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RAAF Base Amberley Facts

RAAF Base Amberley is located in Queensland, 40km south west of Brisbane, near Ipswich.
RAAF Base Amberley is the largest of Australia's Air Force bases. More than 3,500 people work there.
Amberley was originally given its name by a farmer who arrived from England in the 1850s. The area was purchased in December 1938 as the site of the first permanent RAAF station in Queensland.
RAAF Base Amberley went into operation on 17 June 1940 when a Station Headquarters was set up and No. 24 Squadron established. The squadron received its first aircraft (a De Havilland Moth Minor) on 4 July. Six days later, four Wirraways and a further two Moth Minor aircraft were added. Both these types of aircraft were built in Australia.
During the latter half of 1940, No. 24 Squadron began flying Hudson bombers.
Today, RAAF Base Amberley is home to the F-111 strike aircraft, and C-17 Globemaster heavy airlift aircraft.
In 2009, No. 33 Squadron, based at Amberley, will receive five new KC-30B multi-role (fuel) tanker transport aircraft. They will replace the older Boeing 707 (fuel) tankers which were retired from service in June 2008. The KC-30B is an Airbus A-330 passenger aircraft that has been converted so that it can be used as a multi-role (fuel) tanker transport. The primary role of these aircraft will be to refuel other aircraft, such as the F-111, in mid air.
The F-111 is a supersonic long-range strike aircraft operated by Nos. 1 and 6 Squadrons at Amberley. They have a swing-wing that can be adjusted for different flight speeds, and when the wings are positioned fully back, the F-111 can fly at more than twice the speed of sound (the speed of sound is approximately 1,238 kilometres per hour). The F-111 is affectionately known as 'the pig', because it can fly so low using its terrain-following radar that it is said to be like a pig with its 'nose in the weeds'.
RAAF Base Amberley's No. 36 Squadron received its first C-17 Globemaster in December 2006. The C-17 is a heavy airlift aircraft with the capacity to carry a huge load. It can fly for a very long time without having to refuel, and can take off from and land on dirt runways. This makes it ideal for humanitarian missions such as disaster relief and medical evacuations.
Combat Support Group (CSG) is based at Amberley. It provides support services (such as security, rescue and fire services, catering, and engineering) to all RAAF bases, including those in remote areas of Australia's north and overseas. CSG has also assisted in humanitarian missions such as the tsunami relief operations in Sumatra in 2004, and the rebuilding of Innisfail in Queensland following the devastation of Cyclone Larry in 2006.
The RAAF firefighting service began in January 1956 and is now located at RAAF Base Amberley. It now trains all the firefighters who provide rescue and firefighting services at bases throughout Australia. RAAF firefighters also serve overseas in places such as the Solomon Islands and the Middle East, and even provide firefighting assistance to the Australian community when required.
The Ground Defence Training Flight is based at Amberley and trains the RAAF's Airfield Defence Guards. These are the ground combat forces that protect Air Force bases in Australia and overseas. They are responsible for protecting an airfield, and the people working and living there, against attack by enemy ground forces for up to five kilometres surrounding the base.
The RAAF Security Police work with Military Working Dogs to provide security at RAAF bases. The two breeds of dog currently used are the German Shepherd and the Belgian Shepherd Malinois. The dogs and their handlers are trained by the Military Working Dog Training Flight at Amberley. They work at many different locations, from modern air bases located near state capital cities, to bare bases located in remote regions of Australia. They could even be sent to overseas locations, such as recent missions to the Solomon Islands, the Middle East and East Timor.