| No. 3 Squadron RAAF | |
|---|---|
 No. 3 Squadron's crest | |
| Active | 1916–1919 1925–1946 1948–1953 1956–current |
| Country | Australia |
| Branch | Royal Australian Air Force |
| Role | Multi-role fighter |
| Part of | No. 81 Wing, Air Combat Group |
| Garrison/HQ | RAAF Base Williamtown |
| Motto(s) | Operta Aperta ("Secrets Revealed")[1] |
| Engagements | World War I
World War II Cold War Military intervention against ISIL |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders[2][3] | David Blake (1916–1918) Bill Anderson (1918–1919) Henry Wrigley (1919) Frank Lukis (1925–1930) Harry Cobby (1930–1931) Bill Bostock (1931–1936) Allan Walters (1938–1939) Ian McLachlan (1939–1941) Peter Jeffrey (1941) Alan Rawlinson (1941) Bobby Gibbes (1942–1943) Brian Eaton (1943–1944) Vance Drummond (1967) Jake Newham (1967–1968) Richard Bomball (1973–1974) Geoff Brown (1997–2000) |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | F-35A Lightning II |
No. 3 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter squadron, headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle, New South Wales. Established in 1916, it was one of four combat squadrons of the Australian Flying Corps during World War I, and operated on the Western Front in France before being disbanded in 1919. It was re-established as a permanent squadron of the RAAF in 1925, and during World War II operated in the Mediterranean Theatre. The Cold War years saw the squadron disbanded and re-raised twice. It was based at RAAF Butterworth during the Malayan Emergency and the Indonesia–Malaysia Konfrontasi. Equipped with McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet multi-role fighters from 1986, the squadron deployed to Diego Garcia in 2002 to provide local air defence, and the following year contributed aircraft and crews to the invasion of Iraq as part of Operation Falconer. In April 2016, it deployed to the Middle East as part of the military intervention against ISIL. The squadron began re-equipping with Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multi-role fighters in 2018.
- ^ RAAF Historical Section, Fighter Units, p. 1
- ^ RAAF Historical Section, Fighter Units, pp. 6–7
- ^ "Air Marshals". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved 18 October 2016.