Converting to Lockheed Hudsons in 1940, No.1 Squadron saw action in the Malayan and Dutch East Indies campaigns, and suffered severe losses before being reduced to cadre in 1942. It was re-formed with Bristol Beauforts the following year, and re-equipped with de Havilland Mosquitos in 1945 for further operations in the Dutch East Indies. Reduced to cadre once more after the war ended, No. 1 Squadron was re-established at Amberley in 1948 as an Avro Lincoln heavy bomber unit under No.82 Wing. From 1950 to 1958 it was based in Singapore, flying missions during the Malayan Emergency, where it bore the brunt of the Commonwealth air campaign against communist guerrillas. When it returned to Australia it re-equipped with English Electric Canberra jet bombers. It operated McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIleased from the USAF from 1970 to 1973, as a stop-gap pending delivery of the General Dynamics F-111C swing-wing bomber. The F-111 remained in service for 37 years until replaced by the Super Hornet in 2010. In 2014–15, and again in 2017, a detachment of Super Hornets was deployed to the Middle East as part of Australia's contribution to the war against the Islamic State.
Role and equipment
F/A-18F Super Hornet of No. 1 Squadron, February 2020
No. 1 Squadron is located at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, and controlled by No.82 Wing, which is part of Air Combat Group.[5] Its mission responsibilities include air-to-air and air-to-surface combat.[6] The squadron is nicknamed the "Fighting First".[7] The blazon of its crest is "the Australian Kookaburra in a diving position superimposed on the cross of Jerusalem", which symbolises the Victoria Cross-winning action of No.1 Squadron pilot Frank McNamara in Palestine during World WarI. The unit motto is Videmus Agamus ("We see and we strike").[8]
The squadron operates Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet multi-role fighters, the first of which entered service in March 2010.[7] Nicknamed the "Rhino", its missions include air superiority, fighter escort, land strike, maritime strike, close air support, and reconnaissance.[9] The Super Hornet is larger than the "classic" McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet formerly operated by the RAAF, carries more ordnance, and has a greater fuel capacity. It is fitted with a 20mm cannon and can be armed with air-to-air and anti-shipping missiles, as well as a variety of air-to-ground bombs and missiles.[9][10] Flown by a crew of two, a pilot and an air combat officer (ACO), it is capable of engaging targets in the air and on the surface simultaneously.[11][12] It can be refuelled in flight by the RAAF's Airbus KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transports.[13] The Super Hornets are serviced at the operating level by No.1 Squadron technical staff; heavier maintenance is conducted by Boeing Defence Australia and other contractors.[14][15]
History
World War I
No. 1 Squadron was established as a unit of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) at Point Cook, Victoria, in January 1916 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Reynolds.[16][17] With a complement of 28 officers, 195 airmen, no aircraft and little training, it sailed for Egypt in mid-March 1916, arriving at Suez a month later.[18] There it came under the control of the 5th Wing of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC).[19] Major Foster Rutledge, an Australian serving in the RFC, took command on 1June.[17][20] After training in England and Egypt, the unit was declared operational at its new headquarters in Heliopolis on 12June, when it took over aircraft belonging to No.17 Squadron RFC. Its three flights were, however, operating in isolation at different bases in the Sinai Desert, and the squadron did not reunite until December.[20][21] Flying primitive and poorly armed Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 two-seat biplanes, its primary roles during this period of the Sinai campaign were reconnaissance—including aerial photography—and artillery spotting for the British Army.[20][22] No.1 Squadron pilots attached to No.14 Squadron RFC took part in the Battle of Romani in July and August.[23][24] In September and October, B and C Flights, led by Captains Oswald Watt and Richard Williams respectively, undertook bombing and reconnaissance missions in support of the Australian Light Horse in northern Sinai.[25]
Members of CFlight, No.1 Squadron, including Lieutenant McNamara (left), Captain Williams (third from right) and Lieutenant Wackett (right), in front of a Martinsyde near the Suez Canal, Egypt, 1917
On 12September 1916, the British began to refer to No.1 Squadron as No.67 (Australian) Squadron RFC. This practice continued until January 1918, when the unit officially became known as No.1 Squadron AFC.[16][20] The relationship between airmen and ground crew was less formal than in British units; squadron members recalled that "The CO is the only one who is ever called 'sir'" and that officers did not demand "saluting and standing to attention and all that rot".[26] The unit received the first of several Martinsyde G.100 single-seat fighters to augment the B.E.2s on 16October; although considered obsolete, the "Tinsyde" was substantially faster than the B.E.2, and armed with forward-firing machine guns.[16][27] Shortly before the squadron took part in a bombing raid against Beersheba on 11November, Lieutenant Lawrence Wackett managed to fix a machine gun to the top plane of one of the B.E.2s, using a mount he designed himself.[28] Each flight was also assigned a Bristol Scout beginning in December, but it too was obsolete and under-powered, and the squadron ceased operating the type within three months.[16][29] Other older models issued to the unit included the Airco DH.6, Martinsyde G.102 and Nieuport 17.[16] On 17December, the squadron's flights were finally brought together at one base, Mustabig in Sinai.[21][30]
March 1917 saw the heaviest bombing campaign carried out by the squadron to date; short of its regular 20-pound (9.1kg) ordnance, the pilots improvised by dropping 6-inch (150mm)howitzer shells on Turkish forces along the Gaza–Beersheba line.[31] During one such mission on 20March, Lieutenant Frank McNamara earned the Victoria Cross for landing his Martinsyde in the desert under enemy fire and rescuing a fellow pilot whose B.E.2 had been forced down.[32] On 26March, No.1 Squadron took part in the First Battle of Gaza; it suffered its first combat death the next day, when one of its B.E.2s was attacked by a German Rumpler.[33] The unit participated in the Second Battle of Gaza on 19April; like its predecessor, the attack was a failure for the Allies.[34] Williams, later known as the "Father of the RAAF", assumed command of the squadron in May.[35][36] Two B.E.12s were delivered the same month; like the Martinsydes, they were armed with a forward-firing machine gun and employed as escorts for the B.E.2s.[37] By June, mechanical issues caused by hot summer weather and the threat from new German Albatros scouts were rendering the B.E.2s largely ineffective, and Williams urgently requested newer models.[38] Modern aircraft were eventually delivered, first the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 in October, and then the Bristol F.2 Fighter in December.[16] "Now for the first time," wrote Williams, "after 17 months in the field we had aircraft with which we could deal with our enemy in the air."[39]
Lieutenant Ross Smith (left) with a No.1 Squadron Bristol Fighter, Palestine, February 1918
No.1 Squadron joined the 40th (Army) Wing of the RFC's Palestine Brigade on 5October 1917.[40] On 22 and 24November, the squadron bombed Bireh village during the Battle of Jerusalem.[41] The first of its 29 confirmed aerial victories, over an Albatros, occurred on 3January 1918.[16] By month's end, its complement of aircraft included five B.E.2s, five Martinsydes, two R.E.8s, and nine Bristol Fighters.[42] The squadron supported the Capture of Jericho in February 1918.[43][44] It carried out air raids and reconnoitred prior to the First Transjordan attack on Amman in March and prior to the Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt a month later; it also flew reconnaissance missions during the advance to and fighting near Es Salt and Jisr ed Damieh.[45] By the end of March, it was equipped with 18 Bristol Fighters, which had replaced all the other types.[42] As well as undertaking offensive operations, the Bristol Fighters served in the photo-reconnaissance role.[16] During the last week of April 1918, the squadron moved its base forward from Mejdel to a new aerodrome outside Ramleh.[46] Williams relinquished command in June to take over 40th Wing.[47]
Beginning in August 1918, members of No.1 Squadron, including one of its aces, Lieutenant Ross Smith, were attached to Colonel T.E. Lawrence's Arab army to protect it against German bombing.[48] In September, the squadron began operating a Handley Page O/400,[49] the only Allied heavy bomber in the Middle East and the only twin-engined aircraft flown by the AFC.[16][20] That month it joined the Bristol Fighters in the final offensive of the Palestinian campaign, the Battle of Armageddon, inflicting what the Australian official history described as "wholesale destruction" on the Turkish Seventh Army.[50][51] By October, the Bristol Fighters had moved forward from Ramleh to Haifa and by the middle of the month were required to patrol and reconnoitre an exceptionally wide area of country, sometimes between 500 and 600 miles (800 and 970km), flying over Rayak, Homs, Beirut, Tripoli, Hama, Aleppo, Killis and Alexandretta. They bombed the German aerodromes at Rayak, where 32 German machines had been either abandoned or burnt, on 2October. On 19October, the first German aircraft was seen in the air since fighting over Deraa in mid-September, just prior to the Battle of Sharon. Smith and another pilot forced a DFW two-seater to land, and destroyed it on the ground by firing a Very light into the aircraft after the German pilot and observer had moved to safety.[52][53] In the wake of the 31October armistice with Turkey, the squadron relocated to Ramleh in December, and then in February 1919 to Kantara. There its members were personally farewelled by General Sir Edmund Allenby, who congratulated them for achieving "absolute supremacy of the air... a factor of paramount importance" to the Allied campaign.[54]
Inter-war years
Airco DH.9a at RAAF Point Cook, 1926
No. 1 Squadron returned to Australia on 5March 1919, and was disbanded.[20] In 1921, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was established as a separate branch of the military, and on 1January 1922, the squadron was re-formed on paper.[20][55] Its planned strength, approved by the Air Board in December 1921, was three officers and five airmen, operating four Airco DH.9s. Funding problems for the fledgling Air Force resulted in the disbandment on 1July of No.1 Squadron and other units established at the same time, their aircraft and personnel instead forming a single squadron of six flights under the control of No.1 Flying Training School (No.1 FTS) at Point Cook.[56] No.1 Squadron was reactivated as an operational unit of the RAAF reserve, known as the Citizen Air Force (CAF), at Point Cook on 1July 1925.[57] Its commanding officer was Flight Lieutenant Harry Cobby.[3]
Like No.3 Squadron, formed the same day at Point Cook but transferred to RAAF Richmond, New South Wales, three weeks later, No.1 Squadron was a multi-purpose or "composite" unit made up of three flights, each of which had a different role and comprised four aircraft: AFlight operated DH.9s for army cooperation, BFlight operated Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 fighters, and CFlight operated DH.9A bombers.[58] A third of the squadron's complement of 27 officers and 169 airmen was Permanent Air Force (PAF), and the rest CAF.[57][59] No.1 Squadron relocated from Point Cook to nearby RAAF Laverton on 1January 1928.[60] The RAAF retired its S.E.5s the same year, and in 1929 took delivery of Westland Wapiti general-purpose aircraft to replace its DH.9s and DH.9As.[61] Through the inter-war years, No.1 Squadron undertook a range of tasks including civil aid, flood and bushfire relief, search and rescue, aerial surveys, and air show demonstrations.[62][63] In October 1930, a de Havilland DH.60 Moth attached to the unit conducted Australia's first crop-dusting operation, at the behest of the Victorian Forestry Commission.[64]
Hawker Demons of No.1 Squadron at RAAF Laverton, August 1938
RAAF squadrons began adopting specialised roles in the early 1930s, No.1 Squadron becoming No.1 Single-Engined Bomber Squadron.[65] By November 1935 it was made up of two flights of newly delivered Hawker Demon fighter-bombers, and one of Wapitis.[66] In December 1935 it was augmented by No.1 FTS's Fighter Squadron and its six Bristol Bulldogs, which were redesignated fighter-bombers.[67][68]Nos.21 and 22 (Cadre) Squadrons were formed on 20April 1936 at Laverton and Richmond, respectively, absorbing the CAF personnel of Nos.1 and 3Squadrons, which became PAF units. The same day, No.1 Squadron was renamed No.1 (Fighter Bomber) Squadron. This reorganisation temporarily denuded No.1 Squadron of most of its aircraft, leaving only AFlight, with four Bulldogs and a Wapiti, in operation.[69][70] The Wapiti was transferred to No.1 FTS in July, and by the end of the month the squadron's complement of aircraft stood at four Bulldogs and one Moth.[71]
No. 1 Squadron began receiving new Demons in November 1936.[72] In January 1937, it relinquished its Bulldogs to No.21 Squadron, which was to hold them until they could be transferred to the soon-to-be-formed No.2 Squadron.[73] By the end of February, No.1 Squadron's strength was 12 Demons and one Moth, 11 officers and 108 airmen.[74] The unit was redesignated No.1 (Bomber) Squadron in August 1937.[67] Towards the end of the year, it was plagued by several Demon accidents, resulting in a series of inquiries and a review of RAAF procedures in 1938 by Marshal of the RAF Sir Edward Ellington; the so-called Ellington Report and its criticism of air safety standards led to the removal of Air Vice-Marshal Richard Williams from his position as Chief of the Air Staff, which he had held since the formation of the Air Force.[75] No.1 Squadron received the RAAF's first three CAC Wirraways on 10July 1939.[76] As the likelihood of war increased, the squadron's role was altered to incorporate reconnaissance as well as bombing, resulting in the transfer out of all Demons and Wirraways and the transfer in from other units of nine Avro Ansons on 28–29 August 1939; at the end of the month its personnel comprised nine officers and 122 airmen.[77]
World War II
Lockheed Hudson of No. 1 Squadron, c. 1940
Following the outbreak of World WarII, No.1 Squadron's Ansons were tasked with maritime patrol and convoy escort duties.[78] In 1940, the squadron became the RAAF's inaugural Lockheed Hudson unit; it received its first Hudson on 30March, and by the end of May had transferred out the last of its Ansons and was operating 11 of the new aircraft.[79][80] Deployed to Malaya to conduct maritime reconnaissance, No.1 Squadron arrived at Sembawang, Singapore, on 4July 1940.[78][81] It relocated to RAF Kota Bharu, near the Malaya–Thailand border, in August 1941.[82] Two days before the attack on Malaya, its Hudsons spotted the Japanese invasion fleet but, given uncertainty about the ships' destination and instructions to avoid offensive operations until attacks were made against friendly territory, Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham did not allow the convoy to be bombed.[83][84] Shortly after midnight, local time, on the night of 7/8 December, the Japanese force started landing on the beaches at Kota Bharu, close to the airfield, and from about 02:00, No.1 Squadron launched a series of assaults on the Japanese forces, becoming the first aircraft to make an attack in the Pacific War. The Hudsons sank a Japanese transport ship, the IJN Awazisan Maru, and damaged two more transports, the Ayatosan Maru and Sakura Maru, for the loss of two Hudsons, an hour before the attack on Pearl Harbor.[85][86] By the end of the day, Japanese ground forces had advanced to the outskirts of the airfield, forcing the squadron's remaining airworthy aircraft to be evacuated to Kuantan,[87][88] and from there back to Singapore.[89]
By Christmas Eve 1941, No.1 Squadron had five serviceable aircraft. Together with No. 8 Squadron RAAF, also equipped with Hudsons, it was tasked with maritime patrols to the east of Singapore.[90] On 26January 1942, two of the squadron's Hudsons spotted a Japanese convoy heading for Endau, on the east coast of Malaya. It was decided to attack the convoy with all possible strength, including four Hudsons from No.1 Squadron and five from No.8 Squadron, together with obsolete Vickers Vildebeest and Fairey Albacore biplanes of Nos.36 and 100 Squadrons RAF, and with what little fighter escort could be found. The convoy was strongly defended by Japanese fighters, and although all nine Hudsons returned to Singapore, several were badly shot up. The rest of the strike force did not fare as well; 11 Vildebeests, two Albacores, two Hudsons (of No. 62 Squadron RAF) and three fighters were lost.[91][92] By the end of the month, No.1 Squadron had withdrawn to airfield P.2 on Sumatra, along with several other Commonwealth units including No.8 Squadron. It continued to attack Japanese bases in Malaya and convoys in the Dutch East Indies, relocating to Semplak, Java, in mid-February. At Semplak it took over the Hudsons of No.8 Squadron and No.62 Squadron RAF, giving it a strength of 25 aircraft; at one stage it was to be renumbered as an RAF squadron, but this never occurred.[93] Heavily outnumbered by Japanese air units, which raided Allied bases with impunity, No.1 Squadron suffered heavy losses and was ordered to withdraw its four remaining Hudsons to Australia on 2March 1942, disbanding soon after. Although 120 of the squadron's personnel were evacuated from Java, 160 men including the commanding officer, Wing Commander Davis, were unable to escape and were taken prisoner by the Japanese; less than half survived captivity.[78][94]
No. 1 Squadron was re-formed with Bristol Beauforts on 1December 1943 at Menangle, New South Wales.[95] By March 1944 it had deployed to Gould, Northern Territory, where it was controlled by No.79 Wing under North-Western Area Command.[96] Its strength at the beginning of the month was some 350 officers and men, and 19 Beauforts.[97] The squadron commenced reconnaissance operations on 20March, and undertook its first bombing mission on 4April against Lautem, East Timor.[95] It attacked other targets in Timor during May, losing two aircraft.[98] Having undertaken 82 sorties in July, the Beauforts concentrated on maritime reconnaissance from August, using air-to-surface radar during operations from Gould and Gove.[95][99] After re-equipping with de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers at Kingaroy, Queensland, in January 1945, the squadron deployed to Morotai in May and then Labuan Island in June–July.[78][95] Now part of No.86 (Attack) Wing, it flew only a few missions before the end of the war, losing one Mosquito.[100] No.1 Squadron returned to Australia in December 1945 and was disbanded at Narromine, New South Wales, on 7August 1946.[95]
Malayan Emergency
Avro Lincoln of No. 1 Squadron dropping 500-pound (230kg) bombs on communist targets during the Malayan Emergency, c. 1950
No. 1 Squadron was re-formed as a heavy bomber unit on 23February 1948, when No.12 Squadron was re-designated.[78] Operating Avro Lincolns, it was based at RAAF Station Amberley, Queensland, where it formed part of No.82 (Bomber) Wing.[101] The wing's aircraft were serviced by No.482 (Maintenance) Squadron.[102] From July 1950 to July 1958—for the first two-and-a-half years under the auspices of No.90 (Composite) Wing—it was based in Singapore, flying missions against communist guerrillas during the Malayan Emergency.[78][103] Tasked by RAF Air Headquarters Malaya, the Lincolns generally conducted area bombing missions, as well as strikes against pinpoint targets. They operated singly and in formations, sometimes in concert with RAF bombers, and often strafed targets with their machine guns and 20mm cannon after dropping ordnance. The Lincolns were considered well suited to the campaign, owing to their range and ability to fly at low speeds to search for targets, as well as their firepower and heavy bomb load.[104] Not having to contend with anti-aircraft fire, they flew mainly by day, but No.1 Squadron also operated by night, the only Commonwealth unit to do so.[78][104]
The squadron carried out its own day-to-day maintenance in Malaya; the Lincolns were rotated back to Australia for major work.[105] Its original complement of six aircraft was increased to eight after the British Air Ministry requested in February 1951 that Australia augment its bomber force to partly offset the imminent withdrawal of the RAF's Lincolns to Bomber Command in Europe.[106] The squadron was awarded the Gloucester Cup for proficiency in 1950–51 and 1954–55.[107] It suffered no casualties during the campaign but two of its aircraft were written off: one that overshot the landing strip at Tengah in November 1951, and another that crashed into the sea off Johore after striking trees on takeoff in January 1957.[108]
Although the original purpose of the bombing campaign in Malaya was to kill as many insurgents as possible, the impracticality of achieving this in operations over dense jungle resulted in a shift towards harassing and demoralising the communists, driving them out of their bases and into areas held by Commonwealth ground troops.[104] Operation Kingly Pile, which involved two sorties by No.1 Squadron and one by English Electric Canberra jet bombers of No. 12 Squadron RAF on 21February 1956, was considered the most successful of the more than 4,000 missions conducted by the Lincolns, killing at least 14 communist troops.[109][110] By the time it was withdrawn to Australia in July 1958, No.1 Squadron had dropped over 14,000 tonnes of bombs—85 per cent of the total delivered by Commonwealth forces during the Emergency.[111][112] Its service was recognised with the presentation of a Squadron Standard by the Commander-in-Chief Far East Air Force, Air Marshal The Earl of Brandon.[113] As at 2014, the Malayan Emergency marked the last occasion that the unit took part in combat operations.[114]
Jet era
English Electric Canberra of the RAAF, 1964
No.1 Squadron re-equipped with Canberra Mk.20s after returning to Australia.[78] The RAAF's first jet bomber, the Canberra was subsonic but had long range and was highly manoeuvrable. It had been procured partly for its capacity to deliver nuclear weapons, an ordnance option the government seriously contemplated but never acquired. Initially the Canberra's envisaged mission profile was medium-to-high-altitude area bombing but its primitive bombsight and light load made this a dubious proposition, and by mid-1961 crews were training in low-level army cooperation tactics.[115][116] No.1 Squadron was awarded successive Gloucester Cups for its proficiency in 1959–60 and 1960–61.[117] As of January 1962, its strength was eight aircraft and 53 personnel, including 18 officers.[118] The unit effectively ceased operations in 1968, to begin converting to the General Dynamics F-111C supersonic bomber, which was expected to enter service soon afterwards.[119] Already controversial owing to its escalating cost, the F-111 program was heavily delayed by airworthiness concerns related to its swing-wing technology.[120] In September 1970, as an interim measure while awaiting delivery of the F-111, No.1 Squadron relinquished its Canberras for leased McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantoms.[121][122] Although the Phantom had a multi-role capability, the RAAF employed it as a strike aircraft to maintain compatibility with the proposed F-111 mission profile.[123] One of No.1 Squadron's Phantoms was lost with its crew of two in June 1971, the only fatalities and hull loss of the 24 aircraft leased to the RAAF.[124] Though not as sophisticated an aircraft as the F-111, the Phantom was a significant advance over the Canberra, and well regarded by its Australian crews.[125]
F-4E Phantom of the RAAF, 1971
No.82 Wing accepted its first F-111Cs in June 1973.[126] The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Charles Read, ordered that the new aircraft be flown with great caution initially, well within operational limits, to minimise the possibility of further damage to its reputation through early attrition.[127] No.1 Squadron was assigned 12 of the initial 24 aircraft delivered. It was No.82 Wing's lead strike force, No.6 Squadron's primary task being crew conversion training.[128][129] The wing employed a centralised servicing regime, whereby all aircraft and maintenance personnel were held by No.482 Squadron, which released the F-111s in line with Nos.1 and 6Squadrons' joint flying program.[130] In February 1981, responsibility for operating-level servicing of the F-111s was transferred to the flying squadrons, which for the first time took direct control of their F-111s.[131][132] No.482 Squadron continued to provide intermediate-level servicing; major upgrades and complex maintenance were carried out by No.3 Aircraft Depot.[128][133] These two organisations merged in 1992 to form No.501 Wing, which handed over heavy maintenance of the F-111 to Boeing Australia in 2001.[134] Between 1977 and 1993, the RAAF lost seven F-111Cs in crashes.[135] Three of the accidents involved aircraft flown by No.1 Squadron: in August 1979, January 1986 and September 1993, the last two killing both crew members.[136][137][138] In July 1996, No.1 Squadron took responsibility for aerial reconnaissance using specially modified RF-111Cs previously operated by No.6 Squadron.[139] This gave No.1 Squadron five mission types: land strike, maritime strike, close air support, long-range air defence, and reconnaissance.[140] In May 1999 the unit was again awarded the Gloucester Cup for proficiency.[141]
F-111s of No. 1 Squadron, February 2006
Along with its revolutionary variable-sweep wings, the F-111 was equipped with terrain-following radar and an escape module that jettisoned the entire cockpit in an emergency, rather than individual ejection seats.[142] Its top speed was Mach 2.5 and its combat radius allowed it to reach targets in Indonesia from bases in northern Australia.[143][144] Upon delivery in 1973 it was fitted with analogue avionics and could only drop unguided ("dumb") bombs. In its 37 years of service with the RAAF the type went through several upgrades, including the Pave Tack infra-red and laser-guided precision weapons targeting system, Harpoon anti-shipping missiles, and advanced digital avionics.[126][145] Alan Stephens, in the official history of the post-war Air Force, described the F-111 as "the region's pre-eminent strike aircraft" and the RAAF's most important acquisition.[146] The closest they came to being used in anger, though, was during Australian-led INTERFET operations in East Timor commencing in September 1999. Both F-111 squadrons were deployed to RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory, to support the international forces in case of action by the Indonesian military, and remained there until December; six of No.1 Squadron's aircraft and approximately 100 personnel were involved. From 20September, when INTERFET forces began to arrive in East Timor, the F-111s were maintained at a high level of readiness to conduct reconnaissance flights or air strikes if the situation deteriorated. As it happened, INTERFET did not encounter significant resistance, and F-111 operations were limited to reconnaissance by RF-111Cs from 5November through 9December.[147]
F/A-18F Super Hornet of No.1 Squadron on arrival at RAAF Base Amberley, March 2010
In 2007, the Australian government decided to retire the F-111s by 2010, and acquire 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets as an interim replacement, pending the arrival of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning then being developed.[148][149] The F-111 fleet was considered to be at risk due to fatigue, and too expensive to operate as each aircraft required 180 hours of maintenance for every hour of flying time.[150][151] No.1 Squadron ceased operating the F-111 in January 2009, in preparation for converting to the Super Hornet.[152] Former F-111 aircrew, familiar with side-by-side seating and a different performance envelope, found conversion more challenging than pilots experienced in the RAAF's McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighters, which shared many characteristics with the newer model.[153] No.1 Squadron re-equipped between 26March 2010 and 21October 2011, making it the first Australian unit, and the first squadron outside the United States, to fly the Super Hornet.[6][7] It became operational with its new aircraft on 8December 2011.[154] The multi-role Super Hornet allowed No.1 Squadron to augment its previous offensive strike role with an air-to-air combat function.[155] The RAAF attained full operational capability with the Super Hornet in December 2012.[156]
In April 2014, the government purchased 58 F-35s in addition to 14 already ordered, for the express purpose of replacing the 71 "classic" Hornets of Nos.3, 75 and 77Squadrons and No.2 Operational Conversion Unit.[157] A government decision on whether to purchase a further 28 F-35s, to be based at Amberley, would depend on how long the Super Hornets were to be retained.[158] According to Australian Aviation, continuing delays to the F-35 program had increased the likelihood that the Super Hornets would, rather than being disposed of early as originally planned, continue to be operated by the RAAF for their full service life of over 20 years.[157] On 14September, the Federal government committed to deploying up to eight Super Hornets of No.1 Squadron to Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, as part of the Australian Air Task Group joining the coalition against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces in Iraq.[156] The Super Hornets conducted their first mission over Iraq on 5October, and their first strike four days later.[159][160] According to the Department of Defence, as of 20December 2014 the Super Hornets had flown over 180 sorties, dropped 113 weapons, and destroyed 36 ISIL targets, damaging another six.[161] In March 2015, having flown almost 3,000 hours in over 400 missions, the detachment was replaced by six F/A-18As from No.75 Squadron.[162][163]
No.1 Squadron commemorated its centenary in 2016 with several events including, on 8June, a flight over Amberley by Super Hornets in concert with a vintage Bristol Fighter.[164] On 23 November, the 12 Super Hornets operated by No.6 Squadron were transferred to No.1 Squadron in preparation for the former unit converting to an electronic warfare role with the Boeing EA-18G Growler in 2017.[165] At the same time, a training flight was established within No.1 Squadron to deliver refresher training on the Super Hornet.[166] A detachment of No.1 Squadron was again deployed to Al Minhad as part of the Australian Air Task Group in May 2017, replacing the legacy Hornets of No.77 Squadron.[167] The Super Hornets flew the last strike mission of their rotation, and the last of 2,700 sorties by the Air Task Group Hornets, on 14January 2018.[168] In April, No.1 Squadron was awarded the 2017 Gloucester Cup.[169] The squadron's training flight and six Super Hornets were transferred to the newly established No.82 Wing Training Flight in June 2020.[166]
↑ Anderson, Stephanie (19 April 2018). "Rising to the challenge". Air Force. p.3. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
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No. 3 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter squadron, headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle, New South Wales. Established in 1916, it was one of four combat squadrons of the Australian Flying Corps during World War I, and operated on the Western Front in France before being disbanded in 1919. It was re-established as a permanent squadron of the RAAF in 1925, and during World War II operated in the Mediterranean Theatre. The Cold War years saw the squadron disbanded and re-raised twice. It was based at RAAF Butterworth during the Malayan Emergency and the Indonesia–Malaysia Konfrontasi. Equipped with McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet multi-role fighters from 1986, the squadron deployed to Diego Garcia in 2002 to provide local air defence, and the following year contributed aircraft and crews to the invasion of Iraq as part of Operation Falconer. In April 2016, it deployed to the Middle East as part of the military intervention against ISIL. The squadron began re-equipping with Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multi-role fighters in 2018.
No. 79 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flight training unit that has been formed on four occasions since 1943. The squadron was established in May 1943 as a fighter unit equipped with Supermarine Spitfires, and subsequently saw combat in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. Between June 1943 and the end of the war in August 1945 it flew air defence patrols to protect Allied bases and ships, escorted Australian and United States aircraft, and attacked Japanese positions. The squadron was disbanded in November 1945, but was re-formed between 1962 and 1968 to operate CAC Sabres from Ubon Air Base in Thailand. In this role it contributed to the defence of Thailand against a feared attack from its neighbouring states and exercised with United States Air Force units. No. 79 Squadron was active again at RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaysia between 1986 and 1988 where it operated Mirage III fighters and a single DHC-4 Caribou transport during the period in which the RAAF's fighter squadrons were transitioning to new aircraft.
The Royal Australian Air Force's Air Combat Group (ACG) is the group which administers the RAAF's fighter and bomber aircraft. ACG was formed on 7 February 2002 by merging the RAAF's Tactical Fighter Group and Strike Reconnaissance Group in an attempt to improve the speed with which the RAAF can deploy its combat aircraft.
No. 78 Wing is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operational training wing, headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales. It comprises Nos. 76 and 79 Squadrons, operating the BAE Hawk 127 lead-in fighter, and No. 278 Squadron, a technical training unit. No. 79 Squadron, located at RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia, is responsible for converting new pilots to fast jets, while No. 76 Squadron at Williamtown conducts introductory fighter courses; both units also fly support missions for the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army.
No. 81 Wing is responsible for operating the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multi-role fighters of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, the wing comprises three combat units, Nos. 3 and 77 Squadrons based at Williamtown and No. 75 Squadron at RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory, as well as an operational conversion unit at Williamtown. No. 81 Wing headquarters oversees squadron training in air-to-air and air-to-ground tactics, and support for the Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy. Tasked with offensive and defensive counter-air operations, the Hornets have been deployed to Diego Garcia in 2001–02, when they provided local air defence, to Iraq in 2003, when they saw action flying fighter escort and close air support missions in concert with Coalition forces, and to the Middle East in 2015–16, when they undertook strike operations during the military intervention against ISIL. They have also been employed to patrol high-profile events in Australia, including the Commonwealth Games and visits by foreign dignitaries.
No. 82 Wing is the strike and reconnaissance wing of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is headquartered at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. Coming under the control of Air Combat Group, the wing operates F/A-18F Super Hornet multirole fighters, EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, and Pilatus PC-21 forward air control aircraft. Its units include Nos. 1 and 6 Squadrons, operating the Super Hornet and Growler respectively, as well as No. 4 Squadron, operating the PC-21.
Elwyn Roy King, DSO, DFC was a fighter ace in the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) during World War I. He achieved twenty-six victories in aerial combat, making him the fourth highest-scoring Australian pilot of the war, and second only to Harry Cobby in the AFC. A civil pilot and engineer between the wars, he served in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from 1939 until his death.
Seaplane Squadron was a flying unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) between the wars. It operated Supermarine Southampton flying boats from January 1928, as well as other types. Along with Fighter Squadron, Seaplane Squadron was a component of No. 1 Flying Training School, based at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria. Seaplane Squadron was responsible for coastal reconnaissance, training aircrew to operate seaplanes, and supporting the Royal Australian Navy. It also conducted survey flights over remote parts of Australia and mapped the Darwin–Sydney section of the Empire Air Mail Scheme route. Seaplane Squadron was disbanded in June 1939.
Air Vice-Marshal William Hopton Anderson, was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He flew with the Australian Flying Corps in World War I, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Belgian Croix de guerre for his combat service with No. 3 Squadron on the Western Front in 1917. The following year he took command of No. 7 (Training) Squadron and, later, No. 3 Squadron. Anderson led the Australian Air Corps during its brief existence in 1920–21, before joining the fledgling RAAF. The service's third most-senior officer, he primarily held posts on the Australian Air Board in the inter-war years. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1934, and promoted to air commodore in 1938.
Air Vice Marshal Adrian Lindley Trevor Cole, CBE, DSO, MC, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Joining the army at the outbreak of World War I, he transferred to the Australian Flying Corps in 1916 and flew with No. 1 Squadron in the Middle East and No. 2 Squadron on the Western Front. He became an ace, credited with victories over ten enemy aircraft, and earned the Military Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1921, he was a founding member of the RAAF.
Garnet Francis Malley, was an Australian fighter ace of World War I, credited with six aerial victories. He was an aviation adviser to Chiang Kai-shek's government in China during the 1930s, and an intelligence officer in World War II.
Henry Aloysius Petre, DSO, MC was an English solicitor who became Australia's first military aviator and a founding member of the Australian Flying Corps, the predecessor of the Royal Australian Air Force. Born in Essex, Petre forsook his early legal career to pursue an interest in aviation, building his own aeroplane and gaining employment as an aircraft designer and pilot. In 1912, he answered the Australian Defence Department's call for pilots to form an aviation school, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Australian Military Forces. The following year, he chose the site of the country's first air base at Point Cook, Victoria, and established its inaugural training institution, the Central Flying School, with Eric Harrison.
Roy Cecil Phillipps, MC & Bar, DFC was an Australian fighter ace of World War I. He achieved fifteen victories in aerial combat, four of them in a single action on 12 June 1918. A grazier between the wars, he joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1940 and was killed in a plane crash the following year.
Air Marshal Selwyn David Evans AC, DSO, AFC was a senior commander of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and a writer and consultant on defence matters. He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1982 until 1985. After leaving the RAAF he published two military treatises, A Fatal Rivalry: Australia's Defence at Risk and War: A Matter of Principles, as well as an autobiography.
Air Vice-Marshal Brian Alexander Eaton, was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Tasmania and raised in Victoria, he joined the RAAF in 1936 and was promoted to flight lieutenant on the outbreak of World War II. He held training positions before being posted to No. 3 Squadron at the beginning of 1943, flying P-40 Kittyhawk fighter-bombers in North Africa. Despite being shot down three times within ten days soon after arriving, Eaton quickly rose to become the unit's commanding officer, and by year's end had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. His leadership earned him the Distinguished Service Order and Bar in 1944–45, and command of No. 239 Wing RAF in Italy, with the temporary rank of group captain. He was also awarded the US Silver Star in 1946 in recognition of his war service.
No. 482 Squadron was a maintenance unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It was formed in May 1942 as No. 4 Repair and Salvage Unit, renamed No. 4 Repair and Servicing Unit in January 1945 and re-formed as No. 482 (Maintenance) Squadron in May 1946. The squadron then became a component of No. 82 (Bomber) Wing at RAAF Station Amberley, Queensland. Over the years it serviced the wing's Consolidated B-24 Liberators, Avro Lincolns, English Electric Canberras, McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantoms, and General Dynamics F-111Cs. No. 482 Squadron merged with No. 3 Aircraft Depot to form No. 501 Wing in March 1992. No. 501 Wing continued to provide maintenance and logistics support for the F-111Cs at Amberley until disbanding in 2001.
No. 1 Operational Conversion Unit (No. 1 OCU) was an operational training unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Formed in January 1959 at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, its role was to convert pilots and navigators to the English Electric Canberra bombers flown by Nos. 1, 2 and 6 Squadrons. The unit's complement of Canberras included T.4 and Mk.21 dual-control trainers, and Mk.20 bombers. Originally a component of No. 82 Wing, No. 1 OCU became an independent unit at Amberley in April 1968, its focus being the provision of operationally ready pilots for service with No. 2 Squadron in the Vietnam War. No. 1 OCU was disbanded in June 1971, following the withdrawal of No. 2 Squadron from South-East Asia. By then the RAAF's only Canberra unit, No. 2 Squadron ran its own conversion courses before disbanding in 1982.
No. 1 Aircraft Depot (No. 1 AD) was a maintenance unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Formed in July 1921 at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria, it relocated to the nearby RAAF Laverton in March 1926. As well as servicing aircraft and other equipment, in its early years the depot supported survey flights in Australia and the Pacific region. It was also responsible for training maintenance staff.
No. 1 Squadron (1961–1988). Operations Record Book. RAAF Unit History sheets (Form A50). National Archives of Australia.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Barnes, Norman (2000). The RAAF and the Flying Squadrons. St Leonards, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN1-86508-130-2.
Dennis, Peter; Grey, Jeffrey (1996). Emergency and Confrontation: Australian Military Operations in Malaya and Borneo 1950–1966. St Leonards, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin in association with the Australian War Memorial. ISBN1-86373-302-7.
Eather, Steve (1995). Flying Squadrons of the Australian Defence Force. Weston Creek, Australian Capital Territory: Aerospace Publications. ISBN1-875671-15-3.
Falls, Cyril (1930). Military Operations Egypt & Palestine from June 1917 to the End of the War. Official History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol.2, Part I. Maps by A. F. Becke. London: HM Stationery Office. OCLC644354483.
Falls, Cyril (1930). Military Operations Egypt & Palestine from June 1917 to the End of the War. Official History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol.2, Part II. Maps by A. F. Becke. London: HM Stationery Office. OCLC256950972.
Molkentin, Michael (2010). Fire in the Sky: The Australian Flying Corps in the First World War. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN978-1-74237-072-9.
RAAF Historical Section (1995). Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History. Volume 7: Maintenance Units. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN0-644-42798-1.
Shores, Christopher; Cull, Brian; Izawa, Yasuho (1992). Bloody Shambles: Volume One– The Drift to War to the Fall of Singapore. London: Grub Street. ISBN0-948817-50-X.
Shores, Christopher; Cull, Brian; Izawa, Yasuho (1993). Bloody Shambles: Volume Two– The Defence of Sumatra to the Fall of Burma. London: Grub Street. ISBN0-948817-67-4.
Wilson, David (2003). Warden to Tanager: RAAF Operations in East Timor. Maryborough, Queensland: Banner Books. ISBN1-875593-26-8.
Wilson, Stewart (1989). Lincoln, Canberra and F-111 in Australian Service. Weston Creek, Australian Capital Territory: Aerospace Publications. ISBN0-9587978-3-8.
Wilson, Stewart (1993). Phantom, Hornet and Skyhawk in Australian Service. Weston Creek, Australian Capital Territory: Aerospace Publications. ISBN1-875671-03-X.
Further reading
James, Martin (2017). "The Experience of No.1 Squadron Australian Flying Corps: A Flight into the Unknown". Sabretache. 58 (4). Garran, Australian Capital Territory: Military Historical Society of Australia: 4–25. ISSN0048-8933.
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