No 464 Squadron (464SQN) was formed on 1 September 1942 at Royal Air Force (RAF) Feltwell in East Anglia, England, under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme (see the documentary: An Enduring Legacy: The Empire Air Training Scheme | Air Force). Initially equipped with Lockheed Ventura light bombers, it was part of No 2 (Bombing) Group in RAF Bomber Command.

In mid-1943, 464SQN was moved under No 140 Wing (140WG) RAF and subsequently re-equipped with the famous de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber. 140WG, which also contained two other Mosquito units – No 487 Squadron Royal New Zealand Air Force and No 21 Squadron RAF, was part of the RAF’s Second Tactical Air Force within Fighter Command. 464SQN provided a fast, responsive tactical air element to the battlefield. Instead of the usual 30 missions required of Bomber Command aircrews, a 464SQN tour for aircrew involved 50 operational missions.

With the war in Europe over on 8 May 1945, 464SQN was disbanded on 27 September 1945, having undertaken more than 3000 sorties and attacked more than 2300 targets during the war. One hundred and eleven members of 464SQN lost their lives in the Second World War.

464SQN was re-formed on 1 January 2021 as the RAAF’s public affairs and media unit, and is part of Air Force Headquarters Chief of Staff Branch. The unit is focused on consolidating the Air Force’s Strategic Communications and Military Public Affairs (MPA) capabilities. MPA is the provision of public information and management of media access to inform, educate and persuade broad target audiences about Defence and its activities. 464SQN Headquarters element is located at HMAS Harman in Canberra, with Public Affairs Officers (PAO) and Air Force Imagery Specialists (AFIS) operating across the country.

Gathered here are some of our 464SQN stories compiled as part of History and Heritage – Air Force’s Living History Program.

About Justin Mulligan and William Kinloch

Justin Reginald Mulligan – known as ‘Joe’ – was born on 22 August 1922 in Guyra, south of Inverell in northeast New South Wales (NSW). He grew up on his family’s farm and was a wool classer prior to enlisting in the RAAF in June 1942, aged 19, with service number 423164. 

William Albert Kinloch – known as ‘Billy’ – was born at Leeton in country NSW on 16 November 1922. After leaving school, Billy worked in the family hardware business in Leeton until April 1942 when, aged 19, he enlisted in the RAAF with service number 421988.

Joe, a pilot, and Billy, a navigator/observer, met at No 34 Operational Training Unit at Pennfield Ridge, New Brunswick, Canada, in July 1943 where they underwent conversion to the Ventura bomber. They then did conversion training in the United Kingdom on the de Havilland Mosquito before being posted to 464SQN at Thorney Island in Sussex. Joe and Billy flew 62 operational missions with 464SQN and were killed in action on air operations over Germany on 13 January 1945. Both were posthumously awarded the Commendation for Gallantry in 2024.

Read more about Joe and Billy in the linked booklet.