173rd Aviation Squadron (Australia)

Last updated

173rd Aviation Squadron
Active1974–present
CountryAustralia
Branch Australian Army
TypeTraining
Role Special operations aviation
SizeOne squadron
Part of 6th Aviation Regiment
Garrison/HQ Holsworthy Barracks
Aircraft flown
Helicopter MRH 90 Taipan

The 173rd Aviation Squadron is an Australian Army helicopter training squadron equipped with MRH 90 Taipan helicopters and provides support to the Special Operations Command. The squadron is based at Luscombe Airfield, Holsworthy Barracks, Sydney and forms part of the 6th Aviation Regiment. [1] [2] The squadron may have been renamed as it does not appear in an Army December 2020 Order of battle. [3]

Contents

The squadron originally operated fixed-wing aircraft designated as the 173rd General Support Squadron and was later renamed the 173rd Surveillance Squadron. In 2010, the squadron was renamed the 173rd Aviation Squadron when it transitioned to rotary aircraft.

History

On 17 February 1974, the 173rd General Support Squadron was formed as part of the 1st Aviation Regiment based at Oakey and initially operated 6 Pilatus PC-6 Porters. In 1978, the squadron also received 11 GAF Nomad aircraft. [4] During this time, the squadron undertook a variety of Army co-operation roles utilising the short take-off and landing characteristics of its aircraft. These included: artillery spotting, troop transport, field resupply, medevac, ground-air liaison. It was also used for survey work in the South Pacific and flood relief in Australia. [5] In 1978, the squadron was involved in Operation Cenderawasih a mapping program in Irian Jaya in Indonesia with the Indonesian Army. [6]

With the retirement of the Porters in October 1992, [7] [8] the following year the squadron adopted the title of "173rd Surveillance Squadron" under this guise it undertook the aerial surveillance and survey roles and was also used as a vehicle to deliver parachute troops. In 1993, it acquired 12 more Nomads, mainly unsold civilian variants which had been kept in storage, to replace the Porters.

A King Air B350 at Kingsford Smith International Airport in 2006 Beechcraft B300 King Air 350 A32-426.jpg
A King Air B350 at Kingsford Smith International Airport in 2006

In August 1995, following the fatal crashes involving Nomads from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the School of Army Aviation, the aircraft were withdrawn from service. [7] [8] Most of the Nomad fleet was sold to the Indonesian Navy but two were retained as unflyable training aids. [9]

As a consequence, the squadron operated 4 Embraer EMB 110P1 Bandeirante aircraft leased from Flight West Airlines temporarily while a replacement for the Nomad was found. [8] [10] From 1996, these aircraft were replaced with 3 Beechcraft King Air B200 aircraft leased from Hawker Pacific to be based at Oakley and 3 de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 320 aircraft leased from Hawker Pacific to be based in Darwin. [7] [8] [11] On 9 November 1997, Twin Otter VH-HPY was lost in a tropical mountainous training accident in Papua New Guinea, resulting in serious injuries to the three trainees and instructor onboard. [11]

The squadron served in several East Timor operations including INTERFET, UNTAET, UNMISET and Operation Astute. [6] [12] A squadron King Air was the first ADF aircraft to land in Dili ahead of the INTERFET peace-keeping taskforce in 1999. [8]

By 2004, the remaining Twin Otter aircraft based in Darwin had been withdrawn from service, while the King Air B200 was replaced by the more modern King Air B350 variant leased from Hawker Pacific. [13] [14] Restructuring of Army's aviation capability saw the squadron separated from 1st Aviation Regiment and placed under the command of 16th Aviation Brigade as an independent unit. [15]

By 2007, further re-organisation assigned all fixed-wing military aircraft to the RAAF and the squadron was to relocate to Sydney as a helicopter training and surveillance squadron under the newly raised 6th Aviation Regiment. In March 2008, the squadron became part of the 6th Aviation Regiment. [1] On 20 November 2009, the squadron handed the King Air over to the RAAF. [16]

On 11 February 2010, the squadron was renamed as the "173rd Aviation Squadron" converting to rotary aircraft based with the 171st Aviation Squadron (now 171st Special Operations Aviation Squadron) at the recently redeveloped Luscombe Army Airfield operating a fleet of Bell 206B-1 Kiowa helicopters. [16] [17] The Kiowas were operated to provide training for graduate pilots unable to undertake operational conversions to the delayed MRH 90 Taipan and Tiger ARH helicopters. [12] The Kiowa had been retired on 26 October 2009 from the 1st Aviation Regiment. [18]

In 2013, the squadron transitioned to the Black Hawk helicopter with the role of providing support to the Special Operations Command and returned the Kiowa to the Army Aviation Training Centre at Oakey. [12]

In February 2019, the squadron commenced transitioning from the retiring Black Hawk helicopters to the MRH-90 Taipan helicopters with the transition completed in December 2021. [19] [20] [21]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "6th Aviation Regiment". Australian Army. Archived from the original on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  2. ↑ Pittaway, Nigel (February 2018). "Vigilance". AirForces Monthly. No. 359. Key Publishing. p. 68. ISSN   0955-7091 . Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Army ORBAT Structure" (PDF). Department of Defence. Australian Army. 31 December 2020. Freedom of Information 274/20/21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2021.
  4. ↑ Eather 1995 , p. 150.
  5. ↑ Eather 1995 , pp. 150–151.
  6. 1 2 "1st Aviation Regiment". The Australian Army Aviation Association. Archived from the original on 22 August 2009.
  7. 1 2 3 "1st Aviation Regiment". The Australian Army Aviation Association. Archived from the original on 7 December 2002.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "History of Australian Army Aviation". Unofficial history of the Australian & New Zealand Armed Services. Lt Colonel A Argent AAAvnC (Ret), Colonel R Harding AAAvnC (Ret) and Brigadier Brian H Cooper AAAvnC (Ret) with the assistance of the Head of the Aviation Corps, Brigadier Robert Walford. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  9. ↑ Crick, D; Avery, L (17 March 2016). "Army & RAAF A18 Government Aircraft Factory N22 & N24A Nomad". adf-serials.com.au.
  10. ↑ Eather 1995 , p. 151.
  11. 1 2 "Investigation Report 9703719" (PDF). Bureau of Air Safety Investigation. June 1999.
  12. 1 2 3 "Army aviation in Australia 1970–2015" (PDF). Australian Army. Australian Army Flying Museum. 24 February 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  13. ↑ Jamieson, Cpl Cameron (1 December 2005). "Fit for a king – Handover of Army's first modified new surveillance aircraft". Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper (1134 ed.). Canberra, Australia: Department of Defence. ISSN   0729-5685. Archived from the original on 4 April 2011.
  14. ↑ "173 heads back to Queensland". Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper (1113 ed.). Canberra, Australia: Department of Defence. 10 February 2005. ISSN   0729-5685. Archived from the original on 22 March 2011.
  15. ↑ "1st Aviation Regiment". Australian Army. 8 March 2012. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  16. 1 2 Hamilton, Eamon (10 December 2009). "Fixed Wings Freed" (PDF). Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper (1227 ed.). Canberra, Australia: Department of Defence. p. 6. ISSN   0729-5685. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  17. ↑ Brooke, Michael (18 March 2010). "Team effort raises sqn" (PDF). Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper (1231 ed.). Canberra, Australia: Department of Defence. ISSN   0729-5685. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  18. ↑ Ashby-Cliffe, Cpl Jane (12 November 2009). "Kiowas' final salute" (PDF). Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper (1225 ed.). Canberra, Australia: Department of Defence. ISSN   0729-5685. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  19. ↑ Jennings, Gareth (6 February 2019). "Australia begins SOF helo transition from Black Hawk to MRH90". Janes. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  20. ↑ Australian National Audit Office (2020). "Multi-Role Helicopter Project Data Summary Sheet". 2019–20 Major Projects Report - Department of Defence (PDF). ANAO Report No.19 2020–21. Canberra: The Auditor-General. ISBN   9781760336066 . Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  21. ↑ McLaughlin, Andrew (10 December 2021). "With a new Black Hawk on the way, the original is retired". Australian Defence Business Review. Retrieved 11 January 2022.

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References

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