173rd Special Operations Aviation Squadron: Difference between revisions
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The '''173rd Aviation Squadron''' is an [[Australian Army]] |
The '''173rd Aviation Squadron''' is an [[Australian Army]] helicopter squadron equipped with Black Hawk helicopters based at [[Holsworthy Barracks]] near Sydney and forms part of the [[6th Aviation Regiment (Australia)|6th Aviation Regiment]]. <ref name="1st">{{cite web|title=6th Aviation Regiment|url=http://www.army.gov.au/Our-people/Units/Forces-Command/16th-Aviation-Brigade/6th-Aviation-Regiment|website=Australian Army|publisher=16 March 2012|accessdate=31 July 2016}}</ref> The Squadron originally operated fixed-wing aircraft designated as the 173rd General Support Squadron and was later renamed the 173rd Surveillance Squadron. In 2009, the Squadron was re-designated as 173rd Aviation Squadron when it transitioned to rotary aircraft. |
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It is based at [[Holsworthy Barracks]] and is equipped with S-70A-9 Black Hawk Helicopters. In late 2009, the Squadron was redesignated from 173rd Surveillance Squadron to 173rd Aviation Squadron when it transitioned to rotary aircraft. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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| ⚫ | On 17 February 1974, the 173rd General Support Squadron was formed as part of the [[1st Aviation Regiment (Australia)|1st Aviation Regiment]] based at [[Oakey Army Aviation Centre|Oakey]] and initially operated 6 [[Pilatus PC-6 Porter]]s. In 1978, the Squadron also received 11 [[GAF Nomad]] aircraft.<ref name=Eather150>{{harvnb|Eather|1995|p=150}}.</ref> During this time, the Squadron undertook a variety of Army co-operation roles utilising the short take-off and landing characteristics of its aircraft. These included: artillery spotting, troop transport, field resupply, medevac, ground-air liaison. It was also used for survey work in the South Pacific and flood relief in Australia.<ref>{{harvnb|Eather|1995|pp=150–151}}.</ref> |
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| ⚫ | With the retirement of the Porters in late 1992, the following year the |
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| ⚫ | With the retirement of the Porters in late 1992, the following year the Squadron adopted the title of "173rd Surveillance Squadron" under this guise it undertook the aerial surveillance and survey roles and was also used as a vehicle to deliver parachute troops. In 1993, it acquired 12 more Nomads, mainly unsold civilian variants which had been kept in storage, to replace the Porters. In 1995, following the fatal crashes involving Nomads from the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] and the [[Oakey Army Aviation Centre|School of Army Aviation]], the aircraft were withdrawn from service. Most of the Nomad fleet was sold to the [[Indonesian Navy]] but two were retained as unflyable training aids.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/3a18.htm|title=Army & RAAF A18 Government Aircraft Factory N22 & N24A Nomad|author1=Crick, D|author2=Avery, L|publisher=adf-serials.com.au|date=17 March 2016}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | As a consequence, the Squadron operated 4 [[Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante|Embraer EMB 110P1 Bandeirante]] aircraft leased from [[Flight West Airlines]] temporarily while a replacement for the Nomad was found. <ref name=Eather151>{{harvnb|Eather|1995|p=151}}.</ref> From 1996, these aircraft were replaced with 3 [[Beechcraft Super King Air|Beechcraft King Air]] B200 aircraft leased from Hawker Pacific to be based at Oakley and 3 [[de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter]] 320 aircraft leased from Hawker Pacific to be based in Darwin. On 9 November 1997, Twin Otter VH-HPY was lost in a tropical mountainous training accident in Papua New Guinea, resulting in serious injuries to the three trainees and instructor onboard.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/24886/aair199703719_001.pdf|title=Investigation Report 9703719|publisher=Bureau of Air Safety Investigation|date=June 1999}}</ref> The King Air aircraft were used to support ADF operations in Timor-Leste, in [[History of Bougainville#Operation Bel Isi|Operation Bel Isi]] in [[Autonomous Region of Bougainville|Bougainville]] and in [[Operation Sumatra Assist]] in [[Banda Aceh]]. A 173rd Squadron King Air is reported to be the first ADF aircraft to land in [[Dili, East Timor]] ahead of the [[INTERFET]] peace-keeping taskforce in 1999, while the squadron maintained operations in East Timor into 2000, performing a range of missions including medevac, liaison and reconnaissance tasks.<ref name=diggerinfo>{{cite web|url=http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-army-today/rar-sasr/army-aviation.htm|title=History of Australian Army Aviation|author1=Argent, A|author2=Harding, R|author3=Cooper, B|publisher=diggerhistory.info|accessdate=15 April 2016}}</ref> <ref name=museum>{{cite web|url=http://www.army.gov.au/~/media/Files/Our%20work/Community%20engagement/2015_02_AHQ_ArmyAviation_Factsheet.pdf|title=Army aviation in Australia, 1970-2015|publisher=Australian Army Flying Museum|accessdate=16 April 2016}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | By 2004, the remaining Twin Otter aircraft had been withdrawn from service, while the King Air B200 was replaced by the more modern King Air B350 variant leased from Hawker Pacific. <ref>{{cite news|last1=Jamieson|first1=Cpl Cameron|title=Fit for a king - Handover of Army’s first modified new surveillance aircraft|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110404165030/http://www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews/editions/1134/topstories/story18.htm|work=Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper|issue=1134 ed|date=1 December 2005}}</ref> Restructuring of Army's aviation capability saw the Squadron separated from 1st Aviation Regiment and placed under the command of [[16th Aviation Brigade (Australia)|16th Aviation Brigade]] as an independent unit. <ref name="1st"/> By 2007, further re-organisation assigned all fixed-wing military aircraft to the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF) and the Squadron was to relocate to Sydney as a helicopter training and surveillance squadron under the newly raised 6th Aviation Regiment. |
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| ⚫ | As a consequence, the |
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| ⚫ | The Squadron handed the King Air over to the RAAF on 20 November 2009 and converted to a rotary aircraft squadron re-designated as "173rd Aviation Squadron". The Squadron was based with the [[171st Aviation Squadron (Australia)|171st Aviation Squadron]] at the recently redeveloped Luscombe Army Airfield ([[Holsworthy Barracks]]) operating a fleet of [[Bell 206|Bell 206B-1]] Kiowa helicopters, training pilots in preparation for conversion to the [[NHIndustries NH90|MRH 90]] and [[Eurocopter Tiger|Tiger ARH]].<ref name=armynews>{{cite news|newspaper=Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper|title=Fixed Wings Freed |date=10 December 2009|page=6 |last=Hamilton |first=Eamon |publisher=Department of Defence |location=Canberra, Australia |url=http://www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews/editions/1227/1227.pdf|accessdate=19 March 2012|issn=0729-5685}}</ref> The Kiowa had been retired on 26 October 2009 from 1st Aviation Regiment. <ref>{{cite news|last1=Ashby-Cliffe|first1=Cpl Jane|title=Kiowas’ final salute|url=http://www.defence.gov.au/Publications/NewsPapers/Army/editions/1225/1225.pdf|accessdate=1 August 2016|work=Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper|issue=1225 ed|date=12 November 2009}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | By 2004, the remaining Twin Otter aircraft had been withdrawn from service, while the |
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In 2013, the Squadron transitioned to the [[Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk|Black Hawk]] helicopter and returned the Kiowa to the [[Oakey Army Aviation Centre|Army Aviation Training Centre]] at Oakley. <ref name=museum /> |
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| ⚫ | The |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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{{ |
{{Reflist|30em}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 10:14, 2 August 2016
| 173rd Aviation Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1974–present |
| Country | Australia |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Aviation |
| Role | Training and Surveillence |
| Size | One squadron |
| Part of | 6th Aviation Regiment |
| Garrison/HQ | Holsworthy Barracks |
The 173rd Aviation Squadron is an Australian Army helicopter squadron equipped with Black Hawk helicopters based at Holsworthy Barracks near Sydney and forms part of the 6th Aviation Regiment. [1] The Squadron originally operated fixed-wing aircraft designated as the 173rd General Support Squadron and was later renamed the 173rd Surveillance Squadron. In 2009, the Squadron was re-designated as 173rd Aviation Squadron when it transitioned to rotary aircraft.
History
On 17 February 1974, the 173rd General Support Squadron was formed as part of the 1st Aviation Regiment based at Oakey and initially operated 6 Pilatus PC-6 Porters. In 1978, the Squadron also received 11 GAF Nomad aircraft.[2] During this time, the Squadron undertook a variety of Army co-operation roles utilising the short take-off and landing characteristics of its aircraft. These included: artillery spotting, troop transport, field resupply, medevac, ground-air liaison. It was also used for survey work in the South Pacific and flood relief in Australia.[3]
With the retirement of the Porters in late 1992, the following year the Squadron adopted the title of "173rd Surveillance Squadron" under this guise it undertook the aerial surveillance and survey roles and was also used as a vehicle to deliver parachute troops. In 1993, it acquired 12 more Nomads, mainly unsold civilian variants which had been kept in storage, to replace the Porters. In 1995, following the fatal crashes involving Nomads from the Royal Australian Air Force and the School of Army Aviation, the aircraft were withdrawn from service. Most of the Nomad fleet was sold to the Indonesian Navy but two were retained as unflyable training aids.[4]
As a consequence, the Squadron operated 4 Embraer EMB 110P1 Bandeirante aircraft leased from Flight West Airlines temporarily while a replacement for the Nomad was found. [5] From 1996, these aircraft were replaced with 3 Beechcraft King Air B200 aircraft leased from Hawker Pacific to be based at Oakley and 3 de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 320 aircraft leased from Hawker Pacific to be based in Darwin. On 9 November 1997, Twin Otter VH-HPY was lost in a tropical mountainous training accident in Papua New Guinea, resulting in serious injuries to the three trainees and instructor onboard.[6] The King Air aircraft were used to support ADF operations in Timor-Leste, in Operation Bel Isi in Bougainville and in Operation Sumatra Assist in Banda Aceh. A 173rd Squadron King Air is reported to be the first ADF aircraft to land in Dili, East Timor ahead of the INTERFET peace-keeping taskforce in 1999, while the squadron maintained operations in East Timor into 2000, performing a range of missions including medevac, liaison and reconnaissance tasks.[7] [8]
By 2004, the remaining Twin Otter aircraft had been withdrawn from service, while the King Air B200 was replaced by the more modern King Air B350 variant leased from Hawker Pacific. [9] Restructuring of Army's aviation capability saw the Squadron separated from 1st Aviation Regiment and placed under the command of 16th Aviation Brigade as an independent unit. [1] By 2007, further re-organisation assigned all fixed-wing military aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Squadron was to relocate to Sydney as a helicopter training and surveillance squadron under the newly raised 6th Aviation Regiment.
The Squadron handed the King Air over to the RAAF on 20 November 2009 and converted to a rotary aircraft squadron re-designated as "173rd Aviation Squadron". The Squadron was based with the 171st Aviation Squadron at the recently redeveloped Luscombe Army Airfield (Holsworthy Barracks) operating a fleet of Bell 206B-1 Kiowa helicopters, training pilots in preparation for conversion to the MRH 90 and Tiger ARH.[10] The Kiowa had been retired on 26 October 2009 from 1st Aviation Regiment. [11]
In 2013, the Squadron transitioned to the Black Hawk helicopter and returned the Kiowa to the Army Aviation Training Centre at Oakley. [8]
Notes
- ^ a b "6th Aviation Regiment". Australian Army. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ Eather 1995, p. 150.
- ^ Eather 1995, pp. 150–151.
- ^ Crick, D; Avery, L (17 March 2016). "Army & RAAF A18 Government Aircraft Factory N22 & N24A Nomad". adf-serials.com.au.
- ^ Eather 1995, p. 151.
- ^ "Investigation Report 9703719" (PDF). Bureau of Air Safety Investigation. June 1999.
- ^ Argent, A; Harding, R; Cooper, B. "History of Australian Army Aviation". diggerhistory.info. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ a b "Army aviation in Australia, 1970-2015" (PDF). Australian Army Flying Museum. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ Jamieson, Cpl Cameron (1 December 2005). "Fit for a king - Handover of Army's first modified new surveillance aircraft". Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. No. 1134 ed.
- ^ Hamilton, Eamon (10 December 2009). "Fixed Wings Freed" (PDF). Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. Canberra, Australia: Department of Defence. p. 6. ISSN 0729-5685. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
- ^ Ashby-Cliffe, Cpl Jane (12 November 2009). "Kiowas' final salute" (PDF). Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. No. 1225 ed. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
References
- Eather, Steve (1995). Flying Squadrons of the Australian Defence Force. Weston Creek, Australian Capital Territory: Aerospace Publications. ISBN 1-875671-15-3.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)
External links
- Bandeirante - ADF-Serials
- Twin Otter - ADF-Serials
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