No. 453 Squadron of the
Royal Australian Air Force was formed during
World War II. 453 Squadron came into existence at
Bankstown in
New South Wales on
May 23,
1941. The squadron's motto was
Ready to strike. It was raised under the
Empire Air Training Scheme. The squadron first saw action in Malaya and Singapore, after suffering heavy losses it was disbanded in
Adelaide on
15 March 1942. It was reformed at
RAF Drem,
Scotland on
18 June 1942 and saw out the war in
Europe, being finally disbanded on
21 January 1946.
HMAS Encounter was a second-class
protected cruiser laid down for the
Royal Navy by HM Dockyard at
Devonport in
Plymouth 28 January 1901, launched on
18 June 1902, completed
21 November 1905 and transferred to the
Royal Australian Navy 27 July 1915. HMAS
Encounter paid off on
30 September 1920, was renamed
Penguin 1 January 1923 and served as an accommodation ship until scuttled
14 September 1932 off Sydney. She now lies at a depth of around 74 meters and is dived regularly.
The
Australian Women's Land Army (AWLA) was an organization created in
World War II to combat rising labour shortages in the
farming sector. The AWLA was formed on
27 July 1942 and was modelled on
Women's Land Army in
Great Britain. When Japan joined the
Axis in 1941 male agricultural labour was recruited into the
Australian military to defend the country. To meet the shortfall in rural labour, state and private women’s land organisations began to form under the jurisdiction of the Director General of Manpower. The AWLA disbanded on
31 December 1945.
No. 462 Squadron is a
Royal Australian Air Force squadron which currently forms part of the Information Warfare Wing in the RAAF's Aerospace Operational Support Group. No. 462 Squadron RAAF was first formed on
7 September 1942 at Fayid,
Egypt and was the only
heavy bomber squadron in North Africa during 1942. As the Squadron only contained a small number of Australians it was redesignated No. 614 Squadron RAF on
3 March 1944. A new 462 Squadron RAAF was formed in Britain in August 1944 as part of
RAF Bomber Command. The Squadron conducted operations over North-Western Europe as a bomber and
electronic warfare squadron until being disbanded at the end of the war. No. 462 Squadron is currently a non-flying information operations squadron located at
RAAF Base Edinburgh.
The
Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service is the collective name of the
submarine element of the
Royal Australian Navy. The Service currently forms the Navy's Submarine Force Element Group and consists of six
Collins class submarines. The Submarine Service has been established four times, with the initial three attempts being foiled by combat losses and Australia's economic problems. The modern Submarine Service was established in
1964 and has formed an important element of the Australian military's capacity since that date. While the Submarine Service has not seen combat since
World War I Australian submarines have conducted extensive surveillance operations throughout
South East Asia.
The
Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion was an Australian
infantry battalion of World War II. The Battalion was unique in that almost all of its enlisted men were
Torres Strait Islanders, making it the only
Indigenous Australian Battalion ever formed by the
Australian Army. The Torres Strait Light Infantry was initially formed as an independent infantry company in May 1941 and was expanded to a full battalion in early 1943. Throughout the war the Battalion was based on
Horn Island and
Thursday Island in the
Torres Strait where it formed an integral part of the Islands' defences. A detachment from the battalion conducted a patrol into Japanese held
Dutch New Guinea from October to December 1943. The Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion was disbanded in 1946.
No. 9 Squadron RAAF was a
Royal Australian Air Force squadron. The Squadron saw active service in
World War II and the
Vietnam War before being disbanded in 1989. No. 9 Squadron was fisrt formed on
1 January 1939 at
RAAF Base Richmond and, as Australia's only fleet co-operation squadron, operated from the
Royal Australian Navy's cruisers until their aircraft capabilities were removed in 1944 when the Squadron was disbanded. No. 9 Squadron was reformed on
11 June 1962 as a helicopter squadron. The Squadron was deployed to
South Vietnam between 1966 and 1971 where it formed part of the
1st Australian Task Force. No. 9 Squadron was re-equipped with
S-70A Blackhawk helicopters in 1988 and was disbanded in 1989 with its personnel and aircraft being used to form 'A' Squadron of the Australian Army's
5th Aviation Regiment.
HMAS Melbourne (III) is an
Adelaide class guided missile frigate laid down by AMECON at
Williamstown in Victoria on
12 July 1985, launched on
5 May 1989 and commissioned on
15 February 1992.
Melbourne has seen active service in the Persian Gulf and off East Timor.
The
Tactical Assault Groups are Australia's premier
counter-terrorism units. The two TAGs, East and West, are structured to conduct offensive domestic counter-terrorist (CT) operations focusing on incident resolution and the recovery of hostages. They maintain a short notice capability to conduct military operations beyond the scope of State and Federal Police tactical teams. These aims are achieved through various highly specialised skill sets, niche capabilities and supporting
Australian Defence Force (ADF) units. TAG West was formed in 1979 and is based around a Squadron from the
Australian Special Air Service Regiment. TAG East was formed in 2002 and is part of the
4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Commando).
No. 1 Long Range Flight was a temporary
Royal Australian Air Force unit formed to participate in the 1953 Christchurch Centenary Air Race which was flown between
London in Britain and
Christchurch in New Zealand. No. 1 Long Range Flight was formed on
16 February 1953 and was equipped with two Australian-built
Canberra bombers fitted with long range fuel tanks. After seven months of training and preparations the Flight's aircraft departed for the United Kingdom in September 1953 ahead of the commencement of the race on
9 October 1953. While one of the two Canberras was effectively put out of the race when a tire burst upon landing at
Cocos Island the other aircraft completed the race, coming second after arriving in
Christchurch just after midnight on
10 October following a flight of 22 hours, 29 minutes.
Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was an Australian
hospital ship of
World War II.
Centaur (3,066 tons) was built for the Ocean Steamship Company (Blue Funnel Line) in
Greenock,
Scotland, in
1924. In early 1943 she was converted to a hospital ship. At 4.10am on
14 May 1943 Centaur was torpedoed and sunk by
Japanese Navy submarine I-177 off
Point Lookout, Queensland. 268 sailors and Australian military personnel died in the sinking. The ship was well illuminated at the time she was attacked and marked as a hospital ship. The act of sinking a ship so marked was considered to be a
war crime.
The
1st Armoured Regiment is an armoured regiment of the
Australian Army, and is the senior regiment of the
Royal Australian Armoured Corps. The regiment is also the only one in the Australian Army to be equipped with main battle tanks. The 1st Armoured Regiment was formed in 1948 and has seen active service as part of the
1st Australian Task Force during the
Vietnam War. The regiment is currently based in
Darwin and provides the basis for one of two
battlegroups within the
1st Brigade, the other coming from
5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.
No. 33 Squadron is a
Royal Australian Air Force transport squadron. The Squadron was first formed in 1942 and provided transport to Australian military units in New Guinea until its disbandment in 1946. The Squadron was reformed in 1983 is currently based at
RAAF Base Richmond where it operates modified
Boeing 707 aircraft in the strategic transport and
air-to-air refuelling roles. No. 33 Squadron will be re-equipped with
Airbus A330 MRTT tanker-transport aircraft from 2009 and will relocate to
RAAF Base Amberley.
HMAS Bungaree was an
Australian auxiliary
minelayer of
World War II.
Bungaree was requisitioned by the
Royal Australian Navy in October 1940 and commissioned into the RAN on
6 June 1941 after being converted into a minelayer. HMAS
Bungaree laid her first minefield off
Port Moresby in August 1941 and, as Australia's only minelayer, laid over 10,000 mines in defensive minefields in Australian and New Zealand waters during World War II.
Bungaree served as a survey ship from January 1944 and a store ship from August 1944. HMAS
Bungaree was decommissioned on
7 August 1946 and was returned to her owners on
5 November 1947.
The
8th/9th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (8/9 RAR) is an
Australian Army infantry battalion which was disbanded in 1997 but is currently scheduled to be reformed. 8/9 RAR was formed on
31 October 1973 by linking 8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and 9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. 8/9 RAR was based at
Enoggera Barracks in
Brisbane and formed part of the 6th Brigade until it was disbanded on
18 June 1997. On
24 August 2006 Prime Minister John Howard announced that the battalion would be reraised under a new plan to increase the size of the
Army. The battalion will be based in
South East Queensland.
No. 3 Operational Training Unit was the
Royal Australian Air Force's main
seaplane training unit during
World War II. 3 OTU was formed by expanding the RAAF's
Seaplane Training Flight in late 1942. 3 OTU was located at
RAAF Base Rathmines in
New South Wales and was responsible for converting RAAF aircrew to aircraft such as the
Catalina and
Kingfisher. In addition, aircraft from 3 OTU flew anti-submarine patrols off the coast of New South Wales. 3 OTU was disbanded following the end of the war.
HMAS Fantome was an Espeigel class sloop which was operated by the
Royal Australian Navy during
World War I.
Fantome was originally built for and operated by the Royal Navy Survey Service and conducted survey operations in Australian waters from
1907 until the outbreak of war in
1914. She was transfered to the
Royal Australian Navy on
27 November 1914 but was paid off from February 1915 until July 1915 when she was recommissioned as a patrol vessel. From September 1915 to September
1917 she operated in the
Bay of Bengal and
South China Sea as part of the Far East Patrol. From late 1917 HMAS
Fantome was based at
Suva, Fiji and operated in the South Pacific performing police duties.
Fantome was returned to the
Royal Navy in
1920 and was paid off for disposal in April
1924.
The
Royal Tasmania Regiment is an infantry regiment within the
Australian Army which currently consists of a single
battalion. The regiment was formed in
1960 as part of the reforms of the
Army Reserve, when
Tasmania's two single battalion infantry regiments were amalgamated. The RTR expanded to two battalions in
1972, but was reduced to a pair of independent companies in
1975. In
1987 the regiment was expanded to a full battalion through the regimentation of the two independent rifle companies, 12 Field Squadron Royal Australian Engineers, 146 Signal Squadron and 6 Intelligence Unit, forming as 12th/40th Battalion. The 12th/40th Battalion is currently a
light infantry battalion which forms part of the
9th Brigade, and is based in
Hobart,
Tasmania with a detachment in
Launceston.
The second
HMAS Sydney was a modified
Leander-class light cruiser of the
Royal Australian Navy. The ship had great success in the first years of
World War II, but controversy and mystery surrounds her loss on
19 November 1941.
Sydney's sinking with all hands represents the greatest ever loss of life in an
Australian warship;
Sydney was also the largest vessel of any country to be lost with no survivors during the war. The wreck of
Sydney remains undiscovered till this day.
No. 76 Squadron is a
Royal Australian Air Force training squadron and operates
Hawk 127 aircraft from
RAAF Base Williamtown. It was formed as a
fighter unit in
1942. The squadron saw extensive combat during World War II, flying
Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks in and around New Guinea. Following the war the Squadron formed part of the
British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan and was a jet fighter squadron during the Cold War.
The
6th Division of the
Australian Army was a unit in the
Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) during
World War II. It served in the
North African campaign, the
Greek Campaign and the
New Guinea campaign, including the crucial battles of the
Kokoda Track Campaign. The 6th Division was formed in September 1939 and disbanded following the end of the war in 1945.
No. 21 Squadron is currently a
Royal Australian Air Force general reserve squadron. The Squadron was first formed in 1936 as a Citizen Air Force Squadron. No. 21 Squadron saw action as a fighter, dive bomber and heavy bomber squadron during
World War II. The Squadron ceased flying operations in 1960 and is currently a non-flying general reserve squadron headquartered at
RAAF Williams near
Melbourne.
HMAS Tobruk (II) is a Landing Ship Heavy (LSH) of the
Royal Australian Navy, based on the design of the
"Sir" class of the
Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Tobruk was the first purpose built amphibious vessel in the RAN, and is designed as a multi-purpose,
ro-ro heavy lift and transport vessel - the ship can be loaded via ramps at both the bow and stern, and can be purposely beached.
Tobruk can carry up to eighteen
Leopard 1 MBTs and 40
APCs and has a standard capacity of 300 troops, with an overload capacity of 520.
Tobruk has been actively deployed to a number of combat zones, including
Somalia in 1991.
The
Imperial Camel Corps was a brigade-sized military formation which fought for the
Allies in the
Sinai and Palestine Campaign in
World War I. Its personnel were infantry mounted on camels for movement across desert. The Corps was founded in January,
1916. The Corps' 1st Battalion and 3rd Battalion were Australian. The Australian battalions' were mounted on horses in early 1918 to form the Australian 5th Mounted Brigade. The Corps was reduced to a single battalion in May
1918 and was formally disbanded in May
1919.
No. 15 Squadron of the
Royal Australian Air Force was a bomber and maritime patrol squadron which was active during World War II. No. 15 Squadron was formed on
27 January 1944 and flew anti-submarine and convoy escort patrols with
Bristol Beaufort aircraft. In April 1945 the Squadron's role changed when most of its aircraft were deployed to Tadji in
New Guinea to operate in the bomber role. In this role the Squadron conducted raids against Japanese positions around
Wewak. Following the end of the war the Squadron moved to
Kingaroy, Queensland where it was disbanded on
23 March 1946.
HMAS Melbourne (I) was a
Town-class light cruiser laid down by
Cammell Laird at
Birkenhead in England on
4 April 1911, launched on
30 May 1912 and commissioned on
18 January 1913. She was involved in the pursuit of the German
SMS Emden in 1914, though it fell to
HMAS Sydney to bring that ship to action.
Melbourne served on the North America and West Indies Stations from 1914 to 1916 before joining the
Grand Fleet in the
North Sea where she remained for the remainder of the war.
Melbourne was paid off to reserve and laid up inactive at
Sydney between
5 August 1919 and
14 April 1920 and again from
29 September 1924 to
8 October 1925. HMAS
Melbourne paid off in the
United Kingdom on
23 April 1928.
The
16th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery is an
Australian Army regiment. As the
Australian Defence Force's only ground based air defence unit the Regiment is responsible for protecting a wide range of military assets during wartime, ranging from Army units in the field to providing point defence to the
Royal Australian Navy's support ships and air defence to
Royal Australian Air Force air bases. The Regiment is currently equipped with
RBS-70 missiles and is based at
Woodside, South Australia.
No. 3 Squadron of the
Royal Australian Air Force is currently active as a fighter squadron. The Squadron was first formed in 1916 and was the first Australian Flying Corps unit deployed to France in 1917. No. 3 Squadron saw extensive action in
North Africa and
Italy during
World War II and was active as a jet fighter squadron throughout the
Cold War. The Squadron currently operates
F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from
RAAF Base Williamtown.
HMAS Stuart (I) was a
Scott class
destroyer.
Stuart was originaly commissioned into the
Royal Navy on 21 December 1918 and transferred to the
Royal Australian Navy on 11 October 1933. During World War II HMAS
Stuart saw action in the
Mediterranean as part of the 19th Destroyer Division, the famous "
Scrap Iron Flotilla".
Stuart returned to Australia in 1941 and conducted escort duties in
New Guinea and Australian waters until she paid off in early 1946.
The
Australian 1st Parachute Battalion was an
Australian Army battalion of
World War II. The 1st Parachute Battalion was formed in early April 1943 at
RAAF Base Richmond near
Sydney. As Australia's first
airborne combat battalion, the 1st Parachute Battalion required extensive training and was not declared ready for operations until May 1944. While the Battalion was alerted for a role in the
Australian-led Borneo Campaign, this did not eventuate and the Battalion did not see action. Following the Japanese surrender part of the Battalion deployed to Singapore for garrison duties, remaining there from September 1945 until January 1946. The 1st Parachute Battalion was disbanded in Sydney in January 1946.
