No. 1 Wing was an Australian Flying Corps and Royal Australian Air Force wing active during World War I and World War II. Established in September 1917 as the 1st Training Wing, it commanded Australian pilot training squadrons in England until April 1919, when it was disbanded. It was re-formed as No. 1 Wing on 7 October 1942 as a fighter unit of one British and two Australian flying squadrons equipped with Supermarine Spitfire aircraft, and a mobile fighter sector headquarters. The wing provided air defence to Darwin and several other key Allied bases in northern Australia. During its first months at Darwin, its fighters intercepted several air raids on Northern Australia by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force and Imperial Japanese Navy. Although the wing was hampered by mechanical problems with its Spitfires and suffered heavy losses in some engagements, it eventually downed a greater number of Japanese aircraft than it lost in combat. The wing's two Australian flying squadrons were replaced with British units in July 1944, and it was disbanded after the war.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._1_Wing_RAAF
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1513:
War of the League of Cambrai: A Venetian army under Bartolomeo d'Alviano was decisively defeated by the Spanish army commanded by Ramón de Cardona and Fernando d'Avalos. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_La_Motta_(1513)
1780:
American Revolutionary War: Patriots and Loyalist militias engaged each other at the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kings_Mountain
1800:
The French privateer Robert Surcouf led a 150-man crew to capture the 40-gun, 437-man East Indiaman Kent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Surcouf
1958:
Attempting to control the political instability in Pakistan, President Iskander Mirza suspended the 1956 constitution, imposed martial law, and dissolved the National Assembly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iskander_Mirza
1985:
As a result of severe flooding in Puerto Rico, at least 130 people died as a result of the deadliest single landslide on record in North America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Puerto_Rico_floods
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
squeeze box: 1. (caving) A box with an adjustable opening used by cavers to practise crawling through tight spaces. 2. (veterinary medicine) A container that fits tightly around an animal to immobilize it for medical treatment, transportation, etc. […] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/squeeze_box
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The belief of some governments that nuclear weapons are a legitimate and essential source of security is not only misguided, but also dangerous, for it incites proliferation and undermines disarmament. All nations should reject these weapons completely — before they are ever used again. This is a time of great global tension, when fiery rhetoric could all too easily lead us, inexorably, to unspeakable horror. The specter of nuclear conflict looms large once more. If ever there were a moment for nations to declare their unequivocal opposition to nuclear weapons, that moment is now. --ICAN https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/International_Campaign_to_Abolish_Nuclear_Weapons