McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet in Australian service
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operated McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft between 1984 and 2021. The Australian Government purchased 75 A and B variants of the F/A-18 in 1981 to replace the RAAF's Dassault Mirage III fighters. The Hornets entered service with the RAAF between 1984 and 1990. Four Hornets were destroyed in flying accidents during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet in Australian service
USAF F-16A in 1980
US Marine Corps F/A-18A in 1985
One of the RAAF's first F/A-18Bs in October 1985
No. 75 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter unit based at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory. The squadron was formed in 1942 and saw extensive action in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, operating P-40 Kittyhawks. It was disbanded in 1948, but reformed the following year and operated jet aircraft throughout the Cold War. The squadron was based at Malta from 1952 to 1954, flying de Havilland Vampires, and Malaysia from 1968 to 1983, with Dassault Mirage IIIs, before returning to Australia.
Curtiss Kittyhawk Mk IA of No. 75 Squadron RAAF, which Flying Officer Geoff Atherton flew over New Guinea in August 1942
A No. 75 Squadron Kittyhawk at Milne Bay in September 1942
In 1944, Flying Officer T.R. Jacklin (pictured) flew this No. 75 Squadron P-40N-5 more than 200 mi (322 km) after losing the port aileron and 25% of its wing area to a direct hit from an artillery shell.
No. 75 Squadron's commander landing his Kittyhawk at Tarakan
