RAAF Patch Sqn Royal Australian Air Force b 75 Squadron Ops Vel

RAAF Patch 75 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force Ops Black White Magpie Patch 1990s FA 18 Hornet RAAF Tindal Embroidered on twill merrowed edge velcro back 87mm three and three eighth inches diameter.

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Badge  a black and white Australian Magpie the Piping Shrike. The magpie is a belligerent and courageous defender of its young to represent the Squadrons ethos in its combat fighter role.

Motto  Seek and strike.

Following its war time Pacific service in the fighter role 75 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force was demobilsed in December 1945 to a cadre located at Deniliquin and manned by one officer and three airmen without any aircraft. In May 1946 the Squadron cadre moved to RAAF Station Schofields Sydney and then to RAAF Base Williamtown in September 1946 where it received personnel and equipped with P 51 Mustang fighters. 75 Squadron carried out routine training and exercises before it disbanded on 25 March 1948.

75 Squadron was reactivated at RAAF Williamtown on 24 January 1949 equipped with Vampire jet fighters and conducted training exercises Vampire operational conversion training acceptance flights of Vampires delivered to the RAAF. During the Korean War the Squadron trained pilots for combat to join Meteor equipped 77 Squadron RAAF in Korea.

In March 1952 RAAF reformed 78 Wing in Malta to form part of the British force countering the Soviet Unions influence in the Middle East. 75 and 76 Squadrons formed 78 Wings flying element and deployed to RAF Hal Far in July 1952 equipped with Vampires leased from the RAF. 75 Squadron took part in regular training exercises in the Mediterranean region and Europe including a large scale NATO exercise in 1953 which involved 2000 aircraft and 40000 personnel. 75 Squadron participated in a royal review to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The Squadron moved with the rest of 78 Wing to RAF station at Ta’ Qali in June 1953 and disbanded in November 1954 when 78 Wing returned to Australia in late December 1954.

75 Squadron was reactivated at RAAF Williamtown in April 1955 under 78 Wing equipped with Vampires and Meteor fighters which were replaced by CAC Sabre aircraft in early 1957. The squadron made a number of deployments to Darwin for air defence exercises involving RAF units. On 8 December 1958 75 Squadron transferred from 78 Wing to become an independent unit under the direct command of RAAF Base Williamtown. In November 1964 several of the squadrons pilots took part in an emergency deployment to Darwin when an Indonesian attack was feared as part of an apparent escalation of the Indonesia Malaysia confrontation.

In December 1964 the Squadron re equipped with Mirage III fighters becoming operational on 1 August 1965. 75 Squadron maintained a detachment of Mirage IIIs at Darwin from 2 May 1966 until early 1967 before relocating to RAAF Base Butterworth Malaysia in May 1967 with a detachments of six Mirage III at Tengah Air Base Singapore on a 3 month rotational basis with 3 Squadron RAAF. The Squadron conducted regular exercises with the Royal Malaysian Air Force Royal New Zealand Air Force Republic of Singapore Air Force and the Royal Air Force. 75 Squadron also trained with the USAF and USN including the large scale Cope Thunder exercises at Clark Air Base Philippines.

75 Squadron relocated to Darwin in October 1983 and converted to FA 18 Hornets in May 1988 became part of 81 Wing and moved to RAAF Tindal in October 1988. RAAF Tindal was close to the RAAFs newly developed Delamere Air Weapons Range and the squadron was assigned two GAF Nomad light transport aircraft between January 1989 and 1993 to fly supplies to the facilities there. In late 1999 the Squadron was placed on alert to provide close air support and air defence for international forces deployed to East Timor as part of INTERFET.

75 Squadron formed part of the Australian contribution to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 with 14 FA 18 Hornets flying from Tindal to Al Udeid Air Base Qatar via Diego Garcia between 13 and 16 February 2003. The squadron was initially used to escort high value Coalition aircraft such as tankers and E-3 Sentry aircraft. As the Iraqi Air Force posed no threat the Squadron provided close air support and air interdiction against Iraqi forces in support of the US Army the US Marine Corps and the Australian Special Air Service Regiment and 4 Battalion Royal Australian Regiment on 12 April 2003 when these units captured Al Asad Airbase. 75 Squadron flew 350 combat missions and dropped 122 laser guided bombs and was augmented with pilots from 81 Wings other Hornet squadrons and received a Meritorious Unit Citation for its outstanding service during Operation Falconer. The Squadron returned to RAAF Tindal on 14 May 2003 and continues regularly exercises with units from the RMAF RNZAF RSAF and US Military and conducts training using the facilities of the Delamere Air Weapons Range.



This patch dates from the 1990s.