No. 82 ( Heavy Bomber ) Wing and its three squadrons of Consolidated B-24 Liberators arrived at Amberley as lodger units between February and April 1946 . In the aftermath of World War II , No . 3 AD continued to command and administer the base until the re-establishment of Station Headquarters Amberley in 1947 . No . 82 Wing converted to Avro Lincolns during 1948 . In October 1952 , when Lincolns flew observation flights as part of Operation Hurricane , the first British atomic test in Australia , No . 3 AD was responsible for handling underwing canisters used to collect radioactive particles . The RAAF 's first jet bomber , the English Electric Canberra , began replacing the Lincoln in December 1953 . No . 3 AD was responsible for " deep " maintenance of the Canberra , which involved stripping aircraft back to their components . This process was generally required every five years , and could take up to a year to complete . The depot also performed deep maintenance on the CAC Sabre fighter during its service with the RAAF . No . 3 AD 's crest was approved by Queen Elizabeth II in June 1959 ; the design featured a Maltese cross in azure , symbolising the unit 's home state of Queensland , surmounted by a cock 's head in gold with a red comb . From December 1966 until January 1969 , No . 3 AD was commanded by Group Captain James Rowland , later Chief of the Air Staff and Governor of New South Wales . By the 1970s , the depot was responsible for maintenance of the RAAF 's Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters as well as the Canberra bombers . It also maintained the McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantoms leased to the RAAF from 1970 to 1973 as an interim strike force pending delivery of the long-delayed General Dynamics F-111C
Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane
No. 3 Aircraft Depot RAAF