No. 1 Flying Training School RAAF
No. 1 Flying Training School is a school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is one of the Air Force's original units, dating back to the service's formation in 1921, when it was established at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria. By the early 1930s, the school comprised training, fighter, and seaplane components. It was re-formed several times in the ensuing years, initially as No. 1 Service Flying Training School in 1940, under the wartime Empire Air Training Scheme. After graduating nearly 3,000 pilots, No. 1 SFTS was disbanded in late 1944, when there was no further requirement to train Australian aircrew for service in Europe.
Avro 504K of No. 1 FTS, July 1926
A cadet prepares for a solo training flight in a Westland Wapiti at No. 1 FTS, Point Cook, 1938
RAAF aircrew with family and friends after graduation at No. 1 SFTS, December 1943
Wirraway trainer, c. 1950s
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-General of Australia is the de jure Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. The Royal Australian Air Force is commanded by the Chief of Air Force (CAF), who is subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF). The CAF is also directly responsible to the Minister for Defence, with the Department of Defence administering the ADF and the Air Force.
Curtiss Kittyhawk Mk IA of 75 Squadron RAAF, which F/O Geoff Atherton flew over New Guinea in August 1942.
The Brewster F2A Buffalo participated in air campaigns over Malayan, Singapore and Dutch East Indies
Two RAAF Mirage III fighters in 1980
An RAAF F/A-18 with a USAF KC-135, two F-15Es, an F-117, two F-16s and a RAF Tornado over Iraq