No. 1 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron headquartered at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. It is controlled by No. 82 Wing, part of Air Combat Group, and is equipped with Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet multi-role fighters.
The squadron was formed under the Australian Flying Corps in 1916 and saw action in the Sinai and Palestine campaigns during World War I. It flew obsolete Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s, B.E.12s, Martinsyde G.100s and G.102s, as well as Airco DH.6s, Bristol Scouts and Nieuport 17s, before re-equipping with the R.E.8 in October 1917 and finally the Bristol Fighter in December. Its commanding officer in 1917–18 was Major Richard Williams, later known as the "Father of the RAAF". Disbanded in 1919, No. 1 Squadron was re-formed on paper as part of the RAAF in 1922, and re-established as an operational unit three years later. Initially a composite formation of Airco DH.9s and Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s, it took on a specialist bomber role in the 1930s, flying mainly Hawker Demons but also Westland Wapitis and Bristol Bulldogs, before re-equipping with Avro Ansons on the eve of World War II.
Converting to Lockheed Hudsons in 1940, No. 1 Squadron saw action in the Malayan and Dutch East Indies campaigns, and suffered severe losses before being reduced to cadre in 1942. It was re-formed with Bristol Beauforts the following year, and re-equipped with de Havilland Mosquitos in 1945 for further operations in the Dutch East Indies. Reduced to cadre once more after the war ended, No. 1 Squadron was re-established at Amberley in 1948 as an Avro Lincoln heavy bomber unit under No. 82 Wing. From 1950 to 1958 it was based in Singapore, flying missions during the Malayan Emergency, where it bore the brunt of the Commonwealth air campaign against communist guerrillas. When it returned to Australia it re-equipped with English Electric Canberra jet bombers. It operated McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II leased from the USAF from 1970 to 1973, as a stop-gap pending delivery of the General Dynamics F-111C swing-wing bomber. The F-111 remained in service for 37 years until replaced by the Super Hornet in 2010. In 2014–15, and again in 2017, a detachment of Super Hornets was deployed to the Middle East as part of Australia's contribution to the war against the Islamic State.
Role and equipment
No. 1 Squadron is located at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, and controlled by No. 82 Wing, which is part of Air Combat Group.Royal Australian Air Force, Air Force Capability Guide 2020, p. 38 Its mission responsibilities include air-to-air and air-to-surface combat. The squadron is nicknamed the "Fighting First". The blazon of its crest is "the Australian Kookaburra in a diving position superimposed on the cross of Jerusalem", which symbolises the Victoria Cross-winning action of No. 1 Squadron pilot Frank McNamara in Palestine during World War I. The unit motto is Videmus Agamus ("We see and we strike").
The squadron operates Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet multi-role fighters, the first of which entered service in March 2010. Nicknamed the "Rhino", its missions include air superiority, fighter escort, land strike, maritime strike, close air support, and reconnaissance. The Super Hornet is larger than the "classic" McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet formerly operated by the RAAF, carries more ordnance, and has a greater fuel capacity. It is fitted with a 20 mm cannon and can be armed with air-to-air and anti-shipping missiles, as well as a variety of air-to-ground bombs and missiles. Flown by a crew of two, a pilot and an air combat officer (ACO), it is capable of engaging targets in the air and on the surface simultaneously.McPhedran, Air Force, p. 356 It can be refuelled in flight by the RAAF's Airbus KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transports. The Super Hornets are serviced at the operating level by No. 1 Squadron technical staff; heavier maintenance is conducted by Boeing Defence Australia and other contractors.
History World War I No. 1 Squadron was established as a unit of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) at Point Cook, Victoria, in January 1916 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Reynolds.Eather, Flying Squadrons, pp. 8–9Kainikara; Burns, Pathfinder Collection, p. 99 With a complement of 28 officers, 195 airmen, no aircraft and little training, it sailed for Egypt in mid-March 1916, arriving at Suez a month later.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 24, 56–57 There it came under the control of the 5th Wing of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC).Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, p. 57 Major Foster Rutledge, an Australian serving in the RFC, took command on 1 June.RAAF Historical Section, Bomber Units, pp. 1–2 After training in England and Egypt, the unit was declared operational at its new headquarters in Heliopolis on 12 June, when it took over aircraft belonging to No. 17 Squadron RFC. Its three flights were, however, operating in isolation at different bases in the Sinai Desert, and the squadron did not reunite until December.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres, pp. 35–36 Flying primitive and poorly armed Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 two-seat biplanes, its primary roles during this period of the Sinai campaign were reconnaissance—including aerial photography—and artillery spotting for the British Army.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 59–60 No. 1 Squadron pilots attached to No. 14 Squadron RFC took part in the Battle of Romani in July and August.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres, p. 40Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 63–64 In September and October, B and C Flights, led by Captains Oswald Watt and Richard Williams respectively, undertook bombing and reconnaissance missions in support of the Australian Light Horse in northern Sinai.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 61–62, 68–70
On 12 September 1916, the British began to refer to No. 1 Squadron as No. 67 (Australian) Squadron RFC. This practice continued until January 1918, when the unit officially became known as No. 1 Squadron AFC. The relationship between airmen and ground crew was less formal than in British units; squadron members recalled that "The CO is the only one who is ever called 'sir and that officers did not demand "saluting and standing to attention and all that rot".Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, p. 52 The unit received the first of several Martinsyde G.100 single-seat fighters to augment the B.E.2s on 16 October; although considered obsolete, the "Tinsyde" was substantially faster than the B.E.2, and armed with forward-firing machine guns.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, p. 71 Shortly before the squadron took part in a bombing raid against Beersheba on 11 November, Lieutenant Lawrence Wackett managed to fix a machine gun to the top plane of one of the B.E.2s, using a mount he designed himself.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres, pp. 43–45 Each flight was also assigned a Bristol Scout beginning in December, but it too was obsolete and under-powered, and the squadron ceased operating the type within three months.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres, p. 47 Other older models issued to the unit included the Airco DH.6, Martinsyde G.102 and Nieuport 17. On 17 December, the squadron's flights were finally brought together at one base, Mustabig in Sinai.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, p. 75
March 1917 saw the heaviest bombing campaign carried out by the squadron to date; short of its regular ordnance, the pilots improvised by dropping howitzer shells on Turkish forces along the Gaza–Beersheba line.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 84–85 During one such mission on 20 March, Lieutenant Frank McNamara earned the Victoria Cross for landing his Martinsyde in the desert under enemy fire and rescuing a fellow pilot whose B.E.2 had been forced down.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 86–88 On 26 March, No. 1 Squadron took part in the First Battle of Gaza; it suffered its first combat death the next day, when one of its B.E.2s was attacked by a German Rumpler.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 88–89, 91–92 The unit participated in the Second Battle of Gaza on 19 April; like its predecessor, the attack was a failure for the Allies.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 93–94 Williams, later known as the "Father of the RAAF", assumed command of the squadron in May.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, p. 97Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 30 Two B.E.12s were delivered the same month; like the Martinsydes, they were armed with a forward-firing machine gun and employed as escorts for the B.E.2s.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, p. 98 By June, mechanical issues caused by hot summer weather and the threat from new German Albatros scouts were rendering the B.E.2s largely ineffective, and Williams urgently requested newer models.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 99–100 Modern aircraft were eventually delivered, first the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 in October, and then the Bristol F.2 Fighter in December. "Now for the first time," wrote Williams, "after 17 months in the field we had aircraft with which we could deal with our enemy in the air."
No. 1 Squadron joined the 40th (Army) Wing of the RFC's Palestine Brigade on 5 October 1917.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres, p. 64 On 22 and 24 November, the squadron bombed Bireh village during the Battle of Jerusalem.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres, p. 86 The first of its 29 confirmed aerial victories, over an Albatros, occurred on 3 January 1918. By month's end, its complement of aircraft included five B.E.2s, five Martinsydes, two R.E.8s, and nine Bristol Fighters.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres, p. 88 The squadron supported the Capture of Jericho in February 1918.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres, pp. 102–103Falls; Becke, Military Operations Egypt & Palestine from June 1917 to the End of the War Part I, p. 309 It carried out air raids and reconnoitred prior to the First Transjordan attack on Amman in March and prior to the Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt a month later; it also flew reconnaissance missions during the advance to and fighting near Es Salt and Jisr ed Damieh.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres, pp. 95, 106–109, 113, 116–117 By the end of March, it was equipped with 18 Bristol Fighters, which had replaced all the other types. As well as undertaking offensive operations, the Bristol Fighters served in the photo-reconnaissance role. During the last week of April 1918, the squadron moved its base forward from Mejdel to a new aerodrome outside Ramleh.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres, p. 122 Williams relinquished command in June to take over 40th Wing.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres, p. 133