Gawler Units

No. 86 Squadron

No 86 Squadron, flying Curtiss Kittyhawks was formed at Gawler on the 4^th of March 1943. The squadron had a strength of 24 Curtiss Kittyhawk P-40M fighters and around 300 officers and airmen. Among the first to arrive was a contingent of 60 ground crew from No. 2 Operational Training Unit at Mildura who initially looked forward to the posting, and one former member recalled hearing “wild rumours that Gawler was a most up-to-date air base with all mod cons including underground hangars”. The truth was quite the opposite, with Gawler having virtually no buildings of any kind and only basic refuelling facilities. The men lived in tents in the grounds of Gawler racecourse a few miles away where they used the public toilets and cold showers.

No. 86 Squardron left on the 1^st of May for Ross River near Townsville en-route to Merauke New Guinea.

No. 21 Squadron

No. 21 Squadron flying Vultee Vengeance aircraft was reformed at Gawler on the 13^th of September 1943 as a dive-bomber unit. Within the following week some 14 Vultee Vengeances had been delivered to the squadron. By the end of September, the unit comprised 10 officers and 124 airmen, which was far below its establishment strength of 334 personnel.

An influx of flying personnel joined the squadron in early October, fresh from No. 4 Operational Training Unit at Williamtown which was the RAAF dive-bomber training unit. By the end of October, the squadron was approaching full strength with a total of 293 personnel.

Additional pilots joined the squadron from No. 4 OTU in early November. On the 24^th and 25^th November, the squadron departed for Lowood in Queensland, as did the ground personnel who left by train. From Lowood No. 21 Squadron would eventually deploy to New Guinea.

Telecommunications Unit

 Adelaide Wireless Transmitting Station commenced on the 10^th February 1942 and was operational on the 16^th March 1942. In September 1943 a detachment from Adelaide Wireless Transmitting Station was sent to Gawler Airfield.

The detachement operated an Operations Building, Remote Receiving Building and Transmitting Building. Wireless Telegraphists would work 3 daily shifts in an underground bunker. They would access the underground bunker via a small wooden building on a flat open area near the Gawler airfield.

On the the 1^st Feburary 1945 the unit was renamed the Gawler Telecommunications Unit and disbanded on the 31^st May 1945.