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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 position of ‘Warrant Officer of the Air Force’ was instituted with the appointment of Warrant Officer Richard (‘Dick’) Newton. The post was created to provide a key conduit between Air Force’s senior leadership and the airman ranks. The present incumbent of this critical role is Warrant Officer of the Air Force - Fiona Grasby.