About This Unit
No. 38 Squadron (RAAF)
No. 38 Squadron has been a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) transport unit since its formatio in 1943.
The squadron saw service during World War II transporting supplies and personnel between Australia and the combat zones in New Guinea and Borneo, using Lockheed Hudson and Douglas Dakota (known popularly as "Biscuit Bombers") aircraft. Following the war, the squadron conducted regular courier flights between Australia and Japan in 1947 and 1948. Aircraft and crews were sent to Great Britain and took part in the Berlin Airlift in 1947, when the German capital was blockaded by the Soviet Union.
No. 38 Squadron was deployed to Singapore from 1950 to 1952, supplying Commonwealth forces engaged in the Malayan Emergency and undertaking courier flights across Asia. In 1954 it became responsible for training RAAF personnel to operate Dakotas.
The unit was re-equipped with de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou in 1964, and served as the RAAF's operational conversion unit for the type. Throughout Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, it prepared aircrew for operational service with No. 35 Squadron.
An element was maintained in Papua and New Guinea to provide pilots with experience flying in tropical conditions.
A Caribou was deployed to Pakistan from 1975 to 1978 to support United Nations peacekeepers of UNMOGIP, and detachments were established within Australia during the 1980s to provide search and rescue capabilities and work with Australian Army units. From 1999 until 2001, a detachment was deployed to East Timor as part of the Australian-led peacekeeping force (UNTAET) in the newly independent nation.
No. 38 Squadron continued to operate Caribou after No. 35 Squadron was disbanded in 2000, though the age of the aircraft increasingly affected its operations.
Following the retirement of the Caribou from service in 2009 marking 45 years of excellent service in a transport and Short Take-off and Landing (STOL) roles, No. 38 Squadron was re-equipped with eight Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft. The squadron is currently stationed at RAAF Base Townsville, Queensland, and is responsible for training RAAF pilots to operate King Airs, and performing light transport tasks.
A very detailed history can be found at the Wikipedia Refence and on the 38 Squadron Association website.
Compiled by Steve Larkins Jan 2018
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