RAAF Base Amberley 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)

military airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

located southwest of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

in Australia and southwest of

Brisbane CBD Brisbane City is the central Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is also colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD", "the city", or simply "to ...

. It is the largest

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Amberley is one of two defence 'super bases' in

, with the other being

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 ...

, and is home to over 5,000 uniformed and civilian personnel. The base is currently home to No. 1 Squadron (operating the F/A-18F Super Hornet), No. 6 Squadron (operating the

EA-18G Growler The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American aircraft carrier, carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G replaced the Northrop Grumman EA- ...

), No. 33 Squadron (operating the Airbus KC-30A), No. 35 Squadron (operating the C-27J Spartan) and No. 36 Squadron (operating the Boeing

C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) between the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previ ...

). Amberley is also home to Army units making up the 9th Force Support Battalion (9 FSB). There are a variety of other formations on the base such as training colleges and maintenance areas. Amberley's largest squadron in terms of personnel is

No. 382 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron RAAF The No. 382 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron RAAF (382ECSS) was a Royal Australian Air Force combat support squadron established in 1998, and based at the RAAF Base Amberley, southwest of Ipswich, Queensland.garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

and deployed combat support. Amberley was one of only two airfields in Australia (the other being Darwin International Airport) that were listed as a Transoceanic Abort (TOA) landing site for the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

. Amberley is currently undergoing a A$64 million dollar re-development program.

History

The need for a RAAF base in Brisbane was identified in the 1930s. of land c. 8km south-west of the city of Ipswich was gazetted for defence purposes on 12 December 1938. The original land-owners, the Jagera, the Yuggera and Ugarapul clans, called the area Jeebropilly, which denoted the flood plain in the region. The base was initially planned to house a general-purpose squadron with 300 officers and men. At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the handful of brick buildings was still incomplete and many extra buildings were constructed quickly using wood and fibro. The base opened in June 1940 with the first occupants being No. 24 Squadron. From May 1942, the base changed roles from being a centre of flying operations to assembling and repairing aircraft. Amberley GIF

First troops airlifted into combat

The base was a major

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

base during 1942 and 1943. In September 1942, General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

and Field Marshal Sir

Thomas Blamey Field marshal (Australia), Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey (24 January 1884 – 27 May 1951) was an Australian general of the First World War, First and Second World Wars. He is the only Australian to attain the rank of field marshal. Bl ...

, Australian commander of New Guinea Force, decided the key to defending Australia was in New Guinea. The US 32nd Infantry Division had arrived in Australia in April 1942 and spent several weeks building its first camp. When it was transported to a new camp in July, nearly one third of its troops had been in boot camp only five months previously. The division had less than two months of jungle warfare training, which was far short of the year of division-level training required by Army doctrine. Nonetheless, U.S. officers decided it was the most combat-ready unit in Australia. On 13 September 1942, MacArthur ordered parts of the 32nd Division to Papua New Guinea. Because the situation was critical and time was short, 5th Air Force commander, General

George Kenney George Churchill Kenney (6 August 1889 – 9 August 1977) was a United States Army general during World War II. He is best known as the commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), a position he held between Augus ...

, suggested that he could transport the first regiment by air. That had never been attempted before, so Company E, 126th IR, was used to test the concept. At dawn on 15 September 1942, the unit was flown from Amberley Field to

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

. Beginning on 18 September, the remainder of the 126th IR boarded ships in Brisbane, bound for Port Moresby. On the same day, the 128th IR began the move to Port Moresby from Townsville, Australia. The 126th IR were the first troops to be airlifted into combat. Known

Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organ ...

units assigned to "Amberley Field" were: The US transferred the facility to Australia in 1947, and it became the base for the RAAF's heavy bombers, operated by No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 squadrons. The reserve No. 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron relocated from RAAF Station Archerfield to Amberley in 1955. In 1965, the US extended a "Joint Research Program for Measuring the Physical Effects of Disturbances in the Atmosphere or in Space with particular emphasis on their effect on Radio Communications" from RAAF Base Pearce to the base at Amberley.

Current layout

The current layout of the aerodrome consists of two runways, 3km and 1.5km long.

Current units

The following units are based at RAAF Base Amberley:

References

External links

*
RAAF Base Amberley
on the Australian Air Force website {{DEFAULTSORT:Amberley Royal Australian Air Force bases Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Australia Airports in Queensland Military buildings and structures in Queensland Ipswich, Queensland Queensland in World War II Amberley Amberley Amberley, Queensland Military installations in Queensland Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites