page_title: No. 12 Squadron RAAF
section_title: Helicopter squadron
hierarchical_section_title: No. 12 Squadron RAAF / History / Helicopter squadron
caption_attribution_description: English: A Royal Australian Air Force Chinook picking up an A-20 Boston twin-engined bomber in Papua New Guinea
context_page_description: No. 12 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force general purpose, bomber and transport squadron. The squadron was formed in 1939 and saw combat in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. From 1941 to 1943, it mainly conducted maritime patrols off northern Australia. The squadron was based at Merauke in western New Guinea from November 1943 to July 1944, when it was withdrawn from operations. After being re-equipped, it operated as a heavy bomber unit from February 1945 until the end of the war. The squadron continued in this role until it was redesignated No. 1 Squadron RAAF in February 1948. The squadron was reformed in 1973 to operate transport helicopters but was again disbanded in 1989.
context_section_description: No. 12 Squadron was re-formed at Amberley on 3 September 1973 to fly the RAAF's twelve new CH-47C Chinook helicopters. The helicopters were shipped from the United States to Brisbane on board the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, and arrived in Australia in March 1974. The squadron made its first flight in the aircraft on 8 July 1974, and was declared operational with the type in December that year. The Chinooks were primarily used to support Australian Army units based in northern Australia, though they also occasionally conducted air-sea rescues, provided flood relief and performed a range of other tasks in support of the civil authorities. Unusual tasks included placing lighthouses in isolated locations and air conditioning plants on the roofs of tall buildings and supporting police anti-narcotics operations. In late August 1980 one of No. 12 Squadron's Chinooks flew from Amberley to Malaysia to recover a crashed Royal Malaysian Air Force S-61 Nuri helicopter; this was the longest helicopter deployment undertaken by the RAAF to that time.
  Due to the need to reduce defence expenditure, the Australian government decided to retire the Chinook helicopters in 1989. Following the retirement of the Chinooks on 30 June 1989, No. 12 Squadron was disbanded on 25 August 1989. While it was hoped that the Army's new S-70A Blackhawk helicopters could fulfill some of the Chinook's roles, this was not successful. As a result, four of the ex-RAAF CH-47Cs were upgraded to CH-47D standard and assigned to 'C' Squadron of the Army's 5th Aviation Regiment from 1995.
caption: A No. 12 Squadron Chinook picking-up a Boston bomber in Papua New Guinea
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