 By early 1988 both No. 3 and No. 77 Squadrons had successfully converted to the F / A @-@ 18 , and No. 79 Squadron was no longer required . Preparations to return the unit 's Mirages to Australia took place during the first months of 1988 , and on 3 May they departed Butterworth . As the RAAF 's F / A @-@ 18 Hornet squadrons were to be based in Australia , this marked the end of the permanent deployment of RAAF fighters to Butterworth that had begun in mid @-@ 1958 . No. 79 Squadron 's aircraft commemorated the occasion by conducting a spectacular low @-@ altitude flypast of the base , the first leg of which commenced at transonic speed . The aircraft were flown to Woomera in central Australia to be placed in storage via Paya Lebar , Bali , Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal . Most of No. 79 Squadron 's ground crew returned to Australia in late May , and the squadron was formally disbanded at Butterworth on 30 June 1988 . 
