RAAF Base Wagga was established in 1940, following the
purchase of some 300 acres of the
property known as ‘Allonville’ from the Brunskill and Lyons
families in 1939 for £12,500. The
base was established to meet World War II needs because of
its suitability in terms of climate,
geography and accompanying infrastructures. All the first
buildings were constructed out of
brick, as it was intended from the outset that this was to
be a permanent base. Some of these
original buildings are easily identified (the museum at the
entrance to the base was the original
guardhouse and two of the main hangars). During World War
II, many temporary buildings were
erected but these have since been replaced by permanent
structures.
In July 1940, No 2 Flying Training School, using Wirraways
and Ansons, operated from the
base. In 1942, the unit was replaced by No 5 Aircraft Depot,
which handled the major
maintenance work on 1686 engines and 602 aircraft including
such famous types as Beauforts,
Beaufighters, Venturas and Mitchells. Also operating from
the base at this time were No 31
Squadron and 5 Operational Training Unit.
After the war, No 5 Aircraft Depot was disbanded and No 1
Engineering School relocated from
Ascot Vale. In March 1946, this unit became known as the
RAAF Ground Training School and,
from this point on, became the centre of training for all
RAAF ground trades. In May 1950, this
was changed to the RAAF School of Technical Training. In
December 1952, RAAF Base Wagga
came into being, comprising Headquarters Wagga, RAAF School
of Technical Training, Base
Squadron and No 1 Recruit Training Unit (1RTU). 1RTU was
later moved to Edinburgh, South
Australia. Throughout the base’s existence, all personnel
posted to RAAF Wagga, as well as
their families, have been welcomed into the wider community
by the citizens of Wagga Wagga
and have always participated in the many and varied
community activities.
Although the RAAF has provided instructional training since
the early 1950s, it was not until1985
that RAAF School of Management and Training Technology had
its own unit identity on RAAF
Base Wagga. Since then, the school has developed the present
suite of courses to train
personnel as instructors, course developers, training
managers, training administrators, and
educational officers.
Airmen Leadership Flight was formerly part of RAAFSMTT until
August 1998, when it came
under the control of the School of Postgraduate Studies,
RAAF College. Airmen Leadership
Flight is responsible for the conduct of airmen courses in
the Professional Military Education and
Training Scheme. In 1999, the Headquarters for Ground
Training Wing was transferred from
Training Command to RAAF Base Wagga. Ground Training Wing
oversees most RAAF ground
training units throughout Australia.