World War II , Queensland, 1943|alt=Twin-engined transport plane parked on a field near a fence During February and March 1942, the RAAF formed four transport units: Nos. 33,
34,
35 and 36 Squadrons. No. 36 Squadron was established on 11 March at
RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria, under the control of
Southern Area Command. Its initial strength was twenty-six personnel and one
Douglas DC-2. This was gradually built up to a force of six DC-2s, as well as several
de Havilland types including the
DH.84 Dragon,
DH.86 Express,
DH.89 Dragon Rapide, and
Tiger Moth. Tasked with transport operations throughout Australia and to
Port Moresby, New Guinea, the squadron relocated to
Essendon, Victoria, on 17 July. One of the DC-2s crashed at
Seven Mile Aerodrome, Port Moresby, on 14 September; all aboard were killed. The squadron was transferred to
Townsville, Queensland, on 11 December 1942. The squadron relocated to
Garbutt on 20 February 1944. During the
New Guinea campaign it was responsible for carrying troops and cargo, and undertaking courier runs and supply drops. The squadron lost two Dakotas on supply missions in
Aitape during February 1945. On 25 August 1948, twenty staff from No. 36 Squadron joined five crews from No. 38 Squadron to
take part in the Berlin Airlift, a commitment that lasted almost a year. The Australians delivered over of supplies, and over 7,000 passengers. Nos. 36 and 38 Squadrons began to operate separately again in June 1950, following the return of crews from Berlin and No. 38 Squadron's departure for service in the
Malayan Emergency. No. 36 Squadron assumed control of the
Governor-General's Flight in October 1950. On 21 November 1952, the squadron was awarded the
Duke of Gloucester Cup for its proficiency. Here it was part of
No. 91 (Composite) Wing, which controlled the RAAF's units during the
Korean War and its immediate aftermath. Its complement included eight Dakotas and one
CAC Wirraway. In July and August, the squadron evacuated over 900 Commonwealth prisoners of war. It departed Japan on 13 March 1955, having carried over 42,000 passengers and of cargo, and was re-established on 1 May at
RAAF Base Canberra, where No. 86 Wing had transferred the previous year. After conversion training of its personnel in the United States, No. 36 Squadron became the first non-US operator of the Hercules in December 1958, when it began taking delivery of twelve C-130As; deliveries completed in March 1959. The official history of the post-war Air Force described the Hercules as "probably the biggest step-up in aircraft capabilities" the RAAF had ever received, considering it roughly four times as effective as the Dakota, taking into account the improvements in payload, range, and speed. In September 1960, No. 36 Squadron began parachute trials on the Hercules. The squadron was again awarded the Gloucester Cup in 1963. In August 1964, following the disbandment of No. 86 Wing, No. 36 Squadron became an independently operating unit under the command of Headquarters RAAF Base Richmond. No. 486 Squadron was disbanded at the same time, leaving No. 36 Squadron responsible for its own day-to-day maintenance until 1966; No. 486 Squadron was re-formed that year to service both No. 36 Squadron and No. 37 Squadron, the latter having taken delivery of twelve C-130E Hercules. During the
Vietnam War, both squadrons undertook long-range transport and medical evacuation flights between Australia and South East Asia, servicing
Phan Rang,
Vũng Tàu, and
Nui Dat. No. 36 Squadron was presented with its
standard by
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on 1 April 1971, in recognition of a quarter-century's service. After twenty years of service and 147,000 accident-free flying hours, the C-130As were replaced by C-130Hs in 1978. When No. 86 Wing was re-formed at Richmond on 2 February 1987, under the newly established Air Lift Group (later Air Mobility Group), No. 36 Squadron formed part of its complement. The unit again received the Gloucester Cup in 1989. That year, it provided transport for civilian passengers during the
pilots' dispute that curtailed operations by the two domestic airlines; three aircraft and five crews undertook this task, over and above their normal duties. The squadron reached 100,000 accident-free flying hours on the C-130H during 1990. Four of its C-130Hs were equipped with Electronic Warfare Self Protection packs, including radar and missile warning systems, and countermeasures such as
chaff and flares, in 1994. Later in the decade, one of the C-130Hs was fitted with
signals intelligence equipment and crewed by RAAF and
Defence Signals Directorate personnel. Six of No. 36 Squadron's Hercules evacuated over 450 civilians from Cambodia following the
coup in July 1997. The unit again became responsible for its own routine maintenance in 1998, when No. 486 Squadron was disbanded. A detachment from No. 36 Squadron supported
INTERFET operations in
East Timor between September 1999 and February 2000. The squadron was assigned four C-130Es previously operated by No. 37 Squadron during the latter's transition to the new
C-130J Super Hercules, which commenced in 1999; the E models were retired the following year. No. 36 Squadron was once more awarded the Gloucester Cup in 2001. It took part in relief efforts following the
Bali Bombings in October 2002. In February 2003, it deployed a detachment of two Hercules to the Middle East as part of the
Australian contribution to the invasion of Iraq. The aircraft arrived on 10 February, and began flying transport sorties less than two weeks later. A No. 36 Squadron Hercules became the first Coalition aircraft to land at
Al Asad Airbase, west of
Baghdad, after it was secured by Australian special forces personnel. One aircraft was hit by ground fire near Baghdad on 27 June 2004, killing a coalition passenger. The detachment remained in Iraq until September 2004, when it was relieved by two C-130Js from No. 37 Squadron. No. 36 Squadron also participated in
Operation Sumatra Assist in the wake of the
2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
Globemaster era In May 2006, No. 36 Squadron personnel began conversion training in the US in preparation for re-equipping with Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy transports. It transferred its C-130Hs to No. 37 Squadron on 17 November 2006, before relocating to Amberley. Also on 17 November, Wing Commander
Linda Corbould took command of the unit, becoming the first woman to lead an RAAF flying squadron. Corbould was responsible for delivering the first Globemaster from the United States to Australia on 4 December. No. 36 Squadron achieved initial operating capability with the C-17 on 11 September 2007, following eight months' work-up training. In June 2008, it received the Gloucester Cup as the RAAF's most proficient flying squadron of 2007 "for achieving all training objectives, supporting air lift activities globally and nationally and fulfilling short-notice, high-priority tasks, despite the squadron's expertise being in its infancy". Corbould completed her posting as commanding officer on 8 December 2008, the day the squadron marked the second anniversary of C-17 operations by conducting the RAAF's first flight with an all-female aircrew. Since re-equipping with the Globemaster, No. 36 Squadron has continued to support
Coalition forces in Afghanistan, as well as humanitarian operations worldwide. In 2011, it took part in relief efforts following the
floods in Queensland, the
Christchurch earthquake, and the
Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The deployment to Japan involved all three of the squadron's available C-17s, the fourth still being serviced at Amberley. In November that year the squadron took delivery of its sixth Globemaster. It was again awarded the Gloucester Cup in March 2013, for its proficiency the previous year. truck as part of the
humanitarian response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami In September 2014, RAAF C-17s were used to airlift arms and munitions to forces in
Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq following an offensive by
ISIL militants. On 10 April 2015, Prime Minister
Tony Abbott announced the purchase of two more C-17s, which would bring No. 36 Squadron's complement to eight aircraft. Concurrent with delivery of the new C-17s by year's end, No. 36 Squadron's facilities were to be improved, obviating the need for maintenance to take place in No. 33 Squadron hangars. Later the same month, an Airbus KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport of No. 33 Squadron carried out the RAAF's first in-flight refuelling of a No. 36 Squadron Globemaster. No. 36 Squadron was awarded the
Meritorious Unit Citation in the Queen's Birthday Honours on 13 June 2016 for "sustained outstanding service in warlike operations throughout the Middle East Area of Operations over the period January 2002 to June 2014". ==See also==