VIRTUAL RAAF GROUP

HEADQUARTERS

Our History

As a keen user of Fighter Duel, and having found another Aussie that was interested in the world of flight simulators and modem linking,  I proceeded to try Warbirds. The Warbirds game and community was just what I was looking for, lots of flight sim pilots in the same arena working together for a common goal, but where were all the Aussies. It seemed that they all flew as loners or with other Squadrons such as the “RNZAF Squadron”. Why was there not an Aussie Squadron for us to fly with? Other Aussies might be wishing for an Aussie Squadron to join, but unless someone actually got of their ass it would probably never happen. So a few late nights at the keys followed before the first pages appeared on the net.

Formed on the 3rd August, 1997,  the “RAAF Squadron” was, and is, about getting those Aussie Digital Pilots together so we can share our passion with the WW2 Fighter. Once together we have the chance to fly as a squadron and kick some ass in WB arenas.

Following a period of slow growth in the “RAAF Squadron” we received an offer to amalgamate with the RNZAF Squadron”. The “RNZAF” was reaching it's maximum number for a single WB squadron (31) and was looking for an alternative.  The “RAAF” needed members and was not in a position to be competitive in the WB arenas with only 4 active members, here was a chance for us to both benefit. As the RNZAF already had a large proportion of Aussies who flew on a regular basis  we combined and spread the membership, creating a mega squadron “THE ANZACs”.  So on the 1st November 1997 the “RAAF" & “RNZAF” became “THE ANZACs” which consisted of “RAAF Squadron” & “RNZAF Squadron”. The next months saw explosive growth in the RAAF side of the ANZACs and an increase in our overall experience. We participated in a number of world wide missions and historical recreations, highlights of this period for RAAF included:-

Flying and commanding 2/JG4 in FW190A4s during operation point blank.
Being the ONLY squad to make it to the target during the 1998 WB Conference.
Having a 3 field capture, including one gold carrier sunk, in an RAAF Sunday mission.
Defending Milne Bay from the Japanese during a Papua New Guinea Scenario in 1999.

After about 8 months flying under the ANZAC banner with the RNZAF, we decided it was now the right time to fledge from our nest. The RAAF Squadron spread its wings in the WarBirds world and began to create a name in their own right. We were now at the stage where we could , and did, strike fear into the hearts of all pilots in our sights. As with most things the bigger we became the faster we grew, till we reached a stage where we needed to create a Reserve list for inactive pilots. The idea is that this reserve component stores our part time flyers, saving the IMOL 32 member squadron limit for the regulars. This is working well, we now have a VERY strong core of Regulars (28) and a Reserve list (38) of those who may fly again with us in the future and who remain in touch through Email  and ICQ .

The next alteration to the squadron may be a small one, in the form of a name change, but it added some spirit to our squadron. The new name "75 SQN RAAF Australia" clarified a few things. This name pointed out our location in the WarBirds world, and added a tie to the 75 Squadron RAAF.  The 75 SQN RAAF flew valiantly in WW2, in Africa and New Guinea, often under terrible conditions and overwhelming odds. Despite the conditions they more often came out on top of their enemy, as we also do! ;)

We have an active squadron now, with 28 quality pilots, and we are running our own scenarios on Wednesday nights (thanks to SL iddons). We compete in WBs sanctioned events/scenarios and we even ran our first Pacific Warbirds Conference (PacCon 99) in Melbourne, with 18 members attending. The mate ship within the squad is VERY strong and we all get on very well as a group, together we are a DEADLY bunch of  fun Aussies.

So as you can see, we finally came of age in the WarBirds Community and we are now a serious force in the WB Arenas. The 75 SQN RAAF now boasted attachments with the 1st TBG (Tactical Battle Group) and ran joint missions with some of the biggest names in the WB world.

After we again found ourselves expanding past the iEN limits, it was necessary to split again into 3 new elements, 21, 75 & 456 Sqns RAAF Australia. Collectively we were now known as the "WarBirds RAAF AUSTRALIA" and continued to grow.

Over the next few years there was yet another change that effected the Aussies of RAAF Australia. The simulation community was split by the arrival of two  new WW2 simulations and yet another upgrade for WarBirds. We now had Aces High, WW2 online and WarBirds 3 all gunning for a similar market. During this time RAAF Australia weathered the storm well and WarBirds 3 became our new game of choice. Some members changed to WW2OL (which was geared towards a more land based game), but the majority changed over to WarBirds 3, as their systems reach the minimum standard for this totally new version. WarBirds 3 is a simulation that has enormous potential for growth in AC choice and player involvement. The introduction of ground vehicles and AI targets caused the strategy to change and the building of this strat continues with every new release. 

With WarBirds III came the expansion (or removal) of the squadron size limit of the past 2.xx versions. We took the opportunity to once again become one group visually online by combining the 3 squads (75,456 and 21) back into "WarBirds RAAF Australia".  This has marked the rebirth of the squadron and after the decline of our membership due to the new versions poor release strategy, we have again emerged into a period of great potential and growth. Our membership now boasts official iEN employed CMs, Trainers and Community Liaison officers and well as numerous members, all of whom are actively involved with the core development of the game. Some are also involved via the Player Development Corp, in fact one of our members is the XO for this group. We continue to expand with vigor and now have an active input into the game on a daily basis. This has seen the production of a number of new aircraft and Aussie skins to go with them, this positive push continues to this day.

One final change is immerging from the groups growth, another simulation is entering the market place and a new arm of or organization is opening up. The Targetware group or games is currently beta testing their "Target Rabaul" (TR) game. This has created quite and interest, and from this interest has sprung the "30 Squadron Virtual RAAF". With this came another name change for us, and combined we are now called "Virtual RAAF Australia" (vRAAF).

The Virtual RAAF AUSTRALIA name is well known and respected amongst the WB and TR Squadrons and we plan to keep it that way. So all you budding Aussie pilots out there, fill out the vRAAF Enlistment Application form and join the “WarBirds RAAF Australia”. You can then return here and subscribe to our email group by filling out this Group Email Application . 

You will then be up and fighting with "Virtual RAAF Australia".