Description

No. 36 Squadron RAAF C-17 Model

Fly with the No. 36 Squadron RAAF in this handcrafted C-17 Globemaster Model. Each piece is carved from wood and hand painted to provide a piece you’ll love.

• Length – 18 inches
• Made from Mahogany
• US Veteran Owned Business
• The product is not intended to be used by children 12 years and younger.

No. 36 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) strategic transport squadron. It operates Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy airlifters from RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. The squadron has seen active service flying transport aircraft during World War II, the Korean War, the Indonesia–Malaysia Konfrontasi, the Vietnam War, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It has also supported Australian humanitarian and peacekeeping operations around the world, including Somalia, Cambodia, East Timor and Indonesia.

The squadron was formed at RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria, in March 1942, and equipped with Douglas DC-2s, among other aircraft. Later in the war it began operating Douglas C-47 Dakotas. From 1946 to 1953 it was controlled by No. 86 (Transport) Wing, which was based in New South Wales at RAAF Station Schofields and, later, RAAF Station Richmond. In 1953 it was re-formed at Iwakuni, Japan, as part of No. 91 (Composite) Wing. It returned to Australia and the aegis of No. 86 Wing in 1955. The squadron began re-equipping with Lockheed C-130 Hercules at Richmond in 1958, becoming the first non-US operator of the type. Over the next half-century it flew two models of Hercules, the C-130A and C-130H. The squadron transferred to Amberley in 2006, when it took delivery of its first Globemaster.

Role and equipment

No. 36 Squadron is responsible for strategic air transport in Australia and overseas, conducting missions as part of military operations and humanitarian efforts.[2] It is located at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, and controlled by No. 86 Wing, which is part of Air Mobility Group.[2][3] The unit headquarters comprises executive, administrative and operational components. As well as aircrew, the squadron is staffed by maintenance personnel responsible for regular servicing of equipment; they are frequently required to accompany the aircraft on deployments overseas.[2] More complex servicing is conducted by Boeing.[4][5] No. 36 Squadron’s official crest, approved in May 1966, depicts a horse intended to symbolise strength, speed, mobility and dependability. The unit’s motto is “Sure”.[6]

The squadron operates eight Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIs, the first of which entered service in December 2006.[2][7] The eighth and last was delivered in November 2015.[7] The aircraft are generally crewed by two pilots and a loadmaster, the latter being responsible for the loading, carriage and unloading of cargo or passengers. The C-17 can carry 70 tonnes of equipment, and is large enough to accommodate helicopters, tanks and other military vehicles. It can also carry over 130 passengers, and is designed for aerial despatch of paratroops or cargo. The C-17 has a range of some 10,000 km (6,200 miles) and is able to operate from short and unsealed airstrips.[2][8] Flown with a joystick and fly-by-wire controls, the aircraft is also highly manoeuvrable and responsive considering its size.[9] It can be refuelled in flight by the Airbus KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transports operated by No. 33 Squadron.