No. 30 Transport Unit RAAF
No. 30 Transport Unit RAAF | |
---|---|
Active | 1950–1951 (No. 30 Communications Unit) 1951–1953 (No. 30 Transport Unit) |
Country | Australia |
Branch | Royal Australian Air Force |
Role | Transport |
Part of | No. 91 Wing |
Headquarters | Iwakuni, Japan |
Engagements | Korean War |
Aircraft flown | |
Transport | C-47 Dakota Auster CAC Wirraway |
No. 30 Transport Unit was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) unit that operated during the Korean War. It was formed in November 1950 as No. 30 Communications Unit and based at Iwakuni, Japan, as part of No. 91 (Composite) Wing. The unit was initially equipped with four Douglas C–47 Dakotas and two Austers, one of the Dakotas being the personal transport of Lieutenant General Sir Horace Robertson, commander of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF). Another four Dakotas were sent to Japan due to operational demands. The unit's role in Korea was to support No. 77 (Fighter) Squadron by transporting supplies and equipment. It also delivered materials and stores to Australian and Commonwealth ground forces, and transported VIPs of the United Nations Command. Return journeys to Japan were often used to evacuate wounded personnel from the theatre. No. 30 Communications Unit was redesignated No. 30 Transport Unit in November 1951, and re-formed as No. 36 (Transport) Squadron in March 1953. The squadron remained in Korea following the armistice, and returned to Australia in June 1955.
History
When the
No. 30 Communications Unit was headquartered at Iwakuni, along with the rest of No. 91 Wing's components except No. 77 Squadron, which was based on the Korean peninsula.
The first official commanding officer of No. 30 Communications Unit,
On 10 March 1953, No. 30 Transport Unit re-formed as No. 36 (Transport) Squadron, which had disbanded the previous day at RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales.[21][22] Between the armistice in July and the end of August 1953, the squadron repatriated over 900 Commonwealth prisoners of war.[23] As of 30 November 1954, its strength was seven Dakotas and one Wirraway, and eighty-seven personnel including seven officers.[24] Elements of No. 36 Squadron began returning to Australia in January 1955, and by the end of the month its strength was four Dakotas and one Wirraway, and fifty-eight personnel including five officers.[25][26] Nominal operational control of the squadron was transferred to Fifth Air Force on 1 February 1955, though its purpose continued to be the support of Commonwealth forces.[27][28] No. 36 Squadron ceased flying on 13 March, after which its remaining elements departed Iwakuni for Australia, leaving three Dakotas and a Wirraway that formed RAAF Transport Flight (Japan); the flight operated until July 1956 and was disbanded two months later.[29]
The transportation unit suffered two fatal accidents. One of the Austers crashed on takeoff in April 1951, killing all three occupants. A Wirraway came down in a river after striking telephone wires in June 1952; the pilot and passenger survived the impact but the latter subsequently died of his injuries.[14][30] During the war the Dakotas carried around 100,000 passengers and over 6,000 long tons (6,100,000 kg) of cargo.[18] No. 91 Wing's records listed 12,762 medical evacuations from Korea to Japan.[31] Reflecting on the nature of transport work in Korea, Hitchens stated:[32]
Most of our flying was not very exciting; but there was a lot of it. Lots of late dark nights. Lots of crowded airfields. Lots of plain hard work. [...] We all shed a lot of weight.
Notes
- ^ a b Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 222–225
- ^ a b Wilson, The Brotherhood of Airmen, p. 170
- ^ Hurst, The Forgotten Few, p. 29
- ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 231–232
- ^ Eather, Odd Jobs, p. 99
- ^ a b O'Neill, Australia in the Korean War, p. 314
- ^ a b "No 91 (Composite) Wing formed in Japan". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ a b Stephens, Going Solo, p. 228
- ^ a b c Eather, Odd Jobs, pp. 163–164
- ^ a b c Mordike, The Post-War Years, p. 100
- ^ a b c d e f RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, p. 150
- ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 247
- ^ No. 36 Squadron, Operations Record Book, p. 210
- ^ a b RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, p. 151
- ^ No. 36 Squadron, Operations Record Book, p. 209
- ^ a b RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, p. 152
- ^ No. 36 Squadron, Operations Record Book, p. 196
- ^ a b Eather, Odd Jobs, p. 169
- ^ No. 36 Squadron, Operations Record Book, p. 93
- ^ No. 36 Squadron, Operations Record Book, p. 57
- ^ Roylance, Air Base Richmond, p. 116
- ^ No. 36 Squadron, Operations Record Book, p. 41
- ^ RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, pp. 58, 152
- ^ No. 36 Squadron, Operations Record Book, p. 309
- ^ O'Neill, Australia in the Korean War, p. 592
- ^ No. 36 Squadron, Operations Record Book, pp. 315–319
- ^ RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, p. 58
- ^ No. 36 Squadron, Operations Record Book, p. 330
- ^ RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, pp. 58, 185
- ^ No. 36 Squadron, Operations Record Book, pp. 107, 193
- ^ O'Neill, Australia in the Korean War, pp. 583–584
- ^ Eather, Odd Jobs, pp. 169–170
References
- No. 36 Squadron (1950–1966). "Operations Record Book". National Archives of Australia.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[permanent dead link] - Eather, Steve (1996). Odd Jobs: RAAF Operations in Japan, the Berlin Airlift, Korea, Malaya and Malta, 1946–1960. RAAF Williams, Victoria: ISBN 0-642-23482-5.
- Hurst, Doug (2008). The Forgotten Few: 77 RAAF Squadron in Korea. Crows Nest, New South Wales: ISBN 978-1-74175-500-8.
- Mordike, John, ed. (1997). The Post-War Years 1945–1954: The Proceedings of the 1996 RAAF History Conference. Canberra: Air Power Studies Centre. ISBN 0-642-26501-1.
- ISBN 0-642-04330-2.
- RAAF Historical Section (1995). Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History. Volume 4: Maritime and Transport Units. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-42796-5.
- Roylance, Derek (1991). Air Base Richmond. RAAF Base Richmond: Royal Australian Air Force. ISBN 0-646-05212-8.
- Stephens, Alan (1995). Going Solo: The Royal Australian Air Force 1946–1971. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-42803-1.
- Stephens, Alan (2006) [2001]. The Royal Australian Air Force: A History. London: ISBN 0-19-555541-4.
- Wilson, David (2005). The Brotherhood of Airmen. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-74114-333-0.