Portal:Military history of Australia/Units/November

Units

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Please follow the unit sequence of Navy, Army, Airforce when creating Daily Unit pages

No. 453 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force was formed during World War II. It came into existence at Bankstown in New South Wales on 23 May 1941. The squadron's motto was Ready to Strike. It was raised under the Empire Air Training Scheme. The squadron first saw action in Malaya and Singapore, after suffering heavy losses it was disbanded in Adelaide on 15 March 1942. It was reformed at RAF Drem, Scotland on 18 June 1942 and saw out the war in Europe, being finally disbanded on 21 January 1946.

HMAS Encounter was a second-class protected cruiser laid down for the Royal Navy by HM Dockyard at Devonport in Plymouth 28 January 1901, launched on 18 June 1902, completed on 21 November 1905 and transferred to the Royal Australian Navy on 27 July 1915. HMAS Encounter paid off on 30 September 1920, was renamed HMAS Penguin on 1 January 1923 and served as an accommodation ship until scuttled on 14 September 1932 off Sydney. She now lies at a depth of around 74 meters and is dived regularly.

The Australian Women's Land Army (AWLA) was an organization created in World War II to combat rising labour shortages in the farming sector. The AWLA was formed on 27 July 1942 and was modelled on Women's Land Army in Great Britain. When Japan joined the Axis in 1941 male agricultural labour was recruited into the Australian military to defend the country. To meet the shortfall in rural labour, state and private women’s land organisations began to form under the jurisdiction of the Director General of Manpower. The AWLA disbanded on 31 December 1945.

No. 462 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron which currently forms part of the Information Warfare Wing in the RAAF's Aerospace Operational Support Group. No. 462 Squadron RAAF was first formed on 7 September 1942 at Fayid, Egypt and was the only heavy bomber squadron in North Africa during 1942. As the Squadron only contained a small number of Australians it was redesignated No. 614 Squadron RAF on 3 March 1944. A new 462 Squadron RAAF was formed in Britain in August 1944 as part of RAF Bomber Command. The Squadron conducted operations over North-Western Europe as a bomber and electronic warfare squadron until being disbanded at the end of the war. No. 462 Squadron is currently a non-flying information operations squadron located at RAAF Base Edinburgh.

The Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service is the collective name of the submarine element of the Royal Australian Navy. The Service currently forms the Navy's Submarine Force Element Group and consists of six Collins class submarines. The Submarine Service has been established four times, with the initial three attempts being foiled by combat losses and Australia's economic problems. The modern Submarine Service was established in 1964 and has formed an important element of the Australian military's capacity since that date. While the Submarine Service has not seen combat since World War I Australian submarines have conducted extensive surveillance operations throughout South East Asia.

The Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion was an Australian infantry battalion of World War II. The Battalion was unique in that almost all of its enlisted men were Torres Strait Islanders, making it the only Indigenous Australian Battalion ever formed by the Australian Army. The Torres Strait Light Infantry was initially formed as an independent infantry company in May 1941 and was expanded to a full battalion in early 1943. Throughout the war the Battalion was based on Horn Island and Thursday Island in the Torres Strait where it formed an integral part of the Islands' defences. A detachment from the battalion conducted a patrol into Japanese held Dutch New Guinea from October to December 1943. The Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion was disbanded in 1946.

No. 9 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force squadron. The Squadron saw active service in World War II and the Vietnam War before being disbanded in 1989. No. 9 Squadron was first formed on 1 January 1939 at RAAF Base Richmond and, as Australia's only fleet co-operation squadron, operated from the Royal Australian Navy's cruisers until their aircraft capabilities were removed in 1944 when the Squadron was disbanded. No. 9 Squadron was reformed on 11 June 1962 as a helicopter squadron. The Squadron was deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1971 where it formed part of the 1st Australian Task Force. No. 9 Squadron was re-equipped with S-70A Blackhawk helicopters in 1988 and was disbanded in 1989 with its personnel and aircraft being used to form 'A' Squadron of the Australian Army's 5th Aviation Regiment.

HMAS Melbourne (III) is an Adelaide class guided missile frigate laid down by AMECON at Williamstown in Victoria on 12 July 1985, launched on 5 May 1989 and commissioned on 15 February 1992. Melbourne saw active service in the Persian Gulf and off East Timor. It was decommissioned on 26 October 2019.

The Tactical Assault Groups are Australia's premier counter-terrorism units. The two TAGs, East and West, are structured to conduct offensive domestic counter-terrorist operations focusing on incident resolution and the recovery of hostages. They maintain a short notice capability to conduct military operations beyond the scope of State and Federal Police tactical teams. These aims are achieved through various highly specialised skill sets, niche capabilities and supporting Australian Defence Force units. TAG West was formed in 1979 and is based around a squadron from the Australian Special Air Service Regiment. TAG East was formed in 2002 and is part of the 2nd Commando Regiment.

No. 1 Long Range Flight was a temporary Royal Australian Air Force unit formed to participate in the 1953 Christchurch Centenary Air Race which was flown between London in Britain and Christchurch in New Zealand. No. 1 Long Range Flight was formed on 16 February 1953 and was equipped with two Australian-built Canberra bombers fitted with long range fuel tanks. After seven months of training and preparations the flight's aircraft departed for the United Kingdom in September 1953 ahead of the commencement of the race on 9 October 1953. While one of the two Canberras was effectively put out of the race when a tire burst upon landing at Cocos Island the other aircraft completed the race, coming second after arriving in Christchurch just after midnight on 10 October following a flight of 22 hours, 29 minutes.

Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was an Australian hospital ship of World War II. Centaur (3,066 tons) was built for the Ocean Steamship Company (Blue Funnel Line) in Greenock, Scotland, in 1924. In early 1943 she was converted to a hospital ship. At 4.10am on 14 May 1943 Centaur was torpedoed and sunk by Japanese Navy submarine I-177 off Point Lookout, Queensland. 268 sailors and Australian military personnel died in the sinking. The ship was well illuminated at the time she was attacked and marked as a hospital ship. The act of sinking a ship so marked was considered to be a war crime.

The 1st Armoured Regiment is an armoured cavalry regiment of the Australian Army, and is the senior regiment of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps. The regiment is equipped with a variety of vehicles including Abrams main battle tanks and ASLAVs. The 1st Armoured Regiment was formed in 1948 and has seen active service as part of the 1st Australian Task Force during the Vietnam War. The regiment is currently based at RAAF Base Edinburgh, in Adelaide, and provides the basis for one of three battlegroups within the 1st Brigade, the other two coming from 5 RAR and 7 RAR.

No. 33 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force transport squadron. The Squadron was first formed in 1942 and provided transport to Australian military units in New Guinea until its disbandment in 1946. The Squadron was reformed in 1983 is currently based at RAAF Base Richmond where it operates modified Boeing 707 aircraft in the strategic transport and air-to-air refuelling roles. No. 33 Squadron will be re-equipped with Airbus A330 MRTT tanker-transport aircraft from 2009 and will relocate to RAAF Base Amberley.

HMAS Bungaree was an Australian auxiliary minelayer of World War II. Bungaree was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy in October 1940 and commissioned into the RAN on 6 June 1941 after being converted into a minelayer. HMAS Bungaree laid her first minefield off Port Moresby in August 1941 and, as Australia's only minelayer, laid over 10,000 mines in defensive minefields in Australian and New Zealand waters during World War II. Bungaree served as a survey ship from January 1944 and a store ship from August 1944. HMAS Bungaree was decommissioned on 7 August 1946 and was returned to her owners on 5 November 1947.

The 8th/9th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (8/9 RAR) is an Australian Army infantry battalion which was disbanded in 1997 but is currently scheduled to be reformed. 8/9 RAR was formed on 31 October 1973 by linking 8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and 9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. 8/9 RAR was based at Enoggera Barracks in Brisbane and formed part of the 6th Brigade until it was disbanded on 18 June 1997. On 24 August 2006, Prime Minister John Howard announced that the battalion would be re-raised under a new plan to increase the size of the Army. Based in South East Queensland, the battalion forms part of the 7th Brigade and has deployed elements to Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq.

No. 3 Operational Training Unit was the Royal Australian Air Force's main seaplane training unit during World War II. 3 OTU was formed by expanding the RAAF's Seaplane Training Flight in late 1942. 3 OTU was located at RAAF Base Rathmines in New South Wales and was responsible for converting RAAF aircrew to aircraft such as the Catalina and Kingfisher. In addition, aircraft from 3 OTU flew anti-submarine patrols off the coast of New South Wales. 3 OTU was disbanded following the end of the war.

HMAS Fantome was an Espeigel class sloop which was operated by the Royal Australian Navy during World War I. Fantome was originally built for and operated by the Royal Navy Survey Service and conducted survey operations in Australian waters from 1907 until the outbreak of war in 1914. She was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy on 27 November 1914 but was paid off from February 1915 until July 1915 when she was recommissioned as a patrol vessel. From September 1915 to September 1917 she operated in the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea as part of the Far East Patrol. From late 1917 HMAS Fantome was based at Suva, Fiji and operated in the South Pacific performing police duties. Fantome was returned to the Royal Navy in 1920 and was paid off for disposal in April 1924.

The Royal Tasmania Regiment's colour patch

The Royal Tasmania Regiment is an infantry regiment within the Australian Army which currently consists of a single battalion. The regiment was formed in 1960 as part of the reforms of the Army Reserve, when Tasmania's two single battalion infantry regiments were amalgamated. The RTR expanded to two battalions in 1972, but was reduced to a pair of independent companies in 1975. In 1987 the regiment was expanded to a full battalion through the regimentation of the two independent rifle companies, 12 Field Squadron Royal Australian Engineers, 146 Signal Squadron and 6 Intelligence Unit, forming as 12th/40th Battalion. The 12th/40th Battalion is currently a light infantry battalion which forms part of the 9th Brigade, and is based in Hobart, Tasmania with a detachment in Launceston.

The second HMAS Sydney was a modified Leander-class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy. The ship had great success in the first years of World War II, but controversy and mystery surrounds her loss on 19 November 1941. Sydney's sinking with all hands represents the greatest ever loss of life in an Australian warship; Sydney was also the largest vessel of any country to be lost with no survivors during the war. The wreck of Sydney remains undiscovered till this day.

No. 76 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force training squadron and operates Hawk 127 aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown. It was formed as a fighter unit in 1942. The squadron saw extensive combat during World War II, flying Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks in and around New Guinea. Following the war the Squadron formed part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan and was a jet fighter squadron during the Cold War.

The 6th Division of the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) during World War II. It served in the North African campaign, the Greek Campaign and the New Guinea campaign, including the crucial battles of the Kokoda Track Campaign. The 6th Division was formed in September 1939 and disbanded following the end of the war in 1945.

No. 21 Squadron is currently a Royal Australian Air Force general reserve squadron. The Squadron was first formed in 1936 as a Citizen Air Force Squadron. No. 21 Squadron saw action as a fighter, dive bomber and heavy bomber squadron during World War II. The Squadron ceased flying operations in 1960 and is currently a non-flying general reserve squadron headquartered at RAAF Williams near Melbourne.

The second HMAS Tobruk was a Landing Ship Heavy (LSH) of the Royal Australian Navy, based on the design of the "Sir" class of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Tobruk was the first purpose built amphibious vessel in the RAN, and was designed as a multi-purpose, ro-ro heavy lift and transport vessel. The ship could be loaded via ramps at both the bow and stern, and be purposely beached. Tobruk could carry up to eighteen Leopard 1 MBTs and 40 APCs and had a standard capacity of 300 troops, with an overload capacity of 520. Tobruk was actively deployed to a number of combat zones, including Somalia in 1991. It was decomissioned in 2015 and sunk as a dive wreck three years later.

The Imperial Camel Corps was a brigade-sized military formation which fought for the Allies in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I. Its personnel were infantry mounted on camels for movement across desert. The corps was founded in January 1916. The corps' 1st and 3rd Battalions were Australian. The Australian battalions were mounted on horses in early 1918 to form the Australian 5th Light Horse Brigade. The corps was reduced to a single battalion in May 1918 and was formally disbanded in May 1919.

No. 15 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force was a bomber and maritime patrol squadron which was active during World War II. No. 15 Squadron was formed on 27 January 1944 and flew anti-submarine and convoy escort patrols with Bristol Beaufort aircraft. In April 1945 the Squadron's role changed when most of its aircraft were deployed to Tadji in New Guinea to operate in the bomber role. In this role the Squadron conducted raids against Japanese positions around Wewak. Following the end of the war the Squadron moved to Kingaroy, Queensland where it was disbanded on 23 March 1946.

HMAS Melbourne (I) was a Town-class light cruiser laid down by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead in England on 4 April 1911, launched on 30 May 1912 and commissioned on 18 January 1913. At the start of World War I, Melbourne was involved in attempts to locate the German East Asia Squadron, and participated in the capture of German colonies in the Pacific, before being assigned to the North America and West Indies Stations. In 1916, the cruiser joined the Grand Fleet in the North Sea, where she remained for the remainder of the war. Melbourne spent late 1919 and early 1920 in reserve, then was flagship of the Royal Australian Navy from 1920 until 1928, except for a second period in reserve during 1924 and 1925. HMAS Melbourne paid off in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1928, and was scrapped in 1929.

The 16th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery is an Australian Army regiment. As the Australian Defence Force's only ground based air defence unit the regiment is responsible for protecting a wide range of military assets during wartime, ranging from Army units in the field to providing point defence to the Royal Australian Navy's support ships and air defence to Royal Australian Air Force air bases. The regiment is currently equipped with RBS-70 missiles and is based at Woodside, South Australia.

No. 3 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force is currently active as a fighter squadron. The Squadron was first formed in 1916 and was the first Australian Flying Corps unit deployed to France in 1917. No. 3 Squadron saw extensive action in North Africa and Italy during World War II and was active as a jet fighter squadron throughout the Cold War. The Squadron currently operates F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown.

HMAS Stuart (I) was a Scott class destroyer. Stuart was originally commissioned into the Royal Navy on 21 December 1918 and transferred to the Royal Australian Navy on 11 October 1933. During World War II HMAS Stuart saw action in the Mediterranean as part of the 19th Destroyer Division, the famous "Scrap Iron Flotilla". Stuart returned to Australia in 1941 and conducted escort duties in New Guinea and Australian waters until she paid off in early 1946.

The 1st Parachute Battalion was an Australian Army battalion of World War II. The 1st Parachute Battalion was formed in early April 1943 at RAAF Base Richmond near Sydney. As Australia's first airborne combat battalion, the 1st Parachute Battalion required extensive training and was not declared ready for operations until May 1944. While the Battalion was alerted for a role in the Australian-led Borneo Campaign, this did not eventuate and the Battalion did not see action. Following the Japanese surrender part of the Battalion deployed to Singapore for garrison duties, remaining there from September 1945 until January 1946. The 1st Parachute Battalion was disbanded in Sydney in January 1946.