No . 84 Wing RAAF No . 84 Wing is a Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) transport wing . Coming under the control of Air Lift Group ( ALG ) , it is headquartered at RAAF Base Richmond , New South Wales . The wing comprises No . 34 Squadron , operating Boeing 737 and Bombardier Challenger 604 VIP jets ; No . 35 Squadron , scheduled to begin operating Alenia C - 27J Spartan tactical transports in 2015 ; No . 37 Squadron , operating Lockheed Martin C - 130J Super Hercules medium transports ; and a technical training unit , No . 285 Squadron . Formed in 1944 for army co - operation duties in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II , No . 84 Wing operated a mix of aircraft including CAC Boomerang s , CAC Wirraway s , Auster AOPs and Bristol Beaufort s , before disbanding in 1946 . It was re - formed in 1991 as a tactical transport wing headquartered at RAAF Base Townsville , Queensland , comprising Nos . 35 and 38 Squadrons operating de Havilland Canada DHC - 4 Caribou s . By 1996 , it had been augmented by No . 32 Squadron , operating Hawker Siddeley HS 748 trainer - transports . In 1998 , No . 84 Wing was reorganised as a special transport wing , headquartered at Richmond . The Caribous were transferred to No . 86 Wing and No . 84 Wing took over responsibility for No . 33 Squadron , operating Boeing 707 tanker - transports , and No . 34 Squadron , operating VIP transports , in addition to controlling No . 32 Squadron . By mid - 2006 , No . 32 Squadron had converted to Beech King Air 350s and transferred to Air Force Training Group , while No . 84 Wing had assumed control of No . 285 Squadron and Air Movements Training and Development Unit ( AMTDU ) . AMTDU was subsequently moved under the direct aegis of ALG , and No . 33 Squadron under No . 86 Wing , following the retirement of the 707s . No . 37 Squadron , by then the RAAF ' s sole Hercules unit , was transferred from No . 86 Wing to No . 84 Wing in 2010 . No . 35 Squadron , which had been merged with No . 38 Squadron in 2000 , was re - formed under No . 84 Wing in 2013 to operate the C - 27 Spartan . History . Army cooperation formation . The Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) established two army cooperation wings in the South West Pacific Theatre late in World War II . They were , as described by the official history of the RAAF in the Pacific , " essentially non - offensive in character " , responsible for reconnaissance , artillery spotting , supply drops to ground forces , spraying DDT to combat malaria , and guiding close support aircraft to their objectives . The wing ' s aircraft could also carry out their own strikes on " targets of opportunity " . No . 84 ( Army Cooperation ) Wing was formed on 11 September 1944 in Cairns , Queensland . Commanded by Group Captain Bill Hely , it comprised No . 5 ( Tactical Reconnaissance ) Squadron , No . 17 Air Observation Post ( AOP ) Flight , No . 10 Communication Unit , and No . 39 Operational Base Unit . The wing arrived at Torokina in October to begin supporting Australian troops during the Bougainville Campaign . No . 5 Squadron , equipped with eighteen CAC Boomerang s and four CAC Wirraway s , was assigned to mark targets for F4U Corsairs of the Royal New Zealand Air Force . The Austers of No . 17 AOP Flight were used for reconnaissance and courier work , becoming , in the words of the official history , " the eyes of the battalion commanders " . No . 10 Communications Unit flew Avro Anson s and Bristol Beaufort s on courier , reconnaissance , supply , and anti - malarial spraying missions ; it was renamed No . 10 Local Air Supply Unit in March 1945 . Between December 1944 and January 1945 , the wing lost one Auster , one Wirraway , and one Boomerang on operations . Despite suffering shortages of pilots and equipment , No . 84 Wing was generally able to keep pace with the army ' s requirements . A detachment of No . 36 Squadron , flying C - 47 Dakotas , was employed to augment the wing ' s supply capabilities . Up until the end of June 1945 , No . 5 Squadron had flown almost 2 , 000 sortie s and No . 17 AOP Flight over 1 , 300 , while No . 10 Local Air Supply Unit and the No . 36 Squadron detachment had accounted for almost 1 , 000 between them . As the navigational efficiency of the New Zealander pilots increased , demands on the Boomerangs and Wirraways lessened , and the bulk of the reconnaissance duties fell to the Austers of No . 17 AOP Flight . When the Pacific War ended in August 1945 , No . 10 Local Air Supply Unit was tasked with dropping leaflets announcing the news over Japanese positions . That month , Group Captain D . R . Chapman succeeded Hely as No . 84 Wing ' s commander . The end of hostilities led to morale problems owing to inactivity and the uncertainties of demobilisation ; Chapman sent Northern Command headquarters a frank report to this effect , its tone earning him a rebuke from the Air Officer Commanding , Air Commodore Allan Walters . No . 17 AOP Flight was disbanded on Bougainville in December , followed a month later by No . 10 Local Air Supply Unit . No . 5 Squadron transferred to RAAF Station Pearce , Western Australia , in January 1946 , and disbanded in October that year . No . 84 Wing headquarters completed " reduction to nucleus " at Bougainville on 29 January 1946 . It departed Torakina and arrived in Essendon , Victoria , on 28 February , disbanding there on 6 March . Transport formation . No . 84 Wing was re - established as a tactical transport wing under the newly formed Operational Support Group ( OSG ) at RAAF Base Townsville , Queensland , in February 1991 . It comprised two squadrons of de Havilland DHC - 4 Caribou s : No . 35 Squadron , located at Townsville , and No . 38 Squadron , located at RAAF Base Richmond , New South Wales . Prior to this , the two squadrons had been under the control of Tactical Transport Group , OSG ' s predecessor at Townsville . No . 84 Wing ' s primary purpose was to support Australian Army operations and exercises , as well as the Parachute Training School at HMAS Albatross in Nowra , New South Wales . It also maintained detachments for search - and - rescue and local transport duties at RAAF Base Darwin , Northern Territory , and RAAF Base Pearce , Western Australia . The Pearce detachment ( No . 38 Squadron Detachment A ) was formed from No . 2 Flying Training School ' s Caribou Flight on 1 March 1991 . In addition to their military role , the Caribous provided assistance to the civil community in the form of disaster relief and medical evacuation . The aircraft frequently operated in Papua New Guinea , for training and humanitarian missions . No . 38 Squadron , responsible for all Caribou aircrew conversion and operations training , transferred to RAAF Base Amberley , Queensland , in October 1992 . Beginning the following month , seven of the fleet ' s twenty - one Caribous were retired to storage at Amberley for use as spare parts . By mid - 1996 , No . 84 Wing was under the control of Air Lift Group ( ALG ) , located at Richmond , and had been augmented by No . 32 Squadron , operating Hawker Siddeley HS 748 s for navigational training , VIP transport , and fisheries surveillance out of RAAF Base East Sale in Victoria . In January 1998 , No . 84 Wing was reorganised as a special transport wing under ALG , " special transport " meaning activities not directly related to army support , such as carrying VIPs . Its headquarters was relocated to Richmond . In addition to No . 32 Squadron , its complement included No . 33 Squadron , operating Boeing 707s for air - to - air refuelling and VIP transport out of Richmond , and No . 34 Squadron , operating Falcon 900 s for VIP transport out of RAAF Base Fairbairn in Canberra . Nos . 35 and 38 Squadrons meanwhile transferred to No . 86 Wing , also headquartered at Richmond . Two of No . 33 Squadron ' s five 707s were soon employed to form No . 84 Wing Detachment A in Kuwait , as part of Operation Southern Watch . On 5 March , one of the 707s undertook the first operational aerial tanker mission since the squadron ' s re - formation in 1983 , when it refuelled six Panavia Tornado s of the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) over Saudi Arabia . The detachment subsequently refuelled US EA - 6 Prowler s , F / A - 18 Hornet s , and AV - 8 Harrier s , as well as RAF Harriers , in addition to the Tornados . From March to September 2002 , two 707s formed No . 84 Wing Detachment as part of Australia ' s contribution to the war in Afghanistan . Located at Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan , the 707s provided aerial refuelling to coalition aircraft operating in the theatre , their efforts earning No . 84 Wing a Meritorious Unit Citation . No . 34 Squadron ' s fleet of five Falcon 900s was replaced by two Boeing 737 Business Jets and three Bombardier Challenger 604 s in July 2002 . The arrival of the new jets also permitted the Air Force to cease using No . 33 Squadron ' s 707s in the VIP transport role . In concert with the No . 84 Wing Navigation Training Aircraft Detachment , No . 32 Squadron completed its conversion from the HS 748 to the Beech King Air 350 in December 2004 . By mid - 2006 , the squadron had been transferred to Air Force Training Group and No . 84 Wing had assumed control of two Richmond - based units from the defunct No . 85 Wing , No . 285 Squadron and the Air Movements Training and Development Unit ( AMTDU ) . No . 285 Squadron undertook instruction of technical staff , and ground - based aircrew training using Hercules and Boeing 707 flight simulator s . AMTDU was responsible for developing and disseminating new techniques in air transport operations . It was later moved under the direct control of Headquarters ALG . No . 33 Squadron retired its 707s in June 2008 , and subsequently relocated to Amberley under the control of No . 86 Wing . No . 37 Squadron transferred from No . 86 Wing to No . 84 Wing in October 2010 . It operated a mix of Lockheed C - 130H Hercules and Lockheed Martin C - 130J Super Hercules , No . 86 Wing having consolidated all its C - 130 operations in the one squadron , prior to re - equipping No . 36 Squadron with the Boeing C - 17 Globemaster III . The Hercules , along with Globemasters and King Airs , were employed for flood relief in Queensland and Victoria early in 2011 . In February , Hercules and Globemasters transported medical staff and equipment to aid victims of the Christchurch earthquake . The same year , No . 34 Squadron provided VIP transport during the visits to Australia by Queen Elizabeth II and US President Barack Obama . No . 37 Squadron ' s C - 130H Hercules were retired in November 2012 ; the C - 130Js are expected to remain in service until about 2030 . In February 2013 , the RAAF marked ten years rotating a detachment of three C - 130s through the Middle East Area of Operations ( MEAO ) to support the Australian contribution to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq , a rotation maintained by No . 37 Squadron under the auspices of No . 84 Wing . Its operations having been absorbed by No . 38 Squadron in 2000 , No . 35 Squadron was re - established under No . 84 Wing on 14 January 2013 . Based at Richmond , it is scheduled to begin operating the RAAF ' s ten Alenia C - 27J Spartan tactical transports in 2015 .