No. 486 Squadron was a maintenance unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It was formed in August 1946 as part of No. 86 (Transport) Wing, which operated Douglas C-47 Dakotas out of RAAF Station Schofields, New South Wales. The squadron transferred to RAAF Station Richmond in June 1949. It relocated again to RAAF Base Canberra in April 1954, before returning to Richmond in August 1958 to commence maintenance of No. 86 Wing's newly delivered Lockheed C-130 Hercules. The squadron was disbanded between August 1964 and March 1966. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was responsible for servicing the RAAF's Boeing 707 tanker/transports, as well as the Hercules. No. 486 Squadron was again disbanded at Richmond in October 1998, and its functions handed over to No. 86 Wing's Hercules squadrons.
No. 486 Squadron's crest
C-130A Hercules at RAAF Base Richmond
RAAF Boeing 707 jet engine
No. 86 Wing is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) transport and air-to-air refuelling wing. Coming under the control of Air Mobility Group, it is headquartered at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. The wing comprises No. 33 Squadron, operating Airbus KC-30 tanker-transports, No. 36 Squadron, operating Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy transports, and the Australian Army's 68 Ground Liaison Section. Its aircraft support Australian military and humanitarian operations worldwide.
No. 1 Squadron Mosquito, Labuan, August 1945
No. 86 Wing Dakotas during a fly-past in 1952
RAAF C-130A Hercules of No. 36 Squadron
RAAF DHC-4 Caribou, October 2009