No. 428 Squadron RCAF
On 7 Nov 1942, he assumed command of No 428 (RCAF) Squadron, standing up the squadron in No. 4 Group. As the OC, it was noted that "Wing Commander Earle was a grand chap, one who can genuinely be called, 'One of Nature's Gentlemen'. He was well liked by the Canadians and sadly missed when he left on promotion to group captain in February 1943. He flew two operations from Dalton, occupying the astro-dome. He had previously been flying Fairey Gordons in the Middle East (Iraq), and found the Wellington difficult, partly due to his eyesight not liking the English skies, and partly as he was not a tall man." After only three months, he left 428 Bomber Squadron (RCAF) as an acting group captain on 7 Feb 1943, when he was assigned as the station commander of RAF Ridgewell and then RAF West Wickham, late in 1943, then as a temporary group captain. He ended the war as Air Officer Commanding No. 300 Group RAF (RAF Transport Command) in Australia.
No. 482 Squadron RAAF
No. 4 Repair and Salvage Unit (RSU) was formed at RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria, on 18 May 1942. Its inaugural commanding officer, from 1 June, was acting Flight Lieutenant H.R.P. Relf. On 20 October, it commenced a move to Pell Airfield, Northern Territory, becoming operational on 26 December. Coming under the control of North-Western Area Command (NWA), No. 4 RSU was responsible for salvaging damaged aircraft, which it subsequently repaired or dismantled for spare parts. By December 1943, its strength was over 500 officers and men. It was renamed No. 4 Repair and Servicing Unit on 1 January 1945, and re-located to Winnellie, Northern Territory, on 11 May. As the war in the Pacific moved northward, No. 4 RSU's strength was reduced; by August it was under 400, including 11 officers. On 15 December 1945, it moved to RAAF Station Parkes, New South Wales. The unit re-located from Parkes to RAAF Station Amberley, Queensland, on 15 April 1946.
No. 4 RSU re-formed as No. 482 (Maintenance) Squadron on 10 May 1946. Commanded by Squadron Leader J.E. Jackson, it became a component of No. 82 (Bomber) Wing. The squadron's motto was "Trenchant". No. 82 Wing's flying complement included Nos. 12, 21, and 23 Squadrons, but these were renumbered Nos. 1, 2 and 6 Squadrons respectively in February 1948. At the same time, the wing's Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers were replaced by Avro Lincolns. During 1949–50, some of the Lincolns were specially modified with advanced radar and other instrumentation to participate in Operation Cumulative, a joint program with the Royal Air Force gathering long-range navigation and bombing data for use in potential air campaigns against the Soviet Union. No. 482 Squadron faced a critical shortage of Merlin engines in mid-1950, but the situation improved the next year.