No. 82 Wing RAAF

No. 82 Wing RAAF
No. 82 Wing's crest
Active	1944–current
Country	Australia
Branch	Royal Australian Air Force
Role	Precision strike; reconnaissance
Part of	Air Combat Group
Headquarters	RAAF Base Amberley
Motto(s)	Find and Destroy
Engagements	World War II South West Pacific theatre North Western Area Campaign Battle of Tarakan Battle of North Borneo Battle of Balikpapan
Commanders
Notable commanders	Colin Hannah (1950–51)[1] Charles Read (1957–60)[1] Peter Raw (1965–66)[2] Jake Newham (1973–74)[1] Errol McCormack (1987–88)[1] Geoff Shepherd (1995–98)[1] Geoff Brown (2000–03)[1] Leo Davies (2005–06)[3]
Aircraft flown
Attack	F/A-18F Super Hornet
Electronic warfare	EA-18G Growler
Reconnaissance	Pilatus PC-21

Military unit

No. 82 Wing is the strike and reconnaissance wing of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is headquartered at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. Coming under the control of Air Combat Group, the wing operates F/A-18F Super Hornet multirole fighters, EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, and Pilatus PC-21 forward air control aircraft. Its units include Nos. 1 and 6 Squadrons, operating the Super Hornet and Growler respectively, as well as No. 4 Squadron, operating the PC-21.

Formed in August 1944, No. 82 Wing operated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. Initially comprising two flying units, Nos. 21 and 24 Squadrons, the wing was augmented by 23 Squadron in 1945. After the war its operational units became Nos. 1, 2 and 6 Squadrons. It re-equipped with Avro Lincolns in 1948 and, from 1953, English Electric Canberra jets. Both types saw action in the Malayan Emergency during the 1950s; the Canberras were also deployed in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1971.

Between 1970 and 1973, as a stop-gap pending delivery of the long-delayed General Dynamics F-111C swing-wing bomber, Nos. 1 and 6 Squadrons flew leased F-4E Phantoms. No. 2 Squadron continued to fly Canberras until it was disbanded in 1982. After taking delivery of their F-111Cs in 1973, Nos. 1 and 6 Squadrons operated the type for 37 years through numerous upgrades, augmented in the mid-1990s by ex-USAF G models. The forward air control unit joined No. 82 Wing in 2002. In 2010, the wing retired its F-111s and replaced them with Super Hornets as an interim force until the planned entry into Australian service of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. Twelve Boeing EA-18G Growlers were procured to augment the Super Hornet fleet from 2017.