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| RAAF Station Archerfield | |
|---|---|
 Hangars at RAAF Station Archerfield in 1940 | |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1939 |
| In use | 1939 to 1956 |
RAAF Station Archerfield was a permanent Royal Australian Air Force station at Archerfield Airport in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, from 1939 to 1956.
At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) took over the Royal Queensland Aero Club facilities at Archerfield Airport. Club aircraft were impressed into service and flying instructors were commissioned into the RAAF. No. 2 Elementary Flying Training School RAAF was transferred to Archerfield to look after flight training. No. 23 Squadron RAAF, now officially called "City of Brisbane Squadron", received the Australian built CAC Wirraway to defend the city against air attack. [1]
Up to 1941, Archerfield was being upgraded as a military base for the RAAF pending completion of RAAF Base Amberley. In 1940 a new administration block with control tower on top was built and the RAAF built hangars and huts along the southern boundary of the field.
The attack on the US base in Pearl Harbor coincided with another on US bases in the Philippines. The loss of these bases made Australia, especially the north of the country, a valuable staging area for the war against the Japanese. In the following months, military aircraft of several countries competed for space with the civil airliners still operating.
On 1 July 1942, the RAAF transferred control of the airfield to the United States Army Air Forces. Visitors to the station included General Douglas MacArthur and a young Gough Whitlam, then a navigator on a Lockheed Ventura.
In February 1945, the Royal Navy moved its Transportable Aircraft Maintenance Yard No.1, known as TAMY 1, to Archerfield. The Royal Navy base was known as HMS Nabsford and a plaque commemorating it and the British personnel who served in the Pacific theatre can be viewed in the old administration building along with plaques from the RAAF and the US 5th Air Force.
No. 23 Squadron RAAF was reformed at Archerfield in 1947 flying the CA-17 Mustang 20. No. 1 Initial Flying Training School was based at Archerfield in 1951 until it was merged with No. 1 Basic Flying School in 1955. No. 23 Squadron RAAF re-equipped with the De Havilland Vampire in 1955, but the grass fires started by the Vampires' jet exhausts on the grass runways necessitated relocating the squadron to RAAF Base Amberley. The Station Headquarters was closed soon after.
No. 4 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron composed of the air force special forces Combat Controllers, aircrew who operate the Pilatus PC-21 aircraft and instructors for the Australian Defence Force Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) course.
No. 2 Flying Training School is the main flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Formed under its present name in 1969, it is located at RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia. The unit operates a fleet of Pilatus PC-21 turboprop trainers. No. 2 FTS traces its origins to the post-war re-establishment of the Air Force's original cadet training unit, No. 1 Flying Training School, at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria, in 1947. Following reorganisation of aircrew training in 1951–52, No. 1 FTS was renamed No. 1 Applied Flying Training School, and began specialising in advanced flight instruction on CAC Wirraways. It relocated to RAAF Base Pearce in 1958, where it converted to De Havilland Vampire jet trainers. In January 1969, the school was reformed as No. 2 FTS, having the previous year begun replacing the Vampires with Macchi MB-326Hs. The Macchis were themselves replaced by the PC-9 beginning in 1989.
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.
No. 24 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron. The squadron was formed in 1940 and saw action as a bomber squadron during World War II serving in the Pacific theatre against the Japanese, and undertaking operations during the Battle of Rabaul, and the New Guinea, New Britain and Borneo campaigns. The squadron was disbanded in 1946 following the conclusion of hostilities, but was re-formed in 1951. From then until 2010 the squadron was an RAAF Reserve squadron located near Adelaide, South Australia; for part of this time, until 1960, the squadron continued to perform flying duties, before converting to a ground support role. In 2010, the squadron combined with Combat Support Unit Edinburgh to become a Permanent Air Force unit and it currently forms part of No. 96 Wing, Combat Support Group.
Central Flying School (CFS) is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) training unit, located at RAAF Base East Sale, Victoria. It operates the Pilatus PC-21 turboprop trainer. The school is responsible for training flight instructors, setting flying standards, and auditing flying practices. It is also home to the "Roulettes" aerobatic team. CFS was the first military aviation unit to be formed in Australia, in 1913, when its role was to provide basic flying training. Its current form dates from World War II, when it was re-established to train flying instructors for the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS).
No. 21 Squadron RAAF is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) general reserve squadron. Formed in the mid-1930s as a unit of the part-time Citizen Air Force (CAF), it was mobilised for service during World War II, when it saw action against the Japanese as a fighter unit in the Malayan campaign, a dive bomber unit in the New Guinea campaign, and a heavy bomber unit in the Borneo campaign. After the war, the squadron continued to fly until 1960, when the CAF ceased flying operations. At that time, No. 21 Squadron converted to a non-flying support role, which it currently fulfils at RAAF Williams.
No. 22 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) mixed Permanent and Reserve squadron that provides support for the RAAF in the Sydney region. Formed in 1936, the squadron served in Papua New Guinea during the Second World War, and later followed the Pacific War as far as the Philippines. Following the war, the squadron was re-formed in 1948 but was converted to a non-flying support role in mid-1960. It is currently based at RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales.
No. 23 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is a non-flying base operations and training squadron headquartered at RAAF Base Amberley near Brisbane, Queensland. The squadron was formed in 1937 and saw action against the Japanese during World War II as a bomber squadron. Operating from Archerfield during the early stages of the war, the squadron undertook maritime patrols off Australia's east coast before converting to a dive-bomber role and taking part in the New Guinea campaign. Later in the war, the squadron converted to Liberator heavy bombers and flew missions against Japanese targets in the Netherlands East Indies. After the war, No. 23 Squadron was used to reform No. 6 Squadron and was then re-raised as a Citizens Air Force unit based in Brisbane. Until 1960, the squadron flew jet fighter aircraft before converting to a ground support role and now forms part of the RAAF's Combat Support Group.
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 Support Group. 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.
North-Eastern Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. For most of its existence it controlled units based in central and northern Queensland as well as Papua New Guinea. It was formed in January 1942 from the eastern part of the former Northern Area Command, which had covered all of northern Australia and Papua. Headquartered at Townsville, Queensland, North-Eastern Area Command's responsibilities included air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its territory. Its flying units, equipped with fighters, reconnaissance bombers, dive bombers and transports, took part in the battles of Rabaul, Port Moresby and Milne Bay in 1942, and the landings at Hollandia and Aitape in 1944.
RAAF Museum is the official museum of the Royal Australian Air Force, the second oldest air force in the world, located at RAAF Williams Point Cook, Victoria, Australia which is the oldest continuously operating Military Air Base in the world. The museum displays aircraft of significance to the RAAF from its inception as the Australian Flying Corps to the present. At the direction of Air Marshal Sir George Jones, the RAAF Museum was formed in 1952 and fell under the administration of Headquarters Point Cook until 1988 when it became a separate unit of the RAAF. It is currently overseen by the force's Air Training Wing.
Eastern Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. It was formed in May 1942, and controlled units located in New South Wales and southern Queensland. Headquartered in Sydney, Eastern Area Command's responsibilities included air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries. Its flying units operated fighters, reconnaissance bombers, and dive bombers, and concentrated on convoy escort, maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare. The size of the area was such that the RAAF twice considered splitting it, but nothing came of this.
No. 1 Flying Training School is a school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is one of the Air Force's original units, dating back to the service's formation in 1921, when it was established at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria. By the early 1930s, the school comprised training, fighter, and seaplane components. It was re-formed several times in the ensuing years, initially as No. 1 Service Flying Training School in 1940, under the wartime Empire Air Training Scheme. After graduating nearly 3,000 pilots, No. 1 SFTS was disbanded in late 1944, when there was no further requirement to train Australian aircrew for service in Europe.
No. 2 Service Flying Training School was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) that operated during World War II. It was formed in July 1940, under the command of Wing Commander Frederick Scherger. Responsible for intermediate and advanced instruction of pilots under the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS), the school was based at RAAF Station Forest Hill near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, and operated CAC Wirraway and Avro Anson aircraft. The Ansons were phased out in July 1941, and the school became an all-Wirraway unit. In 1942 the RAAF divided the personnel and equipment of No. 2 SFTS between Nos. 5 and 7 Service Flying Training Schools at Uranquinty and Deniliquin, respectively. No. 2 SFTS was disbanded that April, and the base facilities taken over by No. 5 Aircraft Depot.
No. 1 Basic Flying Training School was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Along with No. 1 Initial Flying Training School, it was formed in response to increased demand for aircrew during the Korean War and Malayan Emergency. No. 1 BFTS was established in December 1951 at RAAF Base Uranquinty, New South Wales, where it operated de Havilland Tiger Moths and CAC Wirraways. The school absorbed the activities of No. 1 IFTS in January 1955, as aircrew training requirements had eased following the end of the Korean War. No. 1 BFTS moved to RAAF Base Point Cook, Victoria, in May 1958, by which time it was exclusively flying CAC Winjeels. Its training program expanded in the mid-1960s owing to Australia's commitments in the Vietnam War. No. 1 BFTS was re-formed as No. 1 Flying Training School at Point Cook in January 1969.
No. 1 Initial Flying Training School was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It was formed in 1951 as No. 1 Initial Training School, in response to increased demand for aircrew during the Korean War and Malayan Emergency. Headquartered at RAAF Station Archerfield, Queensland, and operating de Havilland Tiger Moths, the unit was renamed No. 1 Initial Flying Training School in 1952. Ground staff from the school won the Hewitt Trophy for small arms proficiency in 1953. Aircrew training requirements eased following the end of the Korean War, and No. IFTS merged with No. 1 Basic Flying Training School at RAAF Base Uranquinty, New South Wales, in 1955.
No. 3 Service Flying Training School was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. It was formed in September 1940, and commenced flying two months later. Responsible for intermediate and advanced instruction of pilots under the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS), the school was based at RAAF Station Amberley, Queensland, and operated CAC Wirraway and Avro Anson aircraft. Two reserve squadrons were formed at the school in response to the outbreak of war in the Pacific, and the base fortified against air attack. In March 1942 the RAAF divided the staff and equipment of No. 3 SFTS between Nos. 1 and 6 Service Flying Training Schools at Point Cook, Victoria, and Mallala, South Australia, respectively. No. 3 SFTS was disbanded the following month.
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.
19e Transport Squadron, also known as No. 19 Squadron, was a transport and communications unit of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force, formed in Australia during the final stages of World War II. The squadron was formed as a Dutch unit in late 1944 from two transport flights that had previously been based in Brisbane and Melbourne, and which had run supplies to joint Australian-NEI combat squadrons in the Northern Territory and in West Papua. Upon formation the squadron was based at Archerfield, near Brisbane. In 1945, it was transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), but returned to Dutch control in 1947 and subsequently took part in operations during the Indonesian National Revolution.
Beaufort Mosman Hunter Palmer, was an Australian aviator of the Second World War who was recognised as one of Australia's finest wartime pilot instructors.
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