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.
History
World War II No. 38 Squadron was formed as a transport unit at RAAF Base Richmond near Sydney on 15 September 1943. Equipped with Lockheed Hudsons, the squadron conducted its first operation on 17 December, when one of its aircraft flew from Richmond to RAAF Base Darwin. During the period No. 38 Squadron was equipped with Hudsons, it operated only within Australia.Eather (1995), p. 76
The squadron's activities expanded in early 1944, when its obsolescent Hudsons were replaced with more capable Douglas Dakota transports. It received its first Dakota on 3 March 1944, and was completely equipped with the type by the end of May. While the squadron continued to fly to locations within Australia after receiving Dakotas, it also began transporting supplies to Allied forces fighting the Japanese in western New Guinea. During return flights from New Guinea, the Dakotas typically carried wounded personnel to Australia for treatment.RAAF Historical Section (1995), p. 68 In October 1944, No. 38 Squadron was given the additional task of supporting the RAAF's Paratroop Training Unit at Richmond. The squadron moved to RAAF Station Archerfield near Brisbane in early December 1944, but continued to maintain a detachment at Richmond. By this time No. 38 Squadron was mainly tasked with transporting supplies to the battle zone in New Guinea, which included making supply drops to Australian Army units in the field and evacuating casualties to the mainland. From 17 July 1945, the squadron maintained a detachment at Morotai Island, dropping supplies to Army units fighting in Borneo. No. 38 Squadron's only loss during World War II was a Dakota that crashed on a mountain in western New Guinea while flying between Biak and Morotai; the wreckage of this aircraft was not located until 1970.
After the war, No. 38 Squadron flew into Singapore, Bangkok and locations in Borneo to evacuate released Australian prisoners of war. The squadron also transported other service personnel back to Australia until 1946 as part of the demobilisation of the Australian military. During May 1946, three of No. 38 Squadron's Dakotas were assigned the unusual task of flying 25 tonnes of pig bristles from Chongqing in China to Hong Kong, from where the bristles were shipped to Australia. This mission, which was designated "Operation Pig Bristle", took two weeks and sought to rectify a shortage of paint brushes that was hindering the Australian construction industry.Stephens (1995), pp. 414–415
Asian deployments No. 38 Squadron relocated to RAAF Station Schofields near Sydney on 15 August 1946. It became part of No. 86 Wing, along with Nos. 36 and 37 Squadrons, which also operated Dakotas, and No. 486 (Maintenance) Squadron, which serviced the wing's flying units.RAAF Historical Section (1995), pp. 68–69Roylance (1991), pp. 92–93 Commencing on 22 January 1947, one of No. 38 Squadron's main responsibilities was to conduct thrice-weekly courier flights to Japan to support the Australian element of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. These flights were the longest regular air route serviced by twin-engined aircraft at the time, and took several days. The courier flights continued until 13 January 1948, after which chartered Qantas aircraft were used to support the force in Japan. In August 1948, five of No. 38 Squadron's air crews were dispatched to Europe where, as members of the RAAF Squadron Berlin Air Lift, they participated in the international efforts to fly supplies into Berlin during the Soviet blockade of the city. These personnel remained in Europe for 12 months, and their absence greatly disrupted No. 38 Squadron's operations.RAAF Historical Section (1995), p. 69 Overall, twenty members of No. 86 Wing were sent to Europe; the resulting shortage of personnel forced Nos. 36 and 38 Squadrons to operate for a period as a single unit, all flying hours being attributed to No. 38 Squadron in official records.RAAF Historical Section (1995), pp. 57–58 No. 86 Wing moved to Richmond between 22 June and 1 July 1949.Roylance (1991), pp. 114–118
In 1950, No. 38 Squadron was selected to form part of the Australian force assigned to the Commonwealth Far East Air Force. As an element of this force, the Australian Government agreed for the unit to be tasked with courier flights across Asia and providing support for the British-led counterinsurgency operations in Malaya.Dennis and Grey (1996), pp. 23–25 The squadron's advance party arrived at RAF Changi in Singapore on 19 June 1950, and all of its personnel and eight Dakotas were operational there by 6 July. While in Malaya the squadron came under the command of No. 90 (Composite) Wing, along with the Avro Lincoln-equipped No. 1 Squadron. Half the squadron's aircrew were veterans of the Berlin Airlift, but none had any direct experience of tropical environments. No. 38 Squadron began flying transport missions in Malaya in early July, with British and New Zealand pilots accompanying its aircrews during the first two weeks of operations to help them become familiar with local conditions.Dennis and Grey (1996), p. 25 From July 1950 until February 1951, No. 38 Squadron's main task was to conduct courier flights to Borneo, Ceylon, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines, and these remained an important responsibility throughout the period it was based at Singapore.Dennis and Grey (1996), pp. 25–26 Following the outbreak of the Korean War, the squadron flew British troops and supplies from Singapore to Japan and Korea, and four of No. 38 Squadron's Dakotas were transferred to No. 30 Communication Unit in Japan during November 1950.Dennis and Grey (1996), p. 26
After losing half its strength, No. 38 Squadron remained at Changi and conducted supply and aeromedical evacuation flights throughout Malaya to support the British-led forces there. The squadron's aircraft were also occasionally used to mark targets ahead of bombing raids and to drop propaganda leaflets. From April to July 1951, No. 38 Squadron and an attached flight from No. 41 Squadron RNZAF was stationed at RAF Kuala Lumpur, and was the main unit tasked with dropping supplies to Commonwealth forces in the field. The squadron made another deployment to Kuala Lumpur between November 1951 and February 1952. In February 1952, No. 38 Squadron successfully parachuted 54 personnel from the British 22nd Special Air Service Regiment into a remote area near the Malaya-Thailand border.Dennis and Grey (1996), pp. 31–32
Supporting the Australian units in Korea placed heavy demands on the RAAF's transport force, which was too small to fully meet its domestic and international responsibilities, and it became increasingly difficult to sustain the four Dakotas in Malaya during 1952. As a result, the Australian Government decided in September that year to return the squadron to Australia.Dennis and Grey (1996), pp. 32–33 No. 38 Squadron left Changi for Richmond on 8 December. The squadron's only fatality during the deployment was an airman who was killed when the No. 110 Squadron RAF Dakota he was co-piloting crashed during a flight between Changi and Saigon on 31 August 1950.Dennis and Grey (1996), p. 27
Operational conversion unit
After returning to Richmond, No. 38 Squadron was mainly tasked with routine transport duties. The squadron also occasionally provided aircraft for CSIRO rainmaking experiments.Eather (1995), p. 77 During the 1950s and early 1960s, No. 38 Squadron developed a reputation as a "cowboy" unit with lax flying standards. The squadron did not conduct proper conversion courses, and new Dakota pilots received only ad-hoc instruction on the type while serving as the co-pilot during operational tasks.Stephens (1995), p. 415 On 8 March 1953, No. 38 Squadron absorbed No. 36 Squadron's Dakotas, after which No. 30 Transport Unit (previously No. 30 Communication Unit) in Japan was renamed No. 36 Squadron. From late March until September 1954, No. 38 Squadron conducted VIP flights out of RAAF Station Canberra. In November that year, it was renamed the Transport Training Squadron and became responsible for instructing new Dakota crews and RAAF air movements personnel. It resumed its previous name on 13 June 1963.