Initially based in Far North Queensland, its headquarters transferred to Darwin, Northern Territory, in September 1944 to take control of three PBY Catalina units: Nos.

The prime task of these squadrons was minelaying in the South West Pacific theatre, and they conducted these operations as far afield as Java, Borneo, the Philippines, and China.

76 Wing's Catalinas flew bombing, patrol, and transport missions, and dropped millions of propaganda leaflets in the closing months of the war.

[1] Led by Wing Commander Reginald Burrage,[2][3] it transferred to Darwin, Northern Territory, in September to coordinate and control minelaying operations in the North-Western Area by Nos.

Minelaying missions carried out by the RAAF over the past year had been credited with successfully disrupting enemy shipping for a much smaller outlay of operating hours than conventional bombing, and were thus considered profitable enough to dedicate a wing with three squadrons to furthering the work.

11 Squadron based at Rathmines, New South Wales, mined Manila Bay to keep Japanese shipping "bottled up", thus supporting the Allied landing at Mindoro taking place the next day.

Flying from Leyte, the 24 Catalinas successfully dropped 60 mines in the heavily defended target area for the loss of one of their number, and returned to base at the limit of their fuel reserves.

[10] During the month, the Catalinas mined Hong Kong harbour, as well as targets on the coast of mainland China, flying up to sixteen hours per mission.

[12] With the Allies' decision to confine RAAF minelaying operations to areas south of China from June onwards, the number of worthwhile targets for the Catalinas was reduced.

In the final months before the Japanese surrender, the Catalinas also delivered propaganda leaflets around the Dutch East Indies and South China Sea, dropping over a million in June alone.

76 Wing and its squadrons remained at Darwin in the immediate aftermath of the war, conducting routine patrols, transporting supplies and medicine to prisoners-of-war in the South West Pacific, and assisting in the repatriation of Australian personnel.