No. 38 Squadron RAAF

No. 38 Squadron RAAF
No. 38 Squadron's crest
Active	1943–2018
Country	Australia
Branch	Royal Australian Air Force
Role	Light transport and conversion training Ground surveillance
Part of	No. 86 Wing
Garrison/HQ	RAAF Base Townsville
Nickname(s)	"Dingo Airlines"[1]
Motto(s)	"Equal to the Task"[2]
Engagements	World War II Malayan Emergency
Battle honours	Malaya 1948–1960[3]
Aircraft flown
Transport	Hudson (1943–1944) Dakota (1944–1964) Caribou (1964–2009) King Air 350 (2009–2018)

No. 38 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) transport and training unit active between 1943 and 2018. It was formed on 15 September 1943 and saw service during World War II transporting supplies and personnel between Australia and the combat zones in New Guinea and Borneo, using Douglas Dakota aircraft. Following the war, the squadron conducted regular courier flights between Australia and Japan in 1947 and 1948. 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.

After being re-equipped with de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou in 1964, No. 38 Squadron served as the RAAF's operational conversion unit for the type and also conducted transport tasks within Australia and its territories. Throughout Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, it prepared aircrew for operational service with No. 35 Squadron, and maintained a detachment 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, 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 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, No. 38 Squadron was re-equipped with eight Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft. The squadron was stationed at RAAF Base Townsville, Queensland, and was responsible for training RAAF pilots to operate King Airs, and performing light transport and tasks. It was also believed to have a ground surveillance capability. The squadron disbanded on 29 November 2018, its aircraft and roles being transferred to No. 32 Squadron.