No. 37 Squadron RAAF - History

History

No. 37 Squadron was established in July 1943 at RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria. It was first equipped with twin-engined Lockheed C-60 Lodestar transports and operated out of Parafield, South Australia, and Morotai in the Dutch East Indies. Towards the end of World War II, it re-equipped with Douglas C-47 Dakota twin-engined transports. By May 1945, No. 37 Squadron was based in Essendon, Victoria. Following the end of hostilities, it was engaged in transporting former prisoners of war from Singapore to Australia, and later in conveying equipment to Japan for the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. In August 1946, it joined Nos. 36 and 38 Squadrons, also flying Dakotas, as units of No. 86 Wing at RAAF Station Schofields, New South Wales. In February 1948, No. 37 Squadron was disbanded at Schofields.

No. 37 Squadron reformed at RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales, in February 1966. Equipped with Lockheed C-130E Hercules, it began long-range missions in support of Australian forces in Vietnam including aero-medical evacuations conveying wounded soldiers back to Australia, generally via RAAF Base Butterworth, Malaysia. On 5 February 1967, one of the unit's Hercules was the first Australian strategic transport aircraft to land at Vung Tau. The squadron also transported forces out of Vietnam following the Australian withdrawal from the conflict in December 1972. As well as participating in military exercises and overseas peacekeeping commitments, the Hercules became well known in the Southern Pacific after being called on for relief following many natural disasters including tidal waves in New Guinea, cyclones in the Solomons and Tonga, and fires and floods throughout Australia. It played a significant part in the evacuation of civilians following Cyclone Tracy in Darwin, Northern Territory, in 1974–75; a No. 37 Squadron C-130E was the first aircraft to touch down in Darwin following the disaster. The Hercules also evacuated Australian embassy personnel from Saigon, South Vietnam, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. In January–February 1979, two No. 37 Squadron C-130Es evacuated Australian and other foreign embassy staff from Tehran, shortly before the collapse of royal rule during the Iranian Revolution. The same year, the squadron began operations with two ex-Qantas Boeing 707s, handing them over to No. 33 Flight at the beginning of 1981.

In 1986, No. 37 Squadron transported the Popemobiles on John Paul II's tour of Australia; its other unusual cargoes have included kangaroos and sheep to Malaysia, and archaeological exhibits from China. In February 1987, the unit again joined No. 36 Squadron, along with No. 33 Squadron, as part of a reformed No. 86 Wing under the newly established Air Lift Group. The following year, No. 37 Squadron achieved 200,000 accident-free flying hours on the Hercules. The Australian public had the experience of flying in the C-130s when they were employed by the Federal Government to provide air transport during the 1989 Australian pilots' dispute that curtailed operations by the two domestic airlines. Described as one of the "busiest" and "hardest-working" units in the RAAF, No. 37 Squadron re-equipped with new-model C-130J Hercules in 1999. The unit has continued to support Australian peacekeeping missions around the world, including transport operations during the first Gulf War in 1990–91, Operation Solace in Somalia in 1993, and on a rotating detachment following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was strengthened to create a "super squadron" on 17 November 2006, when its force of twelve C-130Js was augmented by twelve C-130Hs from No. 36 Squadron, prior to the latter re-equipping with the Boeing C-17 Globemasters and relocating to RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. In July 2008, No. 37 Squadron celebrated the 65th anniversary of its establishment during World War II. It was transferred from No. 86 Wing to No. 84 Wing on 1 October 2010, as part of a restructure of Air Lift Group. The C-130Hs were retired during 2012, the last pair at Richmond on 30 November.