RAAF Base Richmond (IATA: RCM, ICAO: YSRI) is one of Australia's oldest and largest air force bases. It is located within the City of Hawkesbury in the north-western fringe of Sydney, New South Wales, between the towns of Windsor and Richmond. The base is home to the Royal Australian Air Force's transport headquarters, Air Lift Group, and its major operational formations, Nos. 84 and 86 Wings. The main aircraft type operated at the base is the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Richmond is a regular venue for air shows, and has at times been mooted as a site for Sydney's proposed second international airport.
Sited on a piece of land originally known as Ham Common, Richmond became an RAAF base in 1925. Its inaugural commander was Flight Lieutenant (later Squadron Leader) Frank Lukis, who also led the base's first flying unit, No. 3 Squadron. Many other squadrons were formed at Richmond in the ensuing years, as well as a separate Station Headquarters and No. 2 Aircraft Depot in 1936. The base expanded further during World War II, with more squadrons and other units being established there, including No. 1 (Fighter) Wing and No. 3 RAAF Hospital. It was not until after the war that it became the RAAF's transport hub, with the arrival of No. 86 Wing and its complement of C-47 Dakotas. The base began operating the Hercules in 1958, augmented in later years by the DHC-4 Caribou and Boeing 707.
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—Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)
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