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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 . |
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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 |
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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 |