Formation The RAAF traces its history back to the
1911 Imperial Conference that was held in London, where it was decided that aviation should be developed within the armed forces of the
British Empire. Australia implemented this decision, the first dominion to do so, by approving the establishment of the "Australian Aviation Corps". This initially consisted of the
Central Flying School at
Point Cook, Victoria, opening on 22 October 1912. By 1914 the corps was known as the "Australian Flying Corps".
First World War (McCaughey Battleplane), Palestine, 1918 Soon after the outbreak of war in 1914, the Australian Flying Corps sent aircraft to assist in capturing
German colonies in what is now north-east
New Guinea. However, these colonies surrendered quickly, before the planes were even unpacked. The first operational flights did not occur until 27 May 1915, when the
Mesopotamian Half Flight was called upon to assist the
Indian Army in providing air support during the
Mesopotamian Campaign against the
Ottoman Empire, in what is now
Iraq. The corps later saw action in
Egypt,
Palestine and on the
Western Front throughout the remainder of the First World War. By the end of the war, four squadrons—
Nos. 1,
2,
3 and
4—had seen operational service, while another four training squadrons—
Nos. 5,
6,
7 and
8—had also been established. A total of 460 officers and 2,234 other ranks served in the AFC, whilst another 200 men served as aircrew in the British flying services. Casualties included 175 dead, 111 wounded, 6 gassed and 40 captured.
Inter-war period The Australian Flying Corps remained part of the
Australian Army until 1919, when it was disbanded along with the
First Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Although the Central Flying School continued to operate at Point Cook, military flying virtually ceased until 1920, when the interim Australian Air Corps (AAC), with a wing each for the Army and the Navy, The AAC was succeeded by the Australian Air Force which was formed on 31 March 1921. The RAAF then became the second Royal air arm to be formed in the
British Commonwealth, following the British
Royal Air Force. When formed the RAAF had more aircraft than personnel, with 21 officers and 128 other ranks and 153 aircraft. As British aircraft manufacturers at the time were unable to meet Australian requirements, in addition to British production demands, the Australian government established the
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in 1936 and purchased some American aircraft.
Second World War Europe and the Mediterranean In September 1939, the
Australian Air Board directly controlled the Air Force via
RAAF Station Laverton,
RAAF Station Richmond,
RAAF Station Pearce,
No. 1 Flying Training School RAAF at Point Cook,
RAAF Station Rathmines and five smaller units. of
No. 455 Squadron, based at
RAF Leuchars in Scotland, May 1942 at
RAF Waddington, England, celebrate
Avro Lancaster R5868 "S for Sugar" completing 100 operations, May 1944 In 1939, just after the outbreak of the Second World War, Australia joined the
Empire Air Training Scheme, under which flight crews received basic training in Australia before travelling to Canada for advanced training. A total of 17 RAAF bomber, fighter, reconnaissance and other squadrons served initially in Britain and with the
Desert Air Force located in North Africa and the
Mediterranean. Thousands of Australians also served with other Commonwealth air forces in Europe during the Second World War. With British manufacturing targeted by the German
Luftwaffe, in 1941 the Australian government created the Department of Aircraft Production (DAP; later known as the
Government Aircraft Factories) to supply Commonwealth air forces, and the RAAF was eventually provided with large numbers of locally built versions of British designs such as the
DAP Beaufort torpedo bomber,
Beaufighters and
Mosquitos, as well as other types such as
Wirraways,
Boomerangs, and
Mustangs. In the
European theatre of the war, RAAF personnel were especially notable in
RAF Bomber Command: although they represented just two percent of all Australian enlistments during the war, they accounted for almost twenty percent of those killed in action.
No. 460 Squadron RAAF, mostly flying
Avro Lancasters from 1942, had an official establishment of about 200 aircrew and yet had 1,018 combat deaths of which about half were Australian. The squadron was therefore effectively wiped out five times over. Total RAAF casualties in Europe were 5,488 killed or missing. During the
fighting for Rabaul in early 1942,
No. 24 Squadron RAAF fought a brief, but ultimately futile defence as the Japanese advanced south towards Australia. The devastating
air raids on Darwin on 19 February 1942 increased concerns about the direct threat facing Australia. In response, some RAAF squadrons were transferred from the
Northern Hemisphere—although a substantial number remained there until the end of the war. Shortages of fighter and
ground attack planes led to the acquisition of US-built
Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks and the rapid design and manufacture of the first Australian fighter, the
CAC Boomerang. RAAF Kittyhawks came to play a crucial role in the
New Guinea and
Solomon Islands campaigns, especially in operations like the
Battle of Milne Bay. As a response to a possible Japanese chemical warfare threat the RAAF imported hundreds of thousands of chemical weapons into Australia. In the
Battle of the Bismarck Sea, imported
Bristol Beaufighters proved to be highly effective ground attack and maritime strike aircraft. Beaufighters were later made locally by the DAP from 1944. Although it was much bigger than Japanese fighters, the Beaufighter had the speed to outrun them. The RAAF
operated a number of
Consolidated PBY Catalina as long-range bombers and scouts. The RAAF's
heavy bomber force was predominantly made up of 287
B-24 Liberators, equipping seven squadrons, which could bomb Japanese targets as far away as
Borneo and the Philippines from airfields in Australia and New Guinea. By late 1945, the RAAF had received or ordered about 500
P-51 Mustangs, for fighter/ground attack purposes. The
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation initially assembled US-made Mustangs, but later manufactured most of those used. By mid-1945, the RAAF's main operational formation in the Pacific, the
First Tactical Air Force (1st TAF), consisted of over 21,000 personnel, while the RAAF as a whole consisted of about 50 squadrons and 6,000 aircraft, of which over 3,000 were operational. The 1st TAF's final campaigns were fought in support of Australian ground forces in
Borneo, but had the war continued some of its personnel and equipment would likely have been allocated to the
invasion of the Japanese mainland, along with some of the RAAF bomber squadrons in Europe, which were to be grouped together with British and Canadian squadrons as part of the proposed
Tiger Force. However, the war was brought to a sudden end by the US
nuclear attacks on Japan. The RAAF's casualties in the Pacific were around 2,000 killed, wounded or captured. With over 152,000 personnel operating nearly 6,000 aircraft it was the world's fourth-largest air force.
Cold War Postwar , Bill Kerr, and Noel Davis with their
English Electric Canberra in
Malta, about to start the
1953 London to Christchurch air race fighters from
No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit in 1980 During the
Berlin Airlift, in 1948–49, the
RAAF Squadron Berlin Air Lift aided the international effort to fly in supplies to the stricken city; two RAF
Avro York aircraft were also crewed by RAAF personnel. Although a small part of the operation, the RAAF contribution was significant, flying 2,062 sorties and carrying 7,030 tons of freight and 6,964 passengers. In the
Korean War, from 1950 to 1953, North American Mustangs from
No. 77 Squadron RAAF, stationed in Japan with the
British Commonwealth Occupation Force, were among the first United Nations aircraft to be deployed, in ground support, combat air patrol, and escort missions. When the UN planes were confronted by North Korean
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 jet fighters, 77 Sqn acquired
Gloster Meteor jets, however the MiGs remained superior and the Meteors were relegated to ground support missions as the North Koreans gained experience. The air force also operated transport aircraft during the conflict. No. 77 Squadron flew 18,872 sorties, claiming the destruction of 3,700 buildings, 1,408 vehicles, 16 bridges, 98 railway carriages and an unknown number of enemy personnel. Three MiG-15s were confirmed destroyed, and two others probably destroyed. RAAF casualties included 41 killed and seven captured; 66 aircraft – 22 Mustangs and 44 Meteors – were lost. In July 1952,
No. 78 Wing RAAF was deployed to
Malta in the Mediterranean where it formed part of a British force which sought to counter the Soviet Union's influence in the Middle East as part of Australia's Cold War commitments. Consisting of No. 75 and 76 Squadrons equipped with
de Havilland Vampire jet fighters, the wing provided an air garrison for the island for the next two and half years, returning to Australia in late 1954. In 1953, a
Royal Air Force officer, Air Marshal Sir
Donald Hardman, was brought out to Australia to become Chief of the Air Staff. He reorganised the RAAF into three commands:
Home Command,
Maintenance Command, and
Training Command. Five years later, Home Command was renamed
Operational Command, and Training Command and Maintenance Command were amalgamated to form
Support Command.
South East Asia operations 's from
No. 11 Squadron at
RAAF Base Edinburgh in 2024 In the
Malayan Emergency, from 1950 to 1960, six
Avro Lincolns heavy bombers from
No. 1 Squadron RAAF and a flight of
Douglas Dakotas from
No. 38 Squadron RAAF took part in operations against the communist guerrillas (labelled as "Communist Terrorists" by the British authorities) as part of the
RAF Far East Air Force. The Dakotas were used on cargo runs, in troop movement and in paratrooper and leaflet drops within Malaya. The Lincolns, operating from bases in Singapore and from Kuala Lumpur, formed the backbone of the air war against the CTs, conducting bombing missions against their jungle bases. Although results were often difficult to assess, they allowed the government to harass CT forces, attack their base camps when identified and keep them on the move. Later, in 1958, Canberra bombers from
No. 2 Squadron RAAF were deployed to Malaya and took part in bombing missions against the CTs. and F/A-18B Hornets fly in formation, 2019 During the
Vietnam War, from 1964 to 1972, the RAAF contributed
Caribou STOL transport aircraft as part of the RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam, later redesignated
No. 35 Squadron RAAF,
UH-1 Iroquois helicopters from
No. 9 Squadron RAAF, and
English Electric Canberra bombers from
No. 2 Squadron RAAF. The Canberras flew 11,963 bombing
sorties, and two aircraft were lost. One went missing during a bombing raid. The wreckage of the aircraft was recovered in April 2009, and the remains of the crew were found in late July 2009. The other was shot down by a
surface-to-air missile, although both crew were rescued. They dropped 76,389 bombs and were credited with 786 enemy personnel confirmed killed and a further 3,390 estimated killed, 8,637 structures, 15,568 bunkers, 1,267 sampans and 74 bridges destroyed. RAAF transport aircraft also supported
anti-communist ground forces. The UH-1 helicopters were used in many roles including
medical evacuation and close air support. RAAF casualties in Vietnam included six killed in action, eight non-battle fatalities, 30 wounded in action and 30 injured. A small number of RAAF pilots also served in United States Air Force units, flying
F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers or serving as forward air controllers. In September 1975, a group of 44 civilians, including armed supporters of the
Timorese Democratic Union (UDT), commandeered an RAAF Caribou,
A4-140, on the ground at
Baucau Airport in the then
Portuguese Timor, which was in the middle of a civil war. The Caribou had landed at Baucau on a humanitarian mission for the
International Committee of the Red Cross. The civilians demanded that the RAAF crew members fly them to
Darwin Airport (also
RAAF Base Darwin) in Australia, which they did. After the Caribou arrived there, the Australian government detained the civilians for a short period, and then granted refugee visas to all of them.
The Guardian later described
A4-140 as "the only RAAF plane ever hijacked", and the incident as "one of the more remarkable stories in Australia's military and immigration history".
Recent history (1990–present) during the 2025
Red Flag exercise Military airlifts were conducted for a number of purposes in subsequent decades, such as the peacekeeping operations in
East Timor from 1999. Australia's combat aircraft were not used again in combat until the
Iraq War in 2003, when 14 F/A-18s from
No. 75 Squadron RAAF operated in the escort and ground attack roles, flying a total of 350 sorties and dropping 122 laser-guided bombs. A detachment of
AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft were deployed in the Middle East between 2003 and 2012. These aircraft conducted maritime surveillance patrols over the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea in support of Coalition warships and boarding parties, as well as conducting extensive overland flights of Iraq and Afghanistan on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and supporting counter-piracy operations in Somalia. From 2007 to 2009, a detachment of
No. 114 Mobile Control and Reporting Unit RAAF was on active service at
Kandahar Airfield in southern
Afghanistan. Approximately 75 personnel deployed with the
AN/TPS-77 radar assigned the responsibility to co-ordinate coalition air operations. A detachment of IAI Heron unmanned aerial vehicles was deployed in Afghanistan from January 2010 until November 2014. 's fly toward
Nellis Air Force Base in 2006 after a refueling exercise during
Red Flag training In late September 2014, an Air Task Group consisting of up to eight
F/A-18F Super Hornets, a
KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport, an
E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft and 400 personnel was deployed to
Al Minhad Air Base in the
United Arab Emirates as part of the
coalition to combat
Islamic State forces in Iraq. Operations began on 1 October. A number of
C-17 and
C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft based in the Middle East have also been used to conduct airdrops of humanitarian aid and to airlift arms and munitions since August. In June 2017, two RAAF
AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft were deployed to the southern Philippines in response to the
Marawi crisis. In 2021, the Royal Australian Air Force commemorated its 100th anniversary. Later that year, on 29 November, the Hornet was officially retired from RAAF service, with a ceremony to mark the occasion taking place that day at RAAF Base Williamtown. in 2025|leftIn January 2022, two RAAF
P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and one
C-130J Hercules departed
RAAF Amberley and
Richmond to conduct aerial reconnaissance of Tonga in the wake of the
2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami. According to Australian Defence News, the flights were to "help determine the extent of the damage [to Tongan infrastructure]… and inform future disaster support requests." In October 2023, the Australian Government announced that, in addition to a further round of A$31.6 million for military assistance for Ukraine, it would be sending a single
E-7A Wedgetail. This aircraft, and the associated 100 personnel - mainly from
2 Squadron, would operate from
Ramstein Air Base for a six month deployment under Operation Kudu. The stated objective of the deployment was to "help ensure that vital support flowing to Ukraine by the international community is protected." == Structure ==