RAAF Base Townsville facts for kids
Quick facts for kids RAAF Base Townsville |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Townsville, Queensland in Australia | |||||||||
RAAF Boeing C-17 Globemaster III at RAAF Base Townsville in 2010.
|
|||||||||
 RAAF Base Townsville
Location of the base in Queensland
|
|||||||||
| Coordinates | 19°15′12″S 146°45′54″E / 19.25333°S 146.76500°E | ||||||||
| Type | Military air base | ||||||||
| Area | 900 hectares (2,200 acres) | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Department of Defence | ||||||||
| Operator |  Royal Australian Air Force |
||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| In use | 15 October 1940 – present | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Occupants |
|
||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: TSV, ICAO: YBTL | ||||||||
| Elevation | 5 metres (18 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
RAAF Base Townsville (IATA: TSV, ICAO: YBTL) is an important Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) air base. It is located in Garbutt, about 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) west of Townsville in Queensland, Australia.
This base is the main office for No. 1 Wing Australian Air Force Cadets. Together with Lavarack Barracks, it makes Townsville a very important military hub. The airfield at the base is also used by the Townsville Airport for civilian flights.
Contents
What Does the RAAF Base Townsville Symbol Mean?
The symbol for RAAF Base Townsville shows a brolga bird on top of a castle. Around it are the words "Royal Australian Air Force." Above it sits a crown. Below, a banner reads "Guarding the North."
How RAAF Base Townsville Started
An airport was first built in the late 1930s for regular civilian flights. It was then expanded to help Australia get ready for World War II. Plans for the RAAF base were made even before the war began in Europe.
The base was fully ready with fighter aircraft 14 months before Japan joined the war. Many of the original buildings are still used today, almost 70 years after they were first designed.
The Land Before the Airfield
The land where RAAF Base Townsville now stands was once part of the City of Thuringowa. It was first surveyed in 1884. In 1918, it became part of the City of Townsville.
This land was never privately owned. It was vacant government land until the Commonwealth took it over in 1940. People thought the area was too low and swampy for building. It was even suggested in 1868 to use it as a "Town Common" for public grazing. People also used to cut firewood in the scrub. Even in 1939, much of the land was still thick forest.
First Civilian Flights
The Townsville City Council started the first airport on this land. The very first airfield in Townsville was south of the Ross River. It was used from the 1920s.
The Garbutt site was chosen a few years later because it was better drained. It also had space for runways that lined up with the main winds. The City Council built two 730-meter gravel runways. The new airport officially opened on 26 January 1939. Civilian flights started on 1 February. Even though there were no hangars or fuel stations yet, a Stinson airliner landed there for a special event.
RAAF Base Townsville is Born
Soon after, there were plans to use the site for military aircraft. In 1938, the Department of Defence began planning to improve northern Australia's defenses. An RAAF officer visited Townsville in January 1939 to find the best spot for a military airfield.
The idea for an air force base in Townsville was part of a bigger plan in 1938–39. This plan aimed to improve defense readiness by building or upgrading military sites across northern Australia. The main job of the base was to protect Townsville with fighter planes. An early plan showed three hangars for three fighter squadrons. This was later changed to a base for one squadron with 140 Citizen Air Force and 132 RAAF staff. This was a big base for its time.
The Commonwealth government asked the Townsville City Council to buy the new airport land in April 1939. The government hoped the state would give them the land for free. But talks about the price and payments for improvements took a long time. The Commonwealth eventually bought the land in December 1940 for £2,500. They also agreed that civilian flights could continue at the site.
World War II in Europe
Australia joined World War II against Nazi Germany in September 1939. For the next two years, Australian forces fought in Europe and the Middle East. RAAF Townsville was built during this time.
Plans for the buildings at RAAF Townsville were made in late 1939. The hangars and workshops were designed to be strong steel-framed buildings. In early 1940, construction began on two gravel runways, hangars, workshops, and living areas. These basic facilities were finished by the end of 1940.
The base officially opened on 15 October 1940. The Townsville Daily Bulletin newspaper reported the excitement when RAAF staff arrived. They marched through Flinders Street with a brass band. The news was full of stories about fighter pilots from the Battle of Britain.
.jpg)
Soon after, CA-25 Wirraway fighters from No. 24 Squadron arrived. Later, Hudson light bomber and reconnaissance planes were added. The Wirraways were new and modern for the RAAF, but they were heavy and not very powerful compared to international standards.
By late 1940, the base had two earth runways, living blocks, dining halls, a gym, workshops, and one hangar with a control tower. In May 1941, RAAF Townsville became the main office for the Northern Area Headquarters RAAF.
Over the next year, the base changed. A powerhouse with its own diesel-powered generator was built in 1941. This was because people worried about the city's electricity supply during an emergency. Australia also agreed to train pilots under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. So, a second Officers Accommodation Block was built for trainees.
Bigger changes were coming. As war in the Pacific became more likely, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) wanted to secure air routes to supply their forces in the Philippines. In September 1941, Australia secretly agreed to let the Americans use parts of the Townsville and Darwin air bases.
USAAF officers arrived in Townsville in October 1941. They planned to make the airfield bigger for larger planes and more traffic. The two gravel runways were expanded into three sealed runways. The south-east runway was made 5,000 feet (1,524 m) long for heavy bombers and transport planes. This expansion was done in six weeks, working day and night. It was finished on 15 December 1941, a week after Japan entered the war.
World War II in the Pacific
Defending Australia
With the Japanese threat, Townsville's new RAAF base grew even faster from January 1942. Australian and American forces arrived in large numbers. In January 1942, the command structure was changed. RAAF Townsville became the main office for North-Eastern Area Headquarters RAAF.
In April, General Blamey, who led Allied Land Forces, placed two Australian infantry brigades around Townsville for defense. However, one of these was sent to Port Moresby a month later.
Air defenses were also made stronger. The Wirraway fighters were replaced by Bell P-39 Airacobras. RAAF and USAAF Curtiss P-40 Warhawks also helped defend Townsville from the air. Around the area, new airstrips were built for planes to spread out, transport supplies, and for maintenance. These were at Bohle River, Woodstock, Antill Plains, Reid River, and Macrossan.
The Ross River site was used by the RAAF. A USAAF heavy bomber field was built at Breddan, north of Charters Towers. Although early plans for Townsville showed three fighter hangars, only one was built. This was likely to prevent the base from being too crowded or too easy to attack.
.jpg)
The airfield's role grew beyond just defending Townsville. North-eastern Australia became the main area for the US Fifth Air Force. Its headquarters were in Brisbane, and its V Bomber Command was in Townsville. The USAAF 435th Aerial Bombardment Squadron and 8th Photo Squadron flew reconnaissance missions from Townsville. They covered the whole war area from New Guinea to the Solomon Islands.
Bombers and reconnaissance planes from Townsville helped in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942. In one confusing moment, B-17 bombers from Townsville accidentally bombed Allied ships, including Australian cruisers. Luckily, no damage was done.
The USAAF IV Air Corps Depot was also set up in Townsville. Its main jobs were to assemble, repair, and service USAAF aircraft. Large maintenance hangars were built next to the runway. In a clever attempt to hide the air base, streets and houses were painted on the southern end of the runways to look like the nearby suburb. But this camouflage was soon given up.
The facilities for aircraft assembly and repair quickly spread beyond the original airfield. In 1942, new airstrips were built at Aitkenvale and Stockroute. A huge complex of hangars, workshops, and dispersal taxiways spread across what are now the suburbs of Vincent, Heatley, Mount Louisa, Kirwan, and Condon.
This growing group of airfields led to a name change. The original base was first called RAAF Townsville in 1939. But with Aitkenvale and Stockroute built in 1942, it became confusing. So, the original base was renamed RAAF Garbutt, after the local railway station.
Many RAAF and USAAF units used the Garbutt-Stockroute complex during the war. For example, No. 33 Squadron (flying boats) in 1942, and No. 75 Squadron (Kittyhawks) in 1942.
RAAF Townsville was often dry and dusty. Wartime photos show no trees or grass on the base. The drains were often not enough for heavy rain, and runways sometimes flooded. Even during the war, civilians could access the base fairly easily. A 1944 plan shows other driveways into the base, and the road to the civilian area was not fenced. Civilians often visited for movies and dances in the base gym.
Garbutt's fighter planes helped defend Australia. In July 1942, Townsville was bombed three times by Japanese flying boats from Rabaul. These were small attacks, likely to distract from Japanese landings in Papua. They caused no injuries or major damage. On 28 July, bombs landed far from the airfield. Anti-aircraft guns and USAAF P-39 Airacobra fighters from Garbutt chased the bombers. On 29 July, a P-39 damaged a Japanese aircraft. This was the last bombing raid on Townsville.
Going on the Offensive
By the second half of 1942, the threat to northern Australia was less. The Allies had started winning in the Pacific. The Japanese navy had lost two big battles, at Coral Sea and Midway Islands. This badly hurt Japan's air power. From mid-1942, Townsville's bases focused on supporting the Allied attacks into Japanese territory.
In September 1942, eight weeks after the last bombing raid, work stopped on tunnels under the Garbutt runways. These tunnels were meant to hold explosives to destroy the airfield if an enemy invaded. Stopping this work showed that an invasion of Australia was no longer expected.
As the war moved north, Townsville's airfields became a huge repair and workshop area. The fighter defense role ended in 1942. The bomber role lessened in 1943 as the Japanese were defeated in New Guinea and the Solomons. By January 1944, bomber squadrons had moved on. Townsville became the headquarters for USAAF V Air Service Command and RAAF No. 15 Aircraft Repair Depot.
The official history of the USAAF shows the many types of technical work done there:
The depots had to fix engines, parachutes, paint planes, and fill oxygen tanks. They also had to find quick solutions and make equipment from what they had. The machine shop at Townsville made special tools and even an electric welder. By September 1943, the Townsville depot had changed about 175 B-25C's and D's for low-level attacks. They then added more machine guns to B-25G planes.
In June 1943, the USAAF took control of the Garbutt base. Construction and maintenance went back to the RAAF in October 1943. But the USAAF stayed in charge of operations until April 1945. At the end of the war, Garbutt's RAAF fighter squadron (No. 84) was changing to P-51 Mustang fighters. After the war, squadrons 84 and 86 were based in Townsville before going to Japan.
After the War
When the war ended in August 1945, activities at the Townsville military aviation complex quickly slowed down. Buildings were taken apart and sold. RAAF Garbutt was always meant to be a permanent base. After the war, it became the size it was planned to be in 1939. Some wartime hangars stayed in use.
No. 11 Squadron flew Catalinas from Townsville in 1948–49. Then, in 1949, Garbutt became the base for No. 10 Reconnaissance Squadron. This squadron flew Avro Lincolns on long-range sea patrols.
With other airfields in Townsville closed, the base's name went back to RAAF Townsville in 1951. The Lincolns needed a longer runway. In 1952, more land was bought to extend the north–south runway. In March 1956, Cyclone Agnes hit Townsville. It damaged buildings at the RAAF base. A Lincoln plane was destroyed, and another was badly damaged. Since then, planes are flown out of Townsville during tropical cyclones. In 1962, the Lincolns were replaced by Lockheed P-2 Neptunes.
The civilian airport grew after 1945. Airlines moved into some of the old wartime hangars. The 1940 control tower worked until 1960. It was then replaced by the current brick control tower. Cyclone Althea in 1971 caused major damage to the civilian terminal and some to the RAAF base. The Neptune aircraft had been flown out before the storm.
An international terminal was built in 1981. In 1987, a new domestic terminal replaced the last of the 1942 hangars. In 1990, the Federal Airports Corporation bought the RAAF land used by the terminals.
The role of RAAF Base Townsville changed in the 1960s and 1970s. Australia's defense bases moved more to the north. In 1960, most forces were still near southern cities. But experiences in Malaya, Sarawak, and Vietnam changed defense policy. It focused more on being ready for smaller regional conflicts.
Military aviation activity in Townsville increased after Lavarack Barracks was built in 1966. Lavarack Barracks grew to be Australia's largest Army base. In 1976, No. 35 Squadron was based in Townsville to support Army operations. However, the next year, No. 10 Squadron moved to RAAF Base Edinburgh. This ended over 30 years of sea reconnaissance from Townsville.
For the next 20 years, No. 35 Squadron flew Caribou transports and Iroquois helicopters to support the Australian Army. It has now joined No. 38 Squadron. In 1989, No. 9 Squadron with Black Hawk helicopters was briefly at RAAF Townsville. They then gave their aircraft to the Australian Army. This was part of a new policy to put battlefield helicopters under Army command. The Army now operates Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters from a complex in the south-west corner of the base.
Changes in what was needed from the 1960s to the 1990s, and better technology, made RAAF Townsville grow. New administration buildings, workshops, and living blocks have been added over the last 30 years.
RAAF Base Townsville Today
In 2000–2001, the base expanded its facilities. It added new loading areas for fighter, strike, and maritime patrol aircraft. New taxiways and a support facility for these planes were also built. Even though these types of aircraft are not always based in Townsville, these facilities help create "bare bases." These bases are ready to receive operational aircraft quickly. A RAAF museum is also located on the base.
In 2023, the government announced more military spending. RAAF Townsville is expected to get part of $2 billion. This money will improve runways, fuel storage, living areas, and security. Also, the Army announced that the 1st Aviation Regiment will move to RAAF Townsville. They will bring new AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters.
Military Units at RAAF Base Townsville
Here are some of the units located at RAAF Base Townsville:
| Unit | Unit name | Force Element Group | Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 383SQN | No. 383 Squadron | Helps with quick responses | ||
| 452SQN | No. 452 Squadron Townsville Flight | Controls air traffic | ||
| 27SQN | No. 27 (City of Townsville) Squadron | Combat Support Group | Manages airbase operations | |
| CSTS | Combat Survival Training School | Training Command | Teaches survival skills | |
| 5AV RAR | 5th Aviation Regiment | Australian Army | MRH-90 Taipan CH-47F Chinook |
|
| 1 Expeditionary Health Squadron Detachment Townsville | N/A | Provides health services | ||
| No. 2 Security Squadron detachment Townsville | N/A | Provides security |
RAAF Townsville also hosts other military units, including:
- Mechanical Equipment Operations and Maintenance Section (MEOMS, part of 27SQN).
- Headquarters, No. 1 Wing Australian Air Force Cadets (HQ1WGAAFC)
- No. 101 Squadron AAFC
