Page 72 - AA 2018_09

EQUAL

TO THE

TASK

In the immediate post-war period
38 Squadron he end of an era is upon the A quiet achiever 38 Squadron Dakotas provided
Royal Australian Air Force as it
Based at RAAF Townsville with a fleet
calls time on Tyears of continuous operational of eight Beechcraft King Air 350s, a thrice-weekly air link between
farewells 38 Squadron after 75
38 Squadron has conducted its
Australia and Japan in support of the
seven decades service. primary mission of light transport British Commonwealth Occupation
since the retirement of the venerable
Force, while in 1948 a large contingent
The end of flying operations this
of service November is a bittersweet moment for de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou of 38 Squadron personnel was
those who served with the squadron,
seconded to the Royal Air Force to fly
in 2009.
with bonds that were forged in war Originally formed at RAAF as part of the Berlin airlift.
WRITER: MICHAEL SERENC and strengthened through countless Richmond in September 1943 with In 1950 the squadron deployed to
humanitarian and peacekeeping a fleet of Lockheed Hudsons, the Singapore to support the campaign
missions in the decades after. squadron would go on to distinguish against communist insurgents
Australian Aviation takes a look at itself flying Douglas C-47 Dakotas on in Malaya, while later that year a
the famed squadron and its profound transport operations in New Guinea detachment was sent to support UN
impact on those who were a part of it. during World War 2. forces in Korea.
72 AUSTRALIAN AVIATION