Royal Australian Air Force
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Royal Australian Air Force |
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 Logo of the RAAF |
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| Lineup | March 31, 1921 |
| Country |
 Australia
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| Armed forces | Australian Defense Force |
| Type | Armed forces ( air force ) |
| Strength | 15,430 (2011) |
| motto |
Latin " Per ardua ad astra " German "Through difficulties to the stars" |
| management | |
| Chief of Air Force |
 Mel Hupfeld Air Marshal |
| Deputy Chief of Air Force |
 Stephen Meredith Air Vice Marshal |
| Air Commander Australia |
Joe Iervasi Air Vice Marshal |
| insignia | |
| Aircraft cockade |
 
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| Flag of the RAAF |
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The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) ( German Royal Australian Air Force ) is the air force of the Australian Defense Force .
history
First World War
As a forerunner of the RAAF, the Australian Flying Corps was founded on October 22, 1912 . During the First World War it was used in support of British troops in Iraq , Egypt and Palestine as well as on the Western Front with four squadrons. After the end of the war, the Australian Flying Corps became the Royal Australian Air Force .
Second World War
At the beginning of the Second World War , Australia participated in the Empire Air Training Scheme . This provided for a joint training of pilots from all parts of the British Empire in order to train many pilots for the fight against the Axis powers in a short time . A total of 19 Australian squadrons were used under British command during the war. Most of the units were stationed in the British Isles , but there were also missions in the Mediterranean and North Africa . Some Australian crews have also been deployed aboard Royal Air Force bombers .
On February 19, 1942, Japanese bombers attacked the Australian city of Darwin . The Australian government saw its own territory threatened for the first time and began to withdraw air force units from Europe. Due to the lack of their own aircraft, British and US warplanes were also imported. The Bristol Beaufighter , which was clearly superior to the Japanese machines, proved its worth here . At the end of 1942, production of the first fighter aircraft developed entirely in Australia, the CA-12 Boomerang, began . From 1943 on, the RAAF played a key role in the reconquest of occupied areas in the Pacific .
It also flew several bombing raids on Japan using US-made B-24 bombers. Almost 100 Australian bombers were involved in the heavy air raids on Tokyo between February 25 and March 9, 1945 . The attack of March 9th (in Japan: March 10th) 1945, with over 100,000 dead within a few hours, is considered to be the most casualty conventional bombing in human history. The number of victims exceeded that of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
A total of around 20,000 RAAF pilots were deployed during the war. At that time, the RAAF comprised 219,600 people, 11,061 of whom were killed in the war.
During the Berlin blockade in 1948/49, a unit made up of parts from No. 36 Squadron and No. 38 Squadron was composed of a total of 2062 transport flights from Lübeck-Blankensee to Berlin-Gatow .
Korean and Vietnam War
During the Korean War (1950-1953) the RAAF received its first jet aircraft of the Gloster Meteor type . In addition, she used transport aircraft to supply the UN troops . The RAAF was also used in the Vietnam War , for the first time with helicopters ( Bell UH-1 ). The English Electric Canberra also carried out bombing raids on the Viet Cong until 1972 .
1980s and subsequent years
In the following decades, the RAAF concentrated on logistical air support for military interventions and peacekeeping operations of the United Nations , with the transport helicopters being decommissioned in 1989 and part of them given to the Australian Army Aviation for continued operation. The 1999 peace mission in East Timor , which took place under Australian command, received special attention ( see here ). During the 2003 Iraq War, Australian fighter jets were used again for the first time since the Vietnam War. F / A-18s carried out multiple bombing raids on targets in central Iraq along with British tornadoes . Australian fighter planes were also involved in monitoring the airspace. It was criticized that no official information was given about the operations.
The RAAF has been participating in the air strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq with up to eight F / A-18s since October 2014 .
organization
Air Force Headquarters
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Air Command
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Air Combat Group
- No. 78 Wing
- No. 76 Squadron
- No. 79 Squadron
- No. 278 Squadron
- No. 81 wing
- No. 75 Squadron
- No. 77 Squadron
- No. 3 Squadron
- No. 2 OCU
- 81 Combined Works
- No. 82 wing
- No. 1 Squadron
- No. 4 Squadron
- No. 6 Squadron
- No. 78 Wing
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Air Mobility Group
- No. 84 wing
- No. 35 Squadron
- No. 37 Squadron
- Air Mobility Training and Development Unit (AMTDU)
- No. 86 wing
- No. 33 Squadron
- No. 34 Squadron
- No. 36 Squadron
- Air Mobility Control Center (AMCC)
- No. 84 wing
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Air Force Training Group
- Air Training Wing
- No. 1 Flying Training School
- No. 2 Flying Training School
- No. 32 Squadron
- ADF Basic Flying Training School
- Central Flying School
- Combat Survival Training School
- School of Air Traffic Control
- RAAF museum
- Ground Training Wing
- Defense Explosive Ordnance Training School
- RAAF School of Administration and Logistics Training
- RAAF Security and Fire School
- RAAF School of Technical Training
- RAAF College
- No. 1 recruit training unit
- Air Force Band
- Officers' Training School
- School of Post Graduate Studies
- Air Training Wing
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Air Warfare Center
- Test and Evaluation Directorate
- Aircraft Research and Development Unit
- Aeronautical Information Service
- Air Warfare Engineering Squadron
- Aircraft Stores Compatibility Engineering Squadron
- Institute of Aviation Medicine
- Information Warfare Directorate
- Air Force Intelligence Project
- Distributed Ground Station - Australia Flight
- Distributed Ground Station - Australia Project
- Joint Electronic Warfare Operational Support Unit
- Aeronautical Information Service
- No. 87 Squadron
- No. 460 Squadron
- No. 462 Squadron
- Air Force Rangers Directorate
- Woomera test range
- Tactics and Training Directorate
- Air Warfare School
- Test and Evaluation Directorate
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Combat Support Group
- 95 wing
- No. 1 Combat Communications Squadron
- No. 3 Security Forces Squadron
- No. 2 Security Forces Squadron
- No. 1 Security Forces Squadron
- No. 65 Squadron
- No. 381 Squadron
- No. 383 Squadron
- No. 382 Squadron
- No. 295 Squadron
- 96 wing
- No. 13 Squadron
- No. 17 Squadron
- No. 19th Squadron
- No. 20 Squadron
- No. 21 Squadron
- No. 22 Squadron
- No. 23 Squadron
- No. 24 Squadron
- No. 25 Squadron
- No. 26 Squadron
- No. 27 Squadron
- No. 30 Squadron
- Health Services Wing
- No. 1 Expeditionary Health Squadron
- No. 2 Expeditionary Health Squadron
- No. 3 Aero-Medical Evacuation Squadron
- Health Operational Conversion Unit
- 95 wing
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Surveillance and Response Group
- No. 41 wing
- No. 3 CRU
- No. 1 RSU
- No. 114 MCRU
- SACTU
- No. 42 wing
- No. 2 Squadron
- No. 44 wing
- No. 453 Squadron
- No. 452 Squadron
- No. 92 wing
- No. 10 Squadron
- No. 11 Squadron
- No. 292 Squadron
- No. 5 flight
- No. 41 wing
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Air Combat Group
Current aircraft
The Royal Australian Air Force operates 325 aircraft (as of the end of 2019).
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Air bases
The Royal Australian Air Force operates bases across Australia. Air Force members work in many other military bases and offices. The military airfields are home to the “ wings ” subordinate to the respective “groups”, some of which are spread over several fields. They are subordinate to one or more " squadrons " as flying or non-flying units. Only the most important flight squadrons are listed below.
- RAAF Base Darwin , Northern Territory , no RAAF airborne units permanently stationed
- RAAF Base Tindal , Katherine , Northern Territory, advanced base of operations for 75th Squadron (F / A-18A) fighter jets
- RAAF Base Townsville , Queensland , advanced base of operations for 38th Squadron (King Air) transport aircraft
- RAAF Base Amberley , Brisbane , Queensland, main base for strategic tankers and transporters of the 33rd and 36th Squadron and fighter aircraft of the 1st and 6th Squadron (A330 / KC-30, C-17, F / A-18F)
- RAAF Base Williamtown , Newcastle , New South Wales , main deployment and training site for the combat aircraft of the 3rd , 76th and 77th Squadron of the 2nd Operational Conversion Unit (Hawk, F / A-18A / B, F-35A) and the early warning aircraft the 2nd Squadron (E-7)
- RAAF Base Glenbrook , Blue Mountains , New South Wales, is home to the Air Command
- RAAF Base Richmond , Sydney , New South Wales, 37th Squadron (C-130) tactical transport base
- RAAF Base Wagga , Wagga Wagga , New South Wales, no RAAF airborne units permanently stationed
- RAAF Base East Sale , Gippsland , Victoria , training center with, among others, the 32nd Squadron (King Air)
- RAAF Base Williams , Point Cook and Laverton (two airfields), Melbourne , Victoria, no airborne units permanently stationed
- RAAF Base Edinburgh , Adelaide , South Australia , main base of the maritime patrol aircraft (P-3, P-8)
- RAAF Base Pearce , Perth , Western Australia , training base with the 2nd Flying Training School and the 79th Squadron (PC-9, Hawk). The RSAF also uses the space.
There are three so-called bare bases in the north of the country , runways with basic facilities that the Australian Air Force can activate at short notice in an emergency:
- RAAF Base Scherger, Weipa, Queensland
- RAAF Base Learmonth, Exmouth, Western Australia
- RAAF Base Curtin, Derby, Western Australia
A small RAAF contingent is stationed in Butterworth, Malaysia on the RMAF Base Butterworth of the Malaysian Air Force . The basic training of all future pilots of the Australian Defense Forces will take place (until the end of 2019) in the Basic Flying Training School on the former RAAF Base Tamworth and will be carried out on the CT / 4B air trainer from Pacific Aerospace by BAE Systems . Lockheed Martin then takes on this task in East Sale. The 34th Squadron uses the Defense Establishment Fairbairn in Canberra.
Ranks and Rank Badges
Officers
| Rank group | Generals | Staff officers | Subaltern officers | ||||||||
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| Rank | Air Chief Marshal | Air Marshal | Air Vice Marshal | Air Commodore | Group captain | Wing Commander | Squadron Leader | Flight Lieutenant | Flying officer | Pilot officer | |
| Rank (Bundeswehr) |
general | Lieutenant General | Major general | Brigadier General | Colonel | Lieutenant colonel | major | Captain | First lieutenant | lieutenant | |
| NATO rank code | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | ||
NCOs and men
| Rank group | Warrant Officer | NCOs | Teams | ||||
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| badge |
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| Rank | Warrant Officer of the Air Force |
Warrant Officer | Flight sergeant | sergeant | Corporal | Leading Aircraftman / Leading Aircraftwoman |
Aircraftman / Aircraftwoman |
| Rank (Bundeswehr) |
Sergeant Major | Staff Sergeant |
Oberfeldwebel / Feldwebel |
Staff NCO / NCO |
Hauptgefreiter / Obergefreiter |
Private | |
| NATO rank code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-3 | OR-2 | |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Beginnings of the Australian Flying Corps. Retrieved March 1, 2020 .
- ↑ aircraft of RAAF during the Berlin blockade on airforce.gov.au. Retrieved March 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Australia flies attacks in Iraq , accessed October 15, 2014
- ↑ World Air Force 2020. Flight International , December 10, 2019, accessed June 11, 2020 .
- ↑ Virgin Australia to open pilot training center in Tamworth, Flightglobal, October 321, 2018
