[4] The flight began moving from Cairns to Bougainville in late October 1944, with its main party arriving on the island on 14 December 1944.

[2] The necessary repairs included replacing some of the Austers fabric sections and perspex windows, but the process of shipping these items to Bougainville proved slow.

17 AOP Flight was established on 14 February at Cape Hoskins on the island of New Britain to support the Australian Army units engaged there; this detachment comprised two officers and eight airmen, and was subsequently equipped with de Havilland Tiger Moth aircraft.

[6] The Austers were used for reconnaissance, artillery spotting and supply dropping as well as evacuating wounded personnel, and proved successful in these roles.

17 AOP Flight had conducted 1,328 sorties on Bougainville, though shortages of supplies and pilots hindered the operations of the unit and the other elements of No.

[8] The flight worked closely with infantry and armoured units, and its aircraft were called "the eyes of the battalion commanders" by George Odgers in the official history of the RAAF in World War II.