No. 86 Wing RAAF
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No. 86 Wing is a
Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
(RAAF) transport and air-to-air refuelling
wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...
. Coming under the control of Air Mobility Group, it is headquartered at
RAAF Base Amberley RAAF Base Amberley is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military airbase located southwest of Ipswich, Queensland in Australia and southwest of Brisbane CBD. It is currently home to No. 1 Squadron (operating the F/A-18F Super Hornet), N ...
, Queensland. The wing comprises No. 33 Squadron, operating Airbus KC-30 tanker-transports, No. 36 Squadron, operating
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...
heavy transports, and the
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
's 68 Ground Liaison Section. Its aircraft support Australian military and humanitarian operations worldwide. Formed in the last year of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
to undertake
ground attack In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement ...
missions with
de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...
s and
Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...
s in the
South West Pacific theatre The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory of ...
, No. 86 Wing was reorganised in 1946 as a transport formation headquartered at
RAAF Station Schofields RAAF Station ''Schofields'' is a former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base and aerodrome located at , a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The aerodrome was used during World War II and was in operation between 1942 ...
, New South Wales, flying Douglas C-47 Dakotas. It relocated to
RAAF Base Richmond RAAF Base Richmond is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base located within the City of Hawkesbury, approximately North-West of the Sydney Central Business District in New South Wales, Australia. Situated between the towns of W ...
, New South Wales, in 1949 and began operating
Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...
in 1958. Disbanded in 1964, the wing was re-established at Richmond in 1987, flying
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
tanker-transports as well as the Hercules. No. 36 Squadron converted to Globemasters in 2006. No. 33 Squadron retired its 707s in 2008, and did not become operational with the KC-30 until 2013. Having previously flown
de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (designated by the United States military as the CV-2 and later C-7 Caribou) is a Canadian specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. The Caribou was first flown in 1958 a ...
s, No. 38 Squadron converted to the King Airs in 2009 and was disbanded in 2018. The Hercules were transferred to No. 84 Wing in 2010. No. 86 Wing headquarters relocated from Richmond to Amberley in January 2012.


History


Attack formation (1945–46)

Established in March 1945 under the command of
Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...
J.M. Whyte, No. 86 (Attack) Wing comprised two flying units, No. 1 Squadron operating
de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...
s and No. 93 Squadron operating
Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...
s. The wing was initially based on the island of
Morotai Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...
in the
South West Pacific theatre The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory of ...
, as part of the
Australian First Tactical Air Force The Australian First Tactical Air Force (No. 1 TAF) was formed on 25 October 1944 by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Its purpose was to provide a mobile force of fighter and ground attack aircraft that could support Allied army and na ...
. Its
order of battle In modern use, the order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the armed ...
for Operation Oboe Six, the assault on north-west Borneo commencing in June, included Nos. 1 and 93 Squadrons, No. 84 Operational Base Unit, No. 30 Air Stores Park, No. 29 Medical Clearing Station, and No. 1 Repair and Servicing Unit—a total of over 1,400 personnel. Delays getting the aircraft operational at their forward base on
Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capit ...
meant that the wing only completed three combat missions before the end of the Pacific War, conducting rocket and machine-gun attacks on targets in
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
during August 1945. No. 1 Squadron took part in one operation and No. 93 Squadron in two; each unit lost one aircraft in action. No. 86 Wing was originally to have been augmented by a third combat unit, No. 94 Squadron, flying Mosquitos. Formed in May 1945, the squadron was still undergoing training when the war ended, and it was disbanded at RAAF Station Richmond, New South Wales, in January 1946. In December 1945, shortly after the end of the Pacific War, the commanding officer of No. 93 Squadron, Squadron Leader D.K.M. Gulliver, crashed his Beaufighter on takeoff at Labuan, colliding with two
P-51 Mustangs The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
of No. 77 Squadron parked at the airfield; Gulliver and five people on the ground died in the accident, including the then-Officer Commanding No. 86 Wing, Group Captain L.C.M. Holswich. Between January and March 1946, the Beaufighters escorted Mustangs of No. 81 Wing to Japan for service as part of the
British Commonwealth Occupation Force The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its peak, t ...
. In August that year, Nos. 1 and 93 Squadrons disbanded at
Narromine Narromine ( /næroʊmaɪn/) is a rural Australian town located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Dubbo in the Orana region of New South Wales. The town is at the centre of Narromine Shire. The 2016 census recorded a population o ...
, New South Wales.


Initial transport formation (1946–64)

Re-formed at
RAAF Station Schofields RAAF Station ''Schofields'' is a former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base and aerodrome located at , a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The aerodrome was used during World War II and was in operation between 1942 ...
, New South Wales, in July 1946, No. 86 (Transport) Wing was assigned control of Nos. 36, 37, and 38 Squadrons, flying Douglas C-47 Dakotas.Parnell; Lynch, ''Australian Air Force Since 1911'', p. 165 The wing was augmented by No. 386 (Base) Squadron and No. 486 (Maintenance) Squadron, formed in August.Roylance, ''Air Base Richmond'', pp. 92–93 The Dakotas initially flew supply missions to the Australian-administered
Territory of Papua and New Guinea The Territory of Papua and New Guinea, officially the Administrative Union of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea, was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New G ...
, as well as three-times weekly courier flights to Japan in support of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. The latter schedule continued until December 1947, when the service was taken over by
Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
Avro Lancastrian The Avro 691 Lancastrian was a Canadian and British passenger and mail transport aircraft of the 1940s and 1950s developed from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber. The Lancaster was named after Lancaster, Lancashire; a Lancastrian is an inhabit ...
s. No. 37 Squadron disbanded in February 1948. In August that year, crews from Nos. 36 and 38 Squadrons departed for Europe to take part in the Berlin Airlift, a commitment that lasted almost a year. The Australians were responsible for delivering over 16 million tons of supplies, and almost 8,000 passengers. No. 386 Squadron disbanded in March 1949 and re-formed as Station Headquarters at Schofields. On 22 June 1949, No. 86 Wing, comprising Nos. 36, 38 and 486 Squadrons, relocated from Schofields to the nearby RAAF Station Richmond. The return of crews from Berlin allowed the wing to release No. 38 Squadron and its Dakotas to participate in the
Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...
, under the control of No. 90 (Composite) Wing, commencing in June 1950. After airlifting more than 17,000 passengers and evacuating over 300 injured troops, the squadron left Malaya in November 1952 and returned to No. 86 Wing at Richmond. A month earlier, the wing's Dakotas had flown supply and observation flights in connection with the British atomic test on Montebello in Western Australia. No. 36 Squadron disbanded at Richmond on 9 March 1953, re-forming the next day from No. 30 Transport Unit at
Iwakuni is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. History Iwakuni was formerly the castle town of the Iwakuni han, which was formed by Lord Hiroie Kikkawa after he was banished there for supporting the defeated shōgun. The Kikkawa clan ruled ...
, Japan. Here it was part of No. 91 (Composite) Wing, which controlled the RAAF's units during the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
and its immediate aftermath. The squadron returned to Australia and the aegis of No. 86 Wing two years later, when No. 91 Wing disbanded. In 1954, No. 86 Wing relocated to
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
to help satisfy the Federal government's
VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...
transport needs. It returned to Richmond four years later, leaving behind its VIP contingent, No. 34 Flight, which in July 1959 was re-formed as No. 34 Squadron and left the control of No. 86 Wing to become an independent unit directly administered by Home Command and tasked by RAAF Canberra. Having earlier augmented its complement of Dakotas with
Convair 440 Metropolitan The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inr ...
s, in December 1958 the wing began operating
Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...
medium transports, when No. 36 Squadron took delivery of the first of twelve C-130As. They remained in service for twenty years, clocking up 147,000 accident-free flying hours. The official history of the post-war Air Force described the Hercules as "probably the biggest step-up in aircraft capabilities" the RAAF ever received, considering it roughly four times as effective as the Dakota, taking into account the improvements in payload, range, and speed. When No. 78 (Fighter) Wing and its two
CAC Sabre The CAC Sabre, sometimes known as the Avon Sabre or CA-27, is an Australian variant of the North American Aviation F-86F Sabre fighter aircraft. The F-86F was redesigned and built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC). Equipping five ...
squadrons deployed to
RAAF Base Butterworth RMAF Butterworth ( ms, TUDM Butterworth) is an active Air Force Station of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) situated from Butterworth in Penang, Malaysia. It is currently home to the ''Headquarters Integrated Area Defence System'' (HQIADS ...
between October 1958 and February 1959, seven Dakotas were required to ferry the staff and equipment of No. 3 Squadron from Australia to Malaya, compared to two Hercules for No. 77 Squadron. In 1962, Air Movements and Training Flight (AMTF), previously under No. 38 Squadron and responsible for developing and imparting new techniques in aerial transport, came directly under the control of No. 86 Wing headquarters.Roylance, ''Air Base Richmond'', p. 99 That December, the Hercules carried troops into a combat zone for the first time, when one of No. 36 Squadron's C-130s joined a Commonwealth airlift from Singapore to Borneo at the beginning of the ''Konfrontasi'' between Indonesia and Malaysia; similar missions were undertaken for another five years. No. 38 Squadron received the RAAF's first
de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (designated by the United States military as the CV-2 and later C-7 Caribou) is a Canadian specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. The Caribou was first flown in 1958 a ...
tactical transports in April 1964, replacing its Dakotas. The first six Caribous were despatched that August to South East Asia for service in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
as RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam (RTFV). The same month, No. 86 Wing was disbanded.Roylance, ''Air Base Richmond'', pp. 102, 114 Because the Caribous were primarily for support of the
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
, an overarching wing headquarters for the Caribous and Hercules was now considered inappropriate. No. 486 Squadron was also disbanded and its equipment and staff divided between Nos. 36 and 38 Squadrons, which along with AMTF became independently operating units under the command of Headquarters RAAF Base Richmond.Stephens, ''Going Solo'', pp. 424–425 Following the re-establishment at Richmond of No. 37 Squadron in February 1966, flying C-130E Hercules, No. 486 Squadron was re-formed to provide maintenance for both Hercules squadrons. As No. 36 Squadron's tasking was mainly tactical and No. 37 Squadron's strategic (owing to the longer range of its C-130Es), forming the Hercules units into a new wing was not deemed necessary. Still based at Richmond, the Hercules provided long-range transport and medical evacuation services to and from South East Asia during the Vietnam War.Roylance, ''Air Base Richmond'', p. 100 No. 36 Squadron's C-130As were replaced by C-130H models in 1978. RTFV was re-formed as No. 35 Squadron in June 1966, and continued to serve in Vietnam until Australian forces were withdrawn in 1972; it was then based in Richmond until 1976, when it relocated to
RAAF Base Townsville RAAF Base Townsville (formerly RAAF Base Garbutt) is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) air base located in , west of Townsville in Queensland, Australia. It is the headquarters for No. 1 Wing Australian Air Force Cadets and, along with L ...
, Queensland. No. 38 Squadron meanwhile continued to operate Caribous out of Richmond until 1992, when it transferred to
RAAF Base Amberley RAAF Base Amberley is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military airbase located southwest of Ipswich, Queensland in Australia and southwest of Brisbane CBD. It is currently home to No. 1 Squadron (operating the F/A-18F Super Hornet), N ...
, Queensland. In the Vietnam and post-Vietnam eras, along with their military transport duties, the Hercules and Caribou undertook disaster relief operations throughout Australia and the Pacific.


Current transport formation (1987–)

No. 86 Wing re-formed at Richmond on 2 February 1987, under the newly established Air Lift Group (ALG), which replaced Headquarters RAAF Base Richmond. Commanded by Group Captain G.I. Lumsden, the wing's flying units consisted of No. 33 Squadron, operating
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
tanker-transports, and Nos. 36 and 37 Squadrons, operating C-130H and C-130E Hercules, respectively; No. 486 Maintenance Squadron and Air Movements Training and Development Unit (AMTDU), which had evolved from AMTF in 1965, were also under its control.Roylance, ''Air Base Richmond'', pp. 107–108, 115 No. 486 Squadron was responsible for day-to-day maintenance of the 707s as well as the Hercules. No. 34 Squadron, the VIP transport unit based at
RAAF Base Fairbairn Fairbairn (), formerly RAAF Base Fairbairn, is a former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base, located in Australia's national capital, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Over the years the name of the establishment, and the ...
in Canberra, and No. 32 Squadron, flying
Hawker Siddeley HS 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorption into Hawker Siddel ...
air navigation trainers at
RAAF Base East Sale RAAF Base East Sale is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base and training school, located in , Victoria, Australia. The base is one of the main training establishments of the RAAF, including where Australian Air Force Cadets fr ...
in Victoria, became part of No. 86 Wing in June 1988 and July 1989, respectively. In 1992, the Hercules of Nos. 36 and 37 Squadrons clocked up a grand total of 500,000 accident-free flying hours; Lockheed presented No. 86 Wing with a trophy to commemorate the milestone. During 1994–95, the wing was commanded by Group Captain (later Air Chief Marshal)
Angus Houston Air Chief Marshal Sir Allan Grant "Angus" Houston, (born 9 June 1947) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of Air Force from 20 June 2001 and then as the Chief of the Defence Force from 4 July 20 ...
, who in 2005 was appointed Chief of the Defence Force, only the third RAAF officer to be raised to the top position in the Australian armed services. By mid-1996, No. 32 Squadron had been transferred to No. 84 Wing, which was also controlled by ALG. In 1998, No. 86 Wing received the Duke of Gloucester Cup as the most proficient wing in
RAAF Air Command Air Command is the operational arm of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is headed by the Air Commander Australia, whose role is to manage and command the RAAF's Force Element Groups (FEGs), which contain the operational capability of the ...
. No. 486 Squadron was disbanded in October that year, after transferring its functions to Nos. 36 and 37 Squadrons. By then, Nos. 35 and 38 Squadrons, flying Caribous out of RAAF Bases Townsville and Amberley, respectively, had joined the Hercules squadrons and AMTDU under the aegis of No. 86 Wing, while Nos. 33 and 34 Squadrons had been transferred to No. 84 Wing, now also headquartered at Richmond. Later, AMTDU became part of No. 85 Wing at Richmond. No. 37 Squadron's C-130Es were replaced by C-130J models in 1999. No. 35 Squadron transferred its Caribous to No. 38 Squadron in 2000, and was "formally deactivated" in March 2002. RAAF C-130 operations were concentrated in No. 37 Squadron in November 2006, when No. 36 Squadron transferred its C-130Hs prior to re-equipping with the
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...
heavy transports and relocating to Amberley. No. 38 Squadron's Caribous were retired at the end of 2009, and replaced by Beech King Air 350 light transports. No. 37 Squadron was transferred to No. 84 Wing in October 2010. The aircraft operated by No. 86 Wing became well known to the general public through their involvement in disaster relief and emergency transport in Australia and the region, along with their participation in overseas peacekeeping efforts.McPhedran, ''Air Force'', pp. 32–35 Hercules and 707s were employed by the Federal government to provide air transport during the pilots' dispute that curtailed operations by the two domestic airlines in 1989, evacuated Australian nationals from the Middle East during the first
Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
in 1990–91,Roylance, ''Air Base Richmond'', pp. 110–111 and transported Australian troops to and from Somalia as part of
Operation Solace Operation Solace was the Australian Defence Force's main contribution to the Unified Task Force (UNITAF) which was a United States led, United Nations sanctioned, multinational force which operated in the Republic of Somalia from 9 December 1992 ...
in 1993. Since the end of the Vietnam War, much of the RAAF's transport tasking had been relatively routine in nature, or involved humanitarian relief; the Somalia operation marked the beginning of a shift for No. 86 Wing towards a more combat-ready or "operational" focus. Six Hercules evacuated over 450 civilians from Cambodia following the coup in July 1997. Two detachments from the wing, one of Hercules and one of Caribous, supported
INTERFET The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacemaking task force, organised and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis that took ...
operations in
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
between September 1999 and February 2001. Wing operations staff accompanied Hercules of Nos. 36 and 37 Squadrons on relief efforts following the Bali Bombings in October 2002. In February 2003, a rotating detachment of three Hercules deployed to the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
to support the Australian contribution to the wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
; over the next seven years they amassed 20,000 operational flying hours. From July 2003 to July 2004, Caribous undertook reconnaissance and transport missions during the Solomon Islands intervention. No. 36 Squadron Hercules took part in Operation Sumatra Assist in the wake of the
2004 Boxing Day tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+07:00, UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of no ...
. The RAAF's contribution to
Operation Papua New Guinea Assist Operation Papua New Guinea Assist was the Australian Defence Force's contribution to the Australian humanitarian effort in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea following heavy flooding caused by Cyclone Guba in November 2007. The humanitarian effort was b ...
, following
Cyclone Guba Severe Tropical Cyclone Guba was the most recent tropical cyclone to form in the Port Moresby area of responsibility. The storm resulted in 149 fatalities and severe damage across southeastern Papua New Guinea in November 2007. The firstly-named c ...
in November 2007, included a Globemaster, two Hercules, and three Caribous. In September 2008, a Globemaster undertook the type's first aeromedical evacuation in RAAF service, transporting five injured Australian troops to Amberley from
Tarin Kowt Tarīnkōṭ ( prs, ترين کوت), also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in the Tarinkot District. Tarinkot city has a population of 71,604 (2015), with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaa ...
in Afghanistan. Globemasters, Hercules and King Airs were all employed for flood relief in Queensland and Victoria early in 2011. In February that year, Globemasters and Hercules transported medical staff and equipment to New Zealand to aid victims of the
Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...
. The following month, a Globemaster flew 23 sorties in Japan supporting relief efforts after the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, while two other Globemasters delivered a water cannon to help contain damage at the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant The is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a site in the towns of Ōkuma and Futaba in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The plant suffered major damage from the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. The ...
. On 1 January 2012, No. 86 Wing headquarters relocated from Richmond to Amberley. ALG was renamed Air Mobility Group on 1 April 2014. No. 86 Wing's current complement is: No. 33 Squadron, which became operational with the Airbus KC-30 tanker-transport after receiving the fourth of its aircraft in March 2013; No. 36 Squadron, which took delivery of its eight and last Globemaster in November 2015; No. 38 Squadron, operating King Airs; and the Australian Army's 68 Ground Liaison Section. All units are based at Amberley, with the exception of No. 38 Squadron, located at Townsville. On 13 October 2017, No. 34 Squadron was transferred from No. 84 Wing to No. 86 Wing. The
Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
,
David Hurley General David John Hurley, (born 26 August 1953) is an Australian former senior officer in the Australian Army who has served as the 27th governor-general of Australia since 1 July 2019. He was previously the 38th governor of New South Wales ...
, presented No. 86 Wing with the Queen's Squadron Standard at Amberley on 21 November 2019 to recognise twenty-five years of service.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 86 Military units and formations established in 1945