 No. 72 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) wing that operated during World War II . It was formed in April 1943 at Townsville , Queensland , as part of North @-@ Eastern Area Command . Led by Group Captain Charles Eaton , the wing soon deployed to Merauke , Dutch New Guinea , where it comprised three squadrons flying CAC Boomerang and P @-@ 40 Kittyhawk fighters , and A @-@ 31 Vengeance dive bombers . Eaton was succeeded by Group Captain Allan Walters in mid @-@ 1943 . No. 72 Wing took part in the defence of Torres Strait , undertaking interception , patrol and occasional ground @-@ attack and anti @-@ shipping duties . By July 1944 , its original squadrons had all been disbanded or transferred to other operational formations . No. 120 ( Netherlands East Indies ) Squadron , which had arrived in May 1944 , operating Kittyhawks , remained at Merauke until February 1945 . The wing headquarters returned to Australia that May , and disbanded the following month . 
