . Later in the month it commenced anti @-@ submarine patrols and , in January 1942 , bombing raids against Japanese bases . As the Japanese advanced into the South West Pacific , No. 20 Squadron was also responsible for evacuating white civilians from areas threatened by invasion . On 21 January , one of its Catalinas located the Japanese fleet steaming for Rabaul and signalled a warning to the town 's Australian defenders before being shot down by anti @-@ aircraft fire ; it was the squadron 's first combat loss . 
   In the wake of the fall of Rabaul , the Catalinas of Nos. 11 and 20 Squadrons became the RAAF 's only offensive weapon against the Japanese . Their raids on Rabaul did little to stem the Japanese advance , and in the following months Port Moresby itself was subjected to increasingly frequent attacks , which destroyed aircraft , facilities , and squadron records . In February 1942 , the Short Empires operated by Nos. 11 and 20 Squadrons were transferred to the newly formed No. 33 ( Transport ) Squadron . No. 20 Squadron lost two Catalinas during patrols on 4 and 6 May ; the nine crewmen of the first were later found to have been captured and beheaded ; the crew of the second were also captured and subsequently disappeared without trace . 
   In response to the threat of invasion at Port Moresby , Nos. 11 and 20 Squadrons moved to Bowen , Queensland , on 7 May 1942 . They were soon attacking Japanese targets in Lae , Salamaua and Rabaul . On 27 June , each squadron contributed an aircraft to a four @-@ hour raid over Lae and Salamaua during which , as well as bombs , the RAAF crews dropped beer bottles to disrupt the enemy soldiers ' sleep — the sound they made falling through the air was , according to the official history , " something between a shrill whistle and a scream " . By 1 July , No. 20 Squadron 's strength was six Catalinas and 175 personnel , out of a planned establishment of nine aircraft and 415 personnel . Its prime responsibility in early 1942 was maritime reconnaissance as far as New Guinea , the Solomon Islands , and New Caledonia ; the latter half of the year saw a greater focus on night bombing . Now comprising 252 officers and men , the squadron relocated to Cairns on 11 November 1942 . From Cairns it continued to conduct reconnaissance , anti @-@ submarine and occasional bombing operations over the waters around New Guinea . Between December 1942 and March 1943 , No. 20 Squadron 's aircraft flew a total of 9 @,@ 629 hours and dropped 227 tons of bombs . The squadron 's role changed in June 1943 when it commenced mine @-@ laying operations over the Netherlands East Indies and the Philippines , though it continued to make some bombing raids and supply drops . 
   In September 1944 , No. 20 Squadron became part of No. 76 Wing RAAF , along with Nos. 42 and 43 Squadrons , and moved to Darwin , Northern Territory . All three squadrons operated Catalinas , their primary purpose being mine @-@ laying . On the night of 30 September , a Catalina of No. 20 Squadron was shot down while attacking a ship at <unk> in the Dutch East Indies ; the loss was compounded by the fact that one of the coordinators of the mining campaign , Lieutenant Commander P.E. Carr of the Royal Australian Navy , was aboard the plane and was captured by the Japanese . Another of the squadron 's Catalinas went down on the night of 27 / 28 January 1945 , possibly in a cyclone over the Timor Sea , during the campaign to mine Surabaya . In March , a detachment of four No. 20 Squadron aircraft , along with four from No. 43 Squadron , laid mines off the coast of southern China and <unk> as part of a No. 76 Wing offensive in this area ; these operations were conducted from Leyte Gulf in the Philippines . One of No. 20 Squadron 's Catalinas was lost on the night of 7 / 8 March , most likely owing to bad weather rather than enemy action . Three of the squadron 's aircraft mined the entrance to Hong Kong harbour on 8 April and , on 26 May , four of its Catalinas mined <unk> harbour in China , the furthest north that any Australian aircraft infiltrated during the war in the Pacific . Three of its aircraft flew the RAAF 's last mine @-@ laying mission on 30 July . 
   No. 20 Squadron 's final wartime sortie was a patrol on 14 August 1945 . Following the end of the war , the squadron operated in the transport role and ferried Australian prisoners of war home from various locations in South East Asia . It relocated to RAAF Station Rathmines , New South Wales , on 21 November . No. 20 Squadron flew its last mission , a transport flight to Balikpapan , on 21 January 1946 , and disbanded at Rathmines on 27 March . 
   
   = = = Post @-@ war re @-@ establishment = = = 
   
   No. 20 Squadron was reactivated on 1 April 2015 to support airfield operations at RAAF Base Woomera , South Australia . Consisting of nine uniformed personnel and one Australian Public Service member under the command of Squadron Leader Simon Bartlett , the squadron formed part of No. 96 Wing , a component of Combat Support Group ( CSG ) . The airfield had previously been managed under the auspices of Aerospace Operational Support Group , but a command @-@ and @-@ control review commissioned by the Chief of Air Force recommended that , in common with other RAAF airfields , it should be administered by CSG . RAAF Base Woomera , incorporating Woomera Village , was one of two Air Force units formally established on 12 January 2015 as part of a reorganisation of the Woomera Range Complex , the other unit being RAAF Woomera Test Range . 
   The design of the reactivated squadron 's crest includes a wedge @-@ tailed eagle to denote courage and nobility , a <unk> spear thrower to symbolise the town and its indigenous heritage , Sturt 's Desert Pea to represent South Australia , and the Pleiades star cluster , which features in the folklore of the local <unk> people . 
   
   