Frank Bladin
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Air Vice-Marshal Francis Masson Bladin, was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in rural Victoria, he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1920. Bladin transferred from the Army to the Air Force in 1923, and learned to fly at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria. He held training appointments before taking command of No. 1 Squadron in 1934. Quiet but authoritative, he was nicknamed "Dad" in tribute to the concern he displayed for the welfare of his personnel.
Air Commodore Bladin in 1943
Wapitis of No. 1 Squadron at Laverton, Victoria, November 1934
Air Commodore Bladin (second from left) with Lieutenant General Savige (left) and Major Generals Clowes, Cannan and Rowell in Melbourne, December 1941
Bladin (right) as Air Officer Commanding North-Western Area, with a Dutch naval officer, c. 1943
No. 1 Squadron RAAF
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No. 1 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron headquartered at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. It is controlled by No. 82 Wing, part of Air Combat Group, and is equipped with Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet multi-role fighters.
F/A-18F Super Hornet of No. 1 Squadron, February 2020
Members of C Flight, No. 1 Squadron, including Lieutenant McNamara (left), Captain Williams (third from right) and Lieutenant Wackett (right), in front of a Martinsyde near the Suez Canal, Egypt, 1917
Lieutenant Ross Smith (left) with a No. 1 Squadron Bristol Fighter, Palestine, February 1918
Airco DH.9a at RAAF Point Cook, 1926