RAAF Base Richmond is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base located within the City of Hawkesbury, approximately northwest of the Sydney Central Business District in New South Wales, Australia. Situated between the towns of Windsor and Richmond, the base is the oldest base in New South Wales and the second oldest in Australia. The base is home to the transport headquarters RAAF Air Lift Group, and its major operational formations, Nos. 84 and 86 Wings. The main aircraft type operated at the base is the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Richmond is a regular venue for air shows and had at times been mooted as a site for Sydney's proposed second international airport.

Sited on a piece of land originally known as Ham Common, Richmond became an RAAF base in 1925. Its inaugural commander was Flight Lieutenant (later Squadron Leader) Frank Lukis, who also led the base's first flying unit, No. 3 Squadron. Many other squadrons were formed at Richmond in the ensuing years, as well as a separate Station Headquarters and No. 2 Aircraft Depot in 1936. The base expanded further during World War II, with more squadrons and other units being established there, including No. 1 (Fighter) Wing and No. 3 RAAF Hospital. It was not until after the war that it became the RAAF's transport hub, with the arrival of No. 86 Wing and its complement of C-47 Dakotas. The base began operating the Hercules in 1958, augmented in later years by the DHC-4 Caribou and Boeing 707.

History

A military flying school was set up at the site of the present-day RAAF base on 28 August 1916, when the area was known as Ham Common. Its initial flying unit was No. 3 (Army Cooperation) Squadron, operating Airco DH.9 light bombers and Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 fighters, and for the next decade the commanding officer of No. 3 Squadron was also in charge of the base. Among these were Squadron Leaders Frank Lukis (1925–30), Harry Cobby (1930–31), and Bill Bostock (1931–33). Headquarters RAAF Station Richmond was formed as a separate entity on 20 April 1936, under the command of Group Captain Adrian "King" Cole. Other units, including No. 22 Squadron flying Hawker Demons, and No. 2 Aircraft Depot, had been established in the preceding months. No. 4 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron was formed in May 1937, followed by No. 6 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron in March 1939. Two Fleet Cooperation units were also established, No. 5 Squadron in April 1936 and No. 9 Squadron in January 1939. No. 23 (General Purpose) Squadron formed in February 1939. No. 36 Squadron, having transferred its C-130Hs to No. 37 Squadron and re-equipped with the C-17 Globemaster, relocated to RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, in November 2006. The RAAF's DHC-4 Caribous, which had been operated for some years by No. 38 Squadron out of RAAF Base Townsville, were retired at the end of 2009, to be replaced by Super King Airs built by Hawker Pacific. No. 37 Squadron was transferred from No. 86 Wing to No. 84 Wing on 1 October 2010. In January 2013, No. 35 Squadron was re-formed at Richmond, under the control of No. 84 Wing. Initially a cadre, the squadron will expand to approximately 250 personnel by 2015, when it will begin operating the RAAF's ten C-27J Spartan transport aircraft.

In the 1980s, RAAF Base Richmond had been strongly considered as a second international airport for Sydney, but no decision was taken at the time. In July 2012, the Federal Government decided against Richmond as a second airport, but had commissioned a study into whether the base could be employed for "limited civil operations". In September 2016 the Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies, stated that the RAAF favoured closing RAAF Base Richmond during the next 15 years as its functions had been declining, and the major investment in infrastructure needed to bring it to a "fighting state" could be better spent upgrading other bases. However, Minister for Defence Marise Payne stated that the Government was not considering closing the base.

In 2014, the NSW Rural Fire Service began using Richmond as a base for its Large Air Tanker (LAT) and Very Large Air Tanker (VLAT) program. During the Australian summer, the NSW RFS will have a variety of aircraft available including a C-130 Hercules, Avro RJ85, Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 as well as smaller lead-in aircraft. As of 2019, the NSW RFS has purchased its own Boeing 737 which is now permanently based at Richmond.

Units

The following units are located at RAAF Base Richmond:

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Unit !! Full name!!Force Element Group!! Aircraft !! Notes

|-

| HQALG || Headquarters Air Lift Group||Air Lift Group|| ||

|-

| 84WNG || Headquarters No. 84 Wing||Air Lift Group|| || Controls Nos. 34, 35, 37, and 285 Squadrons

|-

| 1CCS || No. 1 Combat Communication Squadron Detachment Richmond || Combat Support Group || ||

|-

| 1ADS || No. 1 Airfield Defence Squadron Detachment Richmond|| Combat Support Group || ||Airfield defence guards

|-

| 1AOSS || No. 1 Airfield Operations Support Squadron Detachment Richmond ||Combat Support Group || || Airfield operations and engineering

|-

| 453SQN || No. 453 Squadron Flight Richmond || Surveillance and Response Group || || Air traffic services

|-

| || Air Lift Systems Program Office|| || || Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group medium airlift sustainment

|-

|176ADS || 176 Air Dispatch Squadron|| || || Army aerial dispatching

|-

| 336SQN AAFC || 336 Squadron AAFC|| || || Australian Air Force Cadets-3 Wing

|}

<gallery>

P00448.195RichmondWapitis.jpg|Westland Wapitis of No. 3 Squadron in the Richmond area, October 1932

54 Sqn RAF pilots Richmond 1942.jpg|No. 54 Squadron Spitfire pilots, Richmond, 1942

File-86 Wing (AWM P00448-093).jpg|No. 86 Wing Dakotas during a fly-past in 1952

</gallery>

See also

  • List of airports in Greater Sydney
  • List of airports in New South Wales
  • List of Royal Australian Air Force installations
  • No. 131 Radar Station RAAF

References

  • RAAF Base Richmond at airforce.gov.au