No. 33 Squadron RAAF
Encyclopedia : N : NO : NO3 : No. 33 Squadron RAAF
No. 33 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force transport squadron. The Squadron was first formed in 1942 and is currently based at RAAF Base Richmond where it operates modified Boeing 707 aircraft in the strategic transport and air-to-air refuelling roles.
History
No. 33 Squadron was formed at Townsville in February 1942. The Squadron was redeployed to Port Moresby in January 1943 where it provided air transport to Australian forces in New Guinea. After the war the Squadron ferried Australian personnel back to Australia before being disbanded in 1946.
No. 33 Squadron was re-formed in 1983 as a strategic transport squadron equipped with modified Boeing 707s. The squadron's current primary role is providing air-to-air refuelling for the RAAF's F/A-18 Hornet fighters. As the 707s are only equipped with a probe and drogue system they are not capable of refuelling the RAAF's F-111 bombers. No. 33 Squadron has provided air-to-air refuelling support to Coalition forces in the Middle East in 1998 and Afghanistan in 2002.
No. 33 Squadron will be re-equipped with Airbus A330 MRTT tanker-transport aircraft from 2009. These aircraft will be fitted with both probe and drogue and boom systems. It is expected that No. 33 Squadron will relocate to RAAF Base Amberley when these aircraft are delivered.
References
- RAAF Museum [33 Squadron]
- Air Force News [New tankers to take on many roles]
| Royal Australian Air Force flying squadrons | |
|---|---|
| RAAF Units Under Australian Operational Control 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 20 21 22 23 24 25 28 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 40 41 42 43 60 66 67 71 73 75 76 77 78 79 80 82 83 84 85 86 87 92 93 94 99 100 102 107 292 | |
| RAAF Units Under RAF Operational Control During WWII 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 466 467 | |
| Joint RAAF-Netherlands East Indies Squadrons No. 18 (NEI) No. 119 (NEI) No. 120 (NEI) |
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.