 No. 79 Squadron began moving to Goodenough Island in the war zone off the north coast of Papua in mid @-@ May 1943 . Its advance party departed Wooloomanata on 17 May , followed by the pilots on 4 June . The main body of ground crew sailed from Sydney on 7 June . The squadron suffered its first fatality on 13 June , when Flight Lieutenant Virgil Brennan — an experienced fighter pilot who had shot down 10 Axis aircraft over Malta — died from wounds incurred when his Spitfire collided with another while they were landing at Cairns . During the unit 's transit to Goodenough Island , No. 79 Squadron Spitfires were scrambled from Gurney Airfield at Milne Bay on several occasions between 19 and 25 June to intercept Japanese reconnaissance aircraft , but did not damage these intruders . 
