The Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Geoff Brown welcomed the re-establishment of No.35 Squadron today at RAAF Base Richmond.
“The
re-establishment of No.35 Squadron will see it prepare for our fleet of
ten C-27J Spartan Battlefield Airlift aircraft, due to arrive in
Australia from 2015,” Air Marshal Brown said.
“No.35 Squadron
has provided combat airlift for Australia in several conflicts, and the
C-27J is ideally suited to continue this legacy of support for
personnel deployed on combat, peacekeeping, or disaster relief
operations,” Air Marshal Brown said.
No.35 Squadron
will be re-established under the command of Wing Commander Brad Clarke
with 25 personnel but will grow to approximately 250 members after the
first C-27Js arrive in 2015.
“Our first
tasks are to work with the Battlefield Airlift Transition Office to map
the required workforce structure, operating procedures and introduction
plan for the C-27J Spartan,” Wing Commander Clarke said.
“No.35 Squadron will send the first aircrew and maintenance personnel to train on the C-27J in the United States in 2014.”
“Once in
service, our C-27Js will greatly increase the number of airfields
Defence can operate in to, increase the level of fixed wing support
available on the battlefield, and synchronise with the existing C-130J
Hercules and C-17A Globemaster fleet,” Wing Commander Clarke said.
No.35 Squadron
was first established in Western Australia in March 1942 and provided
air transport around Australia and in New Guinea until its
disestablishment in June 1946.
In July 1964,
the RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam was formed with the DHC-4 Caribou
transport to provide combat airlift throughout the conflict in that
country. It was coined Wallaby Airlinesafter its callsign ‘Wallaby’, and re-formed as No.35 Squadron in June 1966. Throughout the warWallaby Airlines carried about 677,000 passengers and 36 million kilograms of freight, without a single fatality.
On return to
Australia in 1972, No.35 Squadron was based at RAAF Base Richmond before
relocating to RAAF Base Townsville in 1974, where it remained until its
disestablishment in 2000.
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