This is a list of Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm flying squadrons. The Fleet Air Arm was founded in 1947. Since then the Royal Australian Navy has formed a number of squadrons which have operated a range of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters from aircraft carriers, other warships, and shore establishments. [1]
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wildcat and AW101 Merlin for commando and anti-submarine warfare and the BAE Hawk as an aggressor.
The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34. It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft. One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the replacement of the piston-engine powerplant with a turboshaft engine. Early models were powered by a single Napier Gazelle engine, while later builds used a pair of de Havilland Gnome engines.
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA), known formerly as the Australian Navy Aviation Group, is the division of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) responsible for the operation of aircraft. The FAA was founded in 1947 following the purchase of two aircraft carriers from the Royal Navy. FAA personnel fought in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and participated in later conflicts and operations from host warships.
HMAS Albatross is the main naval air station for the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm. The base, located near Nowra, New South Wales, was formally established in May 1942 as Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base RAAF Nowra, then was transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Nabbington in 1944, and operated as a naval air station until it was decommissioned in late 1945. In 1948, the airfield was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Albatross, as the primary shore base for the Fleet Air Arm. Since 2011, four squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm operate from Albatross. The current commander of the base is Captain Robyn Phillips, RAN.
No. 9 Squadron was a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The squadron was formed in early 1939 and saw active service in World War II as a fleet co-operation unit providing aircrews for seaplanes operating off Royal Australian Navy cruisers. It was disbanded in late 1944, but was re-raised in 1962 and later became an Army co-operation unit, flying helicopters in support of Australian troops during the Vietnam War. The squadron was disbanded in 1989 when the RAAF transferred its battlefield helicopters to the Australian Army's aviation regiments.
No. 5 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force training, army co-operation and helicopter squadron. The squadron was formed in 1917 as a training unit of the Australian Flying Corps in Britain, readying pilots for service on the Western Front. It subsequently became a naval fleet co-operation squadron, but was later redesignated as No. 9 Squadron RAAF before being re-formed as an army co-operation squadron during World War II. In the mid-1960s, it was re-formed as a helicopter squadron, before being disbanded in December 1989, when it was used to form the Australian Defence Force Helicopter Training School.
No. 12 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) general purpose, bomber and transport squadron. The squadron was formed in 1939 and saw combat in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. From 1941 to 1943, it mainly conducted maritime patrols off northern Australia. The squadron was based at Merauke in western New Guinea from November 1943 to July 1944, when it was withdrawn from operations. After being re-equipped, it operated as a heavy bomber unit from February 1945 until the end of the war. The squadron continued in this role until it was redesignated No. 1 Squadron RAAF in February 1948. The squadron was reformed in 1973 to operate transport helicopters but was again disbanded in 1989.
851 Squadron was a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron. The squadron operated over two periods between 1954 and 1984, mainly in the training and transport roles.
850 Squadron was a short-lived Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm fighter squadron. Previously 850 Naval Air Squadron had been a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The squadron had been active in 1943 and 1943-1944.
816 Squadron is a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron that started out as a Royal Navy unit, 816 Naval Air Squadron.
No. 25 Squadron is a general reserve squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is based at RAAF Base Pearce in Perth, Western Australia, and forms part of the Combat Reserve Wing. The squadron was formed in early 1937 and until early 1939 was designated as "No. 23 Squadron". During World War II, it provided local air defence for the Perth region, before undertaking Army co-operation duties in 1943–1944 and then converting to a heavy bomber role in 1945. Flying B-24 Liberators, the squadron took part in operations against Japanese targets in the Netherlands East Indies and supported Allied ground operations during the Borneo Campaign.
805 Squadron was a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron. Originally formed as 805 Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm in 1940 and operating for the duration of World War II in both the Mediterranean and Pacific theatres. 805 Squadron was recreated as a unit of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1948, and operated from Australian aircraft carriers until 1982, having the distinction of being the last fast jet squadron in the RAN. 805 Squadron was re-established in 2001 to operate the Kaman Super Seasprite as a replacement for helicopters currently in service, but problems with the helicopters saw the project cancelled and the squadron disbanded in 2008.
723 Squadron is a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron. The squadron was first raised in 1952 and throughout its history has served operationally during the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and in East Timor. It currently operates as a helicopter training squadron and is based at HMAS Albatross at Nowra, New South Wales.
No. 8 Squadron was an Australian flying training squadron of World War I and medium bomber squadron of World War II. The squadron was formed in England in October 1917 as part of the Australian Flying Corps, and disbanded in April 1919. It was re-formed by the Royal Australian Air Force in September 1939. After seeing action during the Pacific War flying Lockheed Hudson and, later, DAF Beaufort bombers, the squadron was disbanded a second time in January 1946.
808 Naval Air Squadron is a ship-based helicopter squadron of the Royal Australian Navy.
725 Squadron is a naval aviation squadron of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Fleet Air Arm. The squadron was originally created in August 1943 as part of the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It initially served as a fleet requirements unit, was rerolled in August 1945 as a target towing unit, then was disbanded in December 1945. In January 1958, the squadron was re-formed, as a fleet requirements and communications unit of the RAN, operating a variety of fixed-wing aircraft. The squadron was redesignated as an anti-submarine warfare training squadron in May 1959, then was decommissioned in May 1961 and absorbed into 724 Squadron. 725 Squadron was recommissioned in November 1962 as an operational anti-submarine helicopter squadron, flying the Westland Wessex. During this commission, the squadron was involved in HMAS Sydney's troop transport voyages, the rescue of personnel following the Melbourne-Voyager collision, and the Operation Navy Help Darwin relief effort post-Cyclone Tracy. The squadron was decommissioned in December 1975. 725 Squadron was commissioned for the fourth time in June 2015, this time as a training unit for MH-60R Seahawk Romeo helicopters: the squadron had been reactivated two years prior as a non-commissioned unit train on and accept into service the Romeos.
724 Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm flying squadron. The squadron was formed for the first time in 1945 and was last disbanded in 1984.
The first involvement Australia had with naval aviation was in 1911, when an Australian-born Royal Navy officer became one of the first four naval officers to receive pilot qualifications. During World War I, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) experienced several forms of airborne operation, with HMAS Brisbane operating a seaplane, while HMA Ships Sydney and Australia were used for experiments with aircraft launch platforms. An aircraft embarked aboard Sydney was also involved in one of the first naval air battles. Several Australians also flew as part of the Royal Naval Air Service.
The McDonnell Douglas A-4G Skyhawk is a variant of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft developed for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The model was based on the A-4F variant of the Skyhawk, and was fitted with slightly different avionics as well as the capacity to operate AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. The RAN received ten A-4Gs in 1967 and another ten in 1971, and operated the type from 1967 to 1984.