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HISTORICAL DATES : (click onto any UNDERLINED EVENT for more information)

EVENTS ... ON ... FACTS ...
Formed within  the A.F.C. - a division of 1st A.I.F ( or A.M.F.) 19 Sep 1916 First named 2 Squadron as it was 2nd AFC Squadron formed at Point Cook, Vic. When it was later found that  2 Squadron had been  formed in Egypt at the same time,  it was renumbered  3.
Sailed for U.K. 25 Oct 1916 Ship 'Ulysses' left Melbourne with 18 officers and 230 airmen.
Incorporated in R.F.C. 31 Mar 1917 Renamed 69 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.  Much of the training and preparation was carried out at South Carlton, UK.
Operational in Savy, France 10 Sep 1917 The first AFC Squadron to arrive in France.  3 flights: A, B, C. Each had six RE8 aircraft crewed by pilot and observer-gunner.
The "Sandy and Hughes" incident 17 Dec 1917 Lt. Sandy (pilot) and Sgt Hughes (observer) killed by a single bullet during flying combat. Their RE8 flew until it ran out of fuel then glide-landed 50 miles away with little damage.
Renamed officially 20 Jan 1918 Separation of the Australian Flying Corp squadrons from the Royal Flying Corp gave 3 Squadron its official designation.
The "Red Baron" incident 21 Apr 1918 During his air pursuit of an RFC Camel, Germany's top ace, Captain Baron Manfred von Richthofen (called "The Red Baron" because he flew a red-painted Fokker DR1 triplane) was, by evidence, shot and killed in the air by ground fire although he was fired at by two 3 Squadron RE8s. His aircraft crashed  near 3 Squadron's base. Lt. James Lee Smith, DFC, an off-duty 3 Squadron pilot, helped lead a retrieval party to bring his  body and his aircraft back to their Poulainville base. 3 Squadron buried The Red Baron with full military honours.
The "Wackett" invention 24 Jun 1918 Aerial drops of ammunition to field troops were needed but almost impossible to achieve with accuracy. Capt L.J.Wackett,  DFC,  ("A" Flight's Commander) invented a bomb-rack release device that effectively solved the problem for the allies.
Germany's first air-postal service 18 Nov 1918 7 days after WW1 ended, 3 Squadron were ordered to set up and operate the first air-postal service to cover the newly occupied Rhine and Cologne areas for  Army HQ.
Recording history  3 Jan 1919 As well-proven experts in aerial photography, 3 Squadron were assigned the task of photographing WW1 battle sites.
Aircraft change-over 31 Jan 1919 Bristol F2b Fighters had, by then, gradually replaced all RE8s
Return to England 21 Feb 1919 All the new aircraft and stores were handed back to the RAF
Return to Australia  6 May 1919 29 officers and 216 airmen embarked 'Kaiser-I-Hind' at Southampton, UK.  2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Squadrons also on board.
Last of A.F.C. activity 16 Jun 1919 Disembarked Melbourne.  Discharge of the last airmen.

BETWEEN THE WARS:

Temporary Squadron        1922  3 Squadron was reformed for about 6 months before being disbanded ... Government funding apparently the cause.
Reformed within R.A.A.F. 1 Jul 1925 3 (Composite) Squadron formed at Point Cook, Vic. with HQ plus 3 flights flying: DH9, SE5A, and DH9A bombers. Squadron then moved to Richmond, NSW.
First operational 11 Aug 1925 Two DH9 s flew to Brisbane for Brisbane Show. Shortly after began aerial photography of Australia. Did that for 13 years.
Rename  1 Jul 1926 The term "Composite" was deleted to become 3 Squadron.
Aircraft changes 1930 - 1935 Westland Wapiti replacements first. Then Hawker Demons began replacing Wapitis.
Trophy winners  Sep 1935 Won Air Services Trophy for 4th time.
Operational alert  3 Sep 1939 England's declaration of war on Germany.

WORLD WAR ll:

Left Richmond, NSW 15 Jul 1940 21 officers and 271 airmen sailed on 'Orontes' for Egypt
1st aircraft Sep-Oct 1940 3 Westland Lysanders followed by Gloster Gladiators and Gauntlets. Became members of 'Desert Air Force'; the radio call sign for the Squadron became the word  'SHABBY'
1st operations 13 Nov 1940 FltLts G Steege, DSO, DFC, and C Gaden carried out reconnaissance(Tac.R)
1st pilot loss 19 Nov 1940 SqnLdr P Heath killed-in-action; in Gladiator, against Italians
1st enemy kills 19 Nov 1940 FltLt B Pelly, FlgOffs A Rawlinson and A Boyd shot down  3 Italian CR42 s and, at least, damaged 3 others
1st bail-out 14 Dec 1940 FlgOff L Winten was wounded and parachuted to safety
1st ground casualties 14 Jan 1941 Wireless personnel Cpl V Jarvis  killed near Tobruk and LAC G Parr taken prisoner by Italian soldiers
New aircraft 21 Jan 1941 1st Hawker Hurricane arrived
1st decoration 27 Jan 1941 WgCdr I McLachlan (1st C.O.) awarded D.F.C.
1st enemy shot down 15 Feb 1941 FlgOff J Saunders, in Hurricane, shot down German JU88
Nickname given early 1941 First, the "phantom" then the " hydraulic" ( lifts anything) and finally called the "clefty" (in Arabic means "thieving") squadron
1st stand-down 30 Apr 1941 10 days leave in Aboukir in Nile Delta
New aircraft 14 May 1941 P40 Curtiss Tomahawks arrived. Within 4 months, there were 12 "Tommies"  on strength
The blackest day 22 Nov 1941 5 pilots were killed during enemy action that day
1st benchmark 30 Nov 1941 Count of enemy aircraft shot down now exceeded 100
New aircraft  4 Dec 1941 P40 Curtiss Kittyhawks began arriving
2nd benchmark 22 Jul 1942 1,000th bomb dropped in previous 9 weeks - a record for DAF
3rd benchmark 29 Oct 1942 SqnLdr Bobby  Gibbes added unofficial 200th kill to total tally. Recheck of records in 1996 disclosed errors; true tally was less
'Clefty' aircraft 1 Nov 1942 FlgOff Ken McRae captured a usable Me109G which was designated as a CV  3 Squadron aircraft. CO, SqnLdr Bobby Gibbes, DSO DFC, used it to teach pilots about German tactics  
'Clefty' aircraft 2 Jan 1943 Undamaged Caproni Ghibli at Castel Benito. Used often as a beer carrier and a means of ferrying airmen on leave passes
Change of direction 12 May 1943 When Tunis fell, the Desert War was over. 3 Squadron were the only Squadron in the D.A.F. who'd participated in the entire African campaign. Celebration parties became more frequent before orders came to prepare for operations in Sicily and Italy
Stop-over to Europe 1  4 July 1943 Two parties of personnel and aircraft arrived in Valetta, Malta before proceeding to Sicily several days later
Stop-over to Europe 2 21 July 1943 One more party arrived in Syracuse, Sicily and linked with the ex-Malta contingent. Within 3 days, they were flying 12 sorties per day against German forces in Sicily
1st targets in Europe  5 Sep 1943 Flying 12 sorties a day from Sicily; hit German targets in Italy 
1st arrival in Italy 15 Sep 1943 An advance party began setting up a new base at Grottaglie. 3 Squadron one of the first to arrive in Italy
Italy joins allied forces 13 Oct 1943 Italy's change from foe to friend provided pilots who'd crash landed/parachuted into Italy, welcome protection and help
1,000lb bombs used 13 Jan 1944 FLTLT Jack Doyle, DSO, DFC (bar), hit his target with the 1st 1,000 lb bomb. Kittyhawks were later equipped with 2 x 500 lb bombs + 1 x 1,000 lb. Previously, 250lb bombs generally used
Monte Cassino attacks 16 -17 Feb 1944 SQNLDR Brian Eaton, DSO, DFC,  led 12 Kittyhawks against German forces entrenched in the famous Monastery "fortress"
Pescara River Dam attack 21 Apr 1944 12 Kittyhawks participated in low altitude 239 Wing attack using 2,000 lb bomb loads to successfully breach sluice gates
Monte Cassino falls 18 May 1944 After over 4 months of hard and continuous land and air attack, the Benedictines' Monastery, occupied by German forces, fell
Goodbye to Cutella 24 May 1944 After nearly 5 months of occupation at Cutella, the Squadron's departure completed the longest (and uncomfortable) period of operations in the same place since their war began in 1940
New Aircraft 13 Nov 1944 First P51 Mustang arrived; 11 more arrived during next 5 days
Last Kitty flown 20 Nov 1944 Last operational flights flown in Kittyhawks
Napalm bombs used  1 Jan 1945 Wing orders to equip Mustangs with 750lb napalm bombs for pin-point bombing at 100 ft height against rail and road targets
Last operations WWll  5 May 1945 Reconnaissance of Fiume, Trieste and Udine areas
V.E.  fly-past 18 May 1945 239 Wing led the DAF in the victory fly-past at  Campoformido
Return to Australia  7 Sep 1945 Embarked on 'Winchester Castle' at Taranto before embarking on 'Stratheden' 20 days later .

On 30 JULY 1946, 3 SQUADRON was disbanded after completing its WWll service.

SINCE WORLD WAR ll

Reformation  8 Mar 1948 Named 3 (Tactical Reconnaissance) Squadron. Based at Fairbairn, A.C.T. with 9 Mustangs, 8 Austers, 2 Wirraways
Operations Nov '50 to Aug '51 Darwin: Operation "Gay Jabiru". Townsville: "Barrier Reef".
Redesignation  Dec 1951 Became 3 (Fighter Reconnaissance) Squadron
Redesignation 15 Jun 1953 Became 3 (Day Fighter/Ground Attack) Squadron. Assets transferred to Army. Squadron dormant
Reformation  Mar 1956 Redesignated as 3 (Fighter) Squadron at Williamtown, NSW, Australia. It was equipped with 16 CAC27 Avon Sabres during next 3 months
Speed record created  Jun 1956 FLTLT J Arthurson created a new Laverton to Williamtown record of 44 minutes and 25 seconds. This was broken several months later by FLGOFF N Raffin (42 minutes 10 seconds)
Move to Malaya 15 Oct 1958 Ground personnel began moving out. 12 days later Sabres began flying to Butterworth via Darwin. Move completed by mid November
Training aircraft  Jun 1958 A 2-seat T35 Vampire arrived; used for instrument training
Air attack on camps 13 Aug 1959 6 Sabres dropped their 500lbHE  bombs on 3 terrorist areas
Manila Airshow 26 Nov 1959 Detachment flew via Saigon to Clark AF base, Philippines to participate in International Airshow
"Hose-down" ceremony started  Dec 1959 FLGOFF Conn achieved 1,000 hours on Sabres. Champagne toast at flight line followed by a hose-down became standard procedure for all pilots achieving 1,000 hours or multiples
1st Sidewinder fired  Apr 1960 FLTLT V Oborn fired the Squadron's first Sidewinder missile
Attacks on terriorists  Jun 1960 FLTLT J Newham led Sabre attacks on Communist camps
Pilot killed on takeoff 11 Sep 1962 FLTLT Offord ejected but too low for parachute to open
Strip alert  Sep 1963 The possibility of attack by Indonesian aggression against Malaysia required a full time, 2 armed aircraft ready, alert
Alert scramble sorties Dec '63 to  Jan '64 The developing confrontation against Indonesia resulted in several scrambles being activated but without action taken
Malaysian emergency  5 Sep 1964 Most personnel and Sabres transferred to RAF base at Changi to boost defence of Singapore; half stayed approx 1 month. For next few years, Squadron was often split over different bases
Alert rosters cancelled 12 Aug 1966 The Indonesian Confrontation declared over
50th birthday 10 Sep 1966 Parade and hanger party to celebrate at Butterworth base
Last Sabre op flight 31 Jan 1967 FLTLT J Jacobsen flew last mission at Butterworth
Return: Williamtown 16 Feb 1967 4,060 mile flight via Changi, Denpasar, Darwin, Townsville was safely completed
Convert to Mirages  May 1967 Sabres were to be replaced by Mirage lllO so for several months, Conversion Courses were undertaken
Loss of pilot 17 May 1967 The CO, WGCDR V Drummond, was killed whilst training
New aircraft 27 Jul 1967 The new CO, WGCDR J Newham flew the first Squadron Mirage from Avalon to Williamtown. 3 more arrived during the next 7 days although there were now 10 pilots to fly them
1st Mirage lost 25 Sep 1968 FLGOFF M Susans successfully ejected from 20,000 ft after mechanical failure caused a flame-out
Butterworth again 14 Feb 1969 25 aircraft and support personnel began move to Butterworth where they joined 75 Squadron. Regular detachments to Singapore began; continued for the next 22 years with regular rotations of personnel between Williamtown and Butterworth. The detachments came under ANZUK Defence System
1st 1,000 hrs in Mirage  Jun 1970 FLTLT J Dereyter was first to log 1,000 Mirage hours
Tail colours adopted  Dec 1970 Orange/black flash-with-lizardused for Squadron Mirage tails
1st 2,000 hrs in Mirage 16 Nov 1973 FLTLT G Coleman was 1st in RAAF to log 2,000 Mirage hours
Proficiency award 12 Dec 1973 Duke of Gloucester Cup awarded to Squadron
Tail colours changed Dec 1974 Squadron crest on tail adopted; Southern Cross on rudder too
Double tragedy  6 Jul 1975 FLGOFF P Kelly killed when 75 Squadron Mirage landed on top of his Mirage on Butterworth airstrip
Trophy awarded 10 May 1977 Squadron won the Kittyhawk Trophy for weapons' efficiency
"New" aircraft  1 Oct 1983 A Caribou (The Grumbling Green Gravel Truck) became a useful transporter (complete with a 3 Squadron emblem)
New missiles 25 Oct 1984 The Matra 550 'Magic' missile 1st fired by CO WGCDR B Wood
Trophy award 15 Nov 1985 Again, the Kittyhawk Trophy was won
Hornets on show 13 Jan 1986 Two F/A-18 Hornets from 2 OCU Williamtown visited
Malaysia close-down 31 Mar 1986 All aircraft, equipment and most personnel (over 250) transferred to 79 Squadron;  3 Squadron ceased to exist until reformed shortly after at Williamtown with 3 officers and 36 other ranks. New CO WGCDR B Mouatt began his Hornet conversion course and re-building Squadron's assets & people
F/A-18 Hornets arrive 29 Aug 1986 2 Hornets, flown by WGCDR B Mouatt &  SQNLDR R Fox flown from Avalon to Williamtown; Squadron 1st to get FA18s
'60 Minutes' TV program produced 8-12 Sep 1986 3 Squadron (now with 10 pilots) worked with TV producers to demonstrate Australia's newly acquired technology-aircraft
1st 2 seater F/A-18 25 Jun 1987 High valued (for training) dual seater arrived. Squadron strength was now 152 personnel and settled at Williamtown
Hornet v Honda  Feb 1988 Covered by TV cameras, Wayne Gardner's 500cc GP Honda raced a Hornet over a 1/4 mile sprint; the Hornet won 
Mach 1.6 achieved 23 May 1988  3 Hornets (nameless pilots) accelerated over southern NSW;  caused broken windows & earthquake reports; CO not amused
Return to Butterfield 10 Sep 1990 For 40 days of exercises, 10 Hornets and support personnel returned to Butterworth - the 1st time since the Mirage days

Williamtown is still HOME ...

TODAY

The last decade of non-warfare service is really a continuation of the type of "temporary" deployments mentioned above.  Approximately 18 Hornets, 15 officer-pilots and another 5 staff officers plus 130 airmen and airwomen are today's strength

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