The Italian Aerospace Information Web
by Aeromedia - corso Giambone 46/18 - 10135 Torino (Italy)

First Flight of the first C-27J for the Royal Australian Air Force

On December 18, 2013 (take-off at 3,37 PM local time), the first Alenia Aermacchi C-27J Spartan destined to the Royal Australian Air Force undertook its maiden test flight from Turin/Caselle airport, site of the Alenia Aermacchi Flight Test Center. At 4,13 PM, after a fault-free flight, the C-27J landed back at Caselle.

The aircraft is currently undergoing final checks in preparation for customer acceptance tests before its delivery to prime contractor L-3 Communications, being part of a USAF Foreign Military Sales contract to Australia.

Alenia Aermacchi is currently under contract to deliver ten C-27J tactical transport aircraft for the RAAF by 2015. As the long awaited tactical transport replacement aircraft for the RAAF, the C-27J will be operated by the re-activated No. 35 Squadron at Richmond RAAF Base, in New South Wales.

No. 35 Squadron was the last of the four original RAAF transport squadrons established in February/March 1942, formed at Pearce (Western Australia). The other three were No. 33, 34 and 36 Squadrons. During the final months of 1943, two more RAAF transport squadrons - No. 37 and No. 38 - were also established.

No. 35 Squadron was soon deployed to Maylands, starting operations with an array of small civil aircraft hastily pressed into military service. They included types such as the de Havilland Dragon, Fox Moth, Tiger Moth, Moth Minor, Dragon Rapide, Fairey Battle, Avro Anson e Northrop Delta. In August 1943, the squadron – back at Pearce air base - received its first Douglas Dakotas, extending its range of operations to the entire South West Pacific Area. After the Japanese surrender, the squadron evacuated Australian soldiers and former PoW’s and, at the beginning of 1946, it supported the deployment in Japan of the 81^st Fighter Wing, as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. On June 10, 1946, after outstanding service during WWII, No. 35 Squadron was disbanded.

In 1964, the RAAF received the first of 29 new De Havilland Canada DHC-4A Caribou piston-engined tactical transport aircraft. In July of the same year, a detachment of Australian Caribous was deployed to Vietnam, as the RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam. On 1 June 1966, this unit became the reborn N° 35 Squadron, rapidly finding itself nicknamed “Wallaby Airlines”, with reference to its fin emblem and radio call-sign. The demanding operations in South-East Asia came at an end in February 1972. Back at Townsville RAAF Base (Queensland), between 1977 and 1984, the squadron was also equipped with four Bell UH-1H Iroquois helicopters. Afterwards the unit continued its activity with eight Caribous till 2000, when it was disbanded for the second time.

All the remaining Australian Caribous were then assigned to the sister unit N° 38 Squadron, also based at Townsville. In their last years of use, the Caribous were totally obsolete and, in 2009 - after 45 years of stalwart service - the final few serviceable units were at last phased out. On November 27 of the same year, the last airworthy Caribou (serial A4-140) flew to Canberra, where it is now justly preserved at the Australian War Memorial.

On January 14, 1013, No. 35 Squadron was reformed as a Richmond-based unit of No. 84 Wing, and it is now preparing to receive the new RAAF’s C-27J aircraft.

In the ‘70s, Aeritalia offered the RAAF the G-222 tactical transport aircraft. The sales effort was renewed by Alenia, at the beginning of the ‘90s, when the C-27A (the original Spartan, the upgraded G-222 for the USAF) came very close to a firm order contract signature.

On November 25, 2013, Alenia Aermacchi was selected to supply the Peruvian Ministry of Defense with two Spartans. The contract, to be signed as soon as the administrative procedures have been completed, is worth some 100 million Euro and includes substantial logistic support.

In the picture: Alenia Aermacchi C-27J Spartan A34-001/I-EASC (N.C. 4179), first item for the Royal Australian Air Force, takes off for the first time from Turin/Caselle airport, on December 18, 2013. (Aeromedia)

(Aeromedia, December 2013)