Recently, three of the Royal Australian Air Force’s oldest and most distinguished squadrons celebrated their 95th anniversaries at RAAF Base Williamtown in NSW.
Numbers 2, 3 and 4 Squadrons were formed during the period September 19 – October 16 1916.
The three units were immediately sent to England to train as RFC units and later deployed to France under the banner of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) in 1917.
Senior ADF Officer Williamtown, Air Commodore Mel Hupfeld, DSC, said the combined 95th anniversaries of Numbers 2, 3 and 4 Squadrons provided a unique opportunity to celebrate the rich histories of the original AFC units.
Four AFC squadrons joined the British during World War One. No 1 Squadron, now based at Amberley in Queensland, flew against the Turks and Germans in the Middle East, while Squadrons 2, 3 and 4 served on the Western Front between September 1917 and November 1918. The Australian airmen engaged in photographic reconnaissance, artillery spotting, strafing and bombing raids on enemy troops and positions, and air to air combat with German aircraft.