No. 3 Squadron RAAF
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| 3SQN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Service | RAAF | ||
| FEG | Air Combat Group | ||
| Parent Unit | 81 Wing | ||
| Role | Air to Air Combat | ||
| Motto | Operta Aperta (Secrets Revealed) | ||
| Formed | September 19, 1916 | ||
| Base | RAAF Base Williamtown | ||
| Aircraft | F/A-18 | ||
| Callsign | Baron (Single Ship) Cobra(Multi Ship) Apache(Multi Ship) Raider(Multi Ship) Zulu(Multi Ship) |
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No. 3 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron. The Squadron was formed in 1916 and currently operates F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown.
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[edit] History
No. 3 Squadron (3SQN) was formed at Point Cook, Victoria on 19 September 1916. Shortly after, the unit was moved to England for training before becoming the first Australian Flying Corps (AFC) unit deployed to France in 1917. The Squadron participated in bombing, artillery spotting and reconnaissance missions supporting ANZAC and other Commonwaelth ground forces, and by the end of the War had flown over 10,000 operational hours.
During the Second World War, 3SQN first saw action in Egypt in late-1940, supporting the British 8th Army. Over the next four years the Squadron accompanied Allied campaigns in Libya, Syria, Tunisia, Malta and Italy. Its record of 217 enemy aircraft destroyed by the end of the War makes it the highest-scoring RAAF fighter squadron.
The unit was disbanded after World War II but re-formed on 1 March 1956 at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales. It operated CA-27 Sabres out of Butterworth, Malaya, from 1958 before re-equipping with Mirage IIIO fighters in 1969. Back in Australia in 1986, 3SQN received its initial brace of F/A-18 Hornets, aircraft A21-8 and A21-9, on 29 August 1986, the first operational RAAF unit to do so. The Squadron continues to operate the aircraft from its home base at RAAF Base Williamtown. In February 2002 during the early stages of the war on terrorism, personnel from 3SQN deployed to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to relieve 77SQN in providing air defence for the large coalition air base there. Squadron personnel also participated in 75SQN's deployment to the Persian Gulf in 2003.
[edit] Primary mission
3SQN's mission is to protect the air and sea approaches to the Australian mainland.
[edit] Aircraft operated
- Gloster Gauntlet, Gloster Gladiator, Westland Lysander (August 1940-January 1941)
- Hawker Hurricane (January 1941-May 1941)
- P-40 Tomahawk/Kittyhawk (May 1941-November 1944)
- P-51D Mustang (November 1944-July 1946)
- CA-27 Sabre (1956-1969)
- Mirage III (1969-1986)
- F/A-18 Hornet (August 1986-current)
[edit] External links
- Australian War Memorial 3 Squadron history 1925-1946
- RAAF Museum 3 Squadron
- Boeing RAAF Hornets 20th Anniversary
| Royal Australian Air Force flying squadrons | |
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