February 19th, 1942 saw the first air raids on Darwin,and as a result, the eleven Kittyhawks at the airfields were badly damaged. An urgent call for help was sent to the USAAF who owned the aircraft, and in reply the 49th fighter group took up the defence of Darwin while three new Australian fighter sqns.(75,76,77 ) were being worked up.

    Seventy seven squadron was formed on March 16th 1942 at Pearce, and Sqn.Ldr. R. Cresswell joined it a few weeks later. At that time an EFTS was at nearby Cunderdin, and the P40E Kittyhawk aircraft supplied by the Americans were assembled there and then flown to Pearce.

    Cresswell found that some of his pilots were somewhat superstitious, and balked at taking aircraft number 13. So to demonstrate that the superstition was groundless Cresswell allotted that aircraft, A29-113 to himself. A custom of the RAAF at that time allowed pilots to individualise their aircraft by putting their names on them, but Cresswell decided to do something different with his planes. He asked his pilots to come up with a logo or design to put on their aircraft instead. Then an LAC named Newton who had been a signwriter before the war painted these designs onto the lower portside engine cowlings of the machines.

    Soon the only machine not so decorated was Cresswell's, and Newton approached him for a design. Cresswell hadn't given the matter any thought, and told Newton to come up with one himself. The result was a design incorporating the three flags of the allies, topped by the flag of the RAAF.

    On August 18 1942 77sqn. moved to, and took responsibility for the aerial defence of Darwin. By this time the Japanese had adopted the tactic of only raiding at night, and indeed during 77sqns stay of five months never attacked during daylight. Early warning for Darwin consisted of a radar station at Cape Fourcroy on Mellville Island that gave range but not height. However it was known that the Japanese preferred to bomb from 22-24000 feet, so upon early warning two or three Kittyhawks would scramble to near that height and try to intercept them. Despite numerous scrambles and patrols, a successful interception was not made until late November.

    At about five in the morning of November 23 Sqn.Ldr. Cresswell was patrolling the northwest sector waiting for a contact to materialise. It was a brightly moonlit night with banks of cumulous clouds reaching 20-25000 feet into the predawn sky, creating a perfect backdrop against which to see aircraft. Guided by anti-aircraft fire and searchlights, Cresswell sighted a close vic of three aircraft about 1000 feet above, and slightly to his left. In the prevailing lighting conditions it was easy to identify them as Mitsubishi "Betty" bombers.

    Unobserved, Cresswell closed to about 100m and fired a raking burst across the formation from below. The formation immediately turned sharply left, causing the aircraft on the right of the formation to lose contact with the rest. This aircraft dived, and Cresswell followed whilst under ineffective fire from the remaining bombers. He made a final attack and saw his tracer enter the starboard wing of the "Betty" which then exploded. This was the first aerial victory by an Australian over Australia.

    When 77sqn. left Darwin they were re-equipped with P40Ks, and A29-113 was "retired " to 2OTU at Mildura where it was eventually destroyed in a training accident. Cresswell continued to decorate his aircraft with the four flag design throughout the war. The design was so distinctive that he soon became well known, even to "Tokyo Rose" who occasionally mentioned his presence over enemy territory.

    That four flag design is now permanently carried on a 77sqn F18 hornet, number A21-50 based at Williamtown.