10 Sqn RAAF
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No. 10 Squadron is a
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
(RAAF) signals intelligence (SIGINT) squadron based at
RAAF Base Edinburgh RAAF Base Edinburgh is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Military airfield, military airbase located in Edinburgh, South Australia, Edinburgh approximately north of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia and forms part of the Edinburgh Defenc ...
, 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 Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
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 Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...
mission.


History


Second World War

No. 10 Squadron was formed on 1 July 1939 at
RAAF Base Point Cook Point Cook is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Point Cook recorded a population of 66,781 at the 2021 census, making it t ...
, 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 The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat Maritime patrol aircraft, patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of ...
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 The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...
squadron to see active service in the Second World War, when one of its aircraft made a flight to
Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
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 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 U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
on 1 July 1940. Operating mainly from bases in southern Britain such as
RAF Mount Batten Royal Air Force Mount Batten, or more simply RAF Mount Batten, is a former Royal Air Force station and flying boat base at Mount Batten, a peninsula in Plymouth Sound, Devon, England, UK. Originally a seaplane station opened in 1917 as a Royal ...
in
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
,Barnes and James, ''Short Aircraft Since 1900'', p.338 the unit flew missions as far afield as
Oban Oban ( ; meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William, Highland, Fort William. During the tourist seaso ...
in Scotland, where a detachment was based between late 1940 and mid-1940,Barnes, ''The RAAF and the Flying Squadrons'', p. 65 and
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
and
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
in the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
. No. 10 Squadron sank a total of six U-boats between February 1940 and May 1945. It also set a
Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
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

No. 10 Squadron was re-formed at
Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
on 1 March 1949 to increase the RAAF's reconnaissance capability. Operating modified
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...
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. The squadron continued in this role after re-equipping with
Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...
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 The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, Neptune aircraft from No. 10 Squadron operating from U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield supported US Air Force
B-52 The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Ai ...
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. The Neptune's electronic equipment was also used during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation in the mid-1960s to monitor Indonesian radars. 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 The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. It is based on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner by Lockheed; it is ea ...
aircraft and relocated to
RAAF Base Edinburgh RAAF Base Edinburgh is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Military airfield, military airbase located in Edinburgh, South Australia, Edinburgh approximately north of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia and forms part of the Edinburgh Defenc ...
in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. With the similarly equipped No. 11 Squadron, No. 10 Squadron continued to operate in the maritime patrol, surveillance and anti-shipping roles. 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 Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
in 1999, and contributed to the Australian maritime patrol detachment based in the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
since 2003. In this role the squadron supported coalition operations in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
and
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, and undertaken border protection duties as part of
Operation Resolute Operation Resolute is the involvement of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in Australian government efforts to prevent unauthorised entries to sovereign Australian territory. This has mainly taken the forms of: remote surveillance; air, sea a ...
. 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. 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. 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. 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: *
Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat Maritime patrol aircraft, patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of ...
(1939–1945) * Supermarine Walrus Mk.I (1940) * Short S.26 G-Boat (1941) *
Avro Lincoln The Avro Type 694 Lincoln is a British four-engined heavy bomber, which maiden flight, first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were initially known as the Lancaster IV and V; these were renamed L ...
(1949–1962) * Lockheed P2V-7S Neptune (1962–1977) * Lockheed P-3C Orion (1977–2002) * AP-3C Orion (2002–2023) * MC-55A Peregrine (due 2025-26) No. 10 Squadron was also equipped with small numbers of Supermarine Seagull,
Supermarine Southampton The Supermarine Southampton was a flying boat of the interwar period designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. It was one of the most successful flying boats of the era. The Southampton was derived from the expe ...
, de Havilland DH60 Moth floatplane,
Consolidated Catalina The Consolidated Model 28, more commonly known as the PBY Catalina (U.S. Navy designation), is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft designed by Consolidated Aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. In U.S. Army service, it was designated as the OA ...
and
Supermarine Walrus The Supermarine Walrus is a British single-engine Amphibious aircraft, amphibious biplane designed by Supermarine's R. J. Mitchell. Primarily used as a maritime patrol aircraft, it was the first British Squadron (aviation), squadron-service ai ...
aircraft for training purposes prior to receiving its Sunderland aircraft.Eather, ''Flying Squadrons of the Australian Defence Force'', p. 41.


Notes


References

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External links


10 Squadron Official Website10 Squadron Command Transfers to 42 Wing.
{{Military units and formations of the Royal Australian Air Force 10 Signals intelligence units and formations Maritime patrol aircraft squadrons Military units and formations established in 1939