page_title: No. 82 Wing RAAF
section_title: Cold War and after
hierarchical_section_title: No. 82 Wing RAAF / History / Cold War and after
caption_attribution_description: English: No. 82 Wing RAAF Christmas card featuring Canberra bombers and the crests of Nos. 2 and 6 Squadrons, 1954
context_page_description: No. 82 Wing is the strike and reconnaissance wing of the Royal Australian Air Force. It is headquartered at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. Coming under the control of Air Combat Group, the wing operates F/A-18F Super Hornet multirole fighters and Pilatus PC-9 forward air control aircraft. Its units include Nos. 1 and 6 Squadrons, operating the Super Hornet, and No. 4 Squadron, operating the PC-9.
  Formed in August 1944, No. 82 Wing operated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. Initially comprising two flying units, Nos. 21 and 24 Squadrons, the wing was augmented by 23 Squadron in 1945. After the war its operational units became Nos. 1, 2 and 6 Squadrons. It re-equipped with Avro Lincolns in 1948 and, from 1953, English Electric Canberra jets. Both types saw action in the Malayan Emergency during the 1950s; the Canberras were also deployed in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1971.
  Between 1970 and 1973, as a stop-gap pending delivery of the long-delayed General Dynamics F-111C swing-wing bomber, Nos. 1 and 6 Squadrons flew leased F-4E Phantoms. No. 2 Squadron continued to fly Canberras until it was disbanded in 1982.
context_section_description: No. 82 Wing moved to its present location at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, in 1946, where it came under the control of the RAAF's Eastern Area Command. In May that year, No. 482 (Maintenance) Squadron was formed from No. 4 Repair and Servicing Unit, to be responsible for repair and upkeep of the wing's aircraft. Its flying complement now included Nos. 12 (formerly of No. 85 Wing), 21, and 23 Squadrons, but these were renumbered Nos. 1, 2 and 6 Squadrons respectively in February 1948. At the same time, the wartime Liberators were replaced by Avro Lincoln heavy bombers. During 1949–50, some of the Lincolns were specially modified with advanced radar and other instrumentation to participate in Operation Cumulative, a joint program with the Royal Air Force gathering long-range navigation and bombing data for use in potential air campaigns against the Soviet Union.
  Between 1950 and 1958—for the first two years under the control of No. 90 (Composite) Wing—the Lincolns of No. 1 Squadron were deployed for service in the Malayan Emergency, tasked with the prime responsibility for the Commonwealth's bombing campaign against Communist insurgents. This arrangement meant that No. 82 Wing's flying units were reduced to Nos. 2 and 6 Squadrons. From 1952 to 1957, the wing flew observation flights in connection with British atomic tests in Australia. No protective clothing was issued to air or ground crews during these flights and, following the second such operation in October 1953, nine of the twelve Lincolns involved were found to be contaminated, four so heavily that they were parked in a remote corner of the Amberley air base and never flown again. On 9 April 1953, the wing wrote off three Lincolns—without loss of life—in two separate incidents that collectively became known as "Black Thursday"; one of the Lincolns crashed on landing at Amberley during the day, and that night another Lincoln collided with one of its brethren at Cloncurry Aerodrome, Queensland.
  In December 1953, No. 82 Wing took delivery of the RAAF's first jet bomber, the Canberra Mk.20, 48 of which re-equipped the wing's three squadrons over the next five years. The new bombers were acquired partly for their capacity to deliver nuclear weapons, an ordnance option the RAAF seriously investigated but never implemented.  Following the re-equipping of Nos. 2 and 6 Squadrons with the Canberra, a Lincoln Conversion Flight was formed in July 1955 under No. 82 Wing to provide training on the older bomber for crews preparing to deploy to Malaya for service with No. 1 Squadron; it disbanded in March 1956. Canberras from No. 2 Squadron relieved the Lincolns of No. 1 Squadron in Malaya during 1958. In January 1959, No. 1 (Bomber) Operational Conversion Unit (No. 1 OCU) was established at Amberley under the control of No. 82 Wing. Its role was to convert pilots and navigators to the Canberra, and train them for operations with the three bomber squadrons.
  In 1964, No. 82 Wing's Canberras were slated for possible bombing and reconnaissance tasks against Indonesian forces under Operation Handover, a little-publicised contingency plan put into effect during the Indonesia–Malaysia Konfrontasi, although no combat ensued. No. 2 Squadron Canberras saw extensive action in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1971, under the control of the USAF's 35th Tactical Fighter Wing. The Canberras flew almost 12,000 sorties and delivered over 76,000 pounds of bombs, for the loss of two aircraft to enemy action, and gained a high reputation for their accuracy. No. 1 OCU was made independent of No. 82 Wing in April 1968; its sole purpose from then until its disbandment in June 1971 was to supply trained crews to No. 2 Squadron in Vietnam. Nos. 1 and 6 Squadrons effectively ceased operations in 1968, while their crews underwent conversion to the General Dynamics F-111C swing-wing bomber, which was expected to enter service soon afterwards. Between 1970 and 1973, as an interim measure pending the delayed delivery of the F-111, Nos. 1 and 6 Squadrons flew leased F-4E Phantoms; meanwhile No. 2 Squadron contin
caption: No. 82 Wing Christmas card featuring Canberras and the crests of Nos. 2 and 6 Squadrons, 1954
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