173rd Aviation Squadron (Australia)

173rd Aviation Squadron
A 173rd Aviation Squadron Kiowa lifts off for a training manoeuvre during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2011.
Active	1974–present
Country	Australia
Branch	Army
Type	Aviation
Role	Training and Surveillence
Size	One squadron
Part of	6th Aviation Regiment
Garrison/HQ	Holsworthy Barracks

The 173rd Aviation Squadron is an Australian Army aviation unit, initially formed as a general support squadron under the 1st Aviation Regiment and now forms part of the 6th Aviation Regiment. It is currently based at Holsworthy Barracks and is equipped with S-70A-9 Black Hawk Helicopters.

History

The squadron was formed on 17 February 1974 at Oakey and initially operated 6 Pilatus PC-6 Porters. In 1978, 173 Squadron also received 11 GAF Nomad aircraft. During this time, the squadron undertook a variety of Army co-operation roles utilising the short take-off and landing characteristics of its aircraft. These included: artillery spotting, troop transport, field resupply, medevac, ground-air liaison. It was also used for survey work in the South Pacific and flood relief in Australia.

With the retirement of the Porters in late 1992, the following year the squadron adopted the title of "173rd (Surveillance) Squadron"; under this guise it undertook the aerial surveillance and survey roles and was also used as a vehicle to deliver parachute troops. In 1993 it acquired 12 more Nomads, mainly unsold civilian variants which had been kept in storage, to replace the Porters. In 1995, following the fatal crashes involving Nomads from the Royal Australian Air Force and School of Army Aviation, the aircraft were withdrawn from service. Most of the Nomad fleet was sold to the Indonesian Navy but two were retained as unflyable training aids.

As a consequence, the squadron operated four Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante airframes, which were leased by the Army from Flight West Airlines temporarily while a replacement for the Nomad was sought. From 1996, these aircraft were replaced with 3 Beechcraft King Air and 3 DHC-6-200 Twin-Otter aircraft. On 9 November 1997, Twin Otter VH-HPY, was lost in a training accident in Papua New Guinea, resulting in serious injuries to the three Army trainees of 173 Squadron and instructor onboard. King Air aircraft from the squadron were operated in support of 1st Aviation Regiment's participation in Operation Belisi, the ADF's contribution to the Peace Monitoring Group in Bougainville. A 173rd Squadron King Air is also believed to be the first ADF aircraft to land in Dili, East Timor ahead of the INTERFET peace-keeping taskforce in 1999, while the squadron maintained operations in East Timor into 2000, performing a range of missions including medevac, liaison and reconnaissance tasks.

By 2004, the remaining Twin Otter aircraft had been withdrawn from service, while the B200 King Airs were replaced by the more modern B350 variant. Restructuring of Army's aviation capability saw the squadron separated from 1st Aviation Regiment and placed under the command of 16th Aviation Brigade as an independent unit. By 2007, further re-organisation assigned all fixed-wing military aircraft to the RAAF, while 173 would relocate to Sydney as a helicopter training and surveillance squadron under the newly raised 6th Aviation Regiment.

The King Airs were subsequently handed over to the Royal Australian Air Force in late 2009 and conversion to a rotary-wing aviation squadron, re-designated as "173rd Aviation Squadron" was completed. Operations continued out of Holsworthy Barracks in New South Wales using Bell Kiowa equipment, training pilots in preparation for conversion to MRH-90 and Tiger ARH. The squadron was re-equipped with the Black Hawk in 2013, transferring the remaining Kiowas to the Army Aviation Training Centre at Oakey.

External links

• Bandeirante - ADF-Serials
• Twin Otter - ADF-Serials