This Day in History: 1916-10-16

Number 4 Squadron was established as a unit of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) at Point Cook, Victoria, on 16 October 1916. Shortly after its formation the squadron departed for Britain, arriving at Castle Bromwich for further training in March 1917. The unit arrived in France on 18 December 1917, and from June 1918 it was assigned to Royal Air Force No. 80 Wing, flying alongside fellow Australian unit 2 Squadron AFC, and 46, 54, 88, 92 and 103 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. In this time it flew the latest British-designed Camel and Snipe fighters from the Sopwith Aviation Company while performing fighter sweeps, conducted air support operations for Allied ground forces, and raided German airstrips. 4 Squadron claimed more “kills” than any other AFC unit with 199 enemy aircraft destroyed. In addition, 33 enemy balloons were destroyed or driven down. Source: airforce.gov.au