During fighting around Wau, New Guinea, in early February 1943, No 4 Squadron RAAF flew what is regarded as the first recorded Forward Air Control (FAC) mission in the history of military aviation. When troops of the Australian 2nd/6th Battalion and 2nd/5th Independent Company found themselves in contact with a significant Japanese force, they requested air support from No 9 Operational Group, RAAF. Beaufighters of No 30 Squadron were tasked with attacking the opposing enemy, with the slower Wirraway aircraft of No 4 Squadron assisting them to get ordnance onto the correct area. This the Wirraways did at about 1.30 pm on this day by firing tracer rounds onto the target. Following this experience, Nos 4 and 5 Squadrons of the RAAF thereafter regularly flew specialised target marking missions of this kind, especially utilising the CAC Boomerang ground support fighter as a ‘fast FAC’ over the edge of battle.

To read more, download the knowledge article Airborne forward air control – a first for the RAAF  by Squadron Leader Alex Post.