Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Wednesday 2 January 1946, page 1


LAST RAAF MEN WILL SOON

LEAVE BORNEO

Nearly all RAAF personnel have been repatriated from Borneo, according to an Air Force HQ statement last night. There are 230 men at Balikpapan and 255 at Labuan wait-ing to be returned to Australia. Tarakan has been completely

evacuated.

It is expected that GroupCaptain C. F. Read, of Sydney, commanding First Tactical Air Force-which now controls only 1,400 men, compared with its . maximum strength of

22,000-will hand over tñe

TAF within a few weeks. Five of the nine units still func-tioning will soon be disbanded. The only planes being used ex-tensively are Dakotas, Ven-turas, and Catalinas, which are being used for transport and ferrying flights. Catalinas were among the first RAAF planes in operation in the SWPA, and will be the last to return to Australia.