Our Journey

The Australian Air Corps (a temporary Army unit) was disbanded and the Australian Air Force (AAF) created on 31 March 1921. The AAF immediately took possession of existing aircraft and equipment at Point Cook. Later in the year on 13 August, following receipt of approval from the King, the Governor General signed an order authorising the use of ‘Royal’ making this the start date for the use of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) name.

RAAF Point Cook is located on the shores of Port Phillip Bay, 20 kilometres south west of the Melbourne central business district, near the township of Werribee, Victoria and is synonymous with the birth of military aviation in Australia.

An Army Order from September 1912 proposed the creation of a flight of an aeroplane squadron leading to Henry Petre and Eric Harrison being recruited in England to establish an aviation school. Petre arrived in Australia in January 1913 recommended selection of the Point Cook area for the school.

The Central Flying School opened at Point Cook in February 1914 with the first flight on 1 March, about 2 years after work commenced to form an Australian military flying corps.

Flying training commenced on 17 August 1914, thirteen days after the start of World War I. The first pilots’ course graduation in November 1914 coincided with the first ever operational deployment of men and aircraft from the base when two pilots, four mechanics and two aircraft deployed to German New Guinea. The flying unit did not see action and, in fact, never unpacked its aircraft.

The Australian Half-Flight, formed at Point Cook, included 4 officers from the Central Flying School, as well as 41 other ranks, but no aircraft. The unit embarked in Melbourne during in 1915 and was sent to Mesopotamia, the modern Iraq. In 1916, Nos. 1, 3 and 4 Squadrons of the Australian Flying Corps were formed at Point Cook before deploying to Egypt and to the Western Front.

After World War I ended, the Australian Flying Corps disbanded in 1919 leaving its aircraft with the Royal Air Force. In Australia, military flying virtually ceased until 1920 when the Australian Air Corps was formed as an Australian Army unit.

On 31 March 1921 The Australian Air Force was formed as an independent service and the third arm of Australia’s military forces. It acquired the prefix ‘Royal’ with effect 31 August 1921 after approval was granted by King George V.

Nos. 1 to 5 Squadrons, Royal Australian Air Force were formed at Point Cook in 1922. The flying school was now designated No. 1 Flying Training School. The Base had 20 Avro 504Ks, 10 Sopwith Pups and six Fairey seaplanes.

Point Cook was designated as No. 1 Station Royal Australian Air Force and remained the only Australian military air station until 1925. In 1923 the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) set up a cadet training scheme operated by No. 1 Flying Training School at Point Cook to provide pilots for the RAAF.

Point Cook's most rapid growth occurred after the declaration of war on 3 September 1939. A vastly expanded training program included training in flying, navigation, reconnaissance, signalling, armaments, operations and instruction. Numerous new squadrons and units were formed to provide trained aircrew under the Empire Air Training Scheme. The Station Headquarters at Point Cook was established in October 1941 to coordinate the new activity.

The Aircraft Research and Development Unit was established at Point Cook in 1946 as No. 1 Air Performance Unit. It moved to RAAF Laverton, now RAAF Williams - Laverton in 1948 and then to RAAF Edinburgh, South Australia, in 1976. The Central Flying School was reformed in April 1940 at RAAF Point Cook but moved to Camden in May. It returned briefly to RAAF Point Cook in 1944 before moving to its new home at RAAF Base East Sale.

RAAF College was established at RAAF Point Cook on 1 August 1947 assuming the role of cadet instruction from No. 1 Flying Training School. The new cadet training course had the character of a modern university education, lasting four years and aiming to provide graduates with a thorough grounding in the principles of air power and the art of leadership, as well as theoretical and practical flying training. In January 1961 RAAF College became the RAAF Academy forming a partnership with the University of Melbourne offering degree level education.

RAAF Staff College was formed in nucleus form at Albert Park Barracks on 15 February 1949 but moved to Point Cook on 1 June in time for the first course to commence on 14 June. Staff College was conceived as an institute to prepare senior officers for future command appointments; it moved to Canberra in 1960. Also in 1949, the Aviation Medical Section of Station Headquarters, Point Cook, and the Medical Training Section of No. 6 RAAF Hospital, Laverton, merged to form the School of Aviation Medicine.

In 1952 the RAAF Museum was formed under the administration of Headquarters Point Cook becoming an independent unit in 1988. Today the RAAF Museum showcases the exploits of prominent military aviators and displays Australian military aviation memorabilia and more than twenty aircraft previously operated by the Australian Flying Corps and the Royal Australian Air Force.

The Royal Australian Air Force continued to evolve and most of the units based at Point Cook either disbanded or relocated. In 1986 the RAAF Academy closed with the formation of the tri-service Australian Defence Force Academy. RAAF College was eventually reformed to provide initial and postgraduate officer training for the Royal Australian Air Force and relocated to RAAF Base Wagga. On 31 March 1989 RAAF Bases Point Cook and Laverton were amalgamated under a single command and management structure to form RAAF Williams. Under this arrangement, Point Cook became RAAF Williams – Point Cook. In 1993 an era came to an end when No. 1 Flying Training School was closed at Point Cook.

Under the Defence Reform Program introduced by the government in 1997, RAAF Base Point Cook was one of 4 southern RAAF bases slated for closure. Fortunately, the heritage value of RAAF Base Point Cook to the Australian nation was recognised in 2004 when it was included on the Commonwealth Heritage list as a Listed Place. In 2007 the base was placed on the National Heritage List also as a Listed Place and on 20 September 2007, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence announced that Point Cook would be retained as a Defence asset.

In 2017 RAAF Base Point Cook once more regained its separate identity. The Chief of the Air Force, Air Marshal G.N. Davies, renamed it RAAF Base Point Cook ‘in perpetuity’ to reflect its original name and unique status as the only RAAF Base on the National Heritage List and the oldest military air base in Australia.

Having been in operation since 1914, RAAF Base Point Cook is Australia’s oldest military air base and one of the world’s oldest continually operating airfields. Today Point Cook is home to No. 21 (City of Melbourne) Squadron. The squadron provides airbase combat support to RAAF Base Williams. The RAAF Museum is also based at RAAF Base Point Cook.

Around 240 officers and airmen of the RAAF returned to the Point Cook air base after completing more than three months of non-technical training at the Army’s Central Training Depot (CTD) at Holsworthy, outside the Sydney suburb of Liverpool.

A British-designed Avro 504K trainer became the first aircraft built in Australia for the RAAF. The machine was handed over at Mascot, Sydney, by the Australian Aircraft & Engineering Company (AA&ECo.).

The title of the Director of Intelligence and Organisation position at Air Force Headquarters, held by Wing Commander Richard Williams, was redesignated as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) and First Air Member of the Air Board. The RAAF’s next most senior officer, Wing Commander S.J. Goble, formerly known as Director of Personnel and Training, became Chief of the Administrative Staff and Second Air Member. The change gave the RAAF a head of service comparable in status to the Army and Navy, although Williams did not reach equivalent rank as an Air Vice-Marshal until 1935. When the CAS appointment was instituted, the RAAF had less than 350 personnel.
 

The Experimental Section was an experimental aircraft design and testing section of the Royal Australian Air Force formed at Randwick, Sydney and produced a number of aircraft designs before closing in 1930. The Commanding Officer of the Station was Lawrence Wackett who was an early trainee pilot at Point Cook and became the leading figure in Australian aircraft design and construction.

Air Force’s acting Chief of the Air Staff, Wing Commander S.J. (‘Jimmy’) Goble, and pilot, Flying Officer Ivor McIntyre, alighted off St Kilda Beach, Melbourne, in a Fairey IIID seaplane A10-3, at the end of the first round-Australia flight.

Since departing from Point Cook air base on 6 April, they had spent 90 hours in the air, travelled 13,700 kilometres, surviving bad weather, poor maps, damage to their aircraft, compass failure and fatigue to complete an aerial survey of the Australian coastline.

A crowd of 10,000 welcomed them back and cheered their triumph, which earned both men the award of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

The first Air Force air show, organised on instructions from the Minister for Defence, was held at the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne for a paying crowd of 7000 people (and many more who watched from outside the ground). All the Air Force’s current types, except the Fairey IIID seaplane, were involved in displays of landing in confined areas, picking up and dropping messages, low-level bombing, formation flying, air drill, mock air combat, ammunition dropping, aerobatics and races.

The Citizen Air Force became part of the Air Force with the appointment of the first 18 pilots to the General Duties Branch.  Citizen Air Force personnel wore the colour patch of the old Australian Flying Corps at the top of their tunic sleeves.

RAAF Base Richmond lies approximately 50 kilometres north-west of Sydney, and is situated between the towns of Richmond, from which the base takes its name, and Windsor. On 7 July 1921, just over three months after the Royal Australian Air Force was established as an independent service, the Air Board proposed Richmond as the site where the first RAAF units in New South Wales would be based.

Richmond was activated as a RAAF station when No. 3 (Composite) Squadron’s first 3 aircraft arrived there on 30 June 1925, as part of the unit’s relocation from Point Cook, Victoria. At the time No. 3 Squadron was organised into 3 flights: A Flight (Army cooperation) equipped with D.H.9s, B Flight (Fighter) equipped with S.E5As, and C Flight (Bomber) equipped with Avro 504s.

On arrival at Richmond No. 3 Squadron was accommodated in one iron hangar and one small building at the west end of the aerodrome. Fortunately, in 1925 the Australian parliament approved £177,000 for extensive building works at Richmond. The first recorded operational flight conducted at Richmond was that of two D.H.9s which took off on 11 August 1925 to fly to the Brisbane Show. No. 3 Squadron remained the only unit at Richmond for about a year. In August 1926 No. 101 (Fleet Cooperation) Flight arrived from Point Cook. By that stage the base construction program was under way although barracks and mess buildings were not completed until the following year. In 1928, the provision of building to be used by No. 3 Squadron for use as a School of Aeronautics was approved.

In September 1928, Kingsford Smith took off from Richmond in the Southern Cross when he undertook the ever first trans-Tasman flight to New Zealand. He completed the flight 14 hours and 25 minutes. On the 18th of July 1935, Kingsford Smith flew the Southern Cross for the last time from Mascot aerodrome in Sydney to RAAF Richmond for storage, after it had been bought by the Australian government.

Several new units were stood up at Richmond in the lead up to and during World War II. No. 5 (Fleet Co-Operation) Squadron, although on 1 January 1939 it was renumbered No. 9 Squadron. No. 22 (Cadre) Squadron also formed at Richmond on 20 April 1936 and was later re-designated No. 22 (City of Sydney) (General Purpose) Squadron, establishing a link to the local community which has been built on over the years.

No. 2 Aircraft Depot was also formed at Richmond in 1936 followed by No. 4 Squadron in 1937, was renumbered No. 6 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron in 1939 before being re-formed again at Richmond in 1940. Nos. 8 and 11 Squadrons were formed at Richmond in September 1938.

The base saw significant development during the war, including extension of the aerodrome, the introduction of camouflage, and the establishment of a Wireless / Telegraphy High Frequency Direction Finding Station. No. 1 Radio School was formed at Richmond in August 1941 to train officers and airmen in radio location techniques.

In June 1949 Richmond became home for the RAAF’s transport fleet with the arrival of No. 86 Wing, comprising Nos. 36, 38, and 486 (Maintenance) Squadrons.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the maintenance facilities of No. 2 Aircraft Depot at Richmond underwent significant upgrade as the unit assumed responsibility for major maintenance, repair and modification of new air platforms being introduced into service. These included Hercules C-130As and C-130Es, DHC-4 Caribous, Neptune SP2Hs and Orion P-3Bs, albeit No. 11 Squadron operating the Orion’s moved from Richmond to RAAF Base Edinburgh in February 1968.

On 31 March 1952 Headquarters RAAF Station Richmond was disbanded and Headquarters RAAF Richmond and Base Squadron Richmond were formed with a total workforce of 2,001.  No. 86 Wing which had been disbanded in 1964, was reformed on 2 February 1987, again at Richmond. The wing’s aircraft which now included the Boeing 707s became a familiar sight on disaster relief domestically and in the region.

Richmond’s future was uncertain in the 1990s and early 2000s given budgetary constraints, significant force restructure and commercialisation of support functions. Consideration of where to site Sydney’s second airport was also in the mix. However, the issue was settled in 2007 when the then Minister for Defence, Dr Brendan Nelson, announced that the base would be kept indefinitely, updating a 1998 announcement by Prime Minister John Howard that it would be kept until 2010.

From September 2015, the New South Wales Large Air Tanker fleet began to be located at Richmond on a seasonal basis and from July 2019, RAAF Base Richmond became a year-round base for a single Boeing 737 Large Air Tanker and a spotter aircraft, with other Air Tankers operating from Richmond during the bushfire season.

RAAF Richmond is home base for a number of units responsible for coordinating the wider RAAF air mobility enterprise, including Headquarters Air Mobility Group, No. 84 Wing and the Air Mobility Control Centre. Also calling the base home are support units such as the Air Mobility Training Development Unit and Army’s No. 176 Air Dispatch Squadron, Air Lift Systems Program Office, No. 3 Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, Aircraft Research and Development Unit, No. 1 Security Forces Squadron, No’s 22, 65, 87, 453 and 464 Squadron.

RAAF Williams - Laverton is located beside the Princes Highway next to the Laverton railway station, Victoria, about seven kilometres away from RAAF Base Point Cook. Since the airfield was decommissioned in 1996 there have been no flying units or flying activity at Laverton.

In May 1921, the Australian Air Force (AAF), acquired 160 acres of a Closer Settlement Farm allotment at Laverton intended as the future permanent home of No. 1 Aircraft Depot. The depot’s official formation took place at Point Cook on 21 July 1921 and it became the first unit to occupy Laverton when it moved from Point Cook on 1 March 1926.

In 1927, the Northern and Papuan Survey Flights were formed at Laverton and proceeded to carry out a reconnaissance of the coastal district of Papua and the Mandated Territories using two Seagull amphibian aircraft.

No. 1 Squadron relocated to Laverton on 16 January 1928 and carried out Army co-operation duties. In March 1935, Recruit and Training Section formed within 1AD at Laverton. As well as recruit training, the section provided Armament training and became the basis for the 1AD Armament School which formed into a separate unit in January 1940.

As the RAAF expanded during the 1930s, the number of units stationed at Laverton grew. No. 21 (Cadre) Squadron, a Citizen Air Force unit, was formed on 20 April 1936 and was later renamed No. 21 (City of Melbourne) Squadron on 1 July. On 3 May 1937, No. 2 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron and No. 23 (General Purpose) (Cadre) Squadron were formed at Laverton. General Reconnaissance School moved to Laverton on 1 July 1940.

In response to a rapid escalation of operations in the Pacific theatre, Australia imported and also undertook local manufacture of aircraft and airborne systems. In response, on 21 July 1941, 1AD formed a Special Duties and Performance Flight at Laverton to provide technical and flight test support services for the introduction of new aircraft and systems. This flight was absorbed into the new No. 1 Aircraft Performance Unit formed at RAAF Base Laverton on 1 December 1943 to provide a more focused support organisation.

The Equipment Training School formed as a separate unit at Laverton on 30 November 1942, with the role to train personnel in equipment and stores procedures, administration and accounting. Several more flying squadrons were formed at Laverton in 1943, including No. 67 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron in January, No. 79 Squadron in April, and No. 37 (Transport) Squadron in July. No. 150 Radar Direction Finding (RDF) Station formed at Laverton on 17 April 1943 before relocating to Darwin in June.

The origins of air traffic control training in the Air Force can also be traced back to Laverton in the early 1940s. Although the exact date of its establishment is obscure, a Flying Control School was operating at Laverton at least from 1943.

In January 1945, there were more than 800 personnel on posted strength at Laverton including members of the Womens’ Auxiliary Australian Air Force and the RAAF Nursing Service. The end of the war in August was celebrated by the station band playing in Melbourne, festivities in the various messes and an air display at Laverton. By the end of 1945 the number of personnel at Laverton had dropped to 635 and to 179 by the middle of 1946 as the RAAF demobilised.

As the post-war Permanent Air Force organisations took shape, Laverton also evolved. The Central Photographic Unit moved to Laverton from Brisbane in May 1946, where it was disbanded in July 1947 before re-activating as Central Photographic Establishment on 14 June 1949. In September 1947, No. 1 Aircraft Performance Unit temporarily relocated to RAAF Base Point Cook and was renamed Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU). The unit moved back to RAAF Base Laverton in October 1948, before moving to RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia in February 1977. No. 6 RAAF Hospital moved to Laverton and commenced operations as a separate unit on 23 May 1949 after relocating from Heidelberg, Victoria.

Laverton entered the jet age on 5 June 1946 with the first demonstration flight of a Gloster Meteor Mk III aircraft, that had been assembled at the base. Less than a year later, on 15 May 1947, the first Vampire jet aircraft assembled by 1AD at Laverton, made its debut flight. The first Australian-built Canberra Mk20 landed at Laverton on delivery to 1AD. In November 1959, a Dakota equipped fir jet-assisted take-off was tested by ARDU at Laverton. Also fitted with retractable skis, the Dakota had been modified by the de Havilland Aircraft Company at Bankstown, NSW to accompany RAAF’s Antarctic flight to Mawson, Antarctica in December.

No. 1 National Service Training Course commenced at Laverton on 30 July 1951 as part of the National Service Training Scheme. No. 5 National Service Training Unit was formed at Laverton on 11 November 1953 and was disbanded on 27 June 1957, after compulsory training for RAAF was discontinued from the previous month.

In 1952, Laverton hosted the ceremonial parade at which the RAAF received the Queen’s Colour, the first honour of its type presented to the Air Force. Almost every Air Force unit was represented at the Colour Parade held on 17 September which was attended by the Chief of the Air Staff, Chief of the General Staff, Chief of the Naval Staff, members of the Air Board, and other Air Officers together with about 3,000 guests.

In the following year, the RAAF School of Radio commenced moving to Laverton on 11 April 1961, departing Ballarat, Victoria ending its association of 21 years with that city. In October 1964 the RAAF Printing and Publications Unit moved to Laverton from Albert Parks Barracks in Melbourne.

In December 1962, work was completed on the northern run-up of the North-South runway and was ready for use by the United States Air Force USAF U-2 detachment engaged in upper atmosphere sampling as part of Operation Crowflight. The USAF detachment operated from Laverton for several weeks sampling the atmosphere south of the Australian continent using equipment designed by the Radiophysics Division of CSIRO.

On 4 March 1963, the Freedom of the Shire of Werribee was conferred on RAAF Bases Laverton and Point Cook at a ceremony held at Chirnside Park during which a scroll outlining the rights conferred was presented by the Shire President.

Laverton welcomed the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF) Training Flight at Laverton on 10 January 1977 before being renamed Women’s Training Unit on 23 May 1977 when the WRAAF and Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service were integrated into the Air Force.

RAAF Williams formed on 31 March 1989, from the amalgamation of RAAF Bases Point Cook and Laverton under a single command and management structure. The new formation was named in honour of Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams, KBE, CB, DSO, the most significant figure in the establishment of the Royal Australian Air Force. Under the restructure RAAF Base Laverton became RAAF Williams – Laverton, and the headquarters and base squadrons of the two bases were disbanded and replaced by Headquarters Williams and Base Squadron Williams.

Further changes were to come, the 1991 Defence Force Structure Review examining the disposition and functions of all Defence units, led to the civilianisation and commercialisation of some Defence functions. This led to the disbandment of the RAAF School of Radio on 31 December 1993. No. 1 Aircraft Depot also phased-down its operations and disbanded on 2 December 1994.

In January 1992, a government-sponsored report was released that recommended the disposal of the Laverton airfield, while Laverton base would be retained. Units to be based at Laverton were No. 6 RAAF Hospital, Central Photographic Unit, the Defence International Training Centre, No. 21 Squadron, the RAAF Central Band and Headquarters Training Command. In 1997 Headquarters Logistics Command functions were absorbed by the tri-service Joint Logistics Command organisation. On 14 December 2002 No. 6 RAAF Hospital disbanded at Laverton, having celebrated its 60th anniversary on 29 November.

In 2017 RAAF Base Point Cook once more regained its separate identity, leaving Laverton to carry the RAAF Williams designation. Today Laverton is the home of Headquarters Air Force Training Group (formerly Training Command) and RAAF Central Band as well as several Defence and joint organisations, including the Defence Force School of Languages, Defence International Training Centre, Defence Publishing Services, Headquarters Joint Logistics Command, and Joint Logistics Unit - Victoria, and elements of the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group.

Flight Lieutenant Ellis Wackett made a freefall parachute jump from a D.H.9a over RAAF Base Richmond, the first time this had occurred in Australia.

In recognition of their achievement in crossing the Pacific Ocean by air in the tri-motor Southern Cross, Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm were awarded the Air Force Cross and appointed to honorary rank in the Air Force, following a precedent set with Bert Hinkler earlier in the year.

Flying Officer W.G. (‘Gordon’) Rae became the first Air Force member to save their life in a mid-air emergency by using a parachute. Following a wing failure during an inverted loop, Rae jumped from a plummeting Bristol Bulldog biplane at about 2000 feet and safely landed by parachute.  

A detachment from Laverton-based No 1 Squadron finished aerial photography of the New South Wales-Victoria border area around Albury. The completed coverage of around 1300 square kilometres, which also took in the Hume Reservoir and Bethanga Bridge, producing a 1:63,360 map of Albury – the first military map in Australia based to a significant extent on aerial photographs.

Flight Lieutenant Stuart Campbell, the senior Air Force pilot accompanying the second British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE), hoisted the Air Force Ensign during a ceremony conducted on Cape Bruce at which BANZARE’s discoveries were formally proclaimed as territorial possessions of Australia.

This date saw the Wireless Reserve, a civilian body of amateur radio operators which had been cooperating with the Air Force since 1929, formally constituted as the Wireless Section of the Air Force Reserve.

Nos 21 and 22 Squadrons were raised as ‘Cadre’ units at Laverton, Victoria and Richmond, NSW respectively, notionally ending the arrangement where permanent and Citizen Air Force (CAF) personnel served together in ‘composite’ flying units. In reality, however, the new CAF squadrons still retained a significant core of permanent staff. The real difference was that Nos 1 and 3 Squadrons (also based at Laverton and Richmond) now became fully permanent–No 1 as a fighter/bomber and No 3 as an Army cooperation unit—although both were initially short of aircraft and personnel. Two months later, on 1 July, the new CAF units changed their title by adding the name of the capital city on which they were based, becoming No 21 (City of Melbourne) Squadron and No 22 (City of Sydney) Squadron. Later, other units with the ‘20’ prefix were raised for Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

The NA-16-1A, undertook its maiden flight in Australia at Laverton. The aircraft was received in Australia in early August, to serve as a template for local production under licence. It was actually the second aircraft, often known as the NA-33, which went into production with the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation as the Wirraway (an Aboriginal word meaning "challenge"). Although only an advanced trainer, orders for the Wirraway eventually ran to 755 aircraft, making this a key element in the development of Australian industry. The locally-produced model flew for the first time on 27 March 1939, and when war began the RAAF had its first seven on strength.

RAAF Base Pearce is located in the suburb of Bullsbrook, approximately 35 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia. The base, the only permanent RAAF base on the west coast is home to No. 79 Squadron, No. 2 Flying Training School and No. 25 (City of Perth) Squadron as well as several other units, including No. 130 Squadron of the Republic of Singapore Air Force.

The federal government settled on naming the base ‘Pearce’ in honour of Sir George F. Pearce in August 1936. By October 1936, the aerodrome had been cleared and levelled, and construction of a hangar, the Airmen’s Mess and kitchen had commenced.

No. 23 (City of Perth) (General Purpose) Squadron began ferrying aircraft to its future home at Pearce in late 1937. On arrival at Pearce, the unit was equipped with 6 Avro Anson and 6 Hawker Demon aircraft and had a personnel strength of 12 officers and 135 other ranks. The squadron was renumbered No. 25 (General Purpose) Squadron on 1 January 1939. RAAF Base Pearce was officially granted station status on 6 February 1939.

Shortly after, a further 3 officers and 54 other ranks were posted from 25 Squadron to form No. 14 Squadron, the second unit to be based at Pearce. No. 14 Squadron was a general reconnaissance unit equipped with Avro Ansons, and then Hudson’s. Additional works were carried out at Pearce to accommodate the second unit, including another hangar, an extension for the bulk petrol and oil systems, base gymnasium, cinema and additional married quarters. In the early 1940s, the runways were extended, sealed and a third runway was constructed.

Nos. 14 and 25 Squadrons were disbanded on 10 December 1945 and 9 July 1946, respectively. No. 25 Squadron was then reformed at Pearce in April 1948. Other units which formed at Pearce included, No. 4 Recruit Depot - March 1940, No. 5 Initial Training School - October 1940, No. 35 Squadron - February 1942, No. 77 (Fighter Interceptor) Squadron – March 1942, No. 85 Squadron in May 1945 and No. 11 Squadron in November 1950.

In 1965, the government announced selection of the Macchi MB-326H to be introduced as an ‘all-through’ jet trainer with the intent to replace both Winjeels and Vampires. Accompanying this decision was a significant redevelopment of Pearce and the construction of a satellite airfield at Gin Gin, 27 kilometres (17 miles) north of the base. No. 1 Applied Flying Training School which had moved to Pearce in 1958, was renamed No. 2 Flying Training School in 1969.  Beginning in 1989, No. 2 Flying Training School commenced re-equipping with PC-9 aircraft having operated Macchis for the previous 20 years.

Pearce welcomed a detachment of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) pilot flying training school which had moved to Pearce escaping from Singapore's complex airspace. In March 1993, the Australian government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Singapore covering a period of 25 years.

Yet another redevelopment commenced at Pearce in October 2008. The $14.2 million project involved a mix of new construction and refurbishment of existing facilities and infrastructure. It wasn’t long before some of the new facilities and services introduced as part of the base redevelopment were put to use at the time of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2011, held in Perth between 28 and 30 October. With F/A-18s from 3 Squadron, a 2 Squadron Wedgetail, 10 Squadron AP-3Cs and a 38 Squadron King Air providing support from Pearce.

In February 2014, homes in Bullsbrook were threatened by fire. RAAF Base Pearce supported the state emergency services by providing access to its water and aviation fuel supplies, airfield and airfield parking areas which was a welcome help to fire bombing aircraft given the base’s close proximity to the fire front.

Pearce was placed on an operational footing on 18 March 2014 for Operation Southern Indian Ocean (SIO), the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. The bases’ fuel, accommodation, messing and Information Technology support would be vital contributions to the running of the operation. While foreign personnel were accommodated off base, Australian uniformed personnel at Pearce increased from 300 to 800 during the operation. A year after Operation SIO concluded, No. 25 (City of Perth) Squadron, responsible for air base combat support at Pearce, Gin Gin and Learmonth, deservedly lifted the Hawker Siddeley trophy as the most proficient Air Force unit with primary whole of base support functions.

The PC-9 bid farewell to Pearce on 12 December 2020, after more than 30 years of operations. Hundreds of Defence personnel and contractors attended the function marking the end of the PC-9 era at Pearce during which 103 pilot training courses passed through Pearce from which about 1,400 pilots graduated.

Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced to Parliament that Australia was offering the British Government an expeditionary force to bolster the Royal Air Force as it expanded for World War II.

Apart from a force headquarters, the offer comprised 1 Fighter Wing Headquarters with Nos 7 and 15 Squadrons, 2 Bomber Wing Headquarters with Nos 1 and 8 Squadrons; 3 Bomber Wing Headquarters with Nos 16 and 17 Squadrons, along with an Air Stores Park, a Medical Receiving Station, a Base Area Headquarters and a Base Depot.

The number of personnel required to man this force, including a reinforcement pool of 225, totalled 3,200 officers and men.

Although the offer was accepted, and recruitment actually commenced on 9 October, Australia’s subsequent commitment to the Empire Air Training Scheme saw the expeditionary plan put on hold on 20 October, then cancelled altogether 11 days later.

The Melbourne Argus newspaper reported that a new Air Force Badge had been approved by the Minister for Defence, Brigadier Geoffrey Street, for general use throughout the RAAF. The new design featured an Australian wedge-tailed eagle and a sprig of wattle as the main differences from the RAF badge on which it was modelled. The design was returned to London for alterations in October, and by January 1939 had been submitted to King George VI for approval.

A detachment of two officers and 183 airmen sailed from Australia, bound for England. On arrival the detachment joined a group from No 10 Squadron, RAAF, comprising eight officers and 13 airmen, which had earlier been sent to take delivery of new Sunderland flying boats and fly them out to Australia. The two groups now formed a complete squadron and thus became the first air force unit of any British Dominion to be on active service.

Australia’s Minister for Air, James Fairbairn, signed an agreement in Ottawa, Canada, which committed the RAAF to participating in an Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) during World War II. The idea of training aircrew on an Empire-wide basis had been proposed by Britain in September and accepted by Australia the following month. Under EATS, Australia undertook to train 11 000 aircrew each year until March 1943. With several modifications, the scheme actually continued until June 1944, by which time Australia had sent abroad 37 810 personnel.

Formed in June 1940, RAAF Base Darwin was very rapidly at the front line of Australia's defences at the outbreak of war in the Pacific. Darwin and its satellite fields housed a multitude of Australian and US units, operating throughout the South-West Pacific.

During World War II, RAAF Base Darwin served as a first refuge for retreating US Air Force units from the Philippines in 1941. The US Air Force Far East Air Force and its subordinate commands, V Fighter and V Bomber established headquarters at Darwin in late December 1941.

Darwin’s darkest day occurred on 19 February 1942, when mainland Australia came under attack when Japanese forces mounted two air raids on Darwin.   The first raid, which began at 0958hrs targeted shipping, infrastructure and the town.  The Second raid, at approx. 1145hrs involved high altitude bombing of RAAF Station Darwin.  12 Squadron lost two of its Wirraways during the bombing raid.  The Squadron and the base in general sustained significant damage. 

From 9 August 1944 to 20 February 1945 the USAAF 380th Bombardment Group based four squadrons of long-range B-24 Liberator bombers at the base.

Runway 09/27 was the first operational strip on Base designed for fighter aircraft. Threshold was located east of Billaroy Rd but has now been disbanded. Runway 18/36 still exists today but was the 'heavy strip' in 1940 and runway 14/32 was constructed initially for fighter ops however when sealed became the main operating runway.

Initial construction of buildings included the Officers Mess, Officers Accommodation, Officers Laundry, Main Hangar, Airman's Recreation Room and Cinema, HQ Building, Airmans Mess (which was partly destroyed in the bombing and never rebuilt), nine x Airman's accommodation bocks following, Sergeants Mess, Sergeant accommodation blocks, Admin Building, 2nd Maintenance, Air Traffic Control/Water Tower, Workshop and other buildings that were not rebuilt after the bombing.  Also construction of what is now the Horseshoe of Heritage MQ's were features of the base during its infancy. 

During the mid-1950s work commenced on Runway 11/29 and current taxiways and facilities.  This work was completed around 1958 at which time the Air Traffic Control tower was located to the south of Taxiway ALPHA. 

Today there is a diverse range of units permanently stationed on RAAF Base Darwin, including 13 Squadron, 114 mobile Control and Reporting Unit, Headquarters 452 Squadron, 452 Squadron detachment Darwin, 2 Security Force, 2 Expeditionary Health Squadron and Estate and infrastructure Group.  RAAF Base Darwin also hosts an extended deployment of United States Marine Corps personnel and their aircraft under the United States Force Posture Initiative.

RAAF Darwin is a busy operational base, hosting many exercises each year which includes Exercise Pitch Black, a multi-national exercise which attracts a large number of visiting aircraft and a spectacular for Darwin residents.

Shortly before 8.30 am, a Sunderland flying boat captained by Squadron Leader Charles Pearce surprised a surfaced U-boat off the coast of Portugal. Pearce immediately attacked, but the enemy boat began to dive and was already at periscope depth before the Sunderland delivered six 250-pound bombs––one of which landed 20 feet (6 metres) ahead of the U-boat’s track. A large patch of oil was sighted soon afterwards, accompanied by a steady stream of bubbles, but although the aircraft stayed over the area for more than three hours it became apparent that the enemy boat had escaped with only superficial damage. The Distinguished Flying Cross which Pearce received in late July was the first awarded to a RAAF member since the Service was formed.
 

RAAF Base Amberley is located in south east Queensland just 8 kilometres from the city of Ipswich.  The land on which RAAF Base Amberley stands was acquired by the government on 12 December 1938 from a farmer from Sussex, England who named it after his home town.  RAAF Base Amberley is located in the Parish of Jeebropilly which is an indigenous name which appropriately translates as ‘land of the flying squirrel’.

When Australia entered World War II in September 1939, the base infrastructure was very rudimentary, necessitating a major redevelopment program. Base facilities including hangars and accommodation were added in quick succession with the runways being sealed in September 1941. Further infrastructure work continued well into 1942 with the establishment of a power station, emergency water supplies, aircraft dispersal areas, splinter proof walls around vital buildings and satellite landing fields.

RAAF Base Amberley commenced operations on 17 June 1940 with its initial role being a centre for flying training and recruiting.  This changed after the United States joined the war in the Pacific in December 1941 with Amberley becoming home to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in Australia.  In addition to troops, the USAAF convoy delivered crates of P-40 Kittyhawks, and A-24 Dauntless dive bomber aircraft ready for assembly. From this point, the focus of activity at Amberley shifted to aircraft assembly, maintenance and salvage. No. 3 Aircraft Depot was subsequently formed in March 1942 and took on the task of assembling, maintaining and salvaging RAAF aircraft, sharing hangars and work areas with the Americans.  By the end of the war a vast array of aircraft types had been assembled, maintained and salvaged at Amberley, including Wirraways, Hudsons, Marauders, Kittyhawks, Vultee Vengeances, Airacobras, Bostons, Spitfires, and Liberators.

The formation of the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force in March 1941 led to the employment of women on the base in an increasing array of roles including as radar operators, wireless telegraphy operators, parachute packers, instrument repairers and drivers. Amberley was also part of a network of stations producing daily meteorological forecasts which were transmitted in code to operational units over wireless.

No. 23 (General Purpose) Squadron began its association with RAAF Base Amberley when it moved there from RAAF Base Archerfield on 6 May 1942 before departing again a month later, returning in February 1946.  It was then renamed No. 6 (Bomber) Squadron in February 1948.  No. 23 Squadron was subsequently re-activated and returned to Amberley in September 1955 and then reforming as an auxiliary squadron in 1960.

After World War II, RAAF Base Amberley became home to Nos. 1, 2, and 6 (Bomber) Squadrons and No. 82 Bomber Wing. Between 1946 and 1965, Bell B-47G Sioux helicopters were assembled at Amberley and in 1960 Australian Army aviation was reborn when No. 16 Army Light Aircraft Squadron was formed at Amberley as a joint unit operating Sioux helicopters and Cessna 180 light aircraft.

In September 1970 the Canberra bombers were removed from operational service when the Air Force took delivery of the first of twenty-four F-4E Phantoms at Amberley. In June 1973, the first F-111 aircraft arrived at Amberley and remained in service until the fleet was retired in December 2010.   

In 2006 No 36 Squadron relocated to Amberley when it began the process of re-equipping with the C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifter. They were followed by No 33 Squadron in 2008, and were equipped with the KC-30A multi-role tanker / transport aircraft in 2011. In March 2010 the first F/A-18F Super Hornets arrived at Amberley’s No 1 Squadron, acquired as interim replacements for the F-111 pending the arrival of the F-35 Lightning II. Then in 2017 the Royal Australian Air Force introduced into service at No 6 Squadron RAAF Base Amberley the F/A-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.  The latest Aircraft to make its home at Amberley after relocating from RAAF Base Richmond was the No 35 Squadron C-27J Spartans in early 2019.

These squadrons are supported by numerous other operational and combat support units who also resident on the base, making Amberley the largest air base in Australia supported by No. 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron.

Officially formed on this day, the Air Force Nursing Service was organisationally structured along the lines of the Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Nursing Service in Britain. A provisional establishment provided for an initial 38 nursing sisters in five RAAF hospitals. By December 1945 the Service had grown to 616 members.

The origins of the Base are traced back to May 1939 when Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced that Forest Hill would become the site of the RAAF’s new flying school (No. 2 Service Flying Training School). RAAF Station Forest Hill was part of the larger Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) in the Riverina, which in turn was part of a network of flying training across the Commonwealth.  The Riverina units comprised of 10EFTS at Temora, 1 Air Observer School at Cootamundra, 5SFTS at Uranquinty, 7SFTS at Deniliquin and 8EFTS at Narrandera. RAAF Base Wagga is the only Base from the impressive Riverina war effort still operational today. In 1942, Headquarters No2 Training Group was established at Romano’s Commercial Hotel in Wagga Wagga to co-ordinate Riverina flying training and the Riverine Club was seconded for messing facilities.

RAAF Station Forest Hill was commissioned on 31 July 1940. The base was formally renamed as ‘RAAF Base Wagga’ in 1952 to more closely align the base’s activities with the City of Wagga Wagga. In 1961, the local council granted the base the Freedom of the City, an honour which has been regularly exercised since the honour was first granted.

When flying operations at the base were discontinued in the last few years of the war, the base became home to No 5 Aircraft Depot, a maintenance unit. At war’s end, the hangars and associated technical equipment were passed to the RAAF’s Ground Training School, formed on the base in March 1946; on 01 December 1952, the unit would be renamed as the RAAF School of Technical Training, a name it still bears. RAAFSTT is acknowledged as the oldest continuous training unit within the RAAF graduating trained aircraft technical personnel to the Australian Defence Force and other nations since 1948.

Much of the base’s wartime infrastructure still exists; much is also still in daily use. Key wartime facilities still intact on the base include:

• the original brick guardhouse and dwarf gates on the highway
• two large brick hangars
• one large steel hangar
• a semi-circular spray of 13 Bellman ‘temporary’ hangars, believed to be the largest number of Bellman hangars in one location in the world
• the original 1940s Officers’ Mess, still replete with open fire
• the parade ground
• a 25 metre firing range
• a brick ‘stop butt’ facility into which aircraft weaponry could be test-fired safely.

In January 1999, Ground Training Wing was established at RAAF Wagga. Following the movement of RAAF College to the base in 2008, the two units briefly amalgamated as RAAF College, before again being established as separate entities. In January 2019, following a review of training delivery across Air Force, Ground Academy was formed from RAAF College and Ground Training Wing to provide oversight of all Air Force-managed ground training.

Today, Wagga is the home of Headquarters Ground Academy, covering induction training, initial and postgraduate employment training and postgraduate education. The combined responsibilities extends to 12 RAAF locations and two Army bases, offering 256 different training courses, with about 4,000 graduates per year. The RAAF Wagga component of the Ground Academy comprises approximately 1200 ADF (student and permanent staff), civilians, and contractors, all working towards achieving the highest quality graduate and post-graduate ground training for Air Force, Army and Navy.

In addition to the technical training, RAAF Base Wagga continues to remain an integral part of Air Force’s force generation and sustainment activities. Ground Academy is generating the necessary personnel and skills needed to conduct and sustain successful contemporary operations by delivering:

• initial military training through No 1 Recruit Training Unit (1RTU)
• initial and post-initial employment training for Air Force members specialising in logistics and personnel capability management through the RAAF School of Administration and Logistics (RAAFSALT)
• post-graduate education across enlisted personnel and officers through the School of Postgraduate Studies (SPS)

RAAF Base Wagga is committed to designing, developing and delivering tri-Service graduate and post-graduate training for all ranks. The base regularly welcomes overseas visitors and students under the Defence Cooperation Program and is recognised both nationally and internationally for its training excellence.

Roughly halfway through the four-month period designated as the Battle of Britain, Flight Lieutenant P.C. (‘Pat’) Hughes was killed in action. He was attacking a Dornier Do-17 bomber at close range when the German aircraft blew up in front of him, causing such severe damage to his Spitfire that he lost control and crashed. Having already been credited with 15 combat victories, Hughes was the third-highest-scoring ace of the battle (although sharing this total with four other pilots, none of them Australians) and had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 18 August. Before the war he received his pilot’s wings with the RAAF at Point Cook, but on graduating in December 1936 had elected to accept a short service commission in the RAF. Although flying with British squadrons, Hughes remained proud of his Australian links and wore his dark-blue RAAF service uniform to the end.

In 1939, Townsville City Council transferred the city airport to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). RAAF Base Townsville was formed on 15 October 1940 and has a long and proud association with the people of North Queensland.

Along with RAAF Base Darwin, RAAF Base Townsville is one of northern Australia's primary Defence installations, supported by the motto ‘Guarding the North’.

In 1942, RAAF Base Townsville played a critical role in the Battle of the Coral Sea and at one point was one of the largest US Air Force bases outside of the United States.

The Base is strategically important as it is often used as a staging or stepping-off point for forces being deployed on military operations, including Australian humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts. It also provides an important role in training future pilots and hosts a number of exercises during the year.

RAAF Base Townsville is home to a large number of units including:

• No 383 Squadron - contingency response
• No 452 Squadron Townsville Flight - air traffic control
• No 27 (City of Townsville) Squadron - airbase operations
• Combat Survival Training School - evasion and escape training
• Army's No 5 Aviation Regiment
• 1 Expeditionary Health Squadron Detachment Townsville
• No 2 Security Squadron detachment Townsville

RAAF Base Townsville is used as a mounting base for Army’s Townsville-based 3rd Brigade and as a training base for Air Force’s Air Combat Group and Air Mobility Group. It may also be used as a mounting base or forward operating base for Air Force operations and Naval Support operations in the Coral Sea.

HQ RAAF Base Townsville is also directly responsible for personnel and ADF assets located at RAAF Base Scherger.

RAAF Base Scherger is one of the Royal Australian Air Force's three 'bare bases', completing a chain of bases across Australia’s 'top end'. It was officially opened by then Prime Minister John Howard on 5 August 1998.

The base is located 26 kilometers east of Weipa on the western side of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.  The base has facilities to cater for 400 personnel in fixed accommodation, 1,000 personnel in tent lines and about 40 aircraft. During peacetime, RAAF Base Scherger hosts on average, one major exercise per year in which the base is fully activated through the arrival of RAAF units based elsewhere in Australia. Minimal facilities and infrastructure have been established to support military deployments and exercises. RAAF Base Scherger consists of a 3,050 m long runway with a parallel taxiway and one oblique taxiway which can also be used as an emergency runway.

Air Force’s No 3 Squadron had its first taste of combat in the Western Desert.  With four of the unit’s Gladiator single-seat biplane fighters (supplied by Britain) were conducting a tactical reconnaissance when they were attacked by 18 Italian CR-42 fighters. In the fight one Gladiator was shot down and its pilot killed, but at a cost to the enemy of three aircraft definitely destroyed and possibly another three which had been sent down spinning out of control behind the Italian lines.

RAAF Base Williamtown is strategically positioned to the North of Newcastle in the Port Stephens area. The history and expansion of RAAF Williamtown since its establishment during World War II is directly linked to the evolution of air power and the technological advances in tactical fighter and surveillance aircraft.

RAAF Base Williamtown’s location was selected in response to the emerging threat to the east coast of Australia during World War II. The base officially opened 15 February 1941 in order to provide protection for the Hunter region’s strategic port and steel manufacturing facilities.

The initial footprint consisted of 366 officers and airmen shaping a number of the Australian Empire Air Training Scheme squadrons, including the No. 4 Operational Training Unit (1942-1944). The air field consisted of four runways, 1,100m (3,600ft) each designed to accommodate the Williamtown Flying School.

In the post war years, RAAF Base Williamtown maintained its status as the RAAF’s primary fighter base, housing squadrons of Gloster Meteor and CAC Sabre. The 1960s saw what would be one of many technological leaps in fighter capability to be acquired by the RAAF, accompanied by an expansion of the base facilities and airfield with the introduction of the Dassault Mirage aircraft and the retirement of the Meteors.

The base underwent further redevelopment in the late 1980s in order to welcome the acquisition of the RAAF southern fleet of F/A-18 Hornets. The Tactical Fighter Group (now Air Combat Group) established their headquarters on base in 1990 accompanied by the expansion of the facilities to include new hangars, workshops, medical facilities and RAAF chapel.

In 2000 RAAF Base Williamtown became the home of Surveillance and Response Group, coinciding with the reestablishment of 2 Squadron in anticipation of the delivery of the RAAF’s designated Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) platform. In May 2010 No 2 Squadron returned to the skies in the Boeing Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft. Initial efforts for the squadron concentrated on conducting conversion courses for aircrew and maintenance personnel, with important milestones reached in 2011 with participation in Exercise Talisman Sabre alongside US Forces, reaching Initial Operating Capability in 2014 whilst supporting the international search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370.

RAAF Base Williamtown welcomed the first of the Australian F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) in December 2018. The significant leap in technology associated with the JSF as the first complete 5^th Generation platform required major redevelopment works including a 2000 ft runway extension and a revamp of significant base infrastructure. The RAAF continues to take delivery of JSF aircraft for 77 Squadron, 3 Squadron and RAAF Tindal based 75 Squadron which will replace the existing F/A-18 Hornet fleet.

RAAF Base Williamtown currently employs over 3,500 personnel including uniformed members, Australian Public Servants and Defence Industry Contractors. The base support continues to expand with the development of the Defence Industry hub within the Newcastle Airport precinct, ensuring the RAAF’s ongoing presence in the Hunter region.

The Minister for Air, John McEwen, issued a press statement announcing the immediate enrolment of female wireless and teleprinter operators to fill RAAF ground staff vacancies. Proposals to raise a Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) had been before the War Cabinet since July 1940, but not until 4 February was approval given; the Advisory War Council agreed with the decision the next day. McEwen’s announcement made clear that the women were wanted only ‘until they could be replaced by qualified men’, and because legal doubts existed over whether women could be enlisted under the Air Force Act they were at first enrolled only as auxiliaries for renewable periods of 12 months. Nonetheless, the other Services quickly followed the RAAF in establishing women’s services for general war duty. The WAAAF grew to reach a strength of 18,664 in October 1944.

Flight Lieutenant Donald Thomson argued for utilising the Aboriginal population of the Northern Territory for defence purposes. An anthropologist in civilian life, Thomson had spent several years in east Arnhem Land and had developed a special relationship with the Balamumu people of the region. As a result he was seconded to the Army and tasked with raising an Aboriginal force called the Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit (NTSRU). This was meant to aid in the defence of unguarded RAAF airfields at Groote Eylandt, Milingimbi and Bathurst Island, and also provide early warning of any flank attack on Darwin. Once established by February 1942, Thomson’s unit continued to operate until disbanded in April 1943 when its role was largely taken over by the North Australian Observer Unit.

On this night, a single Handley Page Hampden bomber from No 455 Squadron, RAAF, took off from Swinderby in Lincolnshire to make the first attack by an Australian aircraft on Nazi Germany with both the aircraft and aircrew returning safely. This attack was the beginning of Australia’s involvement in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany that would, over the next four years, involve over 10 000 members of the RAAF and claim the lives of almost 3500 Australian airmen.

Japanese forces commenced an amphibious invasion of northern Malaya at about 12.30 am, striking at the airfield at Kota Bharu on which No 1 Squadron of the RAAF was based. It was thus this Australian unit, equipped with Hudson bombers, which launched the first Allied blows against the Japanese. At 2.08am barely 15 minutes in real time after Japanese carrier aircraft appeared over Hawaii to begin the bombing of Pearl Harbor the first of seven Hudsons took off and commenced attacks on enemy ships located off the coast.

Orders for raising the Volunteer Air Observers Corps (VAOC) were given by the Air Board today, with formal War Cabinet approval following nine days later. Regulations approved by the Minister for Air, Arthur Drakeford, on 22 January 1942 provided that the Corps was to comprise principally civilians who gave their time in a voluntary and honorary capacity to report sightings of enemy aircraft over Australian territory. Accordingly, it was decided the VAOC would not be part of the RAAF, even though controlled by the Air Board. By the end of March, a network of 500 observation and control posts linked to RAAF Fighter Sector Headquarters was in operation, covering 240 kilometres inland from the coast from Cairns, Queensland, to Port Lincoln, South Australia, and from Albany to Geraldton in Western Australia. By July 1942, these posts were manned by approximately 26500 volunteers, both men and women.

A Lockheed Hudson Mk IV bomber from No 6 Squadron took off from Kavieng, New Britain, before 6 am to carry out an armed photographic reconnaissance of Japanese forces in the Truk Islands to the north. Arriving over the target, the pilot of the aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Robert Yeowart, spent 25 minutes making two passes to photograph Toll Harbour and an island airfield, dodging anti-aircraft fire and enemy fighters sent up to intercept him. Returning first to Kavieng, the Hudson flew on to Rabaul and, after a brief stopover, returned to Townsville on 10 January. The 2260 kilometres flown during the mission made this the longest sea reconnaissance undertaken by the RAAF in a land-based aircraft. The enemy shipping and aircraft observed at Truk confirmed expectations that New Ireland and New Britain would soon be attacked.

In two attacks this day, Japanese aircraft caused widespread destruction to the port of Darwin, including the town’s civil aerodrome and RAAF air base. The first raid, carried out at 9.55 am by 188 carrier-based aircraft, focused on the harbour before turning on the town itself. With the advantage of numbers, the element of surprise and the absence of significant fighter opposition, Japanese dive-bombers were largely untroubled as they selected their targets. While buildings, installations and aircraft at the RAAF base were damaged in the first raid, the worst destruction came in a second attack carried out by 54 land-based bombers at 11.55 am. This wrecked the remaining buildings, including many of the living quarters, and caused the majority of the RAAF’s casualties (seven dead and five injured). Allied losses totalled 23 aircraft, eight ships and 255 people killed. Only five Japanese aircraft were definitely downed.

No 75 Squadron – formed at Townsville, Queensland, only 17 days earlier—arrived at Port Moresby. Japanese aircraft had been subjecting the town and its surrounding defence installations to air attacks since early February. The squadron began fending off the Japanese by launching its P-40 Kittyhawk fighters on an attack of its own against Lae the very next day, in a highly successful operation that destroyed 12 enemy aircraft on the ground and damaged another five. No 75 Squadron continued an unequal fight against superior Japanese numbers alone until the end of April, when US units equipped with Airacobras began to arrive. Just two serviceable Kittyhawks were left to return to Australia on 9–10 May. During No 75 Squadron’s epic six weeks in action, it claimed 35 enemy aircraft destroyed and 58 damaged, for the loss of 12 of its own pilots.

In preparation for an attack on Allied warships at Sydney by midget submarines, a Japanese ‘Glen’ single-engine floatplane was flown to reconnoitre the naval anchorages. The famous raid on Sydney Harbour by three Japanese midget submarines was launched that night.

When RAF Bomber Command mounted its first thousand-bomber raid against a single German target, the RAAF was represented by 18 Wellingtons from No 460 Squadron. This unit was the most ‘Australian’ of the national squadrons formed within the RAF under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme. The target was Cologne, the third-largest city in Germany with a population of 700000. The raid was a great success, with 600 acres of the target area (half in the city centre) destroyed. Of 1047 aircraft dispatched, 868 reached the target and successfully bombed during the 90 minutes allotted for the entire raid. Although 41 bombers were lost (none from 460 Squadron), only half this number became casualties over or near Cologne – most of the others fell victim to night-fighters between the coast and Cologne. The ‘Thousand Bomber’ raids had made their mark on history

As the Battle for Milne Bay (25 August–7 September 1942) was in its closing stages, Bristol Beauforts of No 100 Squadron mounted the first RAAF torpedo bomber attack of World War II. The Beauforts had been hurriedly transferred from Laverton, Victoria, to the newly-constructed ‘No 1 Strip’ at Milne Bay to join in the Allied effort against enemy ships in the area.

Wing Commander Richard (‘Dick’) Cresswell, the 22-year-old Commanding Officer of No 77 Squadron, was scrambled from the unit’s base at Livingstone, Northern Territory, at 3.27am to mount patrol over Darwin against incoming Japanese raiders. Shortly after 5.00 am he saw clearly silhouetted against the moon, three Mitsubishi G4M ‘Betty’ bombers in formation heading south at 23 500 feet, and moved to engage them. On his first attacking pass he raked all three aircraft with a four-second burst from his P40E Kittyhawk’s six guns. The bombers immediately turned to port, except the outside Betty which fell behind. Singling out this aircraft, Cresswell made two more passes which left it blazing fiercely and losing height. Shortly afterwards the Betty exploded and fell to earth in two parts. Cresswell’s ‘kill’ was the first time that an enemy aircraft had been shot down over Australian soil at night.

Flight Sergeant Rawdon (‘Ron’) Middleton captained a Stirling bomber of the RAF’s No 149 Squadron during a mission which earned him the Victoria Cross (VC). Taking off from Lakenheath, England, his crew was sent against the Fiat works at Turin, Italy. After a dangerous night crossing of the Alps, Middleton’s aircraft was attacking through heavy flak when a shell burst in the cockpit wounding both pilots. Although shockingly injured, he finished bombing the target before setting course for England. Five crewmen bailed out as the coast was crossed, and two more as the aircraft headed back out to sea (both drowned), leaving Middleton alone at the controls when the Stirling crashed in the sea. His remains washed up on a Dover beach and were buried in February 1943. The previous month he had been posthumously awarded the VC, the first award to a serving member of the RAAF. His commission as Pilot Officer was backdated to 15 November 1942.

During a raid by six RAAF Bostons of No 22 Squadron on Japanese storage buildings at Salamaua, New Guinea, the aircraft captained by Flight Lieutenant William (‘Bill’) Newton was crippled by 40 mm cannon fire from the ground. Turning his bomber away from the target, he crash-landed in the sea a kilometre from shore. Newton and his wireless operator/air gunner managed to escape the wreck before it sank and swam to the beach, where they were captured shortly afterwards. After they were taken to Lae for a week of interrogation, Newton’s crewman was bayoneted to death outside the town. Newton himself was returned to his captors at Salamaua and beheaded on 29 March. A series of missions he had performed with great gallantry prior to being shot down led to him receiving in October the only Victoria Cross awarded to a member of the RAAF in the Pacific War.

RAAF Base East Sale, is located 220 kilometres south east of Melbourne in Victoria’s Gippsland region on the traditional land of the Gunaikurnai people. East Sale is home to No.1 Flying Training School, Central Flying School, Air Mission Training School, School of Air Traffic Control and Officers' Training School, the Roulettes, No. 32 Squadron and No. 30 (City of Sale) Squadron.

The East Sale aerodrome was named after its location on the eastern side the town of Sale.  In 1942, the Commonwealth selected 1,186 acres of land at East Sale for No. 1 Operational Training Unit and a mixture of facilities were constructed between 1942 and 1944. To camouflage its purpose, given its coastal location, East Sale was planned as a village scheme with dummy paths, gardens and dull painting. East Sale Aerodrome was formally established on 22 April 1943.

Taking occupancy at East Sale on 22 April 1943, No. 1 Operational Training moved in 2,577 personnel, 1,300 tonnes of freight and 128 aircraft comprising: Bristol Beauforts, Lockheed Hudsons, Airspeed Oxfords, Fairey Battles and a Tiger Moth.  Training continued until 01 January 1946 when East Sale Aerodrome became RAAF Station East Sale.  

In December 1947, the main party of Central Flying School arrived at East Sale. Construction works had proceeded throughout the war years however, at the end of the war accommodation and facilities, especially those in the airmen’s mess, were in a deplorable state. A substantial works program was carried out at East Sale in the post-war years to improve the facilities, runway and taxiways.

On 1 May 1952, RAAF East Sale formation headquarters came into being and assumed command of Base Squadron, Air Armament School, Central Flying School, School of Air Navigation, Maintenance Squadron, and the School of Photography.

 No. 2 Airfield Construction Squadron (2ACS) re-formed at East Sale in August 1958, and commenced a program of works encompassing resurfacing airfield pavements, extension of the runway and construction of concrete holding areas. Then in 1960 saw the installation of a new air traffic control tower.  No. 2ACS disbanded at East Sale on 28 April 1961, while the Air Armament School had disbanded in June 1959.

On 22 November 1959, RAAF East Sale received a scroll extending the Freedom of Entry to the City of Sale. The ceremony included the presence and parading of the RAAF’s Queen’s Colour. East Sale base has the distinction of being the first RAAF base to be granted ‘Freedom of the City’.

On 28 September 1978 the Governor General, Sir Zelman Cowen, AK, GCMG, KStJ, QC, presented Queen’s Colours to 2 East Sale units: Central Flying School and School of Air Navigation. The dual presentation was the first of its type in Air Force history. The presentation was followed on the next day by the two units exercising their right to march through the City of Sale.

The RAAF’s first official aerobatics team, the ‘Red Sales’ was formed in 1961 at East Sale. In February 1963, the ‘Telstars’ were formed as the RAAF’s new aerobatic team flying 4 Vampires until they re-equipped with Macchis in February 1968. The ‘Telstars’ were disbanded in April 1968 and a new aerobatics team, the ‘Roulettes’, were formed who are still flying today.

During 2006 to 2008 a new Officer Training School (OTS) was constructed under the RAAF College Relocation project. Following its completion, approximately 130 personnel relocated to East Sale from RAAF Base Point Cook, with the new state-of-the-art Officers' Training School officially opened at East Sale on 14 March 2008. Just over two years later, on 1 July 2010, No. 30 Squadron was re-activated, at East Sale joining the ranks of the RAAF’s ‘City’ squadrons as No. 30 (City of Sale) Squadron.

A sod turning ceremony on 18 July 2013 marked the beginning of a further transformation of RAAF Base East Sale. The project provided new and refurbished facilities, security upgrades, a new air traffic control complex, new firing range, new trainee living-in-accommodation, and new commercial and community facilities. The base’s role as the RAAF’s primary Officer Aviation training base was further enhanced in 2019 when the Basic Flying Training School at Tamworth was closed and the ab initio flying training role was transferred to the re-commissioned No. 1 Flying Training School RAAF Base East Sale, as well as the formation to the Air Mission Training School at the base.  In addition, PC-21 and Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft now operate from East Sale, adding to the long list of aircraft types that have done so over the years. King Air 350s replaced the HS748s in 2004.

The base continues also to come to the aid of the broader local community. In the latest example at a time of natural disaster, during the devastating fires of summer 2019/2020 RAAF Base East Sale became a central air hub for the Australian Defence Force's Operation Bushfire Assist efforts in Victoria.

At about 9.30 pm on 16 May, a force of 19 Lancaster bombers of No 617 Squadron, RAF, took off from England on a precision low-level bombing raid against four dams supplying water to German industrial centres in the Ruhr and Weser valleys. The aircraft carried novel bouncing mines specially designed to breach the retaining walls of the targeted dams. Sixteen machines of the force succeeded in penetrating enemy territory to carry out the attacks; among their crews were 13 RAAF members, and four aircraft were captained by Australians. After the Möhne Dam was destroyed about 1.00 am on this day, the attacking force moved on to the Eder Dam, which was also breached about an hour later. Strikes on the Sorpe and Lister Dams failed. Two participating Australians died in the operation, and one survived to be taken prisoner.

The award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Pilot Officer David Paul, an Indigenous Australian pilot who had been serving in North Africa with No 454 Squadron (an RAAF Baltimore unit in the RAF) was announced. At the time of the announcement Paul was a prisoner of war in Germany, having been shot down by Me-109F fighters over the Aegean Sea on 4 December 1943 while making the final trip of his operational tour. After his release from Stalag IVb POW camp at Muhlberg in 1945, he returned to Australia and joined the New South Wales Police Force, becoming a detective sergeant. He also served in the RAAF Reserve and reached the rank of Squadron Leader.

When Allied forces invaded France under Operation Overlord, seven squadrons regarded as ‘Australian’ under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme Agreement took part in attacks on the Normandy beaches and surrounding areas. Lancaster bombers of 460 Squadron attacked two towns adjacent to the westernmost beach, codenamed Utah, while 463 and 467 Squadrons struck at gun emplacements covering the adjoining Omaha beach. Halifax bombers from 466 Squadron hit a German battery in the same area. Spitfires of 453 Squadron flew 43 sorties in support of the landing forces on the first day, while Mosquito night fighters of 456 and 464 struck at enemy rail and road communications, bridges and enemy troop convoys on the nights of 5/6 June and 6/7 June. Another three ‘Australian’ squadrons Nos 10, 461 and 455 also participated in anti-submarine and anti-ship strike operations that prevented the German Navy from interfering with Allied plans.

After joining the RAAF in August 1942 and serving as an aircraft mechanic, Len Waters applied for pilot training. Among the top five in his course at No 5 Service Flying Training School at Uranquinty, New South Wales, he graduated as a sergeant pilot. He completed an operational conversion course on the P-40 Kittyhawk with No 2 Operational Training Unit at Mildura, Victoria, at the end of which he was posted to No 78 Squadron on this day. Waters thus became Australia’s first (and only) Aboriginal fighter pilot. While serving with 78 Squadron at Noemfoor (West New Guinea), Morotai (Netherlands East Indies) and Tarakan (Borneo), he flew 95 sorties; as the Japanese had few aircraft in these areas by this stage, his missions did not entail air combat. Promoted to Flight Sergeant in January 1945, he became a Warrant Officer 17 days before discharge in January 1946.

The Air Force attained its highest strength during World War II of almost 184,000 personnel (165,365 males in the Royal Australian Air Force and 18,457 females in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force). Among the males, 20,691 were officers and 144,674 were other ranks; among the women, 657 were officers and 17,800 were other ranks. 3,472 of the RAAF personnel were listed as missing or prisoners of war. In addition to the RAAF and WAAF personnel, the RAAF Nursing Service had a strength of almost 500 nurses. The Air Force declined in size from this point and, by the Japanese surrender in August 1945, was down to 173,622 personnel.

Formal ceremony at which Japan surrendered aboard USS Missouri at Tokyo Bay.  The instrument of surrender was signed by General Sir Thomas Blamey on behalf of Australia, with Air Vice-Marshal George Jones and Air Vice-Marshal William Bostock representing the RAAF.

An ex-RAF Gloster Meteor F.3 took off from Laverton, Victoria, on the first test flight of a jet aircraft in Australia. It was flown by Squadron Leader Derek (‘Jell’) Cuming, who earlier that year became the first RAAF officer to complete the Empire Test Pilots course. The Meteor had been received at No 1 Aircraft Depot the previous month and was provided on loan by the British War Ministry to enable the RAAF to gain experience in operating a radical new type. Two days later the aircraft was taken on RAAF strength with the tail number A77-1 and allotted to No 1 Aircraft Performance Unit for trials. Australia did eventually acquire the Meteor for squadron service, but only in 1951. By that time the de Havilland Vampire had already become, in 1949, the first jet acquired in numbers for the RAAF.

Lincoln A73-2 from No 1 Air Performance Unit at Point Cook, Victoria, conducted a pioneering flight from mainland Australia to the edge of the Antarctic zone, collecting meteorological data and photographing Macquarie Island which lies 1466 kilometres south of Tasmania. The aircraft was airborne for 14 hours 35 minutes and completed the flight in deteriorating weather. This effort was seen as an essential precursor to the scientific voyages launched by the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) from December 1947.

The Air Force entered the helicopter age when its first rotary wing aircraft, a Sikorsky S-51 Dragonfly, was test-flown at Laverton RAAF, Victoria. Citizen Air Force squadrons based in Sydney and Brisbane operated the helicopters.

The first group of 53 youths aged 15-17 who had been selected for engineering training under the RAAF’s new apprenticeship scheme entered the Ground Training School at Forest Hill (Allonville) outside Wagga Wagga, NSW. Five days later, a group of 16 youths similarly joined a separate Radio Apprentice School (RAS) established at the former wartime RAAF establishment at ‘Frognall’, in the Melbourne suburb of Canterbury. Recruitment of a second intake of apprentices began almost immediately, leading to another 84 joining at Wagga and 18 at RAS by the end of July. When the apprenticeship scheme ended 45 years later, a total of 6151 tradesmen and technical specialists had graduated into the RAAF.

RAAF Point Cook is located on the shores of Port Phillip Bay, 20 kilometres south west of the Melbourne central business district, near the township of Werribee, Victoria and is synonymous with the birth of military aviation in Australia.

An Army Order from September 1912 proposed the creation of a flight of an aeroplane squadron leading to Henry Petre and Eric Harrison being recruited in England to establish an aviation school. Petre arrived in Australia in January 1913 recommended selection of the Point Cook area for the school.

The Central Flying School opened at Point Cook in February 1914 with the first flight on 1 March, about 2 years after work commenced to form an Australian military flying corps.

Flying training commenced on 17 August 1914, thirteen days after the start of World War I. The first pilots’ course graduation in November 1914 coincided with the first ever operational deployment of men and aircraft from the base when two pilots, four mechanics and two aircraft deployed to German New Guinea. The flying unit did not see action and, in fact, never unpacked its aircraft.

The Australian Half-Flight, formed at Point Cook, included 4 officers from the Central Flying School, as well as 41 other ranks, but no aircraft. The unit embarked in Melbourne during in 1915 and was sent to Mesopotamia, the modern Iraq. In 1916, Nos. 1, 3 and 4 Squadrons of the Australian Flying Corps were formed at Point Cook before deploying to Egypt and to the Western Front.

After World War I ended, the Australian Flying Corps disbanded in 1919 leaving its aircraft with the Royal Air Force. In Australia, military flying virtually ceased until 1920 when the Australian Air Corps was formed as an Australian Army unit.

On 31 March 1921 The Australian Air Force was formed as an independent service and the third arm of Australia’s military forces. It acquired the prefix ‘Royal’ with effect 31 August 1921 after approval was granted by King George V.

Nos. 1 to 5 Squadrons, Royal Australian Air Force were formed at Point Cook in 1922. The flying school was now designated No. 1 Flying Training School. The Base had 20 Avro 504Ks, 10 Sopwith Pups and six Fairey seaplanes.

Point Cook was designated as No. 1 Station Royal Australian Air Force and remained the only Australian military air station until 1925. In 1923 the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) set up a cadet training scheme operated by No. 1 Flying Training School at Point Cook to provide pilots for the RAAF.

Point Cook's most rapid growth occurred after the declaration of war on 3 September 1939. A vastly expanded training program included training in flying, navigation, reconnaissance, signalling, armaments, operations and instruction. Numerous new squadrons and units were formed to provide trained aircrew under the Empire Air Training Scheme. The Station Headquarters at Point Cook was established in October 1941 to coordinate the new activity.

The Aircraft Research and Development Unit was established at Point Cook in 1946 as No. 1 Air Performance Unit. It moved to RAAF Laverton, now RAAF Williams - Laverton in 1948 and then to RAAF Edinburgh, South Australia, in 1976. The Central Flying School was reformed in April 1940 at RAAF Point Cook but moved to Camden in May. It returned briefly to RAAF Point Cook in 1944 before moving to its new home at RAAF Base East Sale.

RAAF College was established at RAAF Point Cook on 1 August 1947 assuming the role of cadet instruction from No. 1 Flying Training School. The new cadet training course had the character of a modern university education, lasting four years and aiming to provide graduates with a thorough grounding in the principles of air power and the art of leadership, as well as theoretical and practical flying training. In January 1961 RAAF College became the RAAF Academy forming a partnership with the University of Melbourne offering degree level education.

RAAF Staff College was formed in nucleus form at Albert Park Barracks on 15 February 1949 but moved to Point Cook on 1 June in time for the first course to commence on 14 June. Staff College was conceived as an institute to prepare senior officers for future command appointments; it moved to Canberra in 1960. Also in 1949, the Aviation Medical Section of Station Headquarters, Point Cook, and the Medical Training Section of No. 6 RAAF Hospital, Laverton, merged to form the School of Aviation Medicine.

In 1952 the RAAF Museum was formed under the administration of Headquarters Point Cook becoming an independent unit in 1988. Today the RAAF Museum showcases the exploits of prominent military aviators and displays Australian military aviation memorabilia and more than twenty aircraft previously operated by the Australian Flying Corps and the Royal Australian Air Force.

The Royal Australian Air Force continued to evolve and most of the units based at Point Cook either disbanded or relocated. In 1986 the RAAF Academy closed with the formation of the tri-service Australian Defence Force Academy. RAAF College was eventually reformed to provide initial and postgraduate officer training for the Royal Australian Air Force and relocated to RAAF Base Wagga. On 31 March 1989 RAAF Bases Point Cook and Laverton were amalgamated under a single command and management structure to form RAAF Williams. Under this arrangement, Point Cook became RAAF Williams – Point Cook. In 1993 an era came to an end when No. 1 Flying Training School was closed at Point Cook.

Under the Defence Reform Program introduced by the government in 1997, RAAF Base Point Cook was one of 4 southern RAAF bases slated for closure. Fortunately, the heritage value of RAAF Base Point Cook to the Australian nation was recognised in 2004 when it was included on the Commonwealth Heritage list as a Listed Place. In 2007 the base was placed on the National Heritage List also as a Listed Place and on 20 September 2007, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence announced that Point Cook would be retained as a Defence asset.

In 2017 RAAF Base Point Cook once more regained its separate identity. The Chief of the Air Force, Air Marshal G.N. Davies, renamed it RAAF Base Point Cook ‘in perpetuity’ to reflect its original name and unique status as the only RAAF Base on the National Heritage List and the oldest military air base in Australia.

Having been in operation since 1914, RAAF Base Point Cook is Australia’s oldest military air base and one of the world’s oldest continually operating airfields. Today Point Cook is home to No. 21 (City of Melbourne) Squadron. The squadron provides airbase combat support to RAAF Base Williams. The RAAF Museum is also based at RAAF Base Point Cook.

The Air Board decided to adopt a distinctive new national Ensign for the Air Force, replacing the RAF device which most British dominion air forces had been using since the 1920s. The Chief of the Air Staff (George Jones) decided that the Air Force should adopt a new design which ‘exemplified the Australian national character’. A flag featuring the Union Jack in the top left-hand corner, with a seven-pointed Federation Star representing the Commonwealth in the bottom left-hand corner, the Southern Cross constellation in the centre and the Air Force roundel in the bottom right-hand corner—all set against a light blue background.  It was formally approved by King George VI in January 1949 and remained in use until a further redesign in 1981

In 1811, Governor Macquarie ordered the construction of a barracks on a site subsequently called Barracks Hill in Van Diemen’s Land. The foundation stone of the former Officer’s Quarters was laid in 1814 with other buildings partly built by 1818. The Barracks was headquarters for British military forces in Tasmania and was named ‘Anglesea’. The last British regiment left Anglesea Barracks in 1870.

Between 1870 and 1901, most of the Barracks was put to civilian use however, following Federation in 1901, ownership of Anglesea Barracks passed to the Commonwealth and was returned to military control.

In January 1926 Squadron Leaders Drummond, Royal Air Force (RAF), and Cole of the newly formed Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) arrived at Anglesea Barracks to interview applicants for flying training. In 1940, Tasmania’s young men applied in such large numbers to join the RAAF and participate in the Empire Air Training Scheme to the extent that No. 6 RAAF Recruiting Centre was opened to process their applications.

The Resident Air Force Officer (RAFO) supported by a small section, was created at Rifle Range Sandy Bay, Hobart on 16 August 1946. First to hold that appointment, was Squadron Leader A.A. Doyle, the incumbent Commanding Officer of No. 6 Personnel Depot. RAFO Section finalised the discharge of members leaving the wartime Air Force and those re-enlisting in the Interim Air Force. RAFO Section moved to Anglesea Barracks from Sandy Bay on 30 January 1947 and Wing Commander K.E. Wedgwood, AFC, was appointed RAFO on 12 February the same year.

Despite RAAF being present at Anglesea Barracks for nearly 3 years, the RAAF ensign was raised there for first the time on 12 September 1949.

From the 1950s RAAF activity was centred on two historic buildings within walking distance of Anglesea Barracks; Beaumaris House and Fitzroy Place.  RAAF Support Unit Hobart was formed at Fitzroy Place on 7 February 1977 under the command of Wing Commander D.J. Stubbs, Senior Air Force Officer (SAFO) Tasmania. On formation the unit had an establishment of 2 officers and 4 other ranks. The unit disbanded at the end of June 1992, when it was reorganised into a tri-service establishment.

Defence has no permanent airbase or bare base in Tasmania.   No. 29 (City of Hobart) Squadron, which was formed at Anglesea Barracks on 1 September 2001, provides limited combat support to designated forward mounting and operating bases in Tasmania, with combat support elements from Combat Support Group deployed to the location on an as required basis.  The 29 Squadron Commanding Officer is the Senior Air Force Officer Tasmania controls the safety, emergency and security of the working environment.  The Commanding Officer No. 29 (City of Hobart) Squadron is also Commander Australian Contingent, Operation Southern Discovery, an enduring contribution by the ADF to the whole-of-government, Department of Environment and Energy-led activity in the Antarctic Region – the Australian Antarctic Program.

The Headquartered No. 29 (City of Hobart) Squadron occupying the Garrison 'Tap Room', or soldiers’ canteen.  This historical building within the Barracks was originally erected in 1834. 

RAAF Base Glenbrook is the home of Headquarters Air Command, approximately 60 kilometres west of Sydney in the lower Blue Mountains, New South Wales (NSW).  Glenbrook’s RAAF origins date from 1949 when the government purchased the Lapstone Hill Hotel, a luxury holiday resort and conference venue, to accommodate Headquarters Eastern Area.

The Lapstone hotel opened in December 1929 but unfortunately the hotel’s pre-war success did not continue after hostilities ended, and rising costs caused the hotel to be put up for sale. By 17 May 1949 the Commonwealth Property Officer had entered into negotiations for Lapstone’s purchase.  Sitting on 40 hectares and having 56 rooms, Lapstone filled many of the requirements set by the Air Board for major headquarters. It had good access by road and rail and was just 5 kilometres from a major town, Penrith, with easy access to RAAF Base Richmond and its airfield. Additionally, within 300 metres of the Lapstone Hill Hotel, a disused railway tunnel could accommodate a functional air operations room, staff and communications centre, in the event of attack with atomic weapons. In August 1949 Eastern Area Headquarters made immediate token occupation of Lapstone ahead of moving there on 4 February 1950.

 The Air Officer Commanding Eastern Area, Air Vice-Marshal J.P.J. McCauley (later to become Chief of Air Staff in January 1954), became the first Air rank officer to preside at RAAF Glenbrook.

The main building of the former Lapstone Hill Hotel accommodated Eastern Headquarters and the Officers’ Mess. During 1950 and 1951 a substantial renovation and maintenance program was put in place to improve and adapt the facilities of the former hotel to meet the headquarters’ requirements which included a helicopter landing ground among other works.

In late 1951, the Air Force sought and gained government approval for the purchase of the ’Briarcliffe’ property and an adjoining  0.24 hectares of land on the southern boundary of RAAF Glenbrook. They were acquired to provide accommodation for 49 members of the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF) working at Glenbrook.  In due course, ‘Briarcliffe’ became the residence of the incumbent Air Officer Commanding Eastern Area and its successor headquarters.

In 1953 the RAAF’s higher command structure underwent sweeping change. The 5 geographically based area headquarters, such as Eastern Area that had been hastily introduced during World War II were dismantled and replaced with 3 functional commands titled: Home, Training and Maintenance Command.  The new command arrangements were designed to decentralise control away from the Air Board and increase operational efficiency and flexibility.

Eastern Area was reformed as Home Command on 1 September 1953 and came to exercise direct command and control over all of the RAAF’s operational units. In 1959, the functional command structure was rationalised further, with Home Command renamed Operational Command and other Commands amalgamated to form Support Command.

In 1961, a new transistorized microwave radio link system was introduced at Glenbrook in place of the old, wartime underground cable-based system. A further significant improvement was the opening of a re-styled RAAF transmitting station at Londonderry, near Richmond. These upgrades were followed in 1965 with the construction of a new Communications Centre at Glenbrook. The new RAAF Telecommunications Unit Sydney came into being at Glenbrook on 1 May 1976. A satellite dish installed at Glenbrook in 1988 signalled the coming of space age communications. The upgrade in communications systems and facilities was accompanied in the 1980s with the opening of a new purpose-built headquarters building, allowing the former Lapstone Hill Hotel to be used solely as the Officers’ Mess.

RAAF Support Unit Glenbrook was formed on 1 July 1983, by renaming the Headquarters Operational Command Unit.

In October 1988 the title of Air Officer Commanding Operational Command was changed to Air Commander Australia. Under these changes, the Air Commander continued to command all RAAF operational units becoming responsible to the Chief of the Defence Force for the planning and conduct of air operations for the defence of Australia. Under the same directive, Headquarters Operational Command became Headquarters Air Command. Today, Air Commander Australia is responsible to the Chief of Air Force for effectively preparing air combat forces and Air Command Headquarters at Glenbrook coordinates Air Force operations.

Both ‘Briarcliffe’, the Air Commander’s residence and the former Lapstone Hill Hotel buildings and grounds were heritage listed by NSW on 27 December 1991.  

RAAF Base Glenbrook has witnessed many changes since it was first acquired by the government for RAAF use in 1949. However, a constant throughout the decades has been the strong connection the base and those working there have maintained with the local Blue Mountains community. One way that this connection is expressed is in the care and maintenance the RAAF provides as custodian of objects with heritage importance to NSW and the local community. Another, is the support the base provides to the Rural fire Service, Sate Emergency Service and the local community in times of need and natural disasters.

Two Australians—Major Stuart Peach and Squadron Leader Ronald Rankin completed a two-week visit along the 38th parallel inspecting Republic of Korea Army dispositions, activities, defences and weaponry. Australia had been the first country to provide trained military observers to assist the work of the United Nations Commission on Korea (UNCOK), and they were the only observers in Korea. Returning to Seoul on 24 June, they reported that the South Korean Army was organised entirely ‘for defence and … in no condition to carry out an attack’. The next day, North Korea invaded across the parallel. It was the Peach-Rankin report showing unequivocally that North Korea was an aggressor which on 27 June convinced the UN Security Council to act. Concluded the official historian: Thus the journey of Peach and Rankin ranks as one of the most consequential reconnaissances ever conducted by Australian service officers.

After the North Korean People’s Army launched an all-out offensive against the territory of South Korea, the Air Force’s Number 77 Squadron, based at Iwakuni, Japan, was directed to join in the fighting as part of the response by the United Nations. Bad weather prevented No 77 Squadron flying on 1 July, but on 2 July the unit's Mustang Fighters flew 16 sorties during three separate missions over the Korean Peninsula.

Two months after No 77 Squadron was committed to operations in Korea, the unit’s Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Lou Spence, was killed in action. He led four Mustangs in an attack on storage facilities at An’gang-ni, north of Pusan in South Korea, which had been recently captured by Communist forces. His aircraft failed to pull out of a steep dive at low altitude and was seen to crash into the centre of the town, exploding on impact. Spence was succeeded by Squadron Leader Richard (‘Dick’) Cresswell, who had twice before led 77 Squadron in war; his previous periods in command were both during World War II—the first, in April 1942, when he was aged just 21. In Korea, Cresswell again demonstrated the qualities which had seen him rated as an exceptional leader of a combat squadron on war duties.

The Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force which functioned during World War II was disbanded in December 1947, but in July 1950 the re-formation of women’s services in Army, Navy and Air Force was approved, in principle, by Cabinet. This time, the Air Force’s women’s service would no longer be an ‘auxiliary’ but a branch of the Permanent Air Force. The new Service would be known as the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF).

When Warrant Officer Ron Guthrie was forced to abandon his Meteor jet fighter over Korea on this day, he unintentionally notched up several ‘firsts’. During this first clash between RAAF Meteors and Soviet MiG-15s, Guthrie’s aircraft sustained gunfire hits which caused it to enter a nose-down dive at 36 600 feet. With all controls gone, he decided to eject using the Martin Baker seat with which the Meteor was fitted. This was actually the first time that a Martin Baker seat had been used in combat, and his altitude is still the record for the highest combat ejection in the RAAF. The altitude of his ejection has only been exceeded in the RAAF by peacetime ejections at 38 000 feet from two Sabre jets involved in a midair collision in 1960. On landing, Guthrie was captured by Communist forces and spent two years as a prisoner of war. The RAAF Heritage Centre Williamtown, (Fighterworld), has an example of a Martin Baker ejection seat on display.

Pilot Officer W.H. (‘Bill’) Simmonds scored the only fully confirmed RAAF victory over a Communist MiG-15 in the Korean War. He was in a flight of four Meteors of No 77 Squadron protecting US bombers, making the biggest single attack of the war so far against an important supply depot at Sunan (now the site of Pyongyang airport), when MiGs attacked from behind. Simmonds was able to get onto the tail of one of the MiGs as it passed less than 10 metres below him and blasted it with a long burst of cannon fire. Two other members of the RAAF flight reported seeing the enemy pilot eject as his aircraft went into a spin and crashed to earth. Australian pilots reported a total of five MiGs shot down during the war, but this was the only occasion where there was absolutely no doubt about the claim.

The Queen’s Colour was presented to the Air Force by the Minister for Air, Mr William McMahon, at a special parade held at Laverton. The Royal Colour had not been presented in Australia before.  Although known as the “Queen’s” Colour, the colour actually bore the monogram of King George VI. This was because the colour was originally to have been presented during a royal visit to Australia that was planned for 1952, before the King died in February. It was the wish of Queen Elizabeth that her father’s colour should be presented in her name.

Two Gloster Meteor Mk8 jets of No 77 Squadron, flown by Sergeants George Hale and David Irlam, were conducting a road reconnaissance over North Korea near Sinmak when Hale saw what he thought was a lone MiG-15. It was only as he dived into the attack that he realised he was opposed by three enemy aircraft. In the ensuing dogfight, Hale’s cannon fire sent one MiG down on its back, belching black smoke and shedding bits of fuselage as it dropped from view. Immediately confronted by another pair of MiGs, he scored hits on one of these also and saw it trailing white smoke as it climbed away from him. Having expended all his ammunition, Hale broke off contact. This was the last time that 77 Squadron aircraft engaged in aerial combat in Korea, and indeed the last time that any RAAF unit has been involved in air-to-air fighting since.

RAAF Base Edinburgh (Inc Woomera), South Australia

South Australia has a proud history with military aviation in Australia, dating back to its earliest days with many South Australians playing key roles in the Australian Flying Corps in World War 1 and the development of the RAAF between the wars. Sir Richard Williams KBE CB DSO, the first military-trained pilot in Australia and the Air Force’s first Chief of the Air Staff (widely regarded as the ‘Father’ of the RAAF), was born and raised in Moonta SA. During World War II, South Australian RAAF bases at Port Pirie, Mt Gambier, Mallala and Victor Harbor trained thousands of airmen.

The presence at Edinburgh dates back to World War II when the largest munitions plant in the Southern Hemisphere was established at Penfield, a small village to the south of the current base. From 1946 to the mid-1960s, several thousand Australians and British nationals were based at Penfield, Woomera and Mallala supporting weapons research and testing. In the early 1950s it was recognised that a more capable air base was required to support these activities and on 22 March 1954, RAAF Base Edinburgh was formally opened by His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

With the British concluding their research activities in the 1960s, 11 Squadron moved to RAAF Base Edinburgh from RAAF Townsville with its new P-3B Orion aircraft, starting a long relationship with South Australia.  In 1975, 92 Wing was established, comprising both 11 Squadron and 10 Squadron, which relocated from RAAF Richmond to RAAF Edinburgh with its new P-3C Orion aircraft, 292 Training Squadron and 492 Maintenance Squadron. Since then, a variety of RAAF units have called Edinburgh home including intelligence, radar, electronic warfare, security, air operations support and flight test. From 1964 to 2008, RAAF Edinburgh was the home to Air Force recruit training with No 1 Recruit Training School.

Today, RAAF Base Edinburgh, along with Defence Science Technology Group, Edinburgh Parks and the Woomera Range Complex, is part of the Edinburgh Defence Precinct. Over 6,500 RAAF and Army personnel from 1Bde, Defence civilians and contractors work across the operationally focused joint Defence establishment, which has also become the Australian Defence Force’s major intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, and electronic warfare hub.

Over the next five years, RAAF Base Edinburgh will undergo continued development highlighting its ongoing importance. With infrastructure to support the recently-acquired P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft now completed, major construction projects will continue well into the next decade to support Army armoured fighting vehicles and planned Air Force capabilities including the MC-55A electronic warfare aircraft, MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft, and MQ-9 unmanned aircraft which will soon call Edinburgh home.

The first version of the F-86 Sabre produced by Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation, the CA-27 Sabre 30, was handed over to the Air Force at a formal ceremony at Laverton. It was Australia’s first swept-wing aircraft, the first with powered flight controls, and the first capable of supersonic speed.

An advance part from No 2 Airfield Construction Squadron (2ACS) arrived at Butterworth, on the north-west coast of then Malaya, to begin work on bringing the airfield up to jet standards. The move followed Prime Minister R.G. Menzies' announcement in April 1965 that the RAAF had been offered a free loan of the RAF airfield at Butterworth as the base for an Australian air contingent to a Commonwealth Strategic Reserve in the Far East. Australia planned to commit a composite wing of two Sabre fighter squadrons and a squadron of Canberra bombers, which needed more and better facilities than currently existed. Working under threat of Communist attack, by May 1958 the runway, taxiways, fighter and bomber hardstands were all ready for operational use - a month ahead of schedule. 

The Minister for Air approved the adoption of a new Air Force roundel which featured the ‘kangaroo in motion’ in the centre, replacing the red-white-and-blue roundel of the RAF which the Air Force and Royal Australian Navy both used. During 1955 the RAAF followed the lead of other Commonwealth air forces by looking at options for replacing the centre of the roundel with a distinctive national emblem. Designs suggested by Mrs Pamela Brinsley a staff artist at the Department of Air and wife of a serving RAAF officer, included the Southern Cross, a boomerang and a sprig of wattle, but eventually the 'kangaroo in motion' (as depicted on Australia's penny coin), was chosen by the Air Board.

The flame for the Games of the XVI Olympiad in Melbourne was carried on board a RAAF Canberra jet bomber from Darwin to Cairns, Queensland, which was the start point for a torch relay down the eastern coast of Australia. The flame, carried in two miners’ safety lamps (one a spare), had arrived from Greece on a Qantas airliner on the evening of 6 November and was handed to the Commanding Officer of the RAAF Station at Darwin for custody. After a civic reception next day, the flame was placed in a Canberra aircraft and flown nearly 1500 kilometres to Cairns, where it began a 4500-kilometre torch relay to Melbourne.

The last ten De Havilland Tiger Moth biplane trainers in service with the RAAF were flown in a group from Point Cook to Tocumwal, on the Murray River, where they were to be put up for sale to private owners. Australia's air force had been the first in the world to adopt the Moth type for training purposes. It purchased its first Gypsy Moths in 1927, before even the RAF acquired them. At the height of their use, during World War II, the RAAF operated over 860 of these aircraft, including 732 delivered from De Havilland’s factory at Bankstown, Sydney. With the departure of the last Moths from Point Cook, the RAAF bid farewell to the biplane age.

Three Neptune maritime patrol aircraft from No 11 Squadron arrived back at Richmond, New South Wales, after completing Operation Westbound—the first round-the-world flight by the RAAF. The aircraft had departed on 20 February.

Three squadrons were presented with the first Squadron Standards awarded to any RAAF units. At Tengah, Singapore, No 1 Squadron received its Standard from Air Marshal the Earl of Bandon, the Commander-in-Chief Far East Air Force, RAF. Meanwhile back in Australia, at Air Force Base Williamtown, Nos 3 and 77 Squadrons were both presented with their Standards by Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams at a parade of No 78 (Fighter) Wing, which formed part of Air Force Week celebrations.

Canberras of No 2 Squadron made the RAAF’s first jet bomber strike on this day, carrying out an Operation Firedog mission against Communist terrorists in Malaya. A formation of five aircraft––operating in conjunction with RAF Canberras and Venoms––attacked a jungle camp near Ipoh, with each RAAF Canberra dropping six 454-kg bombs through cloud onto the target. A second attack obliterated an enemy camp near Grik on 30 September, this time in company with RAF and RNZAF Canberras. A third strike against another base camp in the Ipoh area was carried out on 2 October. During 10 individual sorties flown on the morning of 8 December against a camp in a swamp at Sungei Tinggi, 60 bombs were dropped but once more with inconclusive results.

The first C-130A Hercules touched down at Richmond airbase on delivery from the United States, beginning a new era in RAAF airlift which lasted more than half a century. A total of five aircraft arrived under command of Wing Commander Ian Olorenshaw, who captained the first machine to touch down. Although a formal ceremony had been held on 6 November at the Lockheed factory in Marietta, Georgia, at which the aircraft were handed over to Australia’s Ambassador to the US, Howard Beale, a further ceremony was arranged at which the recently retired Vice-President of Lockheed represented the company. In receiving its first Hercules just two years after the US Air Force accepted its first aircraft of this type, the RAAF became the first international operator. In later years, the RAAF also became the only country (apart from the US) which has flown four generations of this one type.

The RAAF’s two squadrons of Sabre jet fighters at Butterworth airbase in Malaya were both used on an Operation Firedog mission on this day. Twelve aircraft, six from Nos 3 and 77 Squadrons, strafed two jungle camps near Bentong in Northern Pahang after these had first been bombed by RAAF, RAF and RNZAF Canberras. Several other missions were flown before a formal end to the Malayan Emergency was declared on 31 July 1960. These were the last operational missions flown by RAAF fighter aircraft for more than 40 years.

The Department of Air began to occupy its permanent offices at the Russell Hill Defence precinct in the national capital. Building No 1 was the first of four office blocks under construction on the site, and was planned to house the Air Staff and Secretariat of the Department of Air. The rest of the Department would occupy a second building scheduled for completion by May 1961.

The first Air Force presence in Canberra was in in 1927, when a temporary camp was established in for the official opening of Federal Parliament. Following this, 8 Squadron was formed as a bomber-reconnaissance unit in Canberra on 11 September 1939, flying ex-civilian DC-3 transport aircraft, to conduct patrols off the Australian coast and for transport tasks.

On 1 April 1940, the base was formally established as RAAF Station Canberra with the motto “Uphold and Endure” and throughout WWII, the airfield was used as a base for anti-submarine patrols and as a training school for personnel serving in army cooperation squadrons. From April 1942 to December 1943 three squadrons from the Netherlands East Indies Air Force were also based at Canberra.

Headquarters RAAF Station Canberra ceased to function on 31 May 1952 and Headquarters RAAF Canberra was formed the next day. Ten years later, on 19 March 1962, the name was again changed, to Headquarters RAAF Fairbairn, in honour of J.V. Fairbairn, the former Minister for Air who died in an air crash in Canberra on 13 August 1940.

From 1966, Fairbairn was an important location for military helicopter training, with No. 5 Squadron RAAF being located there until 1989. From 1990 to 1998 the Australian Defence Force Helicopter School was located at Fairbairn with one of the school's replacement units, the Army Helicopter School, remaining there until 2001.

Headquarters RAAF Fairbairn was closed on 30 January 1991 and on 28 May 1998 the base was sold to the Canberra International Airport, although part of the base was leased back to the Department of Defence. The base was decommissioned on 27 June 2003.

Today, Defence leases facilities from Canberra Airport including a Special Purpose Air Hangar (SPA Hangar) with apron and the adjacent VIP terminal facility which is known as Defence Establishment Fairbairn, home to Number 34 Squadron. The current 34 Squadron was formed on 12 March 1956 and provides transport for the Australian Government and other VIPs. Defence Establishment Fairbairn can also be used by other Australian Defence Force aircraft when required.

The Air Force also has a significant presence at other Defence Establishments within the ACT and surrounding region. Air Force Headquarters is based at Russell Offices and various other units, functions and projects spread across Campbell Park, Brindabella Park, Fairbairn, HMAS Harman and Headquarters Joint Operations Command in Bungendore. The Air force is also actively involved in the training of the next generation of ADF Officers at the Australian Defence Force Academy and future commanders at Australian Defence College.

Selected to replace the Avon Sabre as the RAAF's fighter aircraft in 1960, the Mirage entered service in 1965 and was the first aircraft in RAAF service capable of flying at twice the speed of sound. The first Australian-assembled Mirage flew at Avalon airfield in March 1963, and this and the following 48 aircraft were built as Mirage IIIO(F) interceptors. Following aircraft A3-50, production switched to the Mirage IIIO(A) ground attack aircraft with slightly different equipment for this role. In June 1969, the IIIO(F) aircraft were modified to the ground attack standard, to increase commonality within the Mirage fleet. After the cessation of Mirage operations, a number of aircraft were retained by the RAAF as training aids. 

Three DHC-4 Caribou Mk 1 light transports arrived at RAAF Base Richmond on delivery from the De Havilland Aircraft Company of Canada factory at Downsview in Toronto, Ontario. The Australian Government had placed an order for 18 of these aircraft in May 1963, the intention being to completely re-equip No 38 Squadron (then operating C-47/DC-3 Dakotas) by December 1964. A second consignment of three Caribous was similarly received in June, following a route across the Atlantic to Europe and through the Red Sea, but then the third and fourth batches were diverted to Vietnam instead. In September, seven more Caribous were ordered––six to enable the re-equipment program to continue, plus another to replace one wrecked in a landing accident in July. Eventually a total of 29 airframes of this type joined the RAAF.

Three DHC-4 Caribou Mk 1 transports arrived at Vung Tau, a coastal city 60 kilometres south-east of the South Vietnamese capital, Saigon, marking the start of an Air Force presence during the Vietnam War which would last until February 1972. The aircraft were on their delivery flight from Canada when they were diverted at Butterworth, Malaysia, to equip RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam, a new unit brought into existence at Butterworth on 20 July.

Air Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger became the first Australian airman appointed to Air Chief Marshal as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC). He was also the first Chairman and the first graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, to reach four-star level. He had then held the COSC job for nearly four years, since relinquishing the RAAF’s top post of Chief of the Air Staff in May 1961. Originally appointed for two years, after less than a year in the job the Government extended his term to four years, then extended him again in September 1964 through to May 1966. Special amendments to Air Force Regulations were required to allow Scherger’s promotion, on his existing pay and allowances. His advancement in rank nonetheless helped to cement the authority and prestige of the Chairman’s role, and the practice was continued for his successors

The main party of Base Support Flight departed from Sydney and proceeded to Saigon via Manila, to provide the domestic services (barracks, catering, motor transport, etc) and personnel administrative functions required by the growing Air Force contingent in South Vietnam. Until this point, the RAAF presence at Vung Tau had comprised a single flight of Caribou transports, but the arrival of a second flying squadron - No 9 Squadron operating Iroquois helicopters - meant that the level of support provided needed to be upgraded.

Australian infantry heavily engaged in the Long Tan rubber plantation near the Australian base at Nui Dat, South Vietnam were faced with vastly superior numbers of enemy forces. Running critically short of ammunition, a call for resupply was made. Two Air Force UH-1B Iroquois helicopters, captained by Flight Lieutenants Frank Riley and Cliff Dohle, took off in torrential rain and failing light and flew to the location at tree top height. Arriving overhead at about 6 pm, the aircraft hovered at 30 (9 metres) feet while crews dropped boxes of ammunition wrapped in blankets through the trees directly into the company positions below. After the enemy withdrew the squadron's helicopters returned to assist with evacuating the wounded to hospital.

A new E-model Hercules transport from No 37 Squadron took off from Vung Tau, South Vietnam, to carry out the first medical evacuation flight direct to Australia. For this first flight, the crew, led by Squadron Leader R.E. Bateson, carried 51 cases over the 7165-kilometre distance from Vung Tau to Richmond, non-stop, in 14 hours and ten minutes. Previously the A-model Hercules performed this work as part of normal courier flights, usually routed through the RAAF Base at Butterworth, Malaysia, where patients were stabilised at No 4 RAAF Hospital before onward movement.

When an American gunship helicopter crashed into dense jungle inside enemy-held territory eight kilometres from the Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat, Corporal John Coughlan, a crewman with No 9 Squadron in Vietnam, volunteered to be winched down to provide assistance to the badly injured crew. The downed aircraft was burning fiercely, its ammunition and rockets exploding dangerously, and he was frequently forced to take cover from shrapnel. Three months later he performed a similar feat in aid of another downed US helicopter. On 17 June 1968 Coughlan was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, the highest flying award for non-commissioned ranks (other than the Victoria Cross). He was the first RAAF member awarded the CGM since World War II and only the tenth to receive the medal since it was instituted in 1943.

A new P-3B Orion awaiting delivery to the RAAF following acceptance from the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation factory was destroyed by fire after the undercarriage failed on landing at Moffett Naval Air Station. The aircraft was one of the first three of this type due to arrive in April, but the arrival date was deferred until 13 May. Australia’s order was initially for ten P-3B Orions to equip No 11 Squadron for maritime patrol duties. A second order for ten AP-3Cs re-equipped No 10 Squadron in 1978.

The ‘Telstars’ gave their final public performance of formation flying over Yallourn, Victoria, after five years as an official Air Force aerobatic team using Vampire Mk 35A jet trainers. Over the period December 1967 to January 1968, the team converted their sequences onto the Aermacchi MB-326H with which the Central Flying School was then re-equipping.

Ten Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Sabre Mk 32s, which had formerly been in service with Air Force squadrons, were officially handed over to the Royal Malaysian Air Force, along with spare parts, ground equipment, and a simulator for training, as a gift worth some $10 million. This followed an announcement made in April by Prime Minister John Gorton, as part of Australia’s commitment to provide military assistance to its allies in South-East Asia.

At about 0230 hours, an eight-man section of RAAF Airfield Defence Guards on listening patrol outside the US airbase at Phan Rang, South Vietnam, fought an enemy party of unknown size. In two earlier incidents that night, pairs of enemy were repelled as they attempted to penetrate the base’s perimeter. As a result, Corporal Noel Power shifted his section’s position to cover two canal crossings most likely to be used by withdrawing intruders. Moments later the patrol exchanged fire with an unseen enemy in an action lasting five minutes. After contact was broken, Power conducted several sweeps of the area without locating anything. During a further search at dawn, however, his men found a wounded enemy from whom it was learnt that a raid by North Vietnamese sappers had been foiled. Power received the first Military Medal awarded to a RAAF member since World War II.

On this day No 4 Forward Air Control Flight was formed as an independent unit at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, to train RAAF, RAN and Army pilots in all facets of Forward Air Control (FAC) work. The unit commenced with four CAC Winjeel aircraft fitted with radios compatible with Army tactical networks, smoke grenade dispensers for target marking, and an establishment of just two personnel. It flew its first mission in conjunction with the Army at Singleton, NSW, on 6 April, using aircraft A85-413. The Australian-designed and built Winjeel had been the RAAF’s basic trainer since 1955. Although it had been planned to retire the type from 1968, it was still considered suitable for FAC work until replaced by the Pilatus PC-9 in 1994. While the Flight was disbanded in January 1989, the FAC function became the role of No 4 Squadron formed in 2009. 

The first five of 24 F-4E Phantom aircraft, arrived at RAAF Base Amberley to provide Australia with an interim strike capability pending delivery of F-111s that were on order but had been subjected to various delays. The supersonic F-4E provided a substantial leap in technology and capability compared to the superseded Canberra, and provided the RAAF with experience on the systems and maintenance of modern strike aircraft.

The Headquarters of the Integrated Air Defence System (IADS) was formed at Butterworth, Malaysia, to provide for the air defence of Singapore and Malaysia as part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) agreed at ministerial talks in London. The new organisation replaced the air defence set-up under Britain’s Far East Command and which controlled the Far East Air Force. Headquarters IADS assumed this responsibility when it was declared operational on 1 September 1971, although FPDA did not enter into force until 1 November. Under the terms of the agreement covering IADS, Australia was to provide the commander and Malaysia the deputy, while the remaining staff were drawn from the UK, New Zealand and Singapore. The first commander appointed was Air Vice-Marshal Ron Susans, RAAF, who remained in the post until 1974.

At about 2.45 pm, Canberra bomber A84-228 belonging to the RAAF’s No 2 Squadron was preparing to bomb a target 80 kilometres west of Hue, South Vietnam, when it was struck by two surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). Although the aircraft, crewed by Wing Commander John Downing (the unit’s Commanding Officer) and Flight Lieutenant Alan Pinches, was at 14 000 feet, it was also more than 600 kilometres from its home base at Phan Rang. Realising that the bomber had suffered critical damage and was at risk of breaking up, the two men were forced to eject. Both landed by parachute on a steep mountain ridge, from where they were rescued by an American helicopter late the next day. While both required hospitalisation for injuries sustained in the ejection or parachute landing, they had survived the only time that a RAAF aircraft has been confirmed as shot down by a SAM.

No 2 Squadron flew its final Canberra bombing missions of the Vietnam War before withdrawing from its base at Phan Rang, in Ninh Thuan Province. During nearly four years of operations, No 2 Squadron had dropped 76 389 bombs totalling 27 158 tonnes. It was to be another 32 years (until 2003) before the Air Force again dropped a bomb in anger.

The Air Force Memorial, constructed on Anzac Parade in Canberra, was unveiled by HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in his official role as Marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force. The memorial pays tribute to the Air Force's history and was designed by Mrs Inge King and consists of stainless steel vertical wing shapes, symbolic of flight.

The first six F-111Cs arrived at Air Force Base Amberley, ten years after 24 of these aircraft were ordered by the Australian Government to replace the Air Force’s ageing Canberra bombers. The Air Force now possessed what has been widely regarded as one of the world’s outstanding strike aircraft.

After Darwin was devastated by Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Eve of 1974, the RAAF led the effort to go to the city’s relief. Although the RAAF Base had not been spared in the destruction, as soon as the storm abated its personnel immediately set to work clearing debris from runways to allow limited operations to be restored. The first aircraft to use the airfield was a RAAF Dakota which had been flown south the previous day to escape the cyclone. Meanwhile, a C-130 Hercules configured for medical evacuation had been dispatched from Richmond, NSW, during the mid-afternoon. After diverting to Mount Isa, Queensland, to collect an official party that had got that far by RAAF BAC-111, the flight reached Darwin at 10 pm and landed on the runway marked only by flares ‘under extremely marginal conditions using the aircraft’s radar’

A C-130 (A97-160) took off from RAAF Base Butterworth, Malaysia, bound for Saigon (the then capital of the Republic of Vietnam), to join an international relief effort for tens of thousands of civilian refugees displaced during a major Communist military offensive which would ultimately collapse the southern regime. In response to this humanitarian crisis, Australia formed Detachment ‘S’––an ad hoc transport force of C-130s from Richmond, NSW, and two Dakotas from Butterworth––to assist with the distribution of Red Cross supplies and other non-military tasks. Within two weeks, the detachment had grown to total eight C-130s, which used Saigon’s Tan Son Nhut Airport as their base. When the general security situation in Saigon deteriorated in mid-April, the detachment was forced to shift its base to Don Muang Airport at Bangkok, Thailand, and operate daily into Saigon for the last week of operations. Australian’s Ambassador and embassy staff were evacuated by the Air Force on 25 April, shortly before the fall of Saigon on 30 April.

Three Hercules transports that were previously used to fly humanitarian relief missions around South Vietnam, to ameliorate the sufferings of the civilian population in the face of a massive Communist offensive, were used to evacuate Australia’s Ambassador and Embassy staff from Saigon. Flying in from their temporary base at Bangkok, the first Hercules departed carrying Vietnamese nationals (including orphans and nuns) approved for evacuation, while the second took off at 7 pm with the Ambassador and the last 10 members of his staff, along with some Australian journalists and Vietnamese refugees. The third aircraft touched down subsequently to bring out remaining luggage from the Embassy, and four airfield defence guards who could not be accommodated on the previous overcrowded flight. A Dakota from Butterworth made the final RAAF flight the next day. Saigon fell on 30 April, ending the Vietnam War.

A 16-man forward party left Canberra to prepare for the arrival at Ismailia, Egypt, of the air unit committed by Australia to the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in Sinai. The unit, referred to as AUSTAIR, was required to help monitor the 300 kilometre-long buffer zone separating Egyptian and Israeli forces after the 1973 war fought along the Suez Canal. At full strength, AUSTAIR comprised four Iroquois helicopters operated by 13 officers and 32 airmen––all drawn from the RAAF except four aircrew and maintenance personnel from the RAN. The first helicopter was flown from No 5 Squadron at RAAF Base Fairbairn by C-130 on 8 July, with the rest following in further C-130 flights that month, and the first mission in support of UNEF was flown on 1 August. The unit remained in Sinai for three years before being withdrawn. 

After civil war erupted in Portuguese Timor (East Timor) in August 1975, a DHC-4 Caribou (A4-140) was sent from No 38 Squadron to fly Red Cross personnel and supplies from Darwin. The aircraft was frequently used to shuttle refugees back to Darwin, until the Australia Government stopped the practice. When troops of the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) heard that evacuation flights had been halted, they panicked and took over the aircraft. The crew was forced at gunpoint to take off with 54 people crammed on board the Caribou, instead of the maximum of 28 it was designed to carry. The aircraft wallowed towards Darwin at just 90 knots at an altitude of 1500 feet (457 metres), and when it landed had just 10 minutes fuel remaining. The soldiers surrendered peacefully, but A4-140 had become the first RAAF aircraft ever hijacked.

After nearly a decade of removing the inequalities between servicewomen and their male colleagues, the final step was taken of disbanding the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF) as a separate entity and transferring its personnel to the ordinary RAAF. Similarly, members of the RAAF Nursing Service were integrated into the Air Force’s Medical Branch. The separate disciplinary code formerly applied to women was rescinded, and a uniform code covered both sexes in areas such as powers of command. Provisions which discriminated against women by preventing WRAAF members from serving overseas, remaining in the Service after marriage, and receiving equal pay to men, had all been previously eliminated––in 1967, 1969 and 1972 respectively. From 1977, it was mainly only areas of employment classed as combat-related which remained closed to women in the RAAF.

The unit known as AUSTAIR, which Australia contributed to the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in Egypt, flew its last operational mission. For the previous three years, the unit had been supporting ceasefire arrangements in the Sinai Desert between Egyptian and Israeli forces, but as the two countries had signed a peace agreement ending hostilities the UN mandate was not renewed after it expired on 24 July.

Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams KBE, CB, DSO, “Father of the Air Force” died, at the age of 89. His 25 year career with the Air Force included a record 17 year tenure as Chief of the Air Staff. He was the first Air Force member to hold the rank of Air Marshal. In addition to his distinguished Air Force career, Sir Richard completed another nine years as Director-General of Civil Aviation before retiring a second time.

The first example of a new ensign featuring the Air Force's ‘leaping kangaroo’ roundel in place of the RAF cockade went on display in the office of the Chief of Air Staff, finally completing the process of evolving a distinctive flag for the Air Force. After receipt of Royal Assent during the Air Force's diamond jubilee year, the new Ensign was gazetted in 1982.

The crew of a RAAF P-3B Orion maritime patrol aircraft from No 10 Squadron commenced the first ‘prosecution’ of a Soviet Echo II class submarine transiting from the South China Sea through the Straits of Malacca to the Indian Ocean. Over the next five days Orion crews used radar and sonobuoys to detect, identify and track the submarine. The episode was the first of many conducted under Operation Gateway during the Cold War. In response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Detachment A of No 92 Wing (comprising up to three Orions with support staff) was stationed at Butterworth, Malaysia, from February 1981. The detachment began the regular monitoring of Soviet ships and submarines passing through the region, before moving into the more aggressive prosecution phase a year later. These patrols ended with the Cold War in 1989, whereupon Operation Gateway focused on maritime security.

The Rotary Wing Aviation Unit of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) body – to which RAAF contributed eight of the ten Iroquois helicopters required – flew its first mission from El Gorah, the unit’s operating base in the north-eastern Sinai, about 20 kilometres from the Mediterranean coast.

The US-led MFO had been set up in 1981 to monitor arrangements for the return of Egyptian territory in the Sinai which Israel had occupied since 1967. After Australia agreed to take part, the RAAF helicopters were delivered to Ashdod, Israel, by the heavy landing ship HMAS Tobruk on 19 March, and the 89 personnel drawn from the RAAF, RAN and Army arrived by RAAF B-707 transport the next day. On 21 March, the aircraft flew to El Gorah. The RWAU contingent remained in the Sinai until March 1986, when Australia withdrew from the MFO to reduce its peacekeeping commitments.

The first two F/A-18 Hornets landed at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, on completion of their delivery flight from the US. On approaching Williamtown, the group was met by a flight of Air Force Mirage fighters which escorted them into their destination. Each Hornet was refuelled seven times from the accompanying KC-10 tanker as the group headed towards Hawaii from California. South of Hawaii another KC-10 flew out to meet them and refuelled the first tanker. After passing Hawaii, the Hornets were each refuelled another eight times before the epic flight was over. This trans-Pacific flight lasted 15 hours.

Her Majesty, The Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, presented a new Queen's Colour for the Royal Australian Air Force during a parade at RAAF Base Richmond involving more than 900 members wearing the new pattern Air Force uniform. All the Colours, Standards and Banners of the Air Force were also paraded during the ceremony.

The 30-year permanent presence of RAAF fighter units based at Butterworth, Malaysia, ended with a special ceremony. In future, the Australian presence would comprise a detachment of P-3C Orions, an Army rifle company (changed over at three-month intervals), and regular rotational detachments of F/A-18 Hornets sent from Australia. The parade to mark the new arrangements was attended by Australia’s Defence Minister and the Secretary of the Department of Defence, along with the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Ray Funnell; Malaysia was also represented by its Defence Minister and the Chief of the Royal Malaysian Air Force. As RAAF and RMAF airmen paraded with their respective bands, there was a symbolic flypast of Mirages leading F/A-18, F-111 and P-3C aircraft. Spectators included six former Commanding Officers of Butterworth, from when it was a RAAF base before 1970, who were flown from Australia especially for the occasion. 

RAAF Base Curtin is a joint use military air base and civil airport located on the north coast of Western Australia about 35 kilometres south-east of Derby and 170 kilometres east of Broome, and covering an area of more than 25,000 hectares. Curtin is one of 3 RAAF bare bases that form an arc across the north of Australia, the others being Scherger on Cape York and Learmonth on the North West Cape peninsular of Western Australia. Although, during peacetime, Curtin is maintained by a small caretaker staff permanently stationed there, the base is activated for Defence Force exercises and operations by units deploying to the base from other parts of Australia.

During the 1930s, the RAAF developed a network of airfields around the Australian coast to provide protection for Australia's sea lanes of communication. As part of that program, the Minister for Defence, announced in 1934 that land would be acquired from the West Australian government of a site near Derby for constructing an all-weather landing ground. As the likelihood of war approached, existing airfields at Broome, Derby and Wyndham were upgraded along with other defence facilities in Western Australia.

Within weeks of the first Japanese bombing raids against Darwin on 19 February 1942, Derby and Broome suffered the same fate. Following a morning reconnaissance on 20 March 1942, about an hour later a medium force of enemy bombers and fighters attacked the two towns almost concurrently. While Broome aerodrome was bombed, Derby was strafed with machine-gun and cannon fire from a low level. Fortuitously, the enemy’s three runs over the target caused no casualties and resulted in little damage. In any case, an Operational Base Detachment was deployed to Derby aerodrome. It was based there for some time before Western Area formed it into No. 80 Operational Base Unit on 3 July 1944. The unit mounted .303 Vickers (Medium) and .50 calibre Browning Machine Guns in pits to provide anti-aircraft defence, trained in their use and developed a defence plan for the base. The unit’s main activity was to maintain and refuel transiting aircraft and to aid in the transhipping of bombs and fuel to other units. After the war ended, No. 80 Operational Base Unit departed Derby for Broome on 14 December 1945 where it lodged on No. 79 Operational Base Unit before finally disbanding on 11 January 1946.

Some 36 years later, in 1982, the Standing Parliamentary Committee on Public Works (Public Works Committee) considered a proposal for the establishment of a forward defence air base at Derby to allow operations by all types of RAAF aircraft.  At the time, the nearest airfields that could accommodate the RAAF’s fighters were Darwin and Tindal in the Northern Territory and Learmonth, another bare base, near Exmouth in Western Australia. Darwin / Tindal and Learmonth are about 2000 kilometres apart and adequate air defence of the entire north west of Australia could not be provided from them. Therefore, an airfield about half way between them was needed to fill the gap in Australia’s air defence capability.

While a number of civil aerodromes were available in the Derby - Broome area, none had runways of sufficient length nor runway pavements of sufficient strength to accommodate modern fighter jets. Accordingly, the Public Works Committee concluded that there was a need for a new military airfield in the north-west of Australia.

Construction at the Derby South site commenced in 1983 and was completed in December 1987. On 11 June 1988, Prime Minister the Honourable R.J.L. Hawke, AC, GCL, attended by the Chief of the Air Force (CAS) Air Marshal R.G. Funnell, AC, and conducted the official opening. After the official opening, CAS issued a directive discontinuing use of the name Derby South, and formally naming the new base RAAF Curtin, in honour of the Right Honourable John J.A. Curtin, Member for Fremantle in Western Australia, who served as Australia’s 14^th Prime Minister from 7 October 1941 until his death on 5 July 1945.

After works associated with a civilian terminal and air service were completed in 1989, the civilian airport located near town of Derby was reduced to light aircraft status and is now used by charter and tourist operators, private craft and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. RAAF Curtin became a joint use, military and civilian airfield with Derby Curtin Aerodrome operating under a Civil Lease Agreement with West Kimberley Shire.

Curtin has been activated a number of times for large-scale exercises, including Kangaroo ’89 and ‘92 as well as Pitch Black ’91, a major air defence exercise. The base, which normally had a caretaker staff of 4, was able to expand to a fully functioning air base and headquarters with about 800 military personnel and fighter, strike and transport aircraft. Similarly, in 2016 No. 382 Combat Response Squadron outdid itself when within 48 hours it turned RAAF Base Curtin into a fully functioning airfield ready to support flying operations for Exercise Northern Shield 2016.

In 1995, the federal government established a detention centre at Curtin to accommodate asylum seekers arriving in northern Australia by boat. All operational activities, such as exercises programmed to involve RAAF Base Curtin during 1995 and early 1996, were transferred to RAAF Learmonth. The Curtin detention centre was shut down in 2002 but was re-opened again in 2010, before it was closed again in September 2014. At its peak, the detention centre held more than 1,000 detainees.

On 1 January 2013, responsibility for the provision of air base services at RAAF Curtin transferred to No. 13 Squadron. The occasion coincided with RAAF Curtin’s 25^th anniversary which was celebrated in June of that year.

While no RAAF units are permanently based at RAAF Base Curtin, it forms a vital element of Australia’s defence posture.