No. 3 Aircraft Depot RAAF
No. 3 Aircraft Depot RAAF | |
---|---|
Active | 1942–92 |
Allegiance | Australia |
Branch | Royal Australian Air Force |
Role | Aircraft maintenance |
Garrison/HQ | RAAF Base Amberley |
Motto(s) | Excel[1] |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | James Rowland (1966–69) |
No. 3 Aircraft Depot (No. 3 AD) was a maintenance unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Formed in March 1942 at RAAF Station Amberley, Queensland, its prime function initially was the assembly and despatch of combat aircraft from the United States; it also performed salvage operations. From 1942 until 1947 it took on the role of administering the Amberley base. The depot was responsible for heavy maintenance of the RAAF's English Electric Canberra jet bombers following their entry into service in 1953. In the 1970s it began maintaining and upgrading the General Dynamics F-111C swing-wing bomber, along with Bell UH-1 Iroquois and Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters. No. 3 AD merged with No. 482 Maintenance Squadron in March 1992 to form No. 501 Wing, which maintained the F-111 until disbanding in 2001.
History
World War II
No. 3 Aircraft Depot (No. 3 AD) was formed at
Post-war years
No. 82 (Heavy Bomber) Wing and its three squadrons of Consolidated B-24 Liberators arrived at Amberley as lodger units between February and April 1946.[6] In the aftermath of World War II, No. 3 AD continued to command and administer the base until the re-establishment of Station Headquarters Amberley in 1947.[4] No. 82 Wing converted to Avro Lincolns during 1948.[7] In October 1952, when Lincolns flew observation flights as part of Operation Hurricane, the first British atomic test in Australia, No. 3 AD was responsible for handling underwing canisters used to collect radioactive particles.[8] The RAAF's first jet bomber, the English Electric Canberra, began replacing the Lincoln in December 1953.[9][10] No. 3 AD was responsible for "deep" maintenance of the Canberra, which involved stripping aircraft back to their components. This process was generally required every five years, and could take up to a year to complete. The depot also performed deep maintenance on the CAC Sabre fighter during its service with the RAAF.[11] No. 3 AD's crest was approved by Queen Elizabeth II in June 1959; the design featured a Maltese cross in azure, symbolising the unit's home state of Queensland, surmounted by a cock's head in gold with a red comb.[12] From December 1966 until January 1969, No. 3 AD was commanded by Group Captain James Rowland, later Chief of the Air Staff and Governor of New South Wales.[1][13] By the 1970s, the depot was responsible for maintenance of the RAAF's Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters as well as the Canberra bombers.[1] It also maintained the McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantoms leased to the RAAF from 1970 to 1973 as an interim strike force pending delivery of the long-delayed General Dynamics F-111C.[14][15]
The F-111C represented the most significant maintenance challenge undertaken by the RAAF, and No. 3 AD's hangars and workshops were extensively revamped before and after the new bomber's entry into service in mid-1973.
From the 1980s, No. 3 AD's organisation included a maintenance management squadron made up of individual flights responsible for the upkeep of equipment, engines, and airframes, the last-mentioned including armament and de-seal/re-seal.[1] The process for de-sealing and re-sealing the F-111s fuel tanks, which the depot first undertook between 1977 and 1982 and which lasted six months per aircraft, caused controversy owing to the hazardous working conditions for ground crews. Brain damage to personnel caused by chemical exposure resulted in a class action that cost the Australian government more than A$20 million in damages.[24][25] On 16 March 1992, No. 3 AD merged with No. 482 Squadron to form No. 501 Wing, which became the largest unit in the RAAF, comprising over 1,200 personnel.[4][26] The depot completed its disbandment on 30 June that year.[1] No. 501 Wing continued to provide deep maintenance and logistics support for the F-111s at Amberley until 2001, when Boeing Australia was awarded the maintenance contract.[27][28]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h RAAF Historical Section, Maintenance Units, pp. 10–12
- ^ Ashworth, How Not to Run an Air Force!, p. 175
- ^ "Douglas, Gilbert Eric (1902–1970)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d RAAF Historical Section, Introduction, Bases, Supporting Organisations, pp. 119–123
- ^ Air Power Development Centre (September 2008). "Superbase #1: RAAF Amberley Past to Future" (PDF). Pathfinder (97). Royal Australian Air Force.
- ^ "No. 82 Wing". Royal Australian Air Force. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ Wilson, Lincoln, Canberra and F-111, p. 48
- ^ Wilson, Lincoln, Canberra and F-111, pp. 55–56
- ^ "Canberra". RAAF Museum. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ Wilson, Lincoln, Canberra and F-111, p. 104
- ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 176
- ^ "Crests tell history". RAAF News. Vol. 4, no. 11. December 1962. p. 5.
- ^ "Air Marshals". Royal Australian Air Force. Archived from the original on 1 June 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 386–388
- ^ Lax, From Controversy to Cutting Edge, p. 115
- ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 177–178
- ^ Lax, From Controversy to Cutting Edge, pp. 41, 111–112
- ^ Wilson, Lincoln, Canberra and F-111, p. 160
- ^ RAAF Historical Section, Maintenance Units, pp. 66–69
- ^ Air Power Development Centre (February 2010). "Manned ISR: The RF-111C" (PDF). Pathfinder (128). Royal Australian Air Force.
- ^ Lax, From Controversy to Cutting Edge, pp. 162
- ^ Lax, From Controversy to Cutting Edge, pp. 164–167
- ^ a b "Boeing-Vertol CH-47 Chinook". RAAF Museum. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ Lax, From Controversy to Cutting Edge, pp. 206–208
- ^ "F-111 action stalls without getting off the ground". Safety Culture. 11 April 2007. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ Lax, From Controversy to Cutting Edge, p. 196
- ^ Odgers, Air Force Australia, pp. 192, 218
- ^ Lax, From Controversy to Cutting Edge, pp. 222–223
References
- Ashworth, Norman (2000). How Not to Run an Air Force! The Higher Command of the Royal Australian Air Force During the Second World War: Volume 2. Canberra: Air Power Studies Centre. ISBN 0-642-26550-X.
- Lax, Mark (2010). From Controversy to Cutting Edge: A History of the F-111 in Australian Service. Canberra: Air Power Development Centre. ISBN 978-1-920800-54-3.
- ISBN 1-86436-081-X.
- RAAF Historical Section (1995). Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History. Volume 1: Introduction, Bases, Supporting Organisations. Canberra: ISBN 0-644-42792-2.
- RAAF Historical Section (1995). Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History. Volume 7: Maintenance Units. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-42798-1.
- Stephens, Alan (1995). Going Solo: The Royal Australian Air Force 1946–1971. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-42803-1.
- Wilson, Stewart (1989). Lincoln, Canberra and F-111 in Australian Service. Weston Creek, Australian Capital Territory: Aerospace Publications. ISBN 0-9587978-3-8.