No. 33 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) strategic transport and air-to-air refuelling squadron. It operates Airbus KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transports from RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. The squadron was formed in February 1942 during World War II, operating Short Empire flying boats and a variety of smaller aircraft until 1944, and flying Douglas C-47 Dakota transports in New Guinea before disbanding in May 1946. The unit was re-established in February 1981 as a flight, and re-formed as a full squadron in July 1983. By 1988 it was operating six Boeing 707s, four of which were later converted for aerial refuelling (pictured). The 707s saw active service during operations in Namibia, Somalia, the Persian Gulf, and Afghanistan. No. 33 Squadron relocated to Amberley, and in June 2011 began re- equipping with KC-30As. One of its aircraft has been deployed to the Middle East since September 2014, as part of Australia's contribution to the military coalition against ISIS.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._33_Squadron_RAAF
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
American Civil War: Union Army General William T. Sherman began his "March to the Sea", inflicting significant damage to property and infrastructure on his way from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tecumseh_Sherman
1922:
During a general strike in Guayaquil, Ecuador, police and military fired into a crowd, killing at least 300 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1922_Guayaquil_general_strike
1959:
Two men murdered a family in Holcomb, Kansas; the events became the subject of Truman Capote's non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, a pioneering work of the true crime genre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Cold_Blood
2012:
After ten years as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Hu Jintao stepped down and was replaced by Xi Jinping (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
unwearied: 1. Not wearied, not tired. 2. Never tiring; tireless. 3. Not stopping; persistent, relentless. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unwearied
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Where there is much pretension, much has been borrowed: nature never pretends. --Johann Kaspar Lavater https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johann_Kaspar_Lavater