173rd Aviation Squadron (Australia)

The 173rd Aviation Squadron is an Australian Army aviation unit which forms part of the 6th Aviation Regiment. It is currently based at Holsworthy Barracks and is equipped with Bell Kiowa helicopters.

History
The squadron was formed on 17 February 1974 at Oakey and initially operated Pilatus PC-6 Porters. In 1978, the squadron also received a number of GAF Nomads. 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.

The squadron gave up its Porters in late 1992 and in the following year, the squadron adopted the title of "173 (Surveilance) Squadron"; under this guise it undertook the aerial surveillance and survey roles and was also used as a vehicle to deliver parachute troops. In 1994, following a number of fatal accidents among the Australian Nomad fleet, the aircraft were withdrawn from service. As a consequence, the squadron operated two Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante airframes, which were leased by the Army temporarily while a replacement for the Nomad was sought. These were later replaced with 3 Beechcraft King Air and 3 DHC-6-200 Twin-Otter aircraft (one of which, VH-HPY, was later lost in a training accident in Papua New Guinea). The King Airs were subsequently handed over to the Royal Australian Air Force in late 2009 when the squadron was converted to a rotary-wing aviation squadron, designated as "173rd Aviation Squadron" and operating the Bell Kiowa out of Holsworthy Barracks in New South Wales.