Diamonds in the rough
No. 38 Squadron and its members have a distinguished record of achievement that has spanned the globe in the past 60 years.

Servicing a No. 38 Squadron Caribou at Rawalpindi in the late 1970s. On the wing is Corporal Steve Wesley while Corporal Mike Lewis operates a pump watched by an airport security officer.

Caribou's in formation near RAAF Base Amberley.

Photo courtesy of RAAF Museum

IN June 1948 the Soviet-controlled East Germany closed off West Berlin to the rest of the world, blocking roads and making any land passage impossible in an attempt to subsume the city into the communist enclave that dominated eastern Europe.

Rather than abandon the city, the British and American military commands began Operation Vittles – the Berlin Airlift – bringing in by air more than 2500 tons of food and equipment daily in more than 600 flights to feed and clothe the service personnel and civilians caught up in the Cold War.

Among the men flying into West Berlin were five Australian Dakota crews seconded to the RAF from No. 38 Squadron. Arriving in August 1948, they would spend the next year flying missions between England and Germany, ensuring the survival of the beleaguered population.

But the story of 38SQN began almost five years earlier, during the bloody days of World War II, when it was raised as a general freight, passenger and VIP transport service at RAAF Base Richmond on September 15, 1943.

On December 17, 1943, a 38SQN aircraft made the unit’s first operational flight, delivering its cargo to Gorrie in the Northern Territory, stopping at Dubbo, Charleville, Cloncurry and Tennant Creek along the way.

In its formative days the Squadron was equipped with the obsolescent Lockheed Hudson – an association that would not last long. In March 1944 the Hudsons were replaced with the ubiquitous Douglas Dakota and the beginning of a long and successful partnership was forged.

Throughout 1944 members of the Squadron flew domestic routes as well as cooperating with the USAF on flights to Hollandia and Biak (in what is now Irian Jaya) delivering passengers and freight and returning with wounded from the Pacific theatre.

From August 1944 to March 1945 the Squadron had almost 30,000 hours in the air and from March to December 1945 delivered 22,413,013 pounds (10,187,733kg) of freight and 49,097 passengers.

In that time only one fatality was reported when a lone Dakota disappeared en route from Biak to Merauke. It was not until 1970 that its fate would become known when the wreckage was discovered on a mountain in West Irian.

A 38SQN Dakota was the first RAAF aircraft to land at Singapore after the surrender of the Japanese, and the Squadron evacuated prisoners of war from Singapore, Bangkok and Borneo.

From January 1947 it provided a tri-weekly service to Japan, supporting the Australian contingent to the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces. This courier service, the world’s longest for a twin-engined aircraft, continued
until January 1948 when Qantas took over the service.

Australia’s involvement in the Malayan Emergency began in 1950 with the arrival of aircraft and personnel in Singapore. 38SQN Dakotas were deployed on cargo runs, troop movements and paratroop and leaflet drops across the country.

In early 1964 the Squadron’s partnership with the Dakota came to an end with the introduction of the De Havilland Caribou and the Squadron undertook the training of crews for service in Vietnam, all the while continuing with domestic tasks including medical evacuation flights and supporting the Army on major exercises.

From October 1965, a detachment deployed to Papua New Guinea. It operated with the PNG Volunteer Rifles and the Pacific Island Regiment, and did mercy and general freight tasks, until it was disbanded in January 1976. 38SQN still operates training flights into PNG.

In March 1975, a Caribou – in United Nations white and blue livery – flew to Rawalpindi, Pakistan, for duty with the United Nations Military Observer Group in that country. The detachment remained until November 1978.

Elements of the Squadron deployed to East Timor in October 1999 as an integral part of INTERFET and UNTAET.

At its peak the detachment operated four aircraft, carrying captured militia members across the island and delivering much-needed supplies. After the transition to UNTAET, the detachment was reduced to two aircraft that were withdrawn in February 2001.

More recently, a detachment has operated with success in the Solomon Islands as the Squadron adds to the impressive record of service of the past 60 years.

 

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