Active 1951–present Branch Army | Country Australia Motto(s) Knowledge Dispels Fear | |
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Garrison/HQ HMAS Albatross, Nowra, New South Wales | ||
The Parachute Training School (PTS) is an Australian Army (Army) training unit in parachuting techniques, developing parachute doctrine and techniques, trial-evaluation of parachute systems and associated equipment, located adjacent to HMAS Albatross, Nowra, New South Wales.
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History
The first parachute training unit was formed in 1942 designated the Paratroop Training Unit (PTU) and at the end of the war was disbanded. In 1951, the Parachute Training Wing was formed as a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) unit at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales. The unit's first Commanding Officer/Chief Instructor was Squadron Leader C.A.V. Bourne. The instructors on the staff were both Army and RAAF personnel. The first course of trainees commenced in September 1951. In 1958, it was re-designated as the Parachute Training Flight.
The Army assumed responsibility for parachute training on 14 May 1974 and the school was renamed Parachute Training School, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith. The school relocated to Naval Air Station HMAS Albatross in 1986 and has continued its role there until the present.