To have a president who nurses petty vengeances against the press and uses the overwhelming power of the presidency to attack any reporting of fact not colored by flattery and adoration is not normal.
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The Personas in 5 (and given the visual cues of the yellow eyes are actually the character's own Shadows à la Persona 4) have a sinister voice, urging the user to embrace their inner vengeances and desires.
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Deliveries of the Vengeances to Australia were much delayed. Following Australia's entry into Pacific War in December 1941, the RAAF order still stood at 297 Vengeances. These aircraft were scheduled to be delivered between January and December 1942. No Vengeances had arrived by 8 May 1942, though the RAAF's order had been increased to 367.
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No. 1 Air Performance Unit employed Vengeances as target tugs and for trials purposes. No. 7 Operational Training Unit, which was responsible for converting aircrew to Liberator bombers, was issued with Vengeance target tugs. Vengeances were also used in trials of poison gas conducted by the 1st Australian Field Experimental Station, Royal Australian Engineers, near Proserpine, Queensland, during 1944. In May 1944, Vengeances from No. 21 Squadron were used to impersonate German Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers during the production of the movie The Rats of Tobruk.
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A further two RAF squadrons in Burma received Vengeances, (No. 84 and No. 45), together with two squadrons of the Indian Air Force (IAF) (No. 7 and No. 8). Vengeances were heavily deployed in support of the second Arakan campaign of 1943/44, and defending against the Japanese attacks on Imphal and Kohima of April–July 1944.
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Computer Gaming World stated that Vengeances story was inferior to its predecessor and the final battle was disappointing, but liked the audio.
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The type proved successful in this theatre, but was soon withdrawn from service. Brewster Bermuda; the RAAF's order for this type was replaced by the order for Vengeances In mid-1940 the Australian Government placed an order for 243 Brewster Bermuda dive bombers for the RAAF. This type was still under development, and the program to produce it experienced repeated delays. On 28 September 1941 the British Government offered to provide Vultee Vengeances from its allocation if the RAAF considered them suitable. The Australian War Cabinet authorised the purchase of 297 Vultee Vengeances on 22 October 1941 and cancelled the Bermuda order.
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The only exception to this was a bombing raid conducted on 18 June 1943 by twelve of the squadron's Vengeances against villages on Selaru in the Tanimbar Islands which were believed to house workers employed by the Japanese to build a new airstrip.Odgers (1968), pp. 58–59 This was the first attack to be conducted by Vengeances in the SWPA.Odgers (1968), p.
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The first RAF squadrons (No. 82 and No. 110) received Vengeances in October 1942. The first dive bombing missions against Japanese forces were flown on 19 March 1943.
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The US Government agreed to provide 475 aircraft, including some Vengeances. Evatt was not concerned with the types of aircraft which were delivered, and the Australian Government was willing to accept aircraft the US military judged unsuitable for its own needs. The majority of the dive bombers arrived after April 1943; by this time the threat of invasion had passed. Overall, Australia received 15 Vengeances in 1942, 227 in 1943 and 100 during 1944.
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Flight testing began in July 1941. The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) ordered another 300 Vengeances for the RAF under the terms of the Lend-Lease program. Following the United States' entry in the war the USAAF re-possessed at least 243 Vengeances, but never used them operationally as it considered the type inferior to its other attack aircraft and unfit for combat. Several RAF squadrons equipped with the Vengeance saw combat during the Burma Campaign.
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The rest of No. 5 OTU transferred from Tocumwal to Williamtown during July. By the time No. 4 OTU disbanded, the school's Vengeances had accumulated 7,593 flying hours and the Wirraways 7,646 hours.
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The Vengeances proved unsuited to the maritime patrol tasks they were assigned while at Cooktown and Merauke. The commander of the Allied Air Forces in the South West Pacific, Lieutenant General George Kenney, requested in late August 1943 that the RAAF dispatch a squadron of dive bombers to New Guinea for use against pinpoint targets in the Huon Gulf area. No. 24 Squadron was selected for this role, and its 18 Vengeances were rushed to Tsili Tsili Airfield before crew training was complete.
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No. 24 Squadron Vengeances returning from a raid on 27 February 1944 No. 77 Wing's initial combat missions were conducted by No. 24 Squadron. From 17 to 23 January the unit supported Australian Army units involved in the Battle of Shaggy Ridge by conducting highly accurate dive-bombing strikes on Japanese positions. These attacks compensated for the Army units' lack of artillery, and assisted them to capture well-protected Japanese positions. The Vengeances were typically escorted by Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk fighters from No. 78 Wing.
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During a subsequent discussion between Kenney and Air Vice- Marshal George Jones, the Chief of the Air Force, the American general stated that he did not intend to use the Vengeance in combat again. Jones immediately directed the RAAF's representative in Washington DC to cancel the order for 58 Vengeances that had not yet been delivered to Australia. Several factors explain the withdrawal of the RAAF's Vengeances from combat. Odgers judged that a key reason behind the decision was the poor performance of the Vengeance compared to other available aircraft in the region.
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A No. 12 Squadron Vengeance being serviced during April 1943 Five frontline RAAF units were equipped with Vengeance dive bombers: Nos. 12, 21, 23, 24 and 25 Squadrons. No. 12 Squadron was the first Vengeance unit, replacing its CAC Wirraways with the type at Batchelor, Northern Territory, in September 1942. The same month, No. 21 Squadron was re- formed at Gawler, South Australia, equipped with Vengeances. No. 25 Squadron, located at RAAF Station Pearce in Western Australia, received some Vengeances in late 1942, but mainly operated Wirraways until being completely re-equipped with the dive bombers in August 1943.
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7 and 23 Squadrons; the latter operated Vengeances until being declared non-operational in June, before re-equipping with B-24 Liberators for duty in North-Western Area.Royal Australian Air Force, Northern Area and North-Eastern Area Headquarters, pp. 679, 706, 709Odgers, Air War Against Japan, p.
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Due to bad weather, No. 23 Squadron aborted its attack, and bombed a target to the north of the village. The other two squadrons successfully approached Rempi by making shallow dives through the clouds, and bombed the target area. Four Vengeances were lightly damaged by anti-aircraft fire.
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It was stationed at Pell Airfield from 15 July – 16 September 1942 while Batchelor was being used by United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) units. No. 12 Squadron aircrew in the bar of the aircrew mess at Merauke No. 12 Squadron began to be re-equipped with Vultee Vengeance dive bombers from October 1942. The squadron was the first unit in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) to receive these aircraft and their arrival was popular with the squadron's personnel as it was believed that the Vengeances would allow them to play an active part in the war. This did not eventuate, however, and No. 12 Squadron continued its routine program of patrols after all the Vengeances had arrived.
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182–183,198–200Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp.168–170 Led by Wing Commander E.G. Fyfe, No. 77 Wing consisted of three flying squadrons operating Vultee Vengeance dive bombers, and various ancillary units. The Vengeances, which had only recently been acquired by Australia, equipped Nos. 21, 23 and 24 Squadrons.
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The show starred Kellie Martin as Christy Huddleston, a new teacher arriving to the fictional Appalachian village of Cutter Gap, Tennessee, in 1912. The villagers have old- fashioned ways. For example, they maintain rules and vengeances similar to the Highland clans of old Scotland. They also have a strong belief in folk medicine.
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All of the squadrons' dive bombers departed Nadzab on 13 March, and their ground crews followed soon afterwards. No. 21 Squadron was transferred to Camden, New South Wales, No. 23 Squadron to Higgins Field in Cape York where it operated as an army-cooperation unit as part of No. 75 Wing, and No. 24 Squadron to Lowood. All three units ceased flying Vengeances shortly afterwards. No. 4 OTU was also disbanded on 30 April 1944. No. 12 Squadron remained at Merauke until July 1944, when it was withdrawn to Strathpine, Queensland, and handed in its Vengeances ahead of also receiving Liberators. A Vengeance being used as a target tug during an exercise in July 1944 No. 25 Squadron was the final RAAF combat unit to operate Vengeances, which it used to conduct anti-submarine patrols and army-cooperation tasks from Pearce. During the Western Australian emergency of March 1944, the squadron was held at readiness to launch dive-bombing attacks on the Japanese ships that were feared to be approaching the Perth region. This provided to be a false alarm, and the unit soon resumed its normal duties. In January 1945, No. 25 Squadron began converting to the Liberator.
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By March 1942, the order had been slightly increased to 300 aircraft, of which 57 were to be provided by the United States Government under Lend-Lease and the other 243 paid for by the Australian Government. Australia eventually ordered 400 Vengeances. The price for each of the aircraft purchased by Australia was A£90,000.
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This squadron was the only RAAF unit to be equipped with Mark IV aircraft, which provided far superior performance to the other variants. The next unit to receive Vengeances was No. 24 Squadron, which transitioned to the type at Bankstown, New South Wales, between May and August 1943. The final combat unit to receive Vengeances was No. 23 Squadron, which began its conversion in June 1943 at Lowood, Queensland. While preparing for combat, Vengeance aircraft were at times used to counter attacks on shipping off the Australian coast; on 18 June 1943, four aircraft from No. 24 Squadron and a pair from No. 23 Squadron were held at readiness to strike the submarine that had attacked Convoy GP55 off Smoky Cape if it was located by patrolling Avro Ansons.
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The unit was established as No. 2 (Fighter) Operational Training Unit (No. 2 OTU) in April 1942 at Port Pirie, South Australia, and relocated to RAAF Station Mildura, Victoria, the following month. During World War II, it provided training on a wide range of aircraft, including P-40 Kittyhawks, Vultee Vengeances, Avro Ansons, CAC Boomerangs, Supermarine Spitfires and Airspeed Oxfords.
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On the second of the month, 24 Vengeances attacked Japanese positions on Karkar Island, encountering only light anti-aircraft gunfire. Over the next two days the wing targeted Japanese positions on the Rai coast in preparation for a US Army landing scheduled for 5 March. On 3 March, Nos. 23 and 24 Squadrons attacked Mindiri village and a nearby camp site.
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The Vengeances had meanwhile been withdrawn from operations in the South West Pacific theatre, having flown their last combat mission on 8 March.Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 196–198 No. 4 OTU disbanded on 30 April 1944; a small detachment remained to hand over the Williamtown base to an advance party of No. 5 Operational Training Unit the following day.
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Nevertheless Vengeance was repaired in Jamaica and taken into British service under her existing name. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issue of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Seine 20 Augt. 1800" to all surviving claimants from this action. Depiction of the capture of Vengeance The naval historian William James subsequently exaggerated Vengeances earlier engagement with in favour of the French.
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Of these, all but 25 Squadron served briefly in the New Guinea campaign.Shores and Smith 1977. pp.37–38. Australian Vengeances flew their last operational sorties on 8 March 1944, as they were considered less efficient than fighter bombers, having a short range and requiring a long runway, and were withdrawn to allow more effective fighter bombers to move into the forward area.
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Aircraft from all three of the wing's squadrons attacked a camp at Pommern Bay on two occasions the next day. One Vengeance was damaged in a forced landing. The US Army unit's landing at Mindiri on 5 March did not encounter any opposition. On 8 March a force of 36 Vengeances from all three of No. 77 Wing's squadrons was dispatched to strike Rempi village near Alexishafen.
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RAAF Historical Section, Training Units, p. 70Johnston, Whispering Death, p. 344 No. 4 OTU's inaugural commanding officer was Wing Commander E.G. Fyfe. The first pilots and wireless air gunner trainees arrived from No. 12 Squadron on 28 October 1942, and undertook a Vengeance conversion course that ran until 25 November. By the end of the month, No. 4 OTU's strength stood at seven Vengeances.
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When the CCRCs were dissolved in the autumn, the Vengeances were transferred to combat groups, with most fighter and several bomber groups having one on hand at some time during 1945. A-35Bs did not show a high state of serviceability by this time and were generally considered troublesome to maintain. They were also designated RA-35B (R for Restricted) by this time.Freeman 1984, p.208.
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No. 667 squadron was first formed on 1 December 1943 at RAF Gosport, Hampshire from 1662 and 1631 Flight and No. 7 Anti-Aircraft Practice Camp at RAF Shoreham, Kent for various anti- aircraft training duties. The squadron was initially equipped with Defiants and undertook target towing duties with these. It later received Hurricanes, Barracudas, Oxfords, Vengeances and Spitfires, before disbanding at Gosport on 20 December 1945.
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In May 1955, Sydney assumed Vengeances training carrier duties as well as her own flagship and operation duties, while the latter carrier was prepared for the return to England.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 120 Vengeance left for the UK in June, stopping in Singapore to collect a squadron of RN helicopters. Arriving on 13 August, her RAN crew prepared the carrier for reserve, and Vengeance was decommissioned on 25 October.
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The whaler's crew were exempt by virtue of their current merchant service, but not so her passengers, who were crew from another whaler that had sunk. To avoid impressment these passengers attacked the gang, capturing Vengeances first lieutenant and throwing the rest of the gang overboard. Golden Lyon then headed for the Mersey docks. Vengeance gave chase but the whaler reached the dock first and her crew and passengers fled ashore.
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When Marcus arrives aboard Vengeance and attacks Enterprise, Kirk and Khan work together to take control of Vengeances bridge. Once in control of Vengeance, Khan kills Marcus and demands that Spock return his crew. Spock, having removed Khan's people from the torpedoes, lowers Enterprise's shields and allows Khan to beam the activated weapons' warheads aboard Vengeance. Before Khan can attack Enterprise Spock remotely detonates the torpedoes crippling Vengeance.
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Anti-aircraft fire from the cruiser and other ships, as well as attacks by enemy fighters, resulted in the loss of two Liberators, and the crews' standard of aerial gunnery was criticised afterwards. Allied submarines sank the damaged Isuzu the following day.Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 405–409 Later that month, No. 23 Squadron, having recently converted to Liberators from A-31 Vengeances, was added to No. 82 Wing's strength.
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No. 679 Squadron was formed on 1 December 1943 at RAF Ipswich, Suffolk, from 1616 and 1627 (anti-aircraft co-operation) Flight for anti-aircraft training duties in East Anglia, and operated upon formation Westland Lysanders, Miles Martinets, Hawker Henleys and Hawker Hurricanes, receiving Fairey Barracudas and Hurricane Mk.IVs in March 1944 and Vultee Vengeances in April 1945. It was disbanded at RAF Ipswich on 26 June 1945.
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Atcham was returned to the RAF Flying Training Command on 14 March 1945 becoming a satellite of RAF Ternhill. No. 5 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit RAF ((P)AFU) and No. 6 Service Flying Training School RAF (SFTS). No. 577 Squadron RAF target towing with Airspeed Oxfords, Spitfires and Vultee A-31 Vengeances used the airfield until the end of the war. Atcham was abandoned on 22 October 1946 and disposed of on 20 January 1958.
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For this task the aircraft were painted with Luftwaffe markings. The type was withdrawn from service in 1946; as of June that year the RAAF had 235 Vengeances on hand, but only required two. The aircraft were disposed of over the next six years, most being sold for scrap. Twelve Vengeance airframes were transferred to the Royal Australian Navy between 1948 and 1951 to be used for ground handling and fire-fighting training.
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No. 4 Operational Training Unit (No. 4 OTU) was an operational conversion unit of the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. It was formed at Williamtown, New South Wales, in October 1942 to train pilots and wireless air gunners to operate Vultee Vengeance dive bombers. The school was equipped with Vengeances and CAC Wirraway aircraft. Accidents were common in operational conversion units, and No. 4 OTU suffered several fatal crashes during its existence.
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The Great Lakes region of Africa ended the year with a bloodbath. This documentary shows the intrigues, the dramatic effects, the treasons, the vengeances that prevailed over those years and whose only goal was to maintain or increase each faction's area of influence. In just ten years, the population saw all their hopes vanish: The dream of an Africa in control of its own destiny, alimentary self-sufficiency, the end of interethnic conflicts.
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The first and second of these operations involved twelve aircraft from each squadron. A total of 33 Vengeances were dispatched for the operation on 28 February, when they and No. 78 Wing combined to form an attack force of 62 aircraft. Despite the size of these operations, No. 77 Wing's aircrew judged that the airfields were not being used by the Japanese as damage from earlier attacks went unrepaired. No. 77 Wing conducted further combat operations during early March.
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In addition to playing Dan Sanders, Fraser served as Furry Vengeances executive producer. On June 8, 2004, New Line Cinema bought a spec script by Carnes and Gilbert, Furry Vengeance, at a price of $750,000. Its premise of forest animals attacking a real estate developer was announced by the company; Kent Alterman, Keith Goldberg and Michelle Weiss were also announced as supervisors. Steve Carell, an actor Alterman previously work with The Daily Show, went on board to play the real estate developer on July 12.
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However No. 24 Squadron, which was already based in the theatre of operations, was able to carry out its first sortie on 17 January, bombing targets along Shaggy Ridge in support of the Australian 7th Division. Throughout February the Vengeances, escorted by No. 78 Wing Kittyhawks, concentrated on harassing the retreating Japanese 20th Division, and attacking enemy airfields in the Madang Province.Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp.188–192 In March, a decision was made to withdraw the dive bombers from operations due to their inferiority to newer equipment.
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Constellation eluded Pitot's attempts to board her, around 9:00 and again around 11:00. The action lasted until one o'clock the following morning, having been fought in poor light, with the ships often ill defined shapes to each other. Vengeances and Constellations guns eventually fell silent; Toll reports that Pitot may even have struck his colours but Constellation had suffered considerable damage to her masts and rigging, eventually losing her main mast at the conclusion of the action around half past midnight. The two ships drifted apart while the Americans repaired their damage.
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No. 567 Squadron was formed on 1 December 1943 at RAF Detling, Kent from No. 1624 (Anti-Aircraft Co-Operation) Flight. The anti-aircraft co-operation duties included target- towing with Miles Martinets, gun-laying and searchlight practice with Airspeed Oxfords and simulated attacks on exercising troops with Hawker Hurricanes. After the end of World War II, the Martinets gave way for the Vultee Vengeances and the Hurricanes were replaced with Supermarine Spitfires. The Oxfords stayed with the squadron till it was disbanded, 15 June 1946 at RAF West Malling.
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A small number of the type arrived in Australia in late May 1942, but subsequent deliveries were slow. This was because the USAAF was also rapidly expanding at this time, which limited the number and types of aircraft available to its allies. Attempts by the Australian Government to obtain Vengeances from USAAF allocations in March 1942, when the country faced a possible Japanese invasion, were unsuccessful. In April that year the Minister for External Affairs H. V. Evatt visited Washington, D.C. to lobby for increased allocations of aircraft.
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In contrast, American historian Eric Bergerud has written that by selling Australia Vengeances, the US Government "unloaded junk". In his memoirs, Jones described the type as "a hopeless failure". Australian historian Chris Clark has noted that one of the reasons the RAAF was excluded from major campaigns during the last years of the Pacific War was that many of its units were equipped with inferior aircraft such as the Vengeance. The Australian Government and RAAF were embarrassed by the rapid withdrawal from service of aircraft that had been acquired at considerable cost.
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The American frigate waited to return fire until she'd gained the weather gage. Now having the advantage of the wind, Truxton's opening double-shotted broadside slammed into the port side of La Vengeances hull. Sailing side by side, the two frigates continued to engage each other for two and a half hours while Truxton attempted unsuccessfully to move his ship into a raking fire position. As the French tended to aim for the rigging, at one point Constellations foresails were shot away and the frigate lost her maneuverability until they could be replaced.
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RAAF Historical Section, Introduction, Bases, Supporting Organisations, pp. 119–123 As the war progressed, Amberley became one of Australia's largest aircraft maintenance facilities, as well as a way station for United States Army Air Forces personnel and equipment bound for operations in the South West Pacific. In addition to Airacobras and Marauders, among the aircraft types No. 3 AD assembled during World War II were Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks, Republic P-43 Lancers, Vultee A-31 Vengeances, Supermarine Spitfires, Grumman F6F Hellcats, and North American P-51 Mustangs.
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The Vengeances dropped 65-lb canisters and 500 lb clusters of mustard gas, and also sprayed it on Indian troops on the ground to test anti-gas protection such as gas capes and footwear. The unprotected troops, who may have been unaware of the danger, suffered many burns and blisters. The flight transferred to from Sulur to Cannonore (Kannur), Kerala State on 11 October 1945, where an airstrip was created on the maidan, a large public area overlooking the sea. There were two trials ranges, at Kumbla and Porkal, situated on the coast approx 40 miles (65 km) N. of Cannanore.
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Australia placed an order for 400 Vengeances as an emergency measure following the outbreak of war in the Pacific, which was met by a mixture of Lend Lease and diversions from the original British orders. While the first Vengeance was delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in May 1942, the aircraft did not arrive in substantial numbers until April 1943. The RAAF's first Vengeance squadron, No. 12 Squadron flew its first operational mission against Selaru Island in the Dutch East Indies. Squadrons equipped with the Vengeance included Nos. 12, 21, 23, 24 and 25 Squadrons.
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After the British Government requested substantial modifications to the SB2A in early 1941, Brewster formally advised that it would be unable to start deliveries of the type as had been planned earlier. These delays led the Australian Government to cancel its order of Bermudas in October 1941 in favour of purchasing 297 Vultee Vengeances. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Government appropriated 192 of the aircraft which had been ordered by the British in January 1942; these aircraft were to be operated by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Serious problems within Brewster also contributed to delays.
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A German monograph (M.A. Steinbauer, Das Märchen vom Volksmärchen: Jean-François Bladé..., Frankfurt am M., 1988) has shown, however, that many of these stories are Bladé's own invention. His information about his oral sources is confused and unconvincing (the chief of them, le vieux Cazaux, appears to be a fictional creation) and much of his collection betrays a nineteenth-century writer much indebted to the European tradition of high literature; 'La Reine châtiée', for example, one of his finest stories, is based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. To this one may add that Bladé's most perfect stories (most notably his wonderful 'Chatiments et vengeances' section in vol.
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While other vessels shelled the forts there, Vengeance and the battleship sent men ashore to destroy an abandoned artillery battery near Kumkale, with both ships remaining off shore to support the raid. The men landed unopposed, but the detachment from Vengeance quickly came under fire from Ottoman infantry on the far side of Kumkale. Lieutenant-Commander Eric Gascoigne Robinson, who led Vengeances demolition party, went forward by himself to destroy an Ottoman anti-aircraft gun, then led his detachment to destroy a second anti-aircraft gun and the one remaining gun at the Orkanie battery. For his actions, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
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192–194 By March 1944, No. 77 Wing's Vengeances had been withdrawn from operations due to their inferiority to newer equipment. Three squadrons from No. 9 Operational Group—one each flying Bostons, Beaufighters, and Beauforts—were assigned to the Wing as replacements, but No. 10 OG itself was moved from Nadzab to Cape Gloucester to permit USAAF units with longer- ranged aircraft to occupy vital airfields on the Allied front line.Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 196–198 The group's disappointment with its withdrawal from Nadzab was tempered by news that it was to take part in the forthcoming attack on Aitape, New Guinea, codenamed Operation Reckless.
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Vengeance dive bombers assigned to No. 21 Squadron at Nadzab airdrome in New Guinea during February 1944 No. 12 Squadron was the first Vengeance-equipped RAAF unit to see combat. After converting to the dive bomber, the squadron was used on routine patrol and search-and-rescue tasks off the coast of the Northern Territory. On 18 June 1943, twelve Vengeances from the squadron, escorted by six No. 31 Squadron Bristol Beaufighters, were dispatched to attack two villages on Selaru island in the occupied Netherlands East Indies that were believed to be housing workers engaged in constructing an airfield. This operation was successful, and all the dive bombers returned to base.
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No. 24 Squadron also attacked buildings on Gragat Island near Madang on 24 January as part of a raid involving two squadrons of North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers. On 29 February the squadron bombed Japanese positions near the village of Orgoruna and strafed the settlement in support of Army units; during this operation two Vengeances experienced engine problems, one being destroyed in a crash landing. Two days later, No. 24 Squadron attacked and destroyed a bridge defended by anti-aircraft guns at the village of Bogadjim. Only three of the five aircraft dispatched were able to locate the target, and two were damaged by fragments from the bombs they dropped.
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A Vengeance patrolling over the ocean The attack on Rempi was the final combat operation involving Australian Vengeances. On 8 March 1944, General Douglas MacArthur's General Headquarters, which commanded all Allied forces in the South West Pacific Area, directed No. 77 Wing's squadrons to return to Australia and No. 78 Wing to move to the Cape Gloucester area of New Britain. This decision, which had been endorsed by RAAF Command, took No. 10 Group's headquarters and personnel by surprise and led to the cancellation of a raid on Rempi planned for that day. To keep No. 10 Group up to strength, three light bomber squadrons were transferred from No. 9 Group to No. 77 Wing.
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Worker at Vultee-Nashville makes final adjustments in the wheel well of an inner wing before the installation of the landing gear. (February 1942) By the time that Britain had received large numbers of Vengeances, its opinion on the usefulness of specialised dive bombers had changed. As the Battle of Britain and operations over North Africa had shown the dive bomber to be vulnerable to fighter attack, the Vengeance was rejected for use over Western Europe or the Mediterranean. It was decided to use the Vengeance in the Burma Theatre to carry out dive-bombing operations in close support of British and Indian troops in the jungles.Shores and Smith 1977, p.32.
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Between September and December 1944, 11 Vultees took part in air-spraying trials against malarial mosquitoes, using under wing spray dispensers.Air Enthusiast #71 September–October 1997 pp68-71 article by Neate, Don R. With a Vengeance! Fighting Malaria in West Africa, Vultee-style Although phased out of front line service with the RAF, Britain continued to receive large numbers of Vengeances, with bulk deliveries of Lend Lease aircraft (as opposed to those purchased directly by Britain) having only just started. Many of these surplus aircraft, including most Vengeance Mk IVs, were delivered to the UK and modified as target tugs, being used in that role both by the RAF and the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA).
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Navy divers were involved in rescuing the survivors, with one earning the British Empire Medal for his efforts.Navy News (Australia) Diving legend's final resting place at sea On 3 April, while escorting Gothic to the Cocos Islands with the destroyers and accompanying, Vengeances ship's company assembled on the flight deck and positioned themselves to form the Queen's signature.Davis, H.M.A.S. Vengeance After later seeing an aerial photograph of this, Her Majesty had a message sent to the carrier, saying "Thank you for the original forgery."Lind, The Royal Australian Navy – Historic Naval Events Year by Year, p. 232 On 5 April, after arriving at the Cocos Islands, Vengeance was involved in a collision with Bataan while the destroyer attempted to refuel from the carrier.
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The simple old poet, with his adoration of Greek (when a thing pleased him greatly he was wont to talk of it as "Greek Verse"), his delight in journeys and sight-seeing, his dislike for literary talk save with intimates and equals, his vanities and vengeances, his pride in the memory of favours bestowed on him by popes and princes, his infinita maraviglia over Virgil's versification and metaphor, his fondness for masculine rhymes and blank verse, his quiet Christianity, is a figure deserving perhaps of more study than is likely to be bestowed on that "new world" of art which it was his glory to fancy his own, by discovery and by conquest. Giambattista Marino was a contemporary of Chiabrera whose verses provide a comparison.
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In July 1943 the squadron began moving from Darwin to Merauke in Netherlands New Guinea, where it was to operate as part of No. 72 Wing. A party of 270 ground crew arrived at Merauke early that month, but little of the infrastructure needed to support the unit's aircraft was ready. As a result, No. 12 Squadron's Vengeances and air crew were stationed at Cooktown, Queensland, from where they conducted anti-submarine patrols and escorted shipping. The aircraft were redeployed to Merauke over the course of September, and began regular patrol duties on the 28th of the month. No. 12 Squadron's only combat during this deployment occurred on 9 October 1943, when a Vengeance exchanged machine-gun fire with a Japanese Aichi E13A reconnaissance aircraft.
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Walruses of an RAF air-sea rescue flight were the next tenants and these were joined by a glider training unit early in 1945. Post-war, Exeter was reclaimed by Fighter Command and a French Supermarine Spitfire squadron, No. 329, which came and stayed until November 1945. Meteors and Mosquitos made a brief appearance the following spring. No. 691 Squadron's target-towing Vultee A-31 Vengeances, which had been present for more than a year, proved to be the last RAF flying unit of the Second World War period based at Exeter. When No. 691 Squadron departed in the summer of 1946, the station was made available for civil use, being officially transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 1 January 1947, although there was still some reserve RAF activity until the 1950s.
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USAAF units equipped with superior types were arriving in New Guinea during early 1944, and Kenney wanted to free up scarce space at forward airfields so that he could launch attacks on the important Japanese bases at Wewak and Hollandia; these targets were beyond the range of the Vengeance. In particular, No. 77 Wing was required to vacate Nadzab so that its airfields could accommodate a group of long-ranged Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters. Odgers also argued that the Vengeances had proven to be mechanically unreliable, and had difficulty taking off while carrying a full bomb load: in practice it was found that they could carry only the same bomb load as Kittyhawk fighters. The Kittyhawks were also superior at strafing targets and did not need to be escorted.
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An airman holding the twin machine guns mounted at the rear of a RAAF Vengeance's cockpit The RAAF's acquisition and use of the Vultee Vengeance remains controversial. The Air Power Development Centre judged that the type's service was not "conspicuously good or bad", and Stewart Wilson described it as having a "somewhat indifferent career". Historian Peter C. Smith has argued that the decision to withdraw the Vengeances from combat was mistaken, as the Royal New Zealand Air Force and United States Marine Corps successfully used dive bombers for close air support tasks in the South West Pacific until the end of the war and the RAAF could have built on No. 77 Wing's "great but limited achievement". Similarly, Michael Nelmes has written that No. 77 Wing's dive-bombing operations were successful.
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Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 206–211 The group consisted of No. 77 Wing, operating A-31 Vengeance dive bombers, and No. 78 Wing, operating P-40 Kittyhawk fighters, as well as various ancillary units.Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 182–183 It was to act as a mobile strike force capable of supporting Allied ground and naval units as they advanced against the Japanese in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA), as distinct from the RAAF's area commands then based in Northern Australia, which had a static, geographical defence function. No. 10 OG took over the mobile role originally undertaken by No. 9 Operational Group, which by 1944 had itself evolved into a static garrison force in New Guinea and been renamed Northern Command to reflect its new purpose.Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 182–183, 198–200 After establishing headquarters at Nadzab, Papua New Guinea, in support of the US Fifth Air Force, No. 10 OG's first sorties took place on 13 January 1944, when Kittyhawks of No. 78 Wing launched patrols and bombing missions near Madang.Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 186–187 By March 1944, No. 77 Wing's Vengeances had been withdrawn from operations due to their inferiority to newer equipment.
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