page_title: No. 34 Squadron RAAF
section_title: VIP operations
hierarchical_section_title: No. 34 Squadron RAAF / History / VIP operations
caption_attribution_description: Fairbairn, ACT. A RAAF Vickers Viscount aircraft, A6-436 of No. 34 (ST) Squadron at the airstrip. This was formerly the Shah of Persia's aircraft. (Donor: C. A. Lynch).
context_page_description: No. 34 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force VIP transport squadron. It operates Boeing 737 Business Jets and Bombardier Challenger 604s from Defence Establishment Fairbairn in Canberra. The squadron was formed in February 1942 for standard transport duties during World War II, initially flying de Havilland DH.84 Dragons in Northern Australia. In 1943 it re-equipped with Douglas C-47 Dakotas, which it operated in New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies prior to disbanding in June 1946.
  The unit was re-established in March 1948 as No. 34 Squadron at RAAF Station Mallala, South Australia, where it supported activities at the Woomera Rocket Range before disbanding in October 1955. It was re-raised as No. 34 Flight in March 1956 at RAAF Base Canberra. No. 34 Flight was redesignated No. 34 Squadron in July 1959, and No. 34 Squadron in June 1963. During the 1960s it operated Dakotas, Convair Metropolitans, Vickers Viscounts, Dassault Falcon-Mysteres, Hawker Siddeley HS 748s, and BAC 1-11s, the last three types continuing in service until the late 1980s. The squadron's fleet consisted solely of Dassault Falcon 900s from 1989 until 2002, when it began operating the 737 and Challenger.
context_section_description: No. 34 (VIP) Flight was established at RAAF Base Canberra on 12 March 1956, and charged with the safe carriage of the Governor-General, senior Australian politicians and military officers, and visiting foreign dignitaries. It was formed from the VIP Flight of No. 36 Squadron, under No. 86 (Transport) Wing. The VIP Flight had absorbed the RAAF's Governor-General's Flight in October 1950. In its first year of operation, No. 34 Flight carried the Duke of Edinburgh on his tour of Australia. It was equipped with two Convair 440 Metropolitans, as well as Dakotas. The flight remained in Canberra when No. 86 Wing relocated to Richmond in 1958. On 1 July 1959, it was re-formed as No. 34 (Special Transport) Squadron, leaving the control of No. 86 Wing to become an independent unit directly administered by Home Command and tasked by RAAF Base Canberra.  "Possibly because of the rank of its clients", contended the official history of the post-war Air Force, the squadron maintained higher standards than other transport units, adopting some procedures from the civil aviation world. It also benefitted from the personal interest of senior officials when it came to upgrading its equipment, though this had some negative aspects. The acquisition of the Metropolitans, the first pressurised aircraft in the VIP fleet, was organised by Minister for Air Athol Townley without any advance discussion with the RAAF. Although the Air Force raised performance and safety concerns, the type's entry into service was a fait accompli, and it remained on strength for twelve years. Until the early 1960s, the VIP unit also operated two de Havilland Vampire jets and two CAC Winjeel trainers to allow staff officers at Canberra's Department of Air to maintain their flying proficiency.
  No. 34 (Special Transport) Squadron's home in Canberra was renamed RAAF Base Fairbairn in March 1962, and the unit was redesignated No. 34 Squadron on 13 June 1963. That year, the squadron carried Queen Elizabeth II for the first time. In October 1964, two second-hand Vickers Viscount turboprop transports were obtained to supplement the Dakotas and Convairs; the two piston-engine types were withdrawn after the delivery of two Hawker Siddeley HS 748s beginning in April 1967 and three Dassault Falcon 20 jets (known as Mystere in RAAF service) in June. Two BAC 1-11 jets joined the squadron on 19 January 1968, and the two Viscounts were retired in March the following year. The wholesale re-equipment of the VIP fleet in the late 1960s was controversial, and questions were raised in Parliament regarding its cost and operations. The so-called "VIP affair" led to more stringent guidelines governing No. 34 Squadron's tasking, requiring approval for flights to be made by the British Royal Family, the Governor-General, the Prime Minister, or the Minister for Air. Eligibility criteria were also codified, and potential passengers included Federal ministers, opposition leaders, "individuals of similar status and importance visiting Australia", two-star officers and above, and other dignitaries of similar status. During the 1970s one of No. 34 Squadron's BAC 1-11s experienced an engine failure over the Tasman Sea while carrying Prime Minister Gough Whitlam to New Zealand. The aircraft made a safe landing in Australia, but the incident led the RAAF to investigate using three- or four-engined aircraft for future VIP flights involving long over-water legs. The government eventually purchased two Boeing 707s from Qantas to perform long-range VIP flights and to improve the RAAF's strategic transport capabilities. Entering service in 1979, they joined the newly established No. 33 Flight (later No. 33 Squadron) in 1981. More 707s were acquired between 1983 and 1988, and four were converted for air-to-air refuelling in the early 1990s. In 1984, No. 34 Squadron was awarded the Gloucester Cup for its proficiency.
  The squadron again became part of No. 86 Wing in June 1988, though its tasking continued to be controlled by the Governor-General, the Prime Minister, and the Minister for Defence. Commencing in 
caption: No. 34 Squadron Viscount, Fairbairn, 1964–69
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