Air Commodore Glen Albert Cooper, CBE, DFC, AFC was an officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). During the Second World War, he commanded No. 80 Squadron in the New Guinea campaign and then No. 80 Wing in the Borneo campaign. He commanded No. 78 Wing during the Malayan Emergency, earning the Air Force Cross for his leadership. Following his retirement from the RAAF in 1970, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Wing Commander Cooper (left) after landing the first of No. 81 Wing's P-51 Mustangs to arrive at Iwakuni, Japan, in 1946
"Coopers Flying Circus": Squadron Leader Cooper (middle) with members of No. 80 Squadron in New Guinea, July 1944
No. 80 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) unit. It was first formed in September 1943 as a fighter squadron. After seeing action in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II, the unit was disbanded in July 1946. The squadron was re-raised in April 2024 as the Australian component of a multinational unit responsible for developing software.
No. 80 Squadron Kittyhawks being prepared for ground attack missions in November 1944
"Coopers Flying Circus": Squadron Leader Cooper (middle) with members of No. 80 Squadron in New Guinea, July 1944
RAF Chief of the Air Staff Sir Richard Knighton (at left) and RAAF Chief of the Air Force Air Marshal Robert Chipman unveiling the crests of each force's No. 80 Squadron on 15 April 2024
