History
C/N
Formed in Oct 1939 as a Royal Navy unit, it transferred to RAN control in Aug 1948 when it reformed at RNAS Eglinton with Fireflies as part of the 20th Carrier Air Group. Reformed 9 Feb 1984 at Nowra as a rotary wing unit with Wessex 31B, stripped of their anti-submarine equipment, in the Utility and Army Support role. Disbanded in Jun 1987. Reformed 23 Jul 1992 from the Seahawk Introduction and Transition Unit (SITU) with the Sikorsky S-70 Seahawk.
First MH-60R joined 816 Sq on 4 Dec 2015 for the beginning of type transition; the first operational deployment followed in Jun 2016 aboard HMAS Perth. The first SH-60B was withdrawn in Aug 2012, while the end of SH-60B operations occurred on 29 Aug 2017, when HMAS Arunta Flt arrived back at Nowra from its Operation Manitou deployment.
News
Models
| 1984-1987 | Wessex |
| 1992-2017 | S-70B-2 Seahawk |
| 2015- | MH-60R Seahawk |
Operations
| Oct 19521952 | Operation Hurricane | |
| 04 Oct 19861986 | 05 Oct 19861986 | Fleet Review: 75th anniversary of RAN |
| 01 Jan 19901990 | -- | Operation MANITOU |
| 24 Jun 20052005 | 28 Jun 20052005 |  Fleet Review: Trafalgar 200 |
| 04 Oct 20132013 | 05 Oct 20132013 | International Fleet Review Sydney 2013 |