The "Morotai Mutiny" was an incident in April 1945 involving members of the Australian First Tactical Air Force

Australian First Tactical Air Force

The Australian First Tactical Air Force was formed on 25 October 1944 by the Royal Australian Air Force . Its purpose was to provide a mobile force of fighter and ground attack aircraft that could support Allied army and naval units fighting the Empire of Japan in the South West Pacific Area...

 based on the island of Morotai

Morotai

Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...

, in the Dutch East Indies

Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

. Eight senior pilots, including Australia's leading flying ace

Flying ace

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

, Group Captain Clive Caldwell

Clive Caldwell

Group Captain Clive Robertson Caldwell DSO, DFC & Bar was the leading Australian air ace of World War II. He is officially credited with shooting down 28.5 enemy aircraft in over 300 operational sorties. In addition to his official score, he has been ascribed six probables and 15 damaged...

, tendered their resignations to protest what they perceived as the relegation of Royal Australian Air Force

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

 (RAAF) fighter

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

 squadrons to strategically unimportant ground attack

Close air support

In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...

 missions against Japanese positions that had been bypassed in the Allies' "island-hopping" campaign. A government investigation vindicated the "mutineers", and three high-ranking officers at First Tactical Air Force Headquarters, including the commander, Air Commodore

Air Commodore

Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...

 Harry Cobby

Arthur Henry Cobby

Air Commodore Arthur Henry Cobby CBE, DSO, DFC & Two Bars, GM was an Australian military aviator...

, the Australian Flying Corps' top-scoring ace during World War I, were relieved of their posts.

George Odgers

George Odgers

George James Odgers was an Australian soldier, journalist and military historian. He was born in 1916 and died in 2008. After university, Odgers served in the Australian Army as a private soldier and non-commissioned officer; and later in the Royal Australian Air Force becoming a Group Captain...

  summed up the cause of the incident in the official history of the RAAF in World War II as "the conviction of a group of young leaders that they were engaging in operations that were not militarily justifiable—a conviction widely shared also by many Australian soldiers and political leaders." Odgers concluded that the ensuing inquiry "made it clear that almost everyone concerned acted from the highest motives, and was convinced that, in the crisis, he acted wisely".

Background

First Tactical Air Force

Australian First Tactical Air Force

The Australian First Tactical Air Force was formed on 25 October 1944 by the Royal Australian Air Force . Its purpose was to provide a mobile force of fighter and ground attack aircraft that could support Allied army and naval units fighting the Empire of Japan in the South West Pacific Area...

 (1TAF), commanded by Air Commodore Harry Cobby

Arthur Henry Cobby

Air Commodore Arthur Henry Cobby CBE, DSO, DFC & Two Bars, GM was an Australian military aviator...

, was the main frontline unit of the RAAF in 1944–45. It fell under the operational control of United States Army Air Forces

United States Army Air Forces

The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....

 (USAAF) Lieutenant General George Kenney

George Kenney

George Churchill Kenney was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. He was commander of the Allied air forces in the Southwest Pacific Area from August 1942 until 1945.-Early life:...

, the Allied

Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 air forces commander in the South West Pacific Area under General Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

. Initially made up of one Beaufighter

Bristol Beaufighter

The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...

 and two P-40 Kittyhawk

Curtiss P-40

The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...

 wings, 1TAF was augmented in 1945 by No. 80 Wing

No. 80 Wing RAAF

No. 80 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force wing of World War II. The unit was formed on 15 May 1944 and eventually comprised three squadrons equipped with Spitfire fighter aircraft. The wing's headquarters was absorbed into the newly formed No...

, commanded by Group Captain Clive Caldwell

Clive Caldwell

Group Captain Clive Robertson Caldwell DSO, DFC & Bar was the leading Australian air ace of World War II. He is officially credited with shooting down 28.5 enemy aircraft in over 300 operational sorties. In addition to his official score, he has been ascribed six probables and 15 damaged...

. This wing comprised three Spitfire

Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...

 squadrons, whose pilots included veterans of the North African campaign

North African campaign

During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...

 and the defence of Northern Australia against Japanese air raids.

By early 1945, Japanese air power in the South West Pacific had been virtually destroyed. U.S. Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 forces were focused on completing the recapture of the Philippines as a stepping stone to an invasion of Japan. During this time, 1TAF was increasingly assigned to garrison duties and harassing Japanese bases on islands bypassed by MacArthur's forces. The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal George Jones

George Jones (RAAF officer)

Air Marshal Sir George Jones KBE, CB, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . He rose from private soldier in World War I to Air Marshal in 1948, and served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1942 to 1952, the longest continuous tenure of any RAAF chief...

, would later contend that the RAAF, in the words of Air Force historian Alan Stephens, "was 'side-stepped' out of the final victory over Japan by MacArthur, who wanted all the glory for himself". United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 aviators from the Air North Solomons

AirSols

AirSols was an abbreviation of Air Solomons, the Allied air units in the Solomon Islands campaign of World War II, from April 1943 to June 1944. Its units came from the United States Navy , United States Marine Corps , United States Army Air Forces and the Royal New Zealand Air Force . AirSols...

 command also believed that MacArthur's headquarters was favouring the USAAF in the assignment of combat duties.

The overall situation led to dissatisfaction and poor morale among 1TAF personnel based on Morotai

Morotai

Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...

, particularly the Spitfire pilots who had little opportunity for the air-to-air combat they specialised in and whose aircraft were ill-suited to ground attack missions. Group Captain Wilf Arthur

Wilfred Arthur

Wilfred Stanley Arthur DSO, DFC was an Australian fighter ace of World War II. He is officially credited with ten aerial victories...

, former Officer Commanding

Officer Commanding

The Officer Commanding is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit , principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, the term Commanding Officer is applied to commanders of minor as well as major units.Normally an Officer Commanding is a company, squadron or battery...

 No. 81 Wing

No. 81 Wing RAAF

No. 81 Wing is the Royal Australian Air Force's air superiority wing. Formed during World War II, it operated in the South West Pacific theatre, flying P-40 Kittyhawks. Following the end of hostilities, it converted to P-51 Mustangs and was based in Japan as part of the Allied occupational forces...

 and now in charge of No. 78 Wing

No. 78 Wing RAAF

No. 78 Wing is the Royal Australian Air Force's operational training wing. It is headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, and operates the BAE Hawk 127 lead-in fighter. The wing was formed in 1943 and operated P-40 Kittyhawk fighters in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II...

, became concerned that his units' expenditure in terms of men, machines and ordnance was not justified by the damage inflicted on enemy targets or by the relative importance of those targets. In December 1944 he asked his Intelligence staff to produce a "balance sheet" to quantify losses versus results. Arthur presented the balance sheet to Air Commodore Cobby, who reviewed it and disseminated it to his headquarters staff, but took no further action.

Prelude to the resignations

In March 1945, frustrated by the lack of response from Cobby and his staff and convinced that operations were becoming yet more wasteful, Arthur began discussing his concerns with other senior 1TAF pilots. First, he spoke to Wing Commander

Wing Commander (rank)

Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...

 Kenneth Ranger, a senior staff officer who had served with No. 9 Operational Group

No. 9 Operational Group RAAF

No. 9 Operational Group was a major Royal Australian Air Force unit providing fighter, ground attack and anti-shipping support to the Allies in the South West Pacific theatre during World War II. It was designed to act as a mobile striking force independent of the RAAF's static area commands. As...

 and had made allegations regarding the leadership of its commander, Air Commodore Joe Hewitt

Joe Hewitt (RAAF officer)

Air Vice Marshal Joseph Eric Hewitt, CBE was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force...

, who was eventually dismissed from his post. Arthur sought out Ranger as someone with "moral guts", who would take "a stand against the type of operations we were engaged in". Next, he enlisted Caldwell's support, although Caldwell was, at the time, facing charges from Cobby over liquor trafficking which made it a risk that his involvement in a protest over operations would be misconstrued as an attempt to divert attention from the charges. Arthur believed, however, that Caldwell "would go as far as he possibly could to back up his opinions [which] were worth a lot more than the opinions of most other people in the area".

Through Caldwell more officers joined the protest, including two other celebrated aces, Wing Commander Bobby Gibbes

Bobby Gibbes

Robert Henry Maxwell Gibbes DSO, DFC & Bar, OAM was a leading Australian fighter ace of World War II. He was officially credited with shooting down 10¼ enemy aircraft, although his score is often reported as 12 destroyed...

 and Squadron Leader John Waddy

John Lloyd Waddy

John Lloyd Waddy OBE, DFC was a senior officer and aviator in the Royal Australian Air Force , who later served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and Minister of the Crown...

, as well as Squadron Leader Bert Grace, Squadron Leader Douglas Vanderfield, and later, Squadron Leader Stuart Harpham. During a series of meetings early in April 1945, Caldwell proposed that the eight resign en masse, and the others agreed. Arthur later stated that, "I meant to make as big a fuss as I possibly could with the object of getting the position corrected ... All the same, we realised that, to lay ourselves open to any charge of mutiny, we might lessen the force of what we were doing, which was the reason we put the things in as resignations and not as any attempt to unseat people higher up."
Arthur also attempted to secure Cobby's support for the protest. The commander of 1TAF had been the Australian Flying Corps' leading ace in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, as Caldwell was the RAAF's in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Arthur reasoned that, although Cobby was partly to blame for the morale issue, "we felt that his value to our move, because of his name with the Public, together with Group Captain Caldwell, would give us a very considerable amount of public support ... he was the prima donna of one war, and ... arm-in-arm with the prima donna of the next war, we would put up a reasonable front and attract a lot of attention in the headlines of the newspapers." Cobby, however, refused to join in and later claimed to be unaware of the depth of feeling among the pilots.

"Mutiny"

On 20 April 1945, the eight pilots presented Cobby with identically worded letters under the heading, "APPLICATION FOR RESIGNATION OF COMMISSION." The letters read, "I hereby respectfully make application that I be permitted to resign my Commission as an officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, forthwith." Cobby appeared taken aback and would not accept the resignations. He spoke to seven of the pilots individually, but not Caldwell, as he was already under charge. When the men refused to withdraw the letters or elaborate on the reason for their actions, Cobby contacted his immediate superior, Air Vice Marshal Bill Bostock

William Bostock

Air Vice Marshal William Dowling Bostock CB, DSO, OBE was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force. During World War II he led RAAF Command, the Air Force's main operational formation, with responsibility for the defence of Australia and air offensives against Japanese targets in the...

, head of RAAF Command

RAAF Command

RAAF Command was the main operational arm of the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. The command was established in September 1942 and by April 1943 comprised 27 squadrons, including units from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as Australia...

, the air force's main operational formation. Bostock arrived on Morotai the next day and interviewed the pilots, asking them to tear up the letters, without success. His methods were later construed as an attempt to "make the situation go away or to at least cover it up". The pilots' only concession to Bostock's entreaty was to resubmit their resignations with the word "forthwith" replaced by "at the end of current operations".

Following these interviews, Bostock signalled Air Vice Marshal Jones to advise him that morale in 1TAF was at a "dangerously low level" and recommend that Jones fire Cobby and replace him with Air Commodore Frederick Scherger

Frederick Scherger

Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Rudolph William Scherger KBE, CB, DSO, AFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force...

. Jones considered the pilots' action "absurd", because an officer could not legally resign during wartime, but travelled to Morotai from his headquarters in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 to investigate the matter personally. He also interviewed the pilots, later declaring, "I believed them all to be sincere in what they were stating and what they had attempted to do ... Yes, sincerely held beliefs, no matter how ill-founded, coupled possibly with a rather exaggerated sense of national duty."

Lieutenant General Kenney also became embroiled in the affair, having been informed by Bostock, and insisted on speaking directly to the pilots himself over Jones' protest that this was an internal RAAF disciplinary matter. During a visit to Morotai from his Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

 headquarters, Kenney tried to persuade the officers to reconsider their positions, but again they refused. He agreed with Bostock that Cobby should be replaced by Scherger, and declared that if the pilots were court-martial

Court-martial

A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...

led he would appear in their defence. The commander of the Australian Army's I Corps, Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead

Leslie Morshead

Lieutenant General Sir Leslie James Morshead KCB, KBE, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman, and farmer, with a distinguished military career that spanned both world wars...

, who was at Morotai preparing for the Borneo campaign, also supported Cobby's removal. Morshead and other senior army officers were concerned that the dispute could disrupt preparations for the Australian landings in Borneo and consulted with Kenney on the matter. Jones resolved to dismiss not only Cobby but also his staff officers, Group Captains Gibson and Simms. Scherger took over as Air Officer Commanding 1TAF on 10 May.

Aftermath

Ultimately, no court-martial took place for any actions directly related to the "mutiny", and all the pilots except Caldwell continued on operations until the end of the war. An RAAF investigation found that Jones' removal of Cobby, Gibson and Simms was justified. Upon Jones' request, the Australian government also set up an inquiry into events on Morotai which was headed by Justice John Vincent Barry

John Vincent Barry

Sir John Vincent William Barry KC was an Australian justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, and an expert in criminology. Born the eldest child of William Edward Barry and Sarah Lena Jeanette, née Keene in Albury, New South Wales, Barry was educated in St Patrick's College, a small convent...

. Beginning on 16 May 1945, the inquiry focused on both the resignations and the reports of illegal trafficking in alcohol between RAAF and U.S. service personnel on the island. While Barry's terms of reference encompassed only 1TAF, the inquiry also heard evidence of shortcomings in the Air Force's higher command that may have contributed to structural and morale problems on Morotai, particularly a bitter and long-running feud between Jones and Bostock over the division of operational and administrative control of the RAAF in the Pacific.

The complete report of the inquiry was released in October, preceded by a summary of findings issued on 14 September 1945. Judge Barry vindicated Arthur's "balance sheet" and the stand taken by the pilots, finding that their motives in tendering their resignations were sincere. No further action was taken against them over the "mutiny" itself, but Caldwell and Gibbes were subsequently court-martialled for their involvement in the alcohol racket and reduced to the rank of Flight Lieutenant

Flight Lieutenant

Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...

. Barry found that Cobby had "failed to maintain proper control over his command", while Cobby defended his leadership of 1TAF, contending that although there was "some discontent", it was "a healthy sign of discontent amongst certain officers who wished to do more in the war than they were doing. Unfortunately, it was not within the power of 1st T.A.F. to give them that more important or more interesting work ..." The incident did not change the RAAF's role in the dying days of the war in the Pacific and may have hindered 1TAF's preparations for the upcoming Battle of Tarakan

Battle of Tarakan (1945)

The Battle of Tarakan was the first stage in the Borneo campaign of 1945. It began with an amphibious landing by Australian forces on 1 May, code-named Operation Oboe One...

. It did however improve the situation on Morotai, as Air Commodore Scherger successfully restored morale. The "mutineers" considered that they had achieved most of their goals by effecting a change of command in 1TAF and instigating a governmental inquiry.
News of the resignations, the alcohol racket, and Caldwell's court-martial were widely reported in Australia. Following publication of Barry's findings, The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph (Australia)

The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...

in Sydney commented that "the RAAF should have a complete new deal. It is a badly run show and the fault is high up." The same paper later called Caldwell's court-martial a "witch hunt". Despite this publicity, the action did not become popularly known as the "Morotai Mutiny" until years later. The phrase dated back to the earliest days of the incident, Group Captain Arthur having written it at the top of an aide-mémoire

Aide-mémoire

In international relations, an aide-mémoire is a proposed agreement or negotiating text circulated informally among delegations for discussion without committing the originating delegation's country to the contents. It has no identified source, title, or attribution and no standing in the...

. He later said that "the alliteration must have appealed to me". Shortly after writing it, he crossed out "Morotai" and added a question mark following "Mutiny". The term did not catch on with the public at the time, but Arthur's original words have been credited as the source of the name by which the incident eventually became known.