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RAAF Base Williamtown

Coordinates:32°47′42″S151°50′04″E/ 32.79500°S 151.83444°E/-32.79500; 151.83444
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RAAF Base Williamtown
Part ofNewcastle Airport
Williamtown, New South Walesin Australia
F/A-18 Hornettaking off from RAAF Base Williamtown
RAAF Base Williamtown YWLM is located in New South Wales
RAAF Base Williamtown YWLM
RAAF Base Williamtown
YWLM
Location of RAAF Williamtown inNew South Wales
Coordinates32°47′42″S151°50′04″E/ 32.79500°S 151.83444°E/-32.79500; 151.83444
TypeMilitary air base
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defence
OperatorRoyal Australian Air Force
WebsiteRAAF Base Williamtown
Site history
In use15 February 1941(1941-02-15)– present
Garrison information
Garrison
Occupants
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA:NTL,ICAO:YWLM
Elevation9 metres (31 ft)AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
12/30 3,058 metres (10,033 ft)Asphalt
Sources: AustralianAIPand aerodrome chart[1]

RAAF Base Williamtown(IATA:NTL,ICAO:YWLM) is aRoyal Australian Air Force(RAAF)military air baselocated 8nautical miles(15 km; 9.2 mi) north ofNewcastle(27 km (17 mi) by road) in thelocal government areaofPort Stephens,inNew South Wales,Australia.[1]The base serves as the headquarters to both theAir Combat Groupand theSurveillance and Response Groupof the RAAF. The military base shares its runway facilities withNewcastle Airport.The nearest towns areRaymond Terrace,located 8 km (5 mi) west of the base andMedowie,6.8 km (4.2 mi), north of the base, which is home to many of the base's staff.

A number of thebuildings and other facilities on the baseare listed on theCommonwealth Heritage List.[2]

History[edit]

RAAF Station Williamtown was established on 15 February 1941 to provide protection for the strategic port and steel manufacturing facilities inNewcastle.[3]The base originally had four runways, each 1,100 m (3,600 ft) in length to meet the needs of the Williamtown Flying School. The school consisted of 62 buildings which accommodated 366 officers and men.

A number of AustralianEmpire Air Training Schemesquadrons were formed at Williamtown before proceeding overseas andNo. 4 Operational Training Unitwas located at Williamtown from October 1942 until the unit was disbanded in April 1944. FollowingWorld War II,Williamtown was retained as the RAAF's main fighter base and was equipped with squadrons ofGloster MeteorandCAC Sabrefighters.[4][5]

In 1961, the squadron of Meteors were replaced with theDassault Mirageaircraft.[4]On-base facilities were gradually expanded post war and through until the late 1960s.

In 1983, the role of Williamtown was upgraded to a tactical fighter base in preparation of the replacement of the Mirages with 75F/A-18 Hornetsin 1989. The following year, Williamtown became headquarters for the Tactical Fighter group and acquired new headquarter buildings, hangars, workshops, stores, medical facilities and a base chapel.[4]

Current base activity[edit]

As of August 2017RAAF Williamtown employed approximately 3,500 personnel, including military, civilians and contractors, and generated $150 million per annum by way of salaries in the Hunter Region economy.[3]

Williamtown was home to F/A-18 Hornet fighters (operated byNo. 2 Operational Conversion Unit,No. 3 SquadronandNo. 77 Squadron),BAE Hawk 127Lead-In Fighters (operated byNo. 76 Squadron),E-7A Wedgetailairborne early warning and controlaircraft (operated byNo. 2 Squadron) andPilatus PC-9forward air control aircraft (operated byNo. 4 Squadron). It is also home to the Australian Defence Force Warfare Centre[6]andSurveillance and Response Group RAAF.

RAAF Base Williamtown has sporting fields, recreation facilities, cinema and a fortnightly newspaper[7]highlighting activities around the Base and outside community.[citation needed]RAAF Williamtown is the home toFighter World,a museum dedicated to Australian fighter aircraft.[8]

In 2014, the Australian Government announced that Williamtown would be the home base for theF-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters;the first of which arrived in December 2018,[9]and enter service with the RAAF in 2020.[10][11]Redevelopment works to prepare the base for the F-35, including a 2000 ft runway extension, began in January 2015.[12][13]This runway extension allows fighters to take off without the use of their noisy afterburners, minimising noise for local communities.[14][15]Fifty-six of the seventy-two F35s will be based at Williamtown.[14]

The use of firefighting chemicals over a sustained period hasresulted in contaminationof thegroundwaterin the area surrounding the base, with residents initiating aclass actionlawsuit and expressing ongoing concern in national media over the impact on their properties.[16][17][18][19]Nationally, there are 90 sites impacted byPFAScontamination, with more internationally.[20][21]

Units[edit]

The following units are located at RAAF Base Williamtown:[22]

Unit Full name Force Element Group Wing Aircraft Notes
1ATS DET WLM No. 1 Air Terminal SquadronDetachment Williamtown Combat Support Group N/A [citation needed]
1CCS DET WLM No. 1 Combat Communications SquadronDetachment Williamtown Combat Support Group N/A [22]
1RSU No. 1 Radar Surveillance Unit Surveillance and Response Group N/A
1SECFOR No. 1 Security Forces Squadron Combat Support Group N/A
2SQN No. 2 Squadron Surveillance and Response Group 42 E-7A
2EHS No. 2 Expeditionary Health Squadron Combat Support Group N/A
2OCU No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit Air Combat Group 81 F-35A
3SQN No. 3 Squadron Air Combat Group 81 F-35A
4SQN No. 4 Squadron Air Combat Group 78 PC-9
3CRU No. 3 Control and Reporting Unit Surveillance and Response Group N/A [23]
26SQN No. 26 (City of Newcastle) Squadron Combat Support Group N/A Airbase operations[22]
HQ453SQN Headquarters No. 453 Squadron Surveillance and Response Group N/A
453SQN WLM FLT No. 453 Squadron Williamtown Flight Surveillance and Response Group N/A
76SQN No. 76 Squadron Air Combat Group 78 BAE-Hawk 127
77SQN No. 77 Squadron Air Combat Group 81 F-35A
278SQN No. 278 Squadron Air Combat Group N/A [citation needed]
381ECSS No. 381 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron Combat Support Group N/A Contingency operations[22]
CSU-WLM Combat Support Unit – Williamtown Combat Support Group N/A [citation needed]
HQ41WG Headquarters No. 41 Wing Surveillance and Response Group N/A
HQ42WG Headquarters No. 42 Wing Surveillance and Response Group N/A
HQ44WG Headquarters No. 44 Wing Surveillance and Response Group N/A
HQ78WG Headquarters No. 78 Wing Air Combat Group N/A [22]
HQ81WG Headquarters No. 81 Wing Air Combat Group N/A
HQACG Headquarters Air Combat Group Air Combat Group N/A
HQSRG Surveillance and Response Group Surveillance and Response Group N/A
SACTU Surveillance and Control Training Unit Surveillance and Response Group N/A [citation needed]
335SQN AAFC No. 335 Squadron Australian Air Force Cadets Australian Air Force Cadets N/A [24]
AEWCSPO Airborne Early Warning Control System Program Office Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group N/A [22]
GTESPO Ground Telecommunications Equipment Systems Program Office Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group N/A [citation needed]
TFSPO Tactical Fighter System Program Office Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group N/A

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Public DomainThis article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom theAir Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^abYWLM – Williamtown(PDF).AIPEn Route Supplement fromAirservices Australia,effective 13 June 2024,Aeronautical ChartArchived10 April 2012 at theWayback Machinep. 1
  2. ^"Williamtown RAAF Base Group (Place ID 105639)".Australian Heritage Database.Australian Government.Retrieved21 September2018.
  3. ^ab"Government administration and defence"(PDF).Newcastle and the Hunter Region 2008–2009.Hunter Valley Research Foundation. pp. 6–7. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 18 October 2009.Retrieved3 August2012.
  4. ^abc"RAAF Base Williamtown & Salt Ash Air Weapons Range Williamtown, NSW Heritage Management Plan".Department of Defence.11 September 2009. pp. 32–33.Retrieved20 April2010.
  5. ^Under pressureAustralian Aviationissue 253 September 2008 pages 30-34
  6. ^"ADFWC Welcome".Australian Defence Force Warfare Centre.Retrieved6 September2015.
  7. ^"RADAR Magazine home page".radarnews.com.au. Archived fromthe originalon 25 January 2014.
  8. ^"About Fighter World".Fighter World.Retrieved6 September2015.
  9. ^Pittaway, Nigel (10 December 2018)."F-35 fighters arrive on Australian soil".Defense News.
  10. ^Egan, Geoff (24 April 2014)."Williamtown the winner over Amberley for F-35s".Queensland Times.Australia.Retrieved25 August2017.
  11. ^Smart, Philip (7 May 2015)."Williamtown starts on F-35 facilities".Australian Defence Magazine.Australia.Retrieved25 August2017.
  12. ^Elias, Charles (31 December 2014)."Williamtown RAAF Base work to start in January".Port Stephens Examiner.Retrieved24 May2019.
  13. ^Elias, Charles (1 April 2015)."Upgrade of air base takes off".Port Stephens Examiner.Retrieved24 May2019.
  14. ^ab"RAAF base Williamtown wants to fly neighbourly as its spends $1.5 billion on facilities".News.com.au.29 August 2015.Retrieved24 May2019.
  15. ^Media, News of the Area-Modern (30 September 2016)."RAAF Base Williamtown runway extension opens".News of the Area.Retrieved24 May2019.
  16. ^Bevan, Matt (20 May 2016)."Williamtown water contamination becomes key issue in tight electorate race"(Streaming audio).Radio National.Sydney.Retrieved25 August2017.
  17. ^Bevan, Matthew (14 June 2016)."Williamtown and Oakey residents to receive Fed Govt support"(Streaming audio).Radio National.Sydney.Retrieved25 August2017.
  18. ^"Ground water contamination at RAAF Base Williamtown".Maitland Mercury.Maitland. 4 September 2015.Retrieved25 August2017.
  19. ^"Residents file toxic water class action over RAAF base".SBS TV.Australia. 3 November 2016.Retrieved25 August2017.
  20. ^Fellner, Carrie; Begley, Patrick (17 June 2018)."Toxic Secrets: Where the sites with PFAS contamination are near you".Sydney Morning Herald.Retrieved25 June2018.
  21. ^"Agencies investigating potential water contamination".Radio New Zealand.7 December 2017.Retrieved8 December2017.
  22. ^abcdef"RAAF Base Williamtown".Royal Australian Air Force.Australian Government. Archived fromthe originalon 2 August 2014.Retrieved25 August2017.
  23. ^"Surveillance and Response Group".Royal Australian Air Force.Australian Government.Retrieved25 June2018.
  24. ^"3 Wing AAFC – NSW & ACT – Australian Air Force Cadets".Australian Air Force Cadets.

External links[edit]

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