No.

1 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron headquartered at RAAF

Base Amberley, Queensland. Controlled by No. 82 Wing, it is equipped with Boeing F/A-18F
Super Hornet multi-role fighters. The squadron was formed under the Australian Flying Corps in
1916 and saw action in the Sinai and Palestine Campaigns during World War I. It flew
obsolete Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s, B.E.12s, Martinsyde G.100s and G.102s, as well
as Airco DH.6s, Bristol Scouts and Nieuport 17s, before re-equipping with the R.E.8 in October
1917 and finally the Bristol Fighter in December. Its commanding officer in 191718 was
Major Richard Williams, later known as the "Father of the RAAF". Disbanded in 1919, No. 1
Squadron was re-formed on paper as part of the RAAF in 1922, and re-established as an
operational unit three years later.
During World War II, the squadron flew Lockheed Hudson bombers in the Malayan and Dutch
East Indies campaigns, suffering severe losses before being reduced to cadre in 1942. It was
re-formed with Bristol Beauforts the following year, and re-equipped with de Havilland
Mosquitos in 1945 for further operations in the Dutch East Indies. Reduced to cadre once more
after the war ended, No. 1 Squadron was re-established at Amberley in 1948 as an Avro
Lincoln heavy bomber unit. From 1950 to 1958 it was based in Singapore, flying missions during
the Malayan Emergency, where it bore the brunt of the Commonwealth air campaign against
communist guerillas. When it returned to Australia it re-equipped with English Electric
Canberra jet bombers. It operated McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantoms from 1970 to 1973, as a
stop-gap pending delivery of the General Dynamics F-111C swing-wing bomber. The F-111
remained in service for 37 years until replaced by the Super Hornet in 2010. In September
2014, a detachment of Super Hornets deployed to the Middle East as part ofAustralia's
contribution to the military intervention against ISIL.

No. 1 Squadron was established as a unit of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) at Point Cook,
Victoria, in January 1916 under the command of Lieutenant ColonelE.H. Reynolds.[14] With a
complement of 28 officers, 195 airmen, no aircraft and little training, it sailed for Egypt in midMarch 1916, arriving at Suez a month later.[15] There it came under the control of the 5th Wing of
the Royal Flying Corps (RFC).[16] After training in England and Egypt, the unit was declared
operational at its new headquarters in Heliopolis on 12 June, when it took over aircraft
belonging to No. 17 Squadron RFC. Its three flights were, however, operating in isolation at
different bases in the Sinai Desert, and the squadron did not reunite until December.[17][18] Flying
primitive and poorly armed Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 two-seat biplanes, its primary roles
during this period of the Sinai Campaign were reconnaissanceincluding aerial photography
and artillery spotting for the British Army.[17][19] No. 1 Squadron pilots attached to No. 14
Squadron RFC took part in the Battle of Romani in July and August.[20][21] In September and
October, B and C Flights, led by Captains Oswald Watt and Richard Williams respectively,

undertook bombing and reconnaissance missions in support of the Australian Light Horse in
northern Sinai.[22]