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  • 1960-1969
  • 1970-1979

The origins of the Royal Australian Air Force extend back to the early days of aviation, and we have made important contributions to defence and peacekeeping initiatives across the globe ever since.

1960-1969

 

Introduction of the Caribou 

Farewell Air Force’s Telstars 

Introduction of the P-3B Orion

RAAF arrives in Vietnam

Missing Dakota A65-81 is found
Display Date
08 Aug 1964

RAAF arrives in Vietnam

Three DHC-4 Caribou Mk 1 transports arrived at Vung Tau, marking the start of an Air Force presence during the Vietnam War which would last until February 1972.

RAAF DHC4 Caribou A4-159 on the flight line at the Vung Tau airfield
08 Aug 1964

RAAF arrives in Vietnam

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.

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RAAF DHC4 Caribou A4-159 on the flight line at the Vung Tau airfield
RAAF DHC4 Caribou A4-159 on the flight line at the Vung Tau airfield
Display Date
12 Jun 1966

Base Support Facilities – Saigon, South Vietnam

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.

Construction of base at Vung Tau South Vietnam
12 Jun 1966

Base Support Facilities – Saigon, South Vietnam

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.

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Construction of base at Vung Tau South Vietnam
Construction of base at Vung Tau South Vietnam
Display Date
18 Aug 1966

Battle of Long Tan

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. No 9 Squadron re-supplied the Australian infantry and later evacuated wounded following the enemy withdrawal.

Troop lifr out of Nui Dat by Iroquois by No. 9 Squadron helicopters
18 Aug 1966

Battle of Long Tan

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.

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Troop lifr out of Nui Dat by Iroquois by No. 9 Squadron helicopters
Battle of Long Tan
Display Date
27 Feb 1967

First medical evacuation direct to Australia from Vietnam

First medical evacuation flight direct to Australia from Vietnam.

Transit of patients from ambulance bus to a 37 Squadron E- model Hercules from Vung tau, South Vietnam to Richmond Australia for specialist care
27 Feb 1967

First medical evacuation direct to Australia from Vietnam

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.

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Transit of patients from ambulance bus to a 37 Squadron E- model Hercules from Vung tau, South Vietnam to Richmond Australia for specialist care
Medical Evacuation
Display Date
03 Oct 1967

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal recipient – Corporal John Coughlan

A crewman with No 9 Squadron in Vietnam, Corporal John Coughlan, volunteered to be winched down to provide assistance to the badly injured crew of a crashed US helicopter while ammunition exploded around him.

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal recipient – Corporal John Coughlan
03 Oct 1967

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal recipient – Corporal John Coughlan

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.

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Conspicuous Gallantry Medal recipient – Corporal John Coughlan
Conspicuous Gallantry Medal recipient – Corporal John Coughlan

1970-1979

 

F-4E Phantom arrives

F-111C arrives at Amberley

Cyclone Tracy

Caribou hijacked

WRAAF disbanded - personnel join RAAF

 

Caribou in Red Cross markings for service in Portugese Timor, 1975
Display Date
11 Feb 1970

First Military Medal awarded to RAAF member since World War II

In the early hours of 11 February, 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.

Corporal Noel Power on patrol
11 Feb 1970

First Military Medal awarded to RAAF member since World War II

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.

 

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Corporal Noel Power on patrol
Corporal Noel Power on patrol
Display Date
14 May 1971

Surface to Air missile downs RAAF aircraft

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).

Downing visited by Defence Minister John Gorton in hospital at Vung Tau
14 May 1971

Surface to Air missile downs RAAF aircraft

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.

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Downing visited by Defence Minister John Gorton in hospital at Vung Tau
Downing visited by Defence Minister John Gorton in hospital at Vung Tau
Display Date
31 May 1971

Last Bombing Mission of Vietnam War

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.

The last bomb loaded onto a Canberra bomber ready for take off
31 May 1971

Last Bombing Mission of Vietnam War

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.

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The last bomb loaded onto a Canberra bomber ready for take off
The last bomb loaded onto a Canberra bomber ready for take off
The full complement of No 2 Squadron RAAF at USAF Base Phan Rang, just before returning to Australia on 1971-06-04
The full complement of No 2 Squadron RAAF at USAF Base Phan Rang, just before returning to Australia on 1971-06-04
Display Date
30 Mar 1975

Humanitarian relief in Vietnam

A C-130 (A97-160) took off from RAAF Base Butterworth, Malaysia, bound for Saigon to join an international relief effort for tens of thousands of civilian refugees displaced during a major Communist military offensive.

This black-and-white photograph shows two Australian soldiers from the 1st Australian Task Force providing civilian food aid to a Vietnamese woman and her three children in Phuoc Tuy province during the Vietnam War
30 Mar 1975

Humanitarian relief in Vietnam

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.

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This black-and-white photograph shows two Australian soldiers from the 1st Australian Task Force providing civilian food aid to a Vietnamese woman and her three children in Phuoc Tuy province during the Vietnam War
(1966) This black-and-white photograph shows two Australian soldiers from the 1st Australian Task Force providing civilian food aid to a Vietnamese woman and her three children in Phuoc Tuy province during the Vietnam War
Display Date
25 Apr 1975

Evacuation of Saigon

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.

Airfield Defence Guards awaiting evacuation from Tan Son Nhut airport
25 Apr 1975

Evacuation of Saigon

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.

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Airfield Defence Guards awaiting evacuation from Tan Son Nhut airport
Airfield Defence Guards awaiting evacuation from Tan Son Nhut airport
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