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Butterworth was generally a popular posting during its hey day of the sixties and seventies. The base will now be used for deployments of F-18, P-3C and F-111 aircraft following the return of No79 Squadron to Australia in 1988.
The RAAF Winds Down at Butterworth
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The RAAF is scaling down its presence at Butterworth Airbase in Malaysia.
From its busy days in the 1970s with two fighter squadrons and their support. The RAAF will reduce to a small, tightly-knit establishment, largely to cater for regular visits by Hornet fighters and F-111C strike aircraft. This means that much of the infrastructure that supported larger numbers at Butterworth will close down.
In fact, the enduring symbols of RAAF presence there: No 79 Squadron (Mirage fighters), No 4 RAAF Hospital, the RAAF School, radio station ARB (RAAF Radio Butterworth), and the RAAF Centre on Penang Island, are on the brink of closure. Their demise is a symbol of the Federal Government’s decision to wind down RAAF activities at Butterworth in line with the progressive phasing out of the Mirage fighter.
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