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No. 10 Squadron RAAF

{{short description|Royal Australian Air Force squadron}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}

{{Use Australian English|date=July 2016}}

{{Infobox military unit

| unit_name = No. 10 Squadron RAAF

| image = File:No. 10 Squadron RAAF crest.jpg

| image_size = 120px

| caption = No. 10 Squadron's crest

| dates = 1939–1945
1949–current

| country = Australia

| branch = Royal Australian Air Force

| type =

| role = Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Electronic Warfare

| command_structure = No. 92 Wing

| garrison = RAAF Base Edinburgh

| garrison_label = Base

| nickname =

| patron =

| motto = "Strike First"

| colors =

| colors_label =

| march =

| mascot =

| equipment =

| equipment_label =

| battles = World War II
East Timor
Iraq
Afghanistan

| anniversaries =

| decorations =

| battle_honours = Atlantic 1939–1945,
Biscay 1940–1945,
Mediterranean 1940–1943,
Biscay Ports 1940–1945,
{{nowrap|English Channel and North Sea 1939–1945,}}
Bismarck,
Normandy 1944{{cite web|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11037.asp|title= 10 Squadron RAAF |publisher=Australian War Memorial|access-date=15 December 2007}}

| commander1 =

| commander1_label =

| notable_commanders = William Brill (1949–1950)RAAF Historical Section, Units of the Royal Australian Air Force, p.15
Marija Jovanovich (2020–2023)

| aircraft_attack =

| aircraft_bomber =

| aircraft_electronic =

| aircraft_fighter =

| aircraft_patrol =

| aircraft_recon = MC-55A Peregrine (2023-24)

| aircraft_trainer =

| aircraft_transport =

}}

No. 10 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) signals intelligence (SIGINT) squadron based at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia. It is part of No. 92 Wing RAAF. The squadron was formed in 1939 as a maritime patrol unit. It saw active service during the Second World War, conducting anti-submarine operations and patrols from bases in the United Kingdom until it disbanded in late 1945. It was re-formed in Australia in 1949 and since then has contributed to Australia's East Timor intervention, and has been deployed to the Middle East as part of the War on Terrorism and the 2003 Gulf War. Most recently it now has a signals intelligence mission.

History

=Second World War=

No. 10 Squadron was formed on 1 July 1939 at RAAF Base Point Cook, under the command of Wing Commander Leon Lachal.Barnes, The RAAF and the Flying Squadrons, p. 67 Later that month aircrew and ground staff from the squadron departed for Britain to be trained on the Short Sunderland aircraft which had been acquired to equip the squadron. While it was intended that the aircrew would fly these aircraft to Australia after completing their training, following the outbreak of war the Australian government offered to retain the squadron in Britain. As a result, No. 10 Squadron was both the first RAAF squadron and the first British Commonwealth squadron to see active service in the Second World War, when one of its aircraft made a flight to Tunisia on 10 October 1939. It was also the only RAAF squadron to see continuous active service throughout the war.Stephens, Royal Australian Air Force, p.76

File:10 Sqn (AWM 042259).jpg

The squadron's major tasks during the war were escorting convoys, conducting anti-submarine patrols, and air-sea rescue. It sank its first U-boat on 1 July 1940. Operating mainly from bases in southern Britain such as RAF Mount Batten in Plymouth,Barnes and James, Short Aircraft Since 1900, p.338 the unit flew missions as far afield as Oban in Scotland, where a detachment was based between late 1940 and mid-1940,Barnes, The RAAF and the Flying Squadrons, p. 65 and Malta and Gibraltar in the Mediterranean Sea.{{cite web |url=http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAAF/10_wwII.html |title=No. 10 Squadron (RAAF): Second World War |publisher=History of War.org |access-date=10 October 2013}}

No. 10 Squadron sank a total of six U-boats between February 1940 and May 1945. It also set a Coastal Command record in February 1944 for the most patrol hours flown in a single month: 1143. The unit lost 19 aircraft during the war, most of which, according to author Norman Barnes, are thought to have been shot down by long range German fighter aircraft.Barnes, The RAAF and the Flying Squadrons, p. 66 In June 1945, the squadron ceased operations as part of Coastal Command and a reorganisation of RAAF units in Britain resulted in No. 466 Squadron RAAF being redesignated as No. 10 Squadron and moving to Bassingbourn, in Cambridgeshire. Following the end of hostilities in Europe, No. 10 Squadron began preparations to deploy to the Pacific Theatre; however, this was curtailed by the Japanese surrender and it remained in Britain, disbanding on 26 October 1945. Wartime casualties amounted to 161 personnel killed.

=Post-war=

File:P-2 P-5 Sunderland Corregidor 1963.jpg

No. 10 Squadron was re-formed at Townsville on 1 March 1949 to increase the RAAF's reconnaissance capability. Operating modified Lincoln heavy bombers the squadron conducted maritime and anti-submarine patrols over northern Australia and the South Pacific. In June 1950, a detachment from the squadron was sent to Darwin to carry out search and rescue duties.Barnes, The RAAF and the Flying Squadrons, pp. 66–67 The squadron continued in this role after re-equipping with Neptune aircraft in March 1962, and the longer range of the Neptune allowed the squadron to operate over South East Asia and the Central Pacific in an area that was equal to "one tenth of the world's surface".Eather, Flying Squadrons of the Australian Defence Force, p. 44.

During the Vietnam War, Neptune aircraft from No. 10 Squadron operating from U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield supported US Air Force B-52 bombing missions on an opportunity basis whilst transiting Thai airspace, using their AN/APS-120 radar to provide early warning of surface-to-air missiles.Coulthard-Clark, The RAAF in Vietnam, p. 92. The Neptune's electronic equipment was also used during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation in the mid-1960s to monitor Indonesian radars.{{cite web|url=https://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/research/aircraft/series2/A89.htm|title=A89 Lockheed Neptune|publisher= RAAF Museum|access-date=21 September 2014}} For a six-month period between June 1968 and January 1969, the squadron was commanded by a US naval officer, Lieutenant Commander J.A. Mueller.Barnes, The RAAF and the Flying Squadrons, p. 68

Throughout 1978–79, No. 10 Squadron was re-equipped with P-3C Orion aircraft and relocated to RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia. With the similarly equipped No. 11 Squadron, No. 10 Squadron continued to operate in the maritime patrol, surveillance and anti-shipping roles.{{cite web |url=http://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/research/units/10sqn.htm |title=No 10 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force |publisher=RAAF Museum |access-date=8 May 2012}}

Since the 1980s, No. 10 Squadron has contributed to the RAAF maritime patrol detachment based at Butterworth Air Base in Malaysia as part of Operation Gateway. More recently, it supported the Australian-led intervention into East Timor in 1999,{{cite web |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/units/east_timor/raaf/ |author=Gilbert, Gregory |title=RAAF Units in East Timor |publisher=Australian War Memorial |access-date=10 October 2013}} and contributed to the Australian maritime patrol detachment based in the Persian Gulf since 2003. In this role the squadron supported coalition operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and undertaken border protection duties as part of Operation Resolute. In 2018, 10 Squadron was assigned to No. 42 Wing RAAF, where it continued to operate two AP-3C(EW) Orions in an electronic warfare role.{{Cite web|url=https://www.airforce.gov.au/news-and-events/news/10-squadron-orions-transfer-42-wing|title=10 Squadron Orions transfer to 42 Wing|author=Royal Australian Air Force|date=2019-06-18|website=www.airforce.gov.au|language=en|access-date=2019-10-22}}

In December 2020 Wing Commander Marija Jovanovich assumed command of the squadron, becoming the third woman to lead a RAAF flying squadron. No. 10 Squadron became the first RAAF flying squadron to simultaneously have a female commanding officer and a female executive officer in 2021, when Squadron Leader Jenna Higgins took up the role.{{cite news |last1=Ghodsi |first1=Roya |title=Air Force's ISREW specialists |url=https://www.australiandefence.com.au/defence/air/air-force-s-isrew-specialists |access-date=13 March 2022 |work=Australian Defence Magazine |date=13 December 2021 |language=en}}

The two AP-3C(EW) Orion electronic warfare aircraft flew their final mission in December 2023 and the type has been retired from service. They are being replaced by four MC-55A Peregrine ISREW / SIGINT / ELINT aircraft, due to enter service in 2023-24.{{Cite web|url=https://adbr.com.au/feature-peregrine/|title=Feature: PEREGRINE |work= ADBR |author=McLaughlin, Andrew |date=20 March 2020 |access-date=7 August 2020}} Upon the retirement of the AP-3C(EW), 10 Squadron was re-assigned to No. 92 Wing RAAF.

According to 2020 parliamentary reports, forward-operating bases located at RAAF bases at the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Townsville and Darwin will enable the MC-55A, based at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia, to "project into Australia's area of interest".

Aircraft operated

The squadron has operated the following aircraft:

No. 10 Squadron was also equipped with small numbers of Supermarine Seagull, Supermarine Southampton, de Havilland DH60 Moth floatplane, Consolidated Catalina and Supermarine Walrus aircraft for training purposes prior to receiving its Sunderland aircraft.Eather, Flying Squadrons of the Australian Defence Force, p. 41.

Notes

{{Reflist|30em}}

References

  • {{cite book |last=Barnes |first=Norman |title=The RAAF and the Flying Squadrons |year=2000 |location=St Leonards, New South Wales |publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=1-86508-130-2 }}
  • {{cite book|last=Barnes|first=C.H.|author2=James, D.N. |title=Short Aircraft Since 1900| publisher=Putnam|date=1989| location=London|isbn=0-85177-819-4}}
  • {{cite book|last=Coulthard-Clark|first=Chris|title=The RAAF in Vietnam: Australian Air Involvement in the Vietnam War 1962–1975|publisher=Allen & Unwin in association with the Australian War Memorial|location=Sydney|year=1995|isbn=1-86373-305-1}}
  • {{cite book|last=Eather |first=Steve |year=1995 |title=Flying Squadrons of the Australian Defence Force |publisher=Aerospace Publications |location=Weston Creek, Australian Capital Territory |isbn=1-875671-15-3 }}
  • {{cite book|last=RAAF Historical Section|title=Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History. Volume 4: Maritime Units|publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service|location=Canberra|year=1995|isbn=0-644-42796-5}}
  • {{cite book|last=Stephens| first=Alan|orig-year=2001|year=2006| title=The Royal Australian Air Force: A History| location=London| publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-555541-4}}

External links

{{Commons category|No. 10 Squadron RAAF}}

  • [http://www.defence.gov.au/raaf/mpg/10sqn.htm 10 Squadron Official Website]
  • [https://www.airforce.gov.au/news-and-events/news/10-squadron-orions-transfer-42-wing 10 Squadron Command Transfers to 42 Wing.]

{{List of RAAF Squadrons}}

{{Military units and formations of the Royal Australian Air Force}}

10

Category:Signals intelligence units and formations

Category:Maritime patrol aircraft squadrons

Category:Military units and formations established in 1939