In early 1944 No. 73 Wing was selected to support the US Army's Admiralty Islands campaign. The 1st Cavalry Division began to land on the islands on 29 February, and the wing moved to Momote Airstrip on Los Negros Island in March 1944. No. 79 Squadron became operational there with 24 aircraft on the 29th of the month. From Momote, the squadron flew ground attack sorties in support of US troops until Japanese resistance ceased. No Japanese aircraft were encountered throughout this operation. By the end of April, No. 79 Squadron's main role was to escort Allied shipping, though flying was hampered by a shortage of spare parts. The squadron's commanding officer, Squadron Leader M.S. Bott, was killed in an accident on 16 April. Shipping escort patrols continued in May, but difficulties maintaining the Spitfires reduced the squadron to just two operational aircraft with another 12 awaiting repair. Due to a shortage of aircraft the squadron's flying activities were limited to training sorties between August and October, and aircraft availability continued to be a problem until late November. On 9 November, two Spitfires unsuccessfully attempted to intercept three Japanese A6M fighters which had raided Hyane Harbour; while the Japanese force had been tracked by Allied radar for 25 minutes prior to the attack, the Spitfires were scrambled only after the raiders had left the area. No. 79 Squadron subsequently maintained a three-aircraft patrol over Los Negros during daylight hours until 22 November. Two days later the squadron was released from operations ahead of moving to Darwin to be re-equipped with more modern Mark VIII Spitfires.