RAAF Base Townsville is located in the heart of Townsville and has a long and proud association with the people of North Queensland, actively supporting the community from Cooktown to the north and Longreach in the west.
It is home to:
- No 27 (City of Townsville) Squadron – air base support
- No 65 Air Base Recovery Squadron – air base recovery
- No 383 Squadron - contingency response squadron
- No 452 Squadron Townsville Flight - air traffic control
- Combat Survival Training School - evasion and escape training
- Army’s 5th Aviation Regiment – Taipan (MRH-90) and Chinook (CH-47) helicopters
- No 1 Expeditionary Health Squadron Detachment Townsville
- No 2 Security Forces Squadron detachment Townsville
- Air Force Museum – The Heritage Center
- No 1 Wing, Headquarters
- No 101 Squadron Australian Air Force Cadets
History
The base was formed on 15 October 1940 when No 24 (General Purpose) Squadron moved from RAAF Station Amberley to the new RAAF Station in Townsville. During World War II, the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) followed by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) was based in Townsville.
RAAF Townsville hosts a large number of deployments throughout the year and is significant in providing support services for other Air Force operations and exercises involving all in-service aircraft types, together with a myriad of aircraft from visiting forces. RAAF Base Townsville also plays an important part in ADF operations as forward operating base for forces being deployed on operations into the South West Pacific as well as to the North.
Today, RAAF Townsville is home to more than 1,500 personnel including Air Force, Army, Defence civilians and contract staff and is one of northern Australia's primary Defence installations. RAAF Townsville is a premier forward operating base and a favourite for ADF and foreign allies.
Aircraft Noise
Air Force has an honest and open approach to aircraft noise that may affect neighbours of our bases and training areas.
Our pilots and crews operate their aircraft in a way that minimises aircraft noise, and we freely distribute information about aircraft noise, such as Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF) maps.
For more information, visit the Defence Aircraft Noise website or call 1300 DEFENCE (1300 333 362).
See Flying Operations to view major training exercises and flying activities.
Contact Details: 27 Squadron (RAAF), Lavarack Barracks, MILPO QLD 4813
