RAAF Williams

RAAF Williams is a Royal Australian Air Force base located 20 km south-west of Melbourne, Victoria, comprising two sites at Point Cook and Laverton. Established in 1989 through the amalgamation of RAAF Base Point Cook and RAAF Base Laverton, the base is named after Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams. Point Cook is the oldest continuously operating military airfield in the world, having been purchased by the Australian Government for the Australian Flying Corps. RAAF Base Laverton was established in 1925.

The base is operated by the RAAF and hosts the Headquarters Air Force Training Group. Units stationed at the Laverton site include No. 21 (City of Melbourne) Squadron, the ADF School of Languages, and the Defence International Training Centre. Laverton also houses elements of the 8th/7th Battalion of the Royal Victoria Regiment, the Air Force Band, and the Defence Materiel Organisation. Point Cook hosts the RAAF Museum, the Air Force Heritage Squadron, and the Air Force element of the Australian Defence Force Gap Year Program. The base also hosts No. 4 Wing Headquarters of the Australian Air Force Cadets and a detachment of No. 1 Security Force Squadron.

Infrastructure at Point Cook includes an operational military aerodrome used by general aviation and RMIT Flight Training. Military flight operations at Point Cook are primarily restricted to the RAAF Museum Heritage Flight. The site contains the RAAF Museum, which maintains a collection of heritage aircraft, and a memorial parade ground dating to the 1920s. All administrative functions for RAAF Williams are centralized at the Laverton site. While Point Cook remains an active airfield, the runway at Laverton was decommissioned in 1996. Support facilities include the Officers Mess Annexe at Point Cook, which provides services for personnel and the ADF Gap Year Program.