1980's Vintage 2 Squadron Short-Sleeve Unisex T-Shirt

This design pays tribute to vintage squadron-style T-shirts associated with No. 2 Squadron RAAF personnel during the late 1970s and early 1980s. No. 2 Squadron RAAF became one of the Royal Australian Air Force’s best known Canberra bomber units during the Cold War and the Vietnam War. Re-formed in the mid-1950s to operate the Australian-built GAF Canberra, the squadron flew Canberra Mk.20 bombers produced by the Government Aircraft Factories. The squadron operated from bases including RAAF Base Williamtown, RAAF Base Amberley, and later RAAF Butterworth, where it conducted Canberra bomber operations during the Malayan Emergency. The squadron is best known for its combat service in Vietnam, where it deployed to Phan Rang Air Base in Apr 1967 under the operational control of the United States Air Force 35th Tactical Fighter Wing. Flying Canberra Mk.20 bombers on night interdiction, close air support, and low-level daylight strike missions, No. 2 Squadron earned a strong reputation for bombing accuracy and aircraft serviceability under difficult operational conditions. Between 1967 and 1971, the squadron flew approximately 12,000 operational sorties and dropped more than 76,000 bombs during the conflict, losing two aircraft in combat. The squadron returned to Australia in 1971 and continued operating the Canberra from Amberley in roles including survey and training tasks, with detachments to locations such as Biak during the 1970s. These deployments saw crews conduct low-level survey and mapping flights that extended the Canberra’s operational usefulness beyond its wartime strike role before the squadron’s disbandment on Wed 30ᵗʰ Jun, 1982.