Tactical Transport Group RAAF

Tactical Transport Group was a Royal Australian Air Force formation established on 1 June 1988 during a broad reorganisation of the service. Its principal role was to command RAAF units involved in tactical transport and air mobility for the Australian Army. The formation brought together both rotary-wing and fixed-wing capabilities, including Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters, Sikorsky S-70A Black Hawks, Boeing CH-47 Chinooks and de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou aircraft. The group was created at a time when the Australian Defence Force was preparing to transfer the RAAF’s battlefield helicopter capability to the Army. That transfer substantially changed the group’s composition during 1989. No. 9 Squadron, which operated Black Hawk helicopters, was disbanded on 14 February 1989, and its aircraft and personnel were used to establish the Army’s 5th Aviation Regiment. No. 12 Squadron’s Chinooks were withdrawn from service on 30 June, and the squadron was disbanded on 25 August. Later in the year, No. 35 Squadron transferred its Iroquois helicopters to the Army, while No. 5 Squadron’s Iroquois capability was also transferred and the squadron was absorbed into the Australian Defence Force Helicopter School on 9 December. After the helicopter units departed, the group’s remaining principal capability was the Caribou-equipped transport force. No. 35 Squadron and No. 38 Squadron continued to operate the type, providing short-range tactical airlift and logistical support. Tactical Transport Group was ultimately disbanded in February 1991, and the two Caribou squadrons were transferred to Air Lift Group. The formation therefore existed for less than three years, but it occupied an important transitional role in the restructuring of Australian military aviation and in the movement of battlefield aviation responsibilities from the Air Force to the Army. Because it was a military command rather than a commercial enterprise, the group did not have conventional consumer products, commercial revenue, shareholders or a public-facing brand strategy. Its significance lies in its organisational function, aircraft capabilities and place in the development of Australian Army aviation.

Tactical Transport Group was formed by the Royal Australian Air Force on 1 June 1988 as part of a service-wide organisational reform. Its creation reflected the importance of tactical air transport to Australian Defence Force operations and established a higher-level command for RAAF units supporting the Australian Army with battlefield mobility. At formation, the group controlled a mixed fleet and a collection of squadrons with different transport functions. No. 5 Squadron operated Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters. No. 9 Squadron flew Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk helicopters, while No. 12 Squadron operated Boeing CH-47 Chinooks. No. 35 Squadron combined Iroquois helicopters with de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou aircraft, and No. 38 Squadron also operated Caribous. Together, these units represented the RAAF’s principal tactical transport resources, ranging from battlefield helicopter lift to fixed-wing movement of personnel, equipment and supplies. The group’s existence coincided with a major redistribution of aviation responsibilities within the Australian Defence Force. The government and defence leadership were preparing to transfer the RAAF’s battlefield helicopters to the Army, which was developing its own aviation structure. The change was implemented during 1989 rather than through a single overnight reorganisation. No. 9 Squadron was disbanded on 14 February, with its Black Hawk helicopters and personnel contributing to the formation of the Army’s 5th Aviation Regiment. No. 12 Squadron’s Chinooks were withdrawn from service on 30 June and the squadron was disbanded on 25 August. The Iroquois capability was also progressively removed from the RAAF. No. 35 Squadron transferred its Iroquois helicopters to the Army on 5 December 1989. No. 5 Squadron’s helicopters were transferred during the same general period, and the squadron was absorbed into the Australian Defence Force Helicopter School on 9 December. These changes reduced Tactical Transport Group’s rotary-wing responsibilities and left the Caribou transport squadrons as its principal remaining operational elements. Tactical Transport Group was disbanded in February 1991. No. 35 Squadron and No. 38 Squadron, the two squadrons associated with the Caribou fleet, subsequently became part of Air Lift Group. The group’s short history illustrates the institutional transition from a RAAF-centred tactical transport model to a division of responsibilities in which the Army controlled battlefield helicopters while the RAAF retained broader fixed-wing airlift functions.

• 1991

  Formation disbanded

  [1]Tactical Transport Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Tactical Transport Group was disbanded in February, with its remaining Caribou-equipped squadrons transferred to Air Lift Group.

• 1989

  Black Hawk capability transferred to Army aviation

  [1]Tactical Transport Groupen.wikipedia.org

  No. 9 Squadron was disbanded on 14 February, and its Black Hawk helicopters and personnel became part of the Army’s 5th Aviation Regiment.

• 1989

  Chinook squadron withdrawn and disbanded

  [1]Tactical Transport Groupen.wikipedia.org

  No. 12 Squadron’s Chinooks were withdrawn from service on 30 June, and the squadron was disbanded on 25 August.

• 1989

  Iroquois helicopter responsibilities transferred

  [1]Tactical Transport Groupen.wikipedia.org

  No. 35 Squadron transferred its Iroquois helicopters to the Army on 5 December; No. 5 Squadron’s helicopters were also transferred, and the unit was absorbed into the Australian Defence Force Helicopter School on 9 December.

• 1988

  Formation of Tactical Transport Group

  [1]Tactical Transport Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The Royal Australian Air Force established Tactical Transport Group on 1 June as part of a broad reorganisation, assigning it responsibility for units providing tactical transport support to the Australian Army.

A Royal Australian Air Force command formation focused on tactical air mobility and transport support for the Australian Army during the late-1980s transition of helicopter aviation responsibilities.

• Military aviation capability · 1988

  Tactical airlift operations

  The group coordinated tactical transport missions intended to move personnel, equipment and supplies in support of Australian Army operations. Its capabilities included both rotary-wing battlefield mobility and fixed-wing airlift using the aircraft operated by subordinate RAAF squadrons.

• Military helicopter capability · 1988

  Bell UH-1 Iroquois operations

  Iroquois helicopters formed part of the group’s battlefield transport capability through No. 5 Squadron and No. 35 Squadron. This capability was progressively transferred from the RAAF to the Army during 1989.

• Military helicopter capability · 1988

  Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk operations

  No. 9 Squadron operated Black Hawk helicopters under the group at the beginning of its existence. Following the squadron’s disbandment in February 1989, the aircraft and personnel contributed to the Army’s 5th Aviation Regiment.

• Heavy-lift helicopter capability · 1988

  Boeing CH-47 Chinook operations

  No. 12 Squadron provided the group’s Chinook heavy-lift helicopter capability. The aircraft were withdrawn from service on 30 June 1989, and the squadron was disbanded later that year.

• Fixed-wing tactical transport · 1988

  DHC-4 Caribou operations

  No. 35 Squadron and No. 38 Squadron operated de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou aircraft, giving the group a fixed-wing tactical transport role. These squadrons remained after the helicopter transfers and later moved to Air Lift Group when Tactical Transport Group was disbanded.

• 1991

  Disbandment and transfer of remaining squadronsOther

  Background

  The group’s original mixed helicopter and fixed-wing structure had been reduced by the transfer of the RAAF’s battlefield helicopter functions to the Army.

  Action taken

  Tactical Transport Group was disbanded in February, and No. 35 Squadron and No. 38 Squadron became part of Air Lift Group.

  Aftermath

  The organisational change consolidated the remaining Caribou-based transport capability within the RAAF’s airlift structure.

  Source

• 1989

  Transfer of battlefield helicopters to the ArmyStrategy

  Background

  The Australian Defence Force was restructuring aviation responsibilities so that battlefield helicopter operations would be conducted under Army control rather than remaining within the RAAF.

  Action taken

  Black Hawk, Chinook and Iroquois capabilities were progressively withdrawn from or transferred out of RAAF formations during 1989. The changes included the creation of the Army’s 5th Aviation Regiment and the absorption of No. 5 Squadron into the Australian Defence Force Helicopter School.

  Aftermath

  Tactical Transport Group lost its rotary-wing units and ultimately retained the Caribou transport squadrons before being disbanded in February 1991.

  Source

1. 1Tactical Transport Groupen.wikipedia.org