 In early 1944 No. 73 Wing was selected to support the US Army 's Admiralty Islands campaign . The 1st Cavalry Division began to land on the islands on 29 February , and the wing moved to Momote Airstrip on Los Negros Island in March 1944 . No. 79 Squadron became operational there with 24 aircraft on the 29th of the month . From Momote , the squadron flew ground attack sorties in support of US troops until Japanese resistance ceased . No Japanese aircraft were encountered throughout this operation . By the end of April , No. 79 Squadron 's main role was to escort Allied shipping , though flying was hampered by a shortage of spare parts . The squadron 's commanding officer , Squadron Leader M.S. Bott , was killed in an accident on 16 April . Shipping escort patrols continued in May , but difficulties maintaining the Spitfires reduced the squadron to just two operational aircraft with another 12 awaiting repair . Due to a shortage of aircraft the squadron 's flying activities were limited to training sorties between August and October , and aircraft availability continued to be a problem until late November . On 9 November , two Spitfires unsuccessfully attempted to intercept three Japanese A6M fighters which had raided Hyane Harbour ; while the Japanese force had been tracked by Allied radar for 25 minutes prior to the attack , the Spitfires were scrambled only after the raiders had left the area . No. 79 Squadron subsequently maintained a three @-@ aircraft patrol over Los Negros during daylight hours until 22 November . Two days later the squadron was released from operations ahead of moving to Darwin in northern Australia to be re @-@ equipped with more modern Mark VIII Spitfires . 
