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No. 33 Squadron RAAF

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No. 33 Squadron RAAF
No. 33 Squadron's crest
Active1942–1946
1983–current
AllegianceAustralia
BranchRoyal Australian Air Force
RoleAir-to-air refuelling; transport
Part ofNo. 86 Wing
Garrison/HQRAAF Base Amberley
Motto(s)Enduring
AircraftAirbus KC-30
EngagementsWorld War II Operation Solace
Operation Southern Watch
War in Afghanistan

No. 33 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) transport and air-to-air refuelling squadron controlled by No. 86 Wing, under Air Lift Group.[1]. It operates five Airbus KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transports from RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. The squadron was formed in 1942 for service during World War II, operating Short Empire flying boats and other smaller types. By 1944 it had re-equipped with Douglas C-47 Dakotas, which it operated until disbanding in 1946. The unit was re-established in February 1981 as a flight, flying two Boeing 707s for VIP and other long-range transport duties out of RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales. No. 33 Flight was re-formed as a full squadron in July 1983. By 1988 it was operating six 707s, four of which were subsequently converted for aerial refuelling. It lost one of its transport jets in a crash in October 1991. Having been without aircraft since the retirement of the 707s in June 2008, No. 33 Squadron began re-equipping with KC-30As in June 2011.

History

World War II

Military personnel and a jeep in front of a twin-engined biplane, with jungle and a mountain range in the background
No. 33 Squadron de Havilland Dragon at Kokoda, New Guinea, in February 1943

During February and March 1942, the RAAF formed four transport units: Nos. 33, 34, 35 and 36 Squadrons. No. 33 Squadron was established on 16 February at Townsville, Queensland, under the control of North Eastern Area Command.[2][3] It was equipped with four Short Empire flying boats transferred from No. 11 Squadron, along with a number of smaller types including de Havilland Dragons and Tiger Moths, Avro Ansons and Vultee Vigilants.[3][4] Less than two weeks later the squadron suffered its first loss when one of the Empires was destroyed in a landing accident at Townsville; the six crew members were killed. A second Empire was destroyed at its mooring during a Japanese air attack on Broome, Western Australia, on 3 March; another Empire was impressed from Qantas to replace the lost aircraft. One of the squadron's tasks was search-and-rescue; it lost another Empire on 8 August 1942 after it sank in heavy seas off the coast of New Guinea while trying to rescue survivors of a torpedoed ship.[3]

No. 33 Squadron transferred to Port Moresby in January 1943, providing air transport to Australian forces involved in the New Guinea campaign. Transport needs were so desperate in New Guinea that even the Tiger Moths were employed, delivering a total of 77 kilograms (170 lb) per trip.[4] In September–October 1943, the squadron began taking delivery of fifteen Douglas C-47 Dakotas to replace its assortment of aircraft.[3][4] By the time it transferred to Milne Bay on 1 January 1944, it was operating Dakotas exclusively, and continued to do so for the rest of the war. The squadron relocated to Lae on 15 January 1945.[3] Following the end of hostilities in August 1945, it was tasked with repatriating service personnel and former prisoners of war.[4] No. 33 Squadron returned to Townsville on 11 March 1946, and disbanded there on 13 May.[3]

Re-establishment

In 1978, the Australian government decided to purchase two passenger jets for strategic transport, primarily to mitigate what it saw as the risk of terrorist attack inherent in carrying VIPs on commercial flights. Its attempts to procure one Boeing 727 each from domestic carriers Ansett and TAA were unsuccessful but, in December, Qantas agreed to sell two Boeing 707s for $14.5 million.[5] Purchasing big jets for VIPs was controversial, but the 707s were also intended for general long-range transport.[6] The first was transferred to the RAAF in March 1979, and its inaugural Air Force flight took place on 22 April. Located at RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales, the 707s were initially operated by No. 37 Squadron; they were formed into No. 33 Flight under the command of Wing Commander J.D. Grierson on 2 February 1981.[5][6] The flight's first mission took place the same day, when it ferried RAAF members and their families to RAAF Base Butterworth, Malaysia, a task that had previously necessitated a Qantas charter.[6]

Air-to-air view of four-engined jet transport refuelling fighter plane
No. 33 Squadron 707 refuelling a US Navy F/A-18 Hornet during the war in Afghanistan, April 2002

On 1 July 1983, after the government procured two more 707s for $7.5 million from Worldways Canada, No. 33 Flight was reorganised as No. 33 Squadron under Grierson's command.[4][5] Responsible for transporting VIPs such as members of the British Royal Family, the Governor-General, the Prime Minister, and the Pope, the 707 also became the first RAAF aircraft to land in the Soviet Union, the occasion being the funeral of Konstantin Chernenko in 1985.[6] Along with Nos. 36 and 37 Squadrons, operating Lockheed C-130 Hercules, No. 33 Squadron came under the control of No. 86 Wing, part of the newly established Air Lift Group, in February 1987.[6] Routine maintenance of the 707s and Hercules was the responsibility of No. 486 Squadron, also part of No. 86 Wing.[6][7] The RAAF took on another three 707s on 25 February 1988, following a $25 million purchase from Boeing Military. One of the airframes was non-flying, for spares only, and was nicknamed "Hulksbury".[5][8]

A consortium of Israel Aerospace Industries and Hawker de Havilland converted four of No. 33 Squadron's six serviceable aircraft into in-flight refuelling tankers between December 1988 and May 1992.[5] Their probe-and-drogue configuration allowed them to refuel the RAAF's F/A-18 Hornets and the Royal New Zealand Air Force's A-4 Skyhawks, but not the RAAF's F-111s, which required a boom system. The other two 707s continued to be used purely for long-range transport.[5][9] In April 1989, one of the 707s transported 300 Australian Army personnel in two flights to Namibia as part of the Australian contribution to UNTAG, the United Nations Transition Assistance Group policing the country's transition to independence.[10] Later that year, the squadron helped ferry members of the Australian public when the two domestic airlines were grounded during an industrial dispute; it was similarly employed in 1991 following the demise of Compass Airlines.[5] On 29 October 1991, one of the transport-configured 707s was lost when it crashed into the sea during a training flight out of East Sale, Victoria; all five crew members were killed.[5] The coronial inquest into this accident found that training in the asymmetric handling maneuver that caused the crash was deficient, and that the RAAF lacked a proper understanding of the handling characteristics of its 707s.[11] No. 33 Squadron transported Australian troops to and from Somalia as part of Operation Solace in 1993.[12][13]

In January 1998, still based at Richmond, No. 33 Squadron joined Nos. 32 and 34 Squadrons under No. 84 Wing.[14][15] Two of No. 33 Squadron's aircraft were soon employed to form No. 84 Wing Detachment A in Kuwait, as part of Operation Southern Watch. On 5 March, one of the 707s undertook the first operational aerial tanker mission since the squadron's re-formation in 1983, when it refuelled six Panavia Tornados of the Royal Air Force (RAF) over Saudi Arabia. The detachment subsequently refuelled US F/A-18 Hornets, EA-6 Prowlers, and AV-8 Harriers, as well as RAF Harriers, in addition to the Tornados.[16][17] From March to September 2002, two 707s formed No. 84 Wing Detachment as part of Australia's contribution to the war in Afghanistan.[18][19] Located at Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan, the 707s provided aerial refuelling to coalition aircraft operating in the theatre, their efforts earning No. 84 Wing a Meritorious Unit Citation.[20][21]

Twin-engined jet on runway
No. 33 Squadron KC-30A in 2013

By the mid-1990s, the age of the aircraft and its power plant had meant that the 707s were running afoul of foreign noise and emission regulations when carrying Australian VIPs.[22] No. 33 Squadron relinquished its VIP transport role in 2002, following the entry into service of No. 34 Squadron's Boeing 737 Business Jets and Bombardier Challenger 604s.[23][24] The 707s were retired in 2008, bringing to an end the 29-year operational history of the type in the RAAF.[25] The last one in service, an ex-Qantas jet named "Richmond Town", flew low over Sydney on 30 June in the company of smaller aircraft filming its flight, which gave rise to fear in some quarters that a 9/11-style terrorist attack was in progress.[26] Three of the 707s remained at Richmond until 2011, when they were flown out by their new operator, the US-based Omega Air Services; Omega also procured the RAAF's Boeing simulator, which had been operated by No. 285 Squadron.[27]

Following the retirement of the Boeing 707, No. 33 Squadron relocated to RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, on 1 July 2008 and temporarily had no aircraft.[27] It was subsequently equipped with five Airbus KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transports, the first being delivered on 1 June 2011.[28] The KC-30 could carry one-and-a-half times as much fuel as the 707 and was configured with both probe-and-drogue and boom delivery systems.[29] These aircraft had originally been scheduled to enter service late in 2008, and the RAAF had to lease tankers from the United States Air Force and Omega Air to meet its aerial refueling needs while Airbus rectified problems with the boom system and completed essential technical documentation.[30][31] In March 2012, one of the KC-30s set a record for the number of passengers carried on an RAAF aircraft, 220 cadets from the Australian Defence Force Academy.[32] The squadron received its fifth and final KC-30 on 3 December 2012, and achieved initial operating capacity with the type in February 2013.[33][34]

Notes

  1. ^ "No. 86 Wing". Royal Australian Air Force. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  2. ^ Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 481
  3. ^ a b c d e f RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, pp. 35–58
  4. ^ a b c d e Eather, Flying Squadrons, pp. 68–69
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, pp. 38–40
  6. ^ a b c d e f Roylance, Air Base Richmond, pp. 107–108
  7. ^ RAAF Historical Section, Maintenance Units, pp. 70–71
  8. ^ Lewis, David (1 July 2008). "Last RAAF 707 gives Sydney a scare". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  9. ^ "33 Squadron: operational airline". Air Force Today, Vol. 1, No. 1: p. 28–29. May 1996. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help)
  10. ^ "No 33 Squadron B-707 ferried troops to Namibia". Air Power Development Centre. 14 April 1989. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  11. ^ "B-707 lost in training accident". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  12. ^ "Advance party headed for Somalia". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  13. ^ "Airlift returned Army battalion from Somalia". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  14. ^ "Bulletin board". Air Force News, Vol. 41, No. 9: p. 18. October 1999. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help)
  15. ^ Odgers, Air Force Australia, p. 206
  16. ^ "Gulf 707s operational". Air Force News, Vol. 40, No. 3: p. 1. April 1998. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help)
  17. ^ "Australian Defence Force contingent deployment to the Gulf to continue". Department of Defence. 8 May 1998. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  18. ^ "Farewell of 84 WG Detachment". Department of Defence. 15 March 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  19. ^ Caddaye, Ben (10 October 2002). "Well done". Air Force, Vol. 44, No. 19. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  20. ^ Seah, Mike. "84 Wing Detachment, Ganci Air Base, Manas, Kyrgyzstan" (PDF). Department of Defence. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  21. ^ "84WG awarded unit citation". Air Force, Vol. 44, No. 19. 10 October 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  22. ^ "Keeping the Boeing going". Air Force Today, Vol. 1, No. 2: p. 32. July 1996. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help)
  23. ^ "Challenger CL 604". RAAF Museum. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  24. ^ "Answers to questions on notice from the Department of Defence" (Document). Department of Defence. 27 January 2009. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |accessdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |work= ignored (help)
  25. ^ "Boeing 707 Farewell Flights Over Sydney and Hawkesbury". Department of Defence. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
  26. ^ "Farewell B-707 flight". Air Power Development Centre. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  27. ^ a b "Former RAAF 707s flown out by Omega". Australian Aviation. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  28. ^ "First KC-30A arrived". Air Power Development Centre. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  29. ^ "New tankers to take on many roles". Air Force News. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  30. ^ "Airbus misses RAAF KC-30 MRTT delivery deadline". Australian Aviation. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  31. ^ "Boom or bust! – RAAF KC-30 loses boom". Australian Aviation. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  32. ^ "New passenger record set". Air Power Development Centre. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  33. ^ "Airbus Military delivers final A330 MRTT to Royal Australian Air Force". Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  34. ^ "RAAF's KC-30 service ready". Australian Aviation. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.

References

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