Seaplane Squadron was a flying unit of the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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(RAAF) between the wars. It operated
Supermarine Southampton flying boats from January 1928, as well as other types. Along with
Fighter Squadron
A squadron in air force, army aviation, or naval aviation is a unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, dependi ...
, Seaplane Squadron was a component of
No. 1 Flying Training School, based at
RAAF Point Cook
RAAF Williams is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base set across two locations, at Point Cook and Laverton, located approximately south-west of the Melbourne central business district in Victoria, Australia. Both establishm ...
, Victoria. Seaplane Squadron was responsible for coastal reconnaissance, training aircrew to operate seaplanes, and supporting the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
. It also conducted survey flights over remote parts of Australia and mapped the
Darwin–
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
section of the
Empire Air Mail Scheme
Empire Air Mail Scheme (EAMS) was an attempt by the British Air Ministry to regain leadership of world civil aviation in the late 1930s following the establishment of The Air Mail Route from Cairo to Bagdad in the early 1920s. Conceived in 1934 ...
route. Seaplane Squadron was disbanded in June 1939.
History
Although the first entry in Seaplane Squadron records is dated 16 February 1934, the official history of the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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(RAAF) between the wars refers to the unit as having been in operation when Australia acquired two
Supermarine Southampton flying boats, which entered service in January 1928.
[Coulthard-Clark, ''The Third Brother'', pp. 104, 186–187] The Southamptons formed a coastal reconnaissance flight within Seaplane Squadron, which also operated other aircraft for seaplane training. Seaplane Squadron was one of two formations raised at RAAF Point Cook
RAAF Williams is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base set across two locations, at Point Cook and Laverton, located approximately south-west of the Melbourne central business district in Victoria, Australia. Both establishm ...
, Victoria, under the auspices of No. 1 Flying Training School (No. 1 FTS), the other being Fighter Squadron
A squadron in air force, army aviation, or naval aviation is a unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, dependi ...
, which operated Bristol Bulldog
The Bristol Bulldog is a British Royal Air Force single-seat biplane fighter designed during the 1920s by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. More than 400 Bulldogs were produced for the RAF and overseas customers, and it was one of the most fa ...
s.[ No. 1 FTS had been the first unit to be formed as part of the new Australian Air Force on 31 March 1921 (the prefix "Royal" was added in August that year).][Coulthard-Clark, ''The Third Brother'', p. 41]
The Southamptons (nicknamed "Swamptons") were the biggest aircraft in the RAAF's inventory at the time and a new seaplane hangar was specially constructed for them at Point Cook. On 22 June, one of the flying boats was overturned by strong wind on the Torrens River
The River Torrens , (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the ...
en route to meet the four Southamptons of the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
's Far East Flight near Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
. In their naval cooperation role, the Southamptons were required to locate and shadow "enemy" cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
s on exercises. They also trialled radio communications between aircraft and naval ships.[
The Southamptons were used for parachute training with the "pull-off" technique, which involved standing on a small platform near the outer wing struts, opening the parachute and being dragged from the aircraft by the wind.][ In the early 1930s, the flying boats took part in several forestry surveys in ]Tasmania
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. From June 1935 to February 1936, a Southampton was employed to map the Darwin–Sydney section of the Empire Air Mail Scheme
Empire Air Mail Scheme (EAMS) was an attempt by the British Air Ministry to regain leadership of world civil aviation in the late 1930s following the establishment of The Air Mail Route from Cairo to Bagdad in the early 1920s. Conceived in 1934 ...
route; its survey work ultimately took it to New Guinea and around the Australian continent.[ Seaplane Squadron undertook search-and-rescue work with both the Southamptons and Supermarine Seagulls; the former were involved in the abortive search for the airliner ''Miss Hobart'', a de Havilland DH.86 that vanished in ]Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...
on 19 October 1934.[ One of the Southamptons was taken out of service in 1937; the other continued flying until 1939.
In October 1929, Seaplane Squadron received a locally designed ]amphibian
Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
, the Wackett Widgeon II; it crashed into the sea off Point Cook on 6 January 1930, killing all three occupants. Another Wackett design, the Warrigal II landplane, was fitted with floats and assigned to Seaplane Squadron in September 1932 for trials and possible use as a trainer and patrol aircraft; it was considered successful in the latter role but maintenance issues led to its disposal in July 1933. The squadron also operated de Havilland Moths. In May 1934, one of these was flown to Darwin, Northern Territory, where it was fitted with floats and undertook reconnaissance and survey work in cooperation with HMAS ''Morseby'', before being converted back to a landplane and returning to Point Cook in July.[ In December 1935, a ]Gipsy Moth
The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.
Development
The DH.60 was developed from the larger DH.51 biplane ...
fitted with skis embarked for Antarctica aboard the RRS ''Discovery II'' to locate missing explorer Lincoln Ellsworth
Lincoln Ellsworth (May 12, 1880 – May 26, 1951) was a polar explorer from the United States and a major benefactor of the American Museum of Natural History.
Biography
Lincoln Ellsworth was born on May 12, 1880, to James Ellsworth and Eva F ...
. Seaplane Squadron began operating Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...
s for navigation courses and cross-country exercises in 1937; one exercise in November 1938 involved a round-Australia flight.[ A new headquarters building for the squadron was constructed at Point Cook in the late 1930s, as part of general improvements to RAAF facilities owing to the threat of war in Europe.
Throughout their existence, Seaplane and Fighter Squadrons remained under the control of No. 1 FTS and were "really little more than ]flights
Flight is the process by which an object moves without direct support from a surface.
Flight may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Flight'' (1929 film), an American adventure film
* ''Flight'' (2009 film), a South Korean d ...
", in the words of the official history.[Coulthard-Clark, ''The Third Brother'', pp. 127–128] The final entry in Seaplane Squadron records was made on 30 June 1939.[ The unit became the nucleus for No. 10 (Reconnaissance) Squadron, formed at Point Cook the following day.][RAAF Historical Section, ''Maritime and Transport Units'', p. 8]
Notes
References
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{{List of RAAF Squadrons
RAAF squadrons
Military units and formations established in 1928
Military units and formations disestablished in 1939