Aerogram march 2014

AEROGRAM March 2014

Journal of the Friends of the RAAF Museum Inc.

Celebrating Australia’s Centenary of Military Aviation Point Cook 1 March 1914 – 1 March 2014

CENTENARY OF MILITARY AVIATION SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

THE AEROGRAM March 2014

The Friends of the RAAF Museum Inc. Committee

PO Box 6265 Point Cook Victoria 3030 Australia President

Colin Fee president@form.asn.au 0417 511 925 Vice President

Ian Adderly 9842 1839 Treasurer

Darryl Wells 0417 034 380 treasurer@form.asn.au Secretary

Howard Franks 0435 998 124 secretary@form.asn.au Members

Alan Dann 03 8734 2075 Wayne Urmston 0414 012 941 Aerogram Editor

Andrew Willox 613 5346 1493 aerogram@form.asn.au Aerogram, PO Box 46 Rokewood, Vic. 3330 Visit the Friends’ website: www.form.asn.au RAAF Museum Volunteer Coordinator

Mary Briggs 03 8348 6300

Greetings from the Editor Andrew Willox

I started writing this a week before Christmas, given the workload we have all had here in preparation for the Centenary of Military Aviation.

It has been said that we are ‘putting the band back together’ and that is such a truism given that nowhere else in the world can one now see the three original types of Australian Central Flying School aircraft in one place.

This work started about 20 years ago when Jack Gillies decided to honour his father’s work as a blacksmith and driver/mechanic in the earliest days of Point Cook. Jack originally thought about constructing a BE2a but couldn’t find a suitable plan set, so he set about working on not one but two Deperdussin Type A monoplanes as, ultimately, gifts to our Museum here at Point Cook and the Army’s Museum of Flying at Oakey, Qld. Sadly, Jack is no longer with us.

In 2006 Ron Gretton and Geoff Matthews, both Life Members of the Friends, started on an airworthy Bristol Military Biplane to mark the actual centenary date. They have performed one of the great aircraft builds of its type in the world, and this magnificent machine sits, uniquely, at Point Cook.

Knowing that the collection was not complete gave me an opportunity to set about building the final piece of the jigsaw – an early variant BE2a. Having no prior experience, this has been a great journey for me and many people along the way have helped, encouraged, and co-contributed to the funding – especially the Museum and the Friends.

So, with crucial Museum support along the way, the vision of four private individuals has given this country something that exists nowhere else in the world. We can all be justifiably proud of our achievement; however, these efforts are nothing without people to come and share in our story; to enjoy and to be inspired and educated in what we have created – so for those visiting the air show, I warmly welcome you to CMA14.

As always, the Aerogram is a team effort. Alf Batchelder has set the scene with his story of Point Cook’s establishment and Margaret O’Donnell, Ian Adderly, Howard Franks, Wayne Urmston, Jean Roberts and Norm Clifford have made contributions.

Importantly, Richard Gardner has sent a goodwill message about our connections with the UK and Farnborough.

We welcome new Members: Paul Backas, Andrew Downey, Paul Grimes, John Lamont, Richard Luxton, AIRMSHL Jake Newham (Ret’d), Margaret O’Donnell, Gary Offerman, Justin Offerman, Ken Owen, Alan Parise, Phil Roberts, Mark Trumble, Christian Trumble, Eddie Wassenaar.

Life 1 2 8 250

www.raaf.gov.au/raafmuseum

Opening Hours Monday: Closed (But open when a Public Holiday) Tuesday-Friday: 10am-3pm Saturday-Sunday: 10am-5pm Interactive Flying Program Every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 1pm, weather permitting.

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Aerogram March 2014

Members Mr John Dorward Mr Bob Eastgate GPCAPT Ron Gretton AM (Ret’d) WGCDR Geoff Matthews (Ret’d)

This issue’s cover: Bristol Boxkite test circuit of Point Cook’s aerodrome. Pic. James Kightly Disclaimer Aerogram is a privately funded publication of the Friends of the RAAF Museum Inc. The views and opinions expressed within this Journal are those of the contributors and not those of the Commonwealth of Australia , the RAAF, nor the RAAF Museum.

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President’s Piece Colin Fee, President Friends of the RAAF Museum Inc.

Whilst in many respects this edition of Aerogram is as normal an edition as any other, it has, rightly so, a special focus on the beginnings of not only military aviation, but aviation in our great nation. To not acknowledge the oncein-a-lifetime events that will take place at Point Cook over the weekend of March 1st and 2nd would be remiss of me.

On that note then I extend a warm welcome to the visitors to the Centenary of Military Aviation Air Show (CMA14), a very warm welcome to those who have joined the Friends across the air show weekend, and a special acknowledgment to our existing members.

Begging the indulgence of our regular readers for a moment, the Friends of the RAAF Museum is a vibrant community of military aviation heritage supporters.

Through our membership we support the RAAF Museum in the preservation and display of significant Australian Flying Corps (AFC) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft, equipment and memorabilia. This year will mark 21 years of providing support to the RAAF Museum and it is wellacknowledged by Museum management that much of what the Museum achieves could not be done without the support of the Friends and our volunteer membership.

The Friends have provided direct and indirect support to the three centenary aircraft exhibits that have been featured at CMA14. Friends Life members Ron Gretton and Geoff Matthews were responsible for the building of the replica Bristol Military Biplane ‘Boxkite’ CF3, with administrative support from the Friends committee along the way; our enterprising Aerogram editor Andrew Willox has been responsible for the construction of the replica Royal Aircraft Factory BE2a CFS 2 which the Friends has supported financially, and in the latter stages of construction assistance has been provided by other Friends members, some of whom have put in extra days to help out; and our Active members of the aircraft cleaning crew, of which yours truly is a member, have kept the

Deperdussin Type-A Monoplane CFS 4 in tip-top condition as part of the bi-monthly exhibit cleaning program.

In looking to the future the Friends are working on a new Supported Projects program commencing with a proposal for a new project to raise funds to commission the construction of a full size fibre glass composite replica Mk VIII Spitfire to be presented in 79 Squadron colours.

The proposal has met with approval from the Museum Director and we’ve included options for supporting the project into our new on-line membership forms (see the Friends web site). As indicated in my last column, through the combination of using PayPal and some allied web technologies we have finally been able to bring joining and re-joining the Friends into the 21st century. Membership renewals are coming up next month so we encourage you to have a look at the on-line renewal option.

Finally I would like to personally acknowledge the service to the Friends that Warwick Bonner has made over the past 12 years. Warwick took the decision at the end of last year to stand down from committee and the post of treasurer.

He has been a staunch, passionate, and vocal supporter of the Friends and the Museum and has been a valuable and trusted lieutenant to me in my tenure as President. The Friends’ finances have been well managed and husbanded

by Warwick during his tenure as treasurer and it is down to his level headed approach that we are in the solid position we enjoy today. He continues as a key member of the aircraft cleaning team and is a driving force behind our efforts in bringing P170 on-line as a meeting place for the Friends, the Mosquito Association and indeed other museum visitors. I thank you Warwick and wish you and your family well for the future.

My thanks to all that have contributed to this special edition of Aerogram and to the successful running of CMA14, no matter how large or small your efforts have been.

Don’t throw away your mailing sheet that came with this issue.

Membership Renewals are due for payment by 31.03.14

All financial members, as at Friday, 28 February, are welcome to enter our competition to win one of three Centenary commemorative silver coins donated to the Friends by the Perth Mint.

Full details are contained on the reverse of your mailing sheet. If you have already thrown it away email the Secretary of the Friends for a pdf replacement.

Entries close at 5pm 21 March 2014.

You don’t need to wait for your renewal notice to arrive in the post:

WHY NOT RENEW ONLINE NOW

www.form.asn.au Aerogram March 2014

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Director’s Dialogue David Gardner OAM Director RAAF Museum Point Cook As this Aerogram goes to print we are in the final throes of preparations for the Centenary of Military Aviation Airshow (CMA14) to be conducted at Point Cook on 1 and 2 March. In preparation for this most auspicious occasion Museum staff have, or are, being ably supported by our volunteer corps. The Museum will be open to the expected 25,000 visitors each day of the event and the added degree of difficulty to CMA14 is that I have been nominated as Tarmac Controller. In this role I will be responsible for all ground handling of aircraft participating in CMA14, be they static or flying. The list of aircraft, both historic and current, is too long to list in this article. Therefore, with both the Museum open for the expected large number of visitors and the tarmac operations, the Museum will be relying on the assistance from our volunteers over the period leading up to, on the days of and after the event. Mary Briggs has, in consultation with our volunteers, organised rosters to ensure that the whole operation runs seamlessly in regard to human resources and apart from conducting information sessions, despatched packs which covers all elements including timings, roster, passes lunches et al.

What is all the fuss about? I believe CMA14 celebrates much of what the RAAF has achieved since that first military flight in a Boxkite just on a century ago when Lieutenant Eric Harrison, an aviation instructor with the Central Flying School at Point Cook, took to the sky on 1 March 1914. Harrison’s inaugural flight is recognised as the starting point of all military flying in Australia.

To add to all this hype, on 11 September 2013, the Museum’s Bristol Military Boxkite replica flew successfully for the first time at Point Cook. It was test flown in the capable hands of Air Vice-Marshal Mark Skidmore (rtd). The aircraft flew approximately 1,000 metres reaching a top speed of 42 miles an hour. The flight of the replica Boxkite in 2013 was a very special occasion—it was a RAAF occasion. And in the end, the inaugural flight of the Museum Boxkite was not a magical, marvellous feat; it was a matter-of-fact thing. It had been done once before, just on a century ago.

The Boxkite was designed and built over a seven year period by two Museum volunteers, Ron Gretton and Geoff Matthews.

Throughout that time, from their original vision to the first flight, they never lost the enthusiasm or confidence to achieve

Ron Gretton 4

AM

and Geoff Matthews

Aerogram March 2014

their goal. This was especially true in the later stages, where the plans, materials, processes, construction and regulations were subjected to rigorous tests and examinations before the aeroplane could advance to that first flight. The Museum is indebted to the selfless work of its volunteers, and Ron and Geoff exemplify that service par excellence. They were assisted in their Boxkite endeavours by generous sponsors, suppliers and other supporting individuals and organisations, without whom this nationally significant project could not have been possible.

I am delighted that the RAAF Museum now has its own example of the aircraft that was so significant to the start of Australian military aviation. A few years ago when I was in the UK on Museum business, I was fortunate to be invited to Shuttleworth for one of their dusk flying displays. During the evening my passion for historic aircraft was euphoric after witnessing several of their old aircraft being put through their paces, and one in particular that astonished me was the Bristol Boxkite.

The aircraft looked spindly and sounded under-powered, and although a replica, I remembered that this was state of the art in 1910. I, at that time, would not have even dreamt that the RAAF Museum would come to have such a significant aircraft in its collection, let alone a flying example. Additionally, we are also fortunate to have static replicas of the other two of our first aircraft, the Deperdussin and the BE2a. All three will be on show for CMA14. To commemorate the Boxkite flight the shop has a limited edition momento (only one hundred) on sale.

Only 100 of this Boxkite laser-engraved momento are available but there are other sizes and styles on sale at the Museum shop

Both the Curatorial and Technical areas have been extremely busy leading up to CMA14. The curatorial staff are on the home run in regard to the WW I exhibition refresher with the Rutherford case being installed prior to the Christmas break and the remainder of the Western Front, Middle East and Training ready for installation. The First Half Flight (Mesopotamia) exhibition was completed earlier in 2013.

Whilst on the Curatorial area, those who attend the Museum regularly will probably have noticed that the Strike/Recce Hangar has been subject to a series of bird calls in recent times. The bird problem was mentioned in the last edition of the Aerogram. There is no concern for alarm as this is part of a bird deterrent program which commenced in 2013. Initially the sounds were limited to out-of-hours only. This was ineffective and we have now taken the action to have the sounds working 24/7. We will asses the effectiveness of this

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action as to whether we persevere with this course action as the birds are one of our biggest problems in the hangars.

As mentioned earlier we have a Boxkite, Deperdussin and BE2a to celebrate the start of military aviation. The first two are complete and the Techos, with exceptional assistance from our volunteer force, are working feverishly to complete the BE2a for CMA14. The BE2a team expanded since the Christmas break in order to complete the labour intensive process of covering the aircraft skeleton with linen in the traditional method. The linen sleeves for the mainplanes were produced in-house and stitched onto the mainplanes before the ribs were laced and taped. Again, this task fell to a dedicated team of volunteers who spent a great deal of time honing their sewing skills. We should not mention their names as their wives may wish to give them more such tasks at home! The final coats of dope have been applied and the aircraft has been moved back to the maintenance/restoration hangar for the installation of the engine, tail feathers and the mainplanes. The exhaust system has been received from the manufacturers and the hanging brackets are in production.

Sounds simple but I would reckon the team would disagree.

valuable part of the team and has been responsible for the major amendments and upgrades of all our flying Standing Instructions and Orders, the production of the Interactive Flying Day Manual and the organising of the mandatory Safety Stand-down days for aircrew and maintainers, and of course those other silly little jobs.

I have been requested to keep this brief to ensure it goes to print on time for CMA14, therefore I have other items which will be included in the next edition of Aerogram. However, in closing, I wish to indicate my sincere appreciation to all the Museum volunteers for your efforts thus far in support of the Museum’s commitment to CMA14. We are not there yet but you certainly are making things easier.

Squadron Leader Glen Coy CSC Squadron Leader Glen Coy commenced his RAAF service with the 1981 RAAF Academy intake at Point Cook and graduated in December 1984 with a Bachelor of Science (Physics) degree from Melbourne University.

He was posted to RAAF Richmond where he joined No.37 Squadron flying C130E transport aircraft.

Glen has 5500 hours military flying experience as a transport pilot and qualified flying instructor. In addition to 37 Squadron, he has served at 1FTS at Point Cook, flying CT-4 trainers, and at the Central Flying School (CFS) at RAAF East Sale flying both CT-4 and PC-9 aircraft. At CFS, Glen has served as the Commanding Officer and he has also completed a three-year tour with the RAAF’s Formation Aerobatic Display Team, the Roulettes, including three display seasons as the Roulette Leader.

Museum volunteers rib stitching the BE2a wings. They work in pairs, guiding each other from either side, with very long needles

Whilst we are a museum, our operational equipment shouldn’t be. A new vehicle hoist has been installed in the General Engineering Section to replace the ancient hand-me-down item which has served us faithfully for more that a thirty years. Like most things, the inability to get parts added to its demise.

In early January this year, the Boxkite took to the skies once again in accordance with the ARDU Test Flying Program (see cover photo of this issue). Apart from a couple of refresher hops on the airfield, the two pilots selected to fly the aircraft, AVM Skidmore and SQNLDR Bekker, completed a circuit each.

The aircraft was fitted with additional Go Pro cameras to record these flights for the ARDU boffins to further provide operating parameters for the aircraft. The aircraft will be ready to participate in CMA14, weather permitting.

SQNLDR Glen Coy is the Museum’s new Operations Officer (OPSO). Glen replaces Adrian ‘Boggy’ Burge who has been posted to No.32 Squadron at East Sale. Adrian will remain with the Museum until after CMA14. He has been a very

Glen completed the RAAF Command and Staff Course in 1995.

His staff experience has included a posting to Singapore where he was the Assistant Defence Adviser to Singapore and Brunei.

He has also served in the Defence Materiel Organisation as the Special Purpose Aircraft (SPA) Project Manager. While he was in that position, the SPA project introduced the RAAF’s current VIP fleet. He returned to Headquarters Air Training Wing at RAAF East Sale in 2004, where he served as the Commanding Officer and was the Acting Officer Commanding for the majority of 2005.

In 2006, Glen deployed to the Middle East where he served as the Commander of Task Group 633.4, which provided C130 combat airlift support for Operations Slipper and Catalyst in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was then posted as the Assistant Air Attaché, Washington DC in 2007 and served in that post until November 2009 when he was promoted to Group Captain and posted to serve as the Officer Commanding Air Training Wing at RAAF Base East Sale. Glen deployed again to the Middle East Area Operations in 2012 where he served as the Air Component Commander in JTF 633 providing air support for operations in Afghanistan before returning to Air Training Wing.

In 2014 Glen transferred to the specialist aircrew stream and commenced his current duties as the Operations Officer at the RAAF Museum at Point Cook.

Glen is married to Michelle and they have two children, Alexander and Tessa. In his spare time Glen enjoys several sports including golf, running and swimming. Other interests include gardening, reading and cooking.

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Two Competent Mechanists and Aviators Alf Batchelder In 1911, the Australian Defence Minister, Senator George Pearce, attended the Imperial Conference in London. His visit to the centre of British aviation at Brooklands left an indelible impression: “What I saw that day and the talks that I had with the flying men convinced me of the wisdom of our having a flying school in the Defence Department.”

On his return to Australia, Pearce acted quickly to implement the conference’s decision to develop aviation within the Empire’s forces. (Half a century later, Sir Richard Williams maintained that Pearce was in fact the only overseas defence minister to do so.)1 Despite the minister’s zeal, almost three years would pass before an Australian military aircraft took to the sky. A couple of setbacks had already occurred. In 1909, the government’s prize of £5000 for a “flying machine … for military purposes”, with motors, propellers and other parts constructed, as far as possible, in Australia by Australians, had failed to find a winner. Late in 1910, when the Military Board of the Department of Defence received a plan for an Australian Aviation Corps, no action was taken because, as yet, the British Army had not selected a suitable type of aircraft for its purposes. Eventually, on December 30, 1911, the Commonwealth Gazette called for the “Appointment of Two Competent Mechanists and Aviators”. However, prospective applicants were advised that the Commonwealth would “accept no liability for accidents!” On October 22, 1912, following a proposal from the Chief of the General Staff, Brigadier-General Joseph Gordon, Military Order No.570 announced that “Approval has been granted for the formation of a Flying Corps in Australia”, with recruiting to commence on January 1, 1913.2 The large field of applicants attracted by the Gazette advertisement was eventually narrowed to seven pilots including Harry Busteed who, in 1910, had camped on the Diggers Rest railway station to see Houdini’s flights; eighteen-year-old Brooklands pilot Freddie Raynham, and the American showman, kiting and flying instructor, Samuel Franklin Cody (See page 20). On August 6, 1912, Henry Alloysius Petre was commissioned as an honorary lieutenant, Aviation Instructional Staff, Australian Military Forces. As the first of the “Competent Mechanists and Aviators”, the former English solicitor eventually became the Central Flying School’s first commanding officer. After Busteed and Cody both rejected the government’s offer, the second appointment was awarded to Eric Harrison, a former motor mechanic who was not one of the seven previously under consideration. Commissioned on December 16, 1912, the Victorian was later described 6

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Department of Defence, Melbourne, 23rd December, 1911.

APPOINTMENT OF TWO COMPETENT MECHANISTS AND AVIATORS

A

PPLICATIONS from expert mechanists and aviators desirous of being appointed to the Defence Department will be received by— The Secretary, Department of Defence, Victoria Barracks, Melbourne, or The High Commissioner for Australia, 78 Victoriastreet, Westminster, London, W.C., up to and inclusive of Thursday the 1st February, 1912.

Candidates must state— Nature of qualifications and experience ; Military experience (if any) ; Whether born or domiciled in Australia ; Age ; Whether married or single.

Salary to be at a rate of £400 per annum, inclusive of all allowances except travelling.

The Commonwealth Government will accept no liability for accidents.

The successful candidates will be appointed for twelve months on probation, upon completion of which, if their services have been satisfactory, their appointments will be confirmed.

S. A. PETHERIDGE, Secretary.

C.17356. – B.

RAAF Museum

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Henry Petre motorcycled around southern Victoria inspecting various sites for their suitability as the first Australian Army flying school

as “a fair-haired, square-jawed young officer, with a laughing face” who certainly did not suffer from “nerves”.3 The Commonwealth Gazette notice had appeared just over three months after Petre and Harrison became qualified pilots. When the Royal Aero Club announced on September 16, 1911, that they been granted their aviator’s certificates, its official notice to members in Flight magazine pointed out that Petre had qualified for licence No.128 on a Hanriot, while Harrison earned licence No.131 on a Bristol biplane.

(The 25-year-old aviator later claimed that he had qualified after only about thirty minutes’ tuition.) 4 By the time they were appointed by the Australian government, both men had become relatively experienced instructors. Before joining Handley Page, Petre had been head pilot of the Deperdussin School at Brooklands. After his training at Salisbury Plain, Harrison was employed by Bristol as an instructor, teaching on the company’s behalf at the Spanish Army School, as well as in Italy and Germany, where he also acted as examiner of German military pilots.5 On July 3, 1912, a month before Petre’s selection, the government ordered two Royal Aircraft Factory BE2a biplanes and two Type A Deperdussin monoplanes. In January 1913, Harrison reported construction problems with the wood, wire and fabric biplanes, which were being built under contract by the Bristol and Colonial Aeroplane Company: … these machines seem to be progressing very slowly owing to the Bristol Company’s inability to produce strainers. The manufacturers, it seems, cannot turn them out fast enough and before fitting to the machine they have to go to the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough.

On top of that, testing had shown that some modification to the wings was required. Later, it was found that, in “extremely sharp turns, or when flying under very severe weather conditions, the rudders become slightly bent.”

Fortunately, this had “never caused any inconvenience to the pilot”.6 The British Deperdussin Aeroplane Company handed over the Deperdussins to Harrison in March 1913. However, only one aircraft was intended for flight – the other would be used for ground training. Harrison was soon facing further issues: … the testing of these machines was finished on the 12th instant. The ‘rolling-taxi’ machine went through with very little trouble, but the ‘flying-taxi’ broke the fuselage twice during the taxi test. This was mostly due to the very bad ground the tests were carried out on. After the latter machine was accepted, I flew it for about 15 minutes, and found it quite satisfactory, although rather difficult to handle, it being very slow in answering the controls …

After pointing out that such testing would “ensure the very best machines being purchased”, an Argus correspondent reminded readers that “an accident is the normal end of most aeroplanes, particularly those which are intended for instruction purposes.”7 On December 6, 1912, after advice from Australia’s representative on the Imperial General Staff, LieutenantColonel James Legge, the government ordered a Bristol Military Boxkite as an elementary trainer. Harrison took delivery of the aircraft at Bristol only four weeks later. By March 1913, the Boxkite was in Sydney, but when it reached Melbourne in July it was found that mildew had Aerogram March 2014

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affected the wing fabric. In that same month, the two Deperdussins arrived in Melbourne, where it was found that they had been similarly affected in transit by mildew. Six months later, the steamer Hawkes Bay arrived in Melbourne with the BE2a’s, after a fast 37-day voyage that had “probably never been excelled by a freighter.”8 By then, Henry Petre had been in Australia for a year. On his arrival in January 1913, the Argus described the 28year-old as “quite a young man” whose brother had recently “met an untimely death when flying in England”.

When the paper revealed that he was “not only an aviator but a builder, of aeroplanes,” Petre promptly offered a clarification, explaining that “it was only in the early stages of my experience that I actually built machines myself.” He also noted that “I have not been so unfortunate as to meet with any serious disaster, although a year or two ago one of my machines was badly smashed, but I escaped unhurt.9 On January 15, 1913, the Argus also stated that Lieutenant Petre, who would receive £400 a year for his services, would be instructing pupils at “an immense aerodrome” to be built “within the Federal capital territory”. Indeed, the location seemed to be firmly settled for, in his 1913 edition of All The World’s Aircraft, Fred T. Jane categorically stated that “the school is at Duntroon”.10 Nevertheless, after visiting the 640-acre site, Petre concluded that the terrain was too high, with the surrounding hills making it dangerous for flying. He concluded “that the atmosphere was so rarefied at Canberra that there would be considerable more waste of

power in using aeroplanes there than if the flying area was situated at a low altitude.” In Petre’s view, the best locations were near Melbourne. Riding a motorcycle, he inspected sites near Langwarren, Crib Point and Western Port, but was particularly attracted by “the level lands in the vicinity of Werribee and Altona Bay”.11 The Sydney Morning Herald suggested that the notion of Point Cook as the preferred site was reviewed when the Liberal government took office on June 24. In July, though, the new Defence Minister, Senator Edward Millen, announced the selection of the Altona Bay site “on the recommendation of his officers.” In making his choice, the senator had been influenced by the fact that the site was Crown land. He also explained that, since “aviation now formed an important feature in naval warfare, proximity to the bay had influenced him to some degree.” In October, the Treasurer, Sir John Forrest, announced in the budget that £3,700 had been set aside to acquire “the necessary land” for “an aviation instructional school” at Point Cook.12 Contrary to popular legend, the site was not acquired from the Chirnside family, whose nearby Point Cooke homestead had, since 1852, been the nucleus of a vast holding along the western shore of Port Phillip Bay. Finding the property “a burden”, George and Percy Chirnside were convinced to break it into small farms. In a deal that aroused more than a whiff of curiosity, the land selected for the “aviation instructional school” was part of a parcel of approximately 24,000 acres acquired in 1906 by the Victorian Land Purchase and Management Board from George Chirnside.

RAAF Museum

BE2a under construction as part of the Australian Government’s July 1912 order for two of the type, photographed by Eric Harrison whilst inspecting work at British & Colonial Aeroplane Co. at Bristol

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RAAF Museum

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The first supplies arrive at the Point Cook site by motor lorry

After paying about £312,000, the board had not been inclined “to unduly rush” its disposal of the land. Thus, when the Commonwealth government sought land at Point Cook, its dealings were with the state government, not the Chirnsides.13 The negotiations did not go smoothly. In October 1913, shortly after Forrest’s budget speech, the Argus reported that: For some months past the work of preparing plans and specifications for the construction of hangars and other structures in connection with the aviation school which is to be established at Point Cook has been in the hands of the Home Affairs department. There has been considerable delay over the actual commencement of the work, however, owing to difficulties connected with the transfer of the land required from the State to the Commonwealth. This matter has now, however, been practically settled, and 742 acres are to be acquired at a cost of about £6000.14 Eric Harrison had been in Australia since the middle of 1913. The change of government and the delay in ratifying the selection of Point Cook undoubtedly brought considerable frustration to him and Henry Petre. Their duties would have lacked the sense of action and achievement that they had known in England. Although the Deperdussins and the Boxkite had arrived in Australia, they were in storage, on account of the uncertainty over where they would actually be used. Indeed, the two instructors must have operated in a climate of doubt that would have always been on their minds.

Despite the budget announcement, progress remained slow. In December, it was announced that “a definite start” would be made to bring the Point Cook site “into a suitable condition for instructional and demonstration purposes” – but, to achieve that, tenders had to be called for “construction of the necessary hangars and workshops … and a surgery to deal with minor accidents.” In addition, it was suggested that no flights would be made until the British Inspector-General of Overseas Forces, Sir Ian Hamilton, arrived in mid-February. Even that date seemed somewhat optimistic because, on January 6, the Argus advised that “practically nothing” had been done “to establish an aerodrome and hangars” at Point Cook.15 Meanwhile, events began moving apace at Elsternwick. A week after returning from England, 22-year-old Harry Hawker gave “a beautiful exhibition of flying” in his Sopwith Tabloid, an aircraft so new that it had not been publicly demonstrated in Britain. Taking off from New Street and landing on the adjacent golf links, he gave an exhibition that “was immeasurably the finest both for speed and control yet seen in Australia.”16 Hawker later demonstrated the Tabloid at Caulfield racecourse and Government House before taking it to Sydney. Often, he flew at an incredible 90 miles an hour, and in Albury set an Australian altitude record of 7,800 feet.

The local boy had quickly shown that he was by far the most skilled and professional airman yet seen in Australia.

It was said that no one watching his first effort at Elsternwick “could fail to note the wonderful steadiness of Aerogram March 2014

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his aeroplane and the ease with which he seemed to control it.” Pondering his deeds, the Argus complained that “still no flights have taken place” at Point Cook: The most frequently quoted reason has been lack of a proper flying ground. Probably the Defence authorities had never heard of Albert Park or Royal Park. Harry Hawker is content with an ordinary unfrequented road. For some months a large area at Altona Bay has been at the disposal of the military “bird men”, but no flights could take place because the £10,000 buildings had not been constructed, and the surgery had not been equipped.17 Hawker’s flights in a state-of-the-art aircraft clearly had military implications, for they were “enough to explain why the Great Powers of the world are all busily adding aerial corps to their fighting forces”: However limited the future usefulness of the aeroplane may be for the ordinary purposes of civil life, there is now no doubt that it is destined to play an important part in warfare … tests of the past two or three years go to show that no army or navy can be considered as fully equipped unless it is furnished with efficient squadrons of avions.18 After flying with Hawker in Sydney, the Governor-General, Lord Denman, told reporters that, “for reconnaissance purposes, the aeroplane is invaluable; in fact, indispensable in time of war.” When Hawker revealed that he was seriously considering a Melbourne to Sydney flight, “if it is made worth his while”, the Argus remarked that “a flight of this kind will make a strong appeal to the Defence department.”19 Though it was not emphasised in the press, Hawker was hoping to secure contracts to supply military aircraft to the Commonwealth government. His biographer notes that, “as a patriotic Australian, he would have felt a responsibility to see that the military chiefs and people in Government were made fully aware of the capabilities and need for aeroplanes in time of war.”20 At the time, a prominent identity in the Hawker camp maintained that it was the aviator’s displays that finally stirred the military authorities into taking action at Point Cook. Certainly, construction of the permanent hangars and workshops had commenced within a week of his impressive first flight.21 Also, it cannot be denied that the young aviator’s deeds had upstaged those of the Defence Department. However, such details obscure more significant issues. With his unprecedented skill and professionalism, Hawker showed Australians that aviation was no longer a sideshow novelty. Moreover, the various military implications of his flights emphasised to all and sundry the growing importance of aviation as well as the great significance of the foundations that were being laid at Point Cook.

In spreading his gospel, Hawker offered some forthright views about the machines intended for Point Cook. While the imported aircraft were admittedly still suitable for training, he regarded them as antiques: Those machines were ordered, to my knowledge, 12 months before they arrived here. They have been here, a couple of them, approximately, 12 months. Now, it is a very poor firm of aeroplane builders which does not produce at least two new models annually – so rapidly are the constantly improved machines superseded. So you 10

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The Australian pioneer aviator Harry Hawker. June Aerogram will carry the detailed story of his visit to Australia

see, your machines are, at any rate, four models old already.22 On February 11, Hawker took his friend Lieutenant Eric Harrison on a flight that reached an altitude of 3,800 feet.

Earlier in the day, the young aviator had taken Senator Millen for a ride in the Tabloid. The Defence Minister was most impressed by the aircraft and its “terrific pace”: It all seemed so beautifully simple, so steady, and so safe … If it had not been for the rushing landscape and the tearing wind, I might have imagined it was suspended motionless.23 At the end of February, the five Commonwealth aircraft were transported from Victoria Barracks to Point Cook. At last, after plans had been “drafted and re-drafted”, work was finished on erecting “temporary canvas quarters for the machines.” The Herald reported that the aircraft were “quickly got into order for flying.” Late on the afternoon of Saturday February 28, it was decided that the first flights would take place next day.

This was a surprising decision. In a community where the net of Sunday regulation was even tighter than in Britain, ships bound for overseas sailed on the Sabbath only in rare circumstances. As Victorian governor, Lord Hopetoun had once angrily criticised staff for an unnecessary journey on the day that was widely accepted as one on which no work could be demanded of an employee. Whether it was fear of causing offence or simply a desire to avoid attention, the intention to fly on March 1 was “kept quiet”. As pilots, Petre and Harrison would certainly have been keen to take to the air simply for the sheer enjoyment of flying. In that, they were kindred spirits with the multitude of recreational

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The Officers’ Mess tent amongst the triangle of evergreen and gum trees on the Point Cook site

cyclists who had been challenging the sanctity of the Melbourne Sabbath for years. No doubt the weather also influenced the timing of the decision to fly. Despite “cool, squally southwest to southerly winds”, the preceding days had seen showers and “unpleasantly warm and close” conditions. However, late on the Saturday, “the trough of the low area passed.” After the long delays they had endured, the aviators could be forgiven for deciding that, with the chance of improved conditions, they would fly at the first opportunity, Sunday or not.24 Newspaper articles reported the activity at Point Cook. By today’s standards this method of aircraft transport was precarious!

A day later, on March 2, the events at Point Cook were front-page news: FEDERAL AIRMEN GET INTO THE AIR. After a long delay, the Commonwealth air fleet has at last got into the air, and has acquitted itself excellently.

Lieutenant Eric Harrison and Lieutenant H. Petre … made flights both yesterday morning and this morning, and other flights will probably be made this evening … Lieutenant Harrison made two ascents with the Bristol biplane, on the second occasion taking Lieutenant Petre as a passenger.

Then Lieutenant Petre made a flight with a monoplane. In each case, height of about 1000 feet was reached in a wind blowing at the rate of 25 miles an hour.

It is easy to forget that, with the Bristol Boxkite, Harrison and Petre experienced flying at its most basic. As Captain T.W. White later observed, the “labouring” aircraft was provided with “no instruments other than a barometer and lacked the enclosing fuselage and floor that give the feeling of security one experiences in a modern machine. The senses took the place of instruments … the rush of air in the face told whether the climb was at the right angle …”

At some stage on that first day, a dog, probably Petre’s bulldog, ran into the Boxkite’s propeller, causing £11/11/worth of damage. Cynics promptly remarked that “flying had gone to the dogs even before it got off the ground.”

More religious souls possibly hinted that the incident was divine retribution.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s account of the birth of an Australian “aeronautical wing” was less than glowing. Apart from wondering about the government’s future intentions to provide “efficient” aircraft that would “be competent to fly Aerogram March 2014

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An early flight by the Australian Army’s Bristol Military Boxkite

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The triangle of trees with the encampment, probably taken from the Boxkite. This photograph may well be the earliest air-to-ground photo taken in Australia – it is certainly one of the first ever

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at Canberra, or even, if need be, at Kosciusko”, the paper pointed out that “the Chinese forces are considerably ahead” of Australia in military aviation.25 Not surprisingly, few people witnessed the first flights at Point Cook. As the Argus explained, the airfield was “practically inaccessible.” Although it was “surrounded by wide, cleared spaces,” the roads were in poor condition and, in some places, unmade. It was said that, in summer, the approaches to the base were “remarkable for the variety and density of their dust.” In this isolated location, Petre, Harrison and their assistants lived in bell tents, relying on carts to bring their water supplies from four miles away.26 Despite the remoteness, important visitors were not deterred. On March 5, Brigadier-General Gordon’s car “came through the gate in a brick-red cloud.” Unfortunately, a flight in the Boxkite ended in some disappointment for the Chief of the General Staff. When the general climbed into his seat behind Lieutenant Harrison, “the wind was imperceptible under the shelter of a small pine grove” but, once airborne, “the full force of the breeze caught the machine, and almost turned it over sideways.” Though Harrison “made a quick recovery”, his troubles were just beginning: … the Bristol gracefully soared up almost 30ft from the ground. For a few seconds it kept the same level, but without warning dropped until the landing wheels bent down the stubble below them. In the teeth of the wind the engine was able at any time only to propel the biplane at the rate of five miles an hour but the stronger gusts held it hovering

stationary for half a minute at a stretch. Under the influence of one more powerful blow it was actually carried back a few yards, though every ounce of power was called into requisition …

Finally, “after skimming the ground for about four miles while the little knot of spectators gasped and caught their breath at each sudden dip”, the pilot asked his passenger to alight: Lieutenant Harrison decided that the risk in turning was too great under the double load, and he brought the machine to earth, while Brigadier-General Gordon climbed out, somewhat weather-beaten and sunburnt, but quite collected. So powerful was the breeze that it was necessary to keep the propeller constantly in motion to prevent the machine from blowing away. Lieutenant Harrison then completed a fine flight by himself, rising to 400ft, against the current of air.

When he returned, Harrison “was not in the least perturbed, and related the experiences, which had threatened those who watched him with heart-failure, rather as an amusing joke.” Even so, “further flights were abandoned, and the machines were packed away in the temporary canvas aerodrome for the night.”27 A few days later, Senator Millen and his daughter arrived unexpectedly. Moments later, Harry Hawker drove in with his mechanic Harry Kauper and two friends. The visitors saw the Deperdussin monoplane “lying shattered and wrecked.” In only eight days of activity at Point Cook, the aircraft had revealed “a lot of vices.” Encountering engine trouble on March 9, Henry Petre “banked just a little too

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Henry Petre in the front (observer/student/passenger) cockpit with Eric Harrison in the pilot’s cockpit of BE2a CFS1.

The BE2 was a de Havilland design, and his Tiger Moth, which first flew exactly 20 years after the BE prototype utilised a similar layout

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Deperdussin Type A wing-warping monoplane. Notoriously difficult to fly – especially by a novice – lateral control was by independent wing warping. This type of aircraft was banned by the RFC for much of the First World War

steeply” as he tried to avoid a telephone pole. The propeller was “smashed to matchwood”, the landing gear became “a mass of twisted wire and split timbers” and “the ‘body’ of the machine was severely wrenched.” Half a century later, Petre admitted that he was “not sorry” to see the end of the “Dirty Dustbin.”

Initially, a north wind marred the senator’s visit. Eventually, Harrison managed “to make an ascent” in the Boxkite: He flew gracefully and with perfect ease … always within 100ft of the ground, and, stopping his engine, volplaned some distance away from the watchers. Starting again, he swept up to where the Minister for Defence was standing and invited him to “climb up.”

Miss Millen also took to the air, describing her flight with Harrison as “delightful beyond her expectations.”28 In their first month of flying, Petre and Harrison were unable to operate with anything like the confidence or certainty recently displayed by Harry Hawker. Their underpowered aircraft could be flown only in extremely favourable conditions, because “even a moderate wind made ascents risky,” with the Boxkite offering “practically no margin for safety” in windy weather. Thus, at the beginning of April, the military aviators undoubtedly looked forward to using the BE2a biplanes that were being assembled at Point Cook, since it was anticipated that, with these machines, flights could be made “under any ordinary wind conditions.” One report enthusiastically promised that speeds up to 75 miles an hour would be achieved. (Richard Williams later observed that whoever flew a BE2a at even 70 miles an hour “must have been ‘nose down’.”)29 14

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Nevertheless, the BE2a’s brought a new dimension to flying at Point Cook. On May 18, when the new Governor-General, Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson, landed at St Kilda, an unprecedented performance by Petre and Harrison showed the transformation that had clearly taken place: For the first time the residents of Melbourne had the opportunity … of seeing two aeroplanes above them simultaneously … After leaving … Point Cook the biplanes in a line ahead were turned towards Williamstown, travelling at an average altitude of 5000ft, but as they crossed the bay Lieutenant Petre swept off in a huge circle to the south, while his associate turned away in the opposite direction. For about 15 minutes the two machines wove eights and banked and volplaned in full view of the watchers on the Esplanade, first appearing directly overhead, and then darting out to sea and hovering for a moment above the cruiser Melbourne, which had been the centre of attention until they arrested the eyes of everyone.

In his aircraft, Harrison was accompanied by Major Edgar Reynolds, the general staff officer in charge of army flying.

After photographing the scene at St Kilda, Reynolds suggested a landing at Albert Park, where Harrison brought “his machine to earth in the neighbourhood of the lake with all the grace of a giant crow.” After relaxing on the grass for a while, the pair “went up into the blue again.”

Meanwhile, Petre and his mechanic had circled over the suburbs before catching a glimpse of the Governor-General as he walked towards his carriage on St Kilda’s Lower Esplanade.

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An early mishap – and post-mortem – for one of the Deperdussins

After a foray to the Werribee Plains, and a refuelling stop at Point Cook, one of the BE2a’s flew Major Reynolds to Queenscliff, where a message was dropped: To O.C., Queenscliff – Very sorry too late land. Have to get home against a head wind. Reynolds.

In failing light, the aircraft then “raced home with the breeze in its teeth in exactly 35 minutes.”30 A couple of days later, Sir Ian Hamilton’s report on Australia’s military forces was released. The InspectorGeneral of Overseas Forces had no doubts about the significance of aviation: Australia should just as much aim at being ultimate mistress of her own air as she is of her own land and sea.

Therefore, the sooner she makes a beginning at being selfcontained in the matter of flying the better.

While he regarded Point Cook as an “ideal” location for the flying school, and praised Petre and Harrison as “fine, steady fliers [with] great experience in teaching,” Hamilton recommended the acquisition of more aircraft: With only one instruction machine, it is inevitable that the pupils will be retained in expensive idleness at frequent, and often for long intervals. Nor do I think it altogether safe to send pupils straight from the 60-h.p. instructional machine to the fast B.E.31 Hamilton’s words again emphasised the significance of the pioneering that was underway at Point Cook. For the moment, though, the base retained its temporary hangars and, with the autumn rains, was more isolated than ever.

On May 29, visiting French aviator Maurice Guillaux flew

from the Showgrounds in his Blériot to meet Petre and Harrison, who were soon “exchanging reminiscences … in French” with their visitor. After a while, they became concerned that Guillaux’s mechanic had not arrived by road. The Australians therefore “tuned up one of the departmental flying machines to go and find him.” Monsieur Guillaux also took off to search for his assistant, who was seen near Laverton station, “in trouble in the mud.” While Petre and Harrison landed to help extricate the car from the quagmire, Guillaux watched from above “with amused interest.” On the return flight in their BE2a, the pilots directed the mechanic’s vehicle “over the least troublesome course” towards Point Cook.

Back at the base, the French aviator “intimated that it was in every way suitable for instructional purposes.” After explaining “the working parts and application of the machine with which he loops the loop, and flies upside down,” Guillaux made a short flight with Lieutenant Petre, then “streaked back to Flemington in his Blériot.”32 Even as non-military men with honorary commissions, Henry Petre and Eric Harrison must have known that such carefree days could not last. They would certainly have appreciated that the Central Flying School would soon receive its first students. In those innocent months of early 1914, they could not have imagined that their lessons would be given under wartime conditions.

I am grateful to Monica Walsh and Ron Gretton for their assistance with this article. AJB Continued overleaf

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BE2a CFS2 with unknown pilot. He could be a student who has recently gained his wings as only grduates were permitted to fly the Army’s most advanced aircraft solo. Otherwise it could be one of the instructors who joined the flying school during 1915, when this photo was taken

Sources 1. Isaacs, Keith: Military Aircraft of Australia 1909-1918, Canberra, 1971, p.9; Heydon, Peter: Quiet Decision, Melbourne, 1965, p.59; Williams, Sir Richard: These Are Facts, Canberra, 1977, p.20.

2. Isaacs, Keith: op.cit., pp.6, 9-11; Williams, Sir Richard: op.cit., p.20.

3. Blackmore, L.K.: Hawker – One of Aviation’s Greatest Names, Auckland, 1990, p.43; McCarthy, John, in Australian Dictionary of Biography, 9, Melbourne, 1983, pp.214-215; The Argus, March 6, 1914, p.8.

4. McCarthy, John: op.cit., p.214.

5. Flight, March 2, 1912, p.196, Garrisson, A.D., in Australian Dictionary of Biography, 11, Melbourne, 1988, pp.210-211.

McCarthy, John: op.cit., p.214.

6. Isaacs, Keith: op.cit., pp.16-17.

7. Isaacs, Keith: ibid., p.21; The Argus, May 13, 1913, p.11.

8. Isaacs, Keith: op.cit., pp.16, 20, 23; The Argus, January 26, 1914, p.10.

9. The Argus, January 14, 1913, p.6.

10. The Argus, January 15, 1913, p.13; Isaacs, Keith: op.cit., p.21.

11. The Argus, July 8, 1913, p.6; May 10, 1913, p.18.

12. The Argus, July 8, 1913, p.6; October 3, 1913, p.11; The Sydney Morning Herald, March 3, 1914, p.8.

13. The Argus, May 31, 1905, p.5; December 29, 1905, p.4; January 11, 1906, p.4; January 15, 1906, p.10; February 16, 1906, p.5; November 11, 1908, p.7; Ronald, Heather B.: Wool Past The Winning Post, South Yarra, 1978, p.128.

14. The Argus, October 6, 1913, p.12.

15. The Argus, December 15, 1913, p.13; January 6, 1914, p.6.

Alf Batchelder is a long-serving member of the Friends of the RAAF Museum and is a regular contributor to the Aerogram.

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16. Blackmore, L.K.: op.cit., p.85; The Argus, January 28, 1914, p.9.

17. The Argus, January 31, 1914, p.18; February 4, 1914, p.14.

18. The Argus, January 31, 1914, p.18.

19. The Argus, January 27, 1914, p.7; February 23, 1914, p.9.

20. Blackmore, L.K.: op.cit., pp.89-93.

21. Blackmore, L.K.: ibid., p.102; The Argus, February 4, 1914, p.14.

22. The Argus, February 14, 1914, p.18.

23. The Argus, February 12, 1914, p.8.

24. The Herald, March 2, 1914, p.1; Blainey, Geoffrey: Black Kettle and Full Moon, Camberwell, 2003, pp.176-177; Smith, F.B.: “Sunday Matters”, in Gammage, Bill, and Spearritt, Peter, [eds.]: Australians 1938, Broadway, 1987, pp.391405; McCaughey, Davis, et al: Victoria’s Colonial Governors, Melbourne, 1993, p.294; The Australasian, July 8, 1893, p.60; The Argus, February 28, 1914, p.21.

25. The Herald, March 2, 1914, p.1; Isaacs, Keith: op.cit., p.20; Brenchley, Fred and Elizabeth: White’s Flight, Milton, 2004, pp.19-21; The Sydney Morning Herald, March 3, 1914, p.8.

26. The Argus, March 6, 1914, p.8; May 30, 1914, p.20.

27. The Argus, March 6, 1914, p.8.

28. The Argus, March 12, 1914, p.7; Isaacs, Keith: op.cit., p.21.

29. The Argus, April 1, 1914, p.15; Isaacs, Keith: op.cit., p.17.

30. The Argus, May 19, 1914, p.10.

31. The Sydney Morning Herald, May 21, 1914, p.10.

32. The Argus, May 30, 1914, p.20.

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Linked by a Common Vision

A steady flow of centennial aviation anniversaries has continued ever since celebrations started the ball rolling in 2003 in the USA to mark the achieving of the world’s first successful, powered, controlled flight by a heavier-than-air flying machine. While challenges to this claim will no doubt continue in some circles regarding whether the Wright Brothers were the first to take to the air in a recognizably freeflying aerial machine, their reliably witnessed and recorded series of powered flights on 17 December 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, are now accepted by history as representing the birth of the aviation age.

From then on progress in aeronautical development has been spectacularly rapid, resulting, incredibly in just over six decades, in the first manned landing on the moon and the accomplishment of international passenger transport at twice the speed of sound. Much of this development has arrived in fits and starts, with speedy advances followed by periods of consolidation. But it was in the very early pioneering days of aviation where progress was so compressed into just a few years.

The coming of World War One was to propel military aviation from almost nothing to becoming the dominant war-winning asset. From a few flimsy and ill-equipped adapted aeroplanes in 1914, the manufacturers and military operators progressed in just five years to the stage where large and reliably powered aircraft, such as the Vickers Vimy, could fly across, and beyond, oceans and continents, forever shrinking the globe and linking peoples who had previously been separated by weeks, if not months, of sea travel. Now, one hundred years later, the celebration of military aviation’s arrival in Australia can be fully appreciated for the step change it was in establishing the country as a significant air power that would go on to contribute enormously to victory in two world wars and a succession of other conflicts in subsequent years, right up to the present day.

In 2012, Farnborough celebrated a series of early aviation centenaries, as already reported in Aerogram. The most important was the formation of the Royal Flying Corps, and at the same time the formation of the Royal Aircraft Factory. The same year saw the appearance from within the Royal Aircraft Factory of the de Havilland-designed BE2, which was to become one of the most stable and reliable military production aeroplanes to be used by the first operational air squadrons in the RFC. These developments in particular were to play a key role in not only shaping the emerging capabilities of British air power, but also to become important factors in the formation of Australia’s own first steps in military aviation. The direct historical links between Farnborough, the birthplace of British military aviation, and Point Cook, the birthplace of Australian military aviation, were thus based on a shared vision – the realisation that air power was here to stay and it was essential to prepare adequately for the future. This meant developing suitable aeroplanes and also the associated training

FAST

Richard Gardner, Chairman of the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust, sends his congratulations to the Friends, the RAAF Museum and all at Point Cook as they celebrate the centenary of Australian military aviation.

An experimental BE2 on Farnborough Common – worth comparing with a ‘production’ type on the opposite page

framework for pilots and engineers. These historical links continue today through the close relationship enjoyed between the RAAF Museum and the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust Museum. By sheer coincidence both Museums even have Directors with the same surname – David Gardner at Point Cook and the author at Farnborough!

It has been reported that S.F. Cody, Britain’s first (American born) aviator, was developing a growing interest in aviation possibilities in Australia (see following pages, Ed.), and he was certainly starting to consider the utility of long range aircraft when his career was cut short by his untimely death in a crash at Farnborough on 7 August 1913. Perhaps a motivation might have been his indifferent treatment by the British military establishment following his first successful flights and their initial reluctance to invest in military aeroplanes rather than balloons and airships. In contrast, in Australia the Federal Government had shown rather more enthusiasm concerning powered air flight, though by 1913 attitudes had softened in London as the potential of military aviation became too important to be ignored. The despatch of an initial mixed bag of British-designed aeroplanes to Point Cook included the Boxkite and BE2a’s. Examples of these pioneer aircraft have now been brought back to life in the form of three magnificent machines (including a French-designed Deperdussin monoplane) which are now to be displayed at Point Cook.

The author saw the Boxkite under construction during several visits over recent years and has followed more closely the Editor’s heroic efforts to re-create a “new” BE2a to join the Boxkite. Its emergence just in time for the Centenary celebrations of Australian Military Aviation is an outstanding achievement and could not be more appropriate, joining the RAAF Museum collection this year.

All at FAST in Farnborough extend their hearty congratulations to the Friends, staff and volunteers at Point Cook and wish the RAAF Museum well in the future.

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Samuel Franklin Cody and Point Cook

FAST

Jean Roberts and Andrew Willox

The most colourful of all pioneering aviators must surely be the American-born Samuel Franklin Cody. Not to be confused with the original Buffalo Bill Cody, an American ‘Wild West’ showman, Samuel Cowdery changed his name to Cody Jr. for the purposes of performing similar shows and was promptly threatened with legal action by the original Cody.

When, in 1890, Cowdery (Cody) first arrived in Europe it was as a Wild West Showman appearing in music halls with a trick shooting and fancy roping act. He later ventured into the world of the Wild West melodrama which was so popular with the audiences of the day and, having conquered the English stage, he moved on to conquer the air.

Over a period of several years Cody developed a deep interest in kite flying and his success in the theatre provided the finance to progress this interest from a hobby to an aerial system of great practical value. For a while his theatrical and kiting interests coincided but gradually more and more of his time was concentrated on to the latter and ultimately led to the development of a sophisticated system of man-lifting kites for military purposes.

By 1901 he was sufficiently confident in this system to attempt to gain the interest of the British War Office in its use for observation. It was not, however, until 1905 that they accepted the value of kites to the Army at which time Cody was given the post of Kite Instructor to the Royal Engineers’ Balloon School at Aldershot. The relationship between Cody and the Army was a rather uneasy affair with difficulties on both sides. Cody must have felt greatly restrained by the Army’s rules and regulations and for their part, the Army must have found it difficult to accept this flamboyant American who, although now severed from his theatrical life, still retained the appearance of a showman.

His man-lifting kite system having proved successful Cody progressed to the creation of a glider kite and, soon after, a motor kite with the ultimate intention of developing a piloted, powered aircraft. Although the Wright Brothers had been flying for a number of years it was difficult to interest the British Government, whose primary interest lay in airships, in financing the building of aeroplanes.

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In 1907 Cody was called upon to work on the Army’s first dirigible balloon, the Nulli Secundus, but by the latter part of that year he was free to concentrate on the completion of his aeroplane which, on the 16th October 1908 made the first official flight of a heavier than air machine in the British Isles.

Early in 1909, the British War Office, in their wisdom, then decided that there was no future in aeroplanes and Cody’s contract with the Army was terminated.

From then on Cody continued working on his aircraft without official monetary backing and without the assistance of Army manpower. Relying entirely on the help of family and friends and his own financial resources he went on to break many records, win a number of trophies and suffer several crashes.

Samuel Cody died on 7 August 1913 when one of his aircraft broke up after hitting a group of oak trees and he and his passenger, WHB Evans, were killed.

But, could things have been different?

18 months earlier, on 15 January 1912, Cody had written to the Australian Government in response to the advertisement placed in the Government Gazette, as discussed by Alf Batchelder on page 8. Never letting the facts get in the way of a good story, or his own reputation, his application letter read: Aeroplane Shed Laffan’s Plain Farnborough January 15th 19 12 Sir, In answer to yo ur inquiry re av iators and mac Commonwealth hines for the Government of Australia, I have to offer you my the honour services as a Co nstructor Aviato as Instructor in r as well the art of hand ling Aeroplanes Dirigibles. I am an d pleased to say that my Biplane efficient one in is the most the world, in th e following attri in handling and bu tes, safety manoeuvring on rough ground, rough weather, fly ing in actual speed in miles per hour, in feet per minut ra te of climb e, capable of ca rrying 1,500 lb load, and last bu s us ef ul t not least ease of manipulation.

This present m achine stands in readiness to gi demonstration ve a of any of the ab ov e mentioned ca and my latest m pabilities, achine, which is now in course of construction, wi ll be of the mon oplane type with hope to create which I a worlds record .

I enclose herewi th a pamphlet gi ving specificatio various types bi ns of my planes, as well as man-lifting kite, use in the British now in Army.

I could see you if you care to m ake an appointm at your office, ent either or at my flying ground here.

(Signed) S.F. Co dy

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Vickers and British & Colonial. The RAAF Museum’s BE2a is a replica that reflects the construction design of this exact period in aircraft development.

Even if Cody had been offered a position at Point Cook, his demands that went with his application (such as using his own aeroplanes) were such that there remains the question of whether he would have even accepted the position. By this stage the Australian Government had already ordered four of the original five aircraft to be used.

Norman Clifford, the accomplished artist and historian, who has compiled a very detailed history of the period, suggests that Australia would have been an awful long way from the centre of things for a show-business type like Cody.

He adds that Maj. Percival Buckley and Robert Muirhead Collins, secretary to the High Commissioner, were the ones who were actually agitating for an organiser position at the new flying school. Ultimately, Petre was named Chief Instructor and given the task of ‘organiser’ whether he liked it or not... he didn’t like it.

FAST

Cody was considered for one of the teaching positions, but also briefly as the manager or ‘organiser’ of the Point Cook flying school. A rather telling memorandum from the Commonwealth Offices in London, dated 3 July 1912 reads in part: Cody, of course, is well known in the aviation world, he constructs his own machines and flys them with remarkable success. Of course he is getting on in years, but his energy and pluck are qualities that are invaluable. It is considered that in the formation and organization of an aviation school his long experiences would be of great assistance to the Commonwealth Government.

I can only repeat that I have already stated in previous reports that it is difficult to make these recommendations regarding personnel without knowing how it is proposed that the school is to be organised.

The particulars of Cody’s latest monoplane, constructed at his own Works and published in this week’s ‘Flight’ are forwarded herewith. This machine is expected to do well in the military trials at the end of this month.

Ultimately, Cody’s entrant to the Military Trials of 1912 never made it to Salisbury Plain as it had crashed a few days prior to the event. He substituted one of his larger and more cumbersome biplanes – the Mark V – and was rewarded with success by being the winning entrant.

Also at the trials, in an hors concourse role, was Geoffrey de Havilland with the Royal Aircraft Factory’s BE2 – the second BE prototype after BE1. De Havilland demonstrated BE2’s more than adequate capabilities by using the machine to reliably ferry officials and journalists around the trials site in what could be considered the first ‘air taxi’ role. The aircraft was clearly out-performing all the other entrants with its reliability, which caught the attention of the judges.

Although Cody won the military prize, the British Army immediately ordered the BE2/2a in large numbers from

An ageing Samuel Cody with the winning Mk V entrant at the Military Trials of 1912

Geoffrey de Havilland seated in BE2, February 1912, shortly after its completion. Its ‘modern’ lines can be clearly compared to Cody’s more cumbersome pusher configuration and can also be compared with other photos of the BE2 elsewhere in this issue

FAST

Jean Roberts is a world authority on Samuel Cody and her website is worth a look for an in-depth appraisal of Cody’s life and achievements: sfcody.org.uk Aerogram March 2014

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The RAAF Museum’s Centenary Exhibits

Bristol Military Biplane ‘Boxkite’ VH-XKT Ordered by the Australian government on 6 December 1912 and delivered by sea arriving at Sydney on 13 March 1913, CFS 3 saw service as the principal elementary trainer during 1914, until joined by CFS 8, another Boxkite constructed in 1915 at Point Cook using CFS 3 as a pattern. No.133 is the original British & Colonial Aeroplane Co. constructor’s number.

Both aircraft were constantly ‘in the wars’ having to suffer from the iniquities of novice pilots’ landings and taxiing accidents where one hangar in particular still bears the scars.

CFS 3 was struck off charge in late 1917 and was amongst the last of the Boxkites in service anywhere in the world. It managed to survive CFS 8 which was ‘approved to components’ on 6 December 1916, having crashed two months earlier. By this time, two Grahame-White Boxkites were sharing the elementary flying load.

This RAAF Museum airworthy Military Boxkite was constructed by Geoff Matthews and Ron Gretton AM and Museum volunteers as a gift to the RAAF and the Australian Nation.

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CFS 8 is located some distance behind and CFS 3 is mounted on a tail trestle which has been crudely retouched out of the picture.

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Andrew Willox

Lt Ray Galloway, an instructor at Point Cook seen sitting in CFS 3 late 1915.

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The RAAF Museum’s Centenary Exhibits

Deperdussin Type-A Monoplane: CFS 4 Ordered by the Australian government on 3 July 1912 and delivered by sea arriving at Sydney on 28 May 1913 aboard the SS Domosthenes, CFS 4 and 5 saw brief service as ground instruction and ‘rolling taxi’ trainers during 1914-15.

Notoriously temperamental and difficult to fly because of their independent wing warping action, both aircraft were quickly reduced to mainly static use.

CFS 4 – a ‘School type’ – was struck off charge in March 1914 following a crash landing after its first flight and CFS 5 – a ‘rolling taxi’ type survived through care and, probably, compassion and is now in storage at the Australian War memorial.

This RAAF Museum example of CFS 4 was constructed and self-funded by the late Jack Gillies as a gift to the RAAF and the Australian Nation. Jack actually built two of the type simultaneously and gifted the other example to the Museum of Australian Army Flying at Oakey, Queensland.

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One of the two Deperdussins arriving at Point Cook by motor lorry in 1914 Aerogram March 2014

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The RAAF Museum’s Centenary Exhibits

Early variant BE2a under assembly at Point Cook. Nestled near the Museum’s Bristol Military Boxkite, a large aircraft in itself, the BE2 is almost of commensurate size

Royal Aircraft Factory BE2a: CFS 2 Ordered by the Australian government on 3 July 1912 and delivered by sea arriving at Melbourne on 3 February 1914 aboard the SS Hawkes Bay, CFS 1 and 2 saw service as advanced flying and observation trainers from 1914-18 and were the last surviving BE2a’s with unequal span wings left anywhere in the world.

They were the most reliable and ‘modern’ aircraft of the original government order but only pilots who had qualified on other CFS types were allowed to fly them solo.

CFS 1 and 2 were both struck off charge during 1918, CFS 1 because of a crash that had effectively written it off and CFS2 owing probably to exhaustion and old age. CFS 2 had the more colourful history, having been sent to New Guinea in early 1915 to investigate German interests in the region but had returned to Point Cook in its crate, still unpacked.

This RAAF Museum example of CFS 2 was constructed by Andrew Willox and Museum volunteers as a gift to the RAAF and the Australian Nation. It was funded by Andrew Willox and family, the RAAF Museum and the Friends of the Museum.

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A wing-warping biplane with very reliable flying characteristics, the BE2a was the first aircraft of the British Expeditionary Force to land in France after the outbreak of World War One. This aircraft type was specifically designed to be built by subcontractors, staffed by many of whom were simple village craftspeople who had never seen an aircraft in the flesh before.

Scratch-built from the original plans, this exhibit is covered in unbleached, clear-doped linen and is of an authentic appearance compared with the actual machines of 1912.

Lt Eric Harrison sits in one of the two newly-arrived BE2a’s at Point Cook in 1914 Aerogram March 2014

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Margaret O’Donnell Friend and RAAF Museum Volunteer

What an honour it is to be asked to write a piece about my connection with the RAAF and my volunteer service, for the Centenary of Military Flight issue of The Aerogram.

The RAAF was my husband, Tom’s, and my life from 19671987, when he was discharged on medical grounds. Our life started at Penrith (Ops Com Glenbrook). Tom was then posted to Vietnam and afterwards back to Penrith.

From there he was posted to 7SD Toowoomba, where my two oldest sons joined the Air Force Cadets. From Toowoomba we went to Tottenham, Wagga Wagga and then an exchange to Point Cook and then RAAF Williams Laverton from where he was discharged.

Margaret O’Donnell, RAAF Museum Host Officer and member of the Friends We raised five children and now of the RAAF Museum have 18 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, of which I am so proud.

I first worked at the Point Cook Base Cinema in the ’80s, Host Officers – perhaps two of us – and the other starting as an usherette, then cashier and progressed to volunteers are a great bunch of people and we all get on be the Candy Bar manager. I loved that beautiful old very well together. I am listening and learning all the time cinema but it closed down and the staff moved over to as some of them have been volunteering here for many Laverton, where the atmosphere was not the same as at years.

Point Cook. In 1994 I left as we were moving back to Our mid- and end-of-year volunteer functions are a great Queensland where the weather was much better for my opportunity for me to get to know the other Host Officers husband’s health. He passed away in 2000. that work on different days to myself, and also the volunteers working over at the Flightline who do so much It took me nine years before I decided to move back to to assist the Museum in running our interactive flying Melbourne to live closer to my family, as I knew I would displays and the other areas of the Museum’s activities. need support when getting older, and to give more time to Additionally, the staff at Museum headquarters are all so the grandchildren. I left one daughter and three very helpful. My first manager at the Museum was Tanya grandchildren in Bundaburg.

Kalwig who taught me so much that I know today about the I wanted to do something useful for the community and gift shop and the workings of the Museum, so thank you also for myself, so I took up volunteering. I attended an air Tanya. show at Point Cook, meeting Mary Briggs, the Museum’s volunteer co-ordinator and she started the ball rolling by I am also now a proud member of the Friends of the RAAF inviting me in for an interview, which then led to my Museum and would urge everyone to join the Friends. I am induction as a Host Officer at the Museum. I was desperate also in a job that has no age barrier and I hope to enjoy to make new friends and meet new people, coming from all good health so as to continue my service as a Museum over the world. I am, relatively, a newcomer to the Volunteer. I yearn for the day when I can proudly accept Museum, coming into my third year here and I love every my Five-Year service award, and what better place could aspect of the job. that be than at the birthplace and cradle of the RAAF – my beloved Point Cook.

I do four days per month and my days are Thursdays and Sundays. There are not many of the fairer sex working as

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An Older Member Remembers Ian Adderly – The Interwar Years I was born in March 1931 in the depth of the great depression. My older brother and younger sister and I lived with our parents on a small farm in Langwarrin, a rural district four miles east of Frankston and thirty miles southeast of Melbourne. We had six cows and 160 hens which did not provide enough income to live on. My father was also a house builder but had no building work for two years. The unemployment rate was 30% so times were tough. In the district there was no telephone, electricity, water, gas, sealed roads or bus service. To go anywhere we just walked.

I saw an aeroplane for the first time in September 1933 when I was two-and-a-half years old and have been hooked ever since. That aeroplane was a biplane and I now know that it was a twin-engined de Havilland DH84 Dragon, VHURD ‘Miss Launceston’ operated by Tasmanian Aerial Services Pty Ltd. That company, formed by the Holyman brothers, Ivan and Victor, had just begun a regular service across Bass Strait between Melbourne and Launceston via Flinders Island. Their north-bound service was usually right over our property. That company combined with others to form Holyman Airways in July 1934 and ordered two fourengined De Havilland DH86 Express airliners. The first of these, VH-URN ‘Miss Hobart’ began operating across Bass Strait on 28 September, 1934 and was lost three weeks later, probably near Wilson’s Promontory. Captain Victor Holyman was one of the twelve lives lost. Undaunted, Holyman Airways bought a second-hand DH84, VH-URG, and ordered two more DH86 aircraft. On 2 October, 1935 one of these two, VH-URT ‘Loina’, crashed in Bass Strait

near Flinders Island on its first flight, killing all five people on board. The other new DH86 VH-UUB ‘Loila’ started a regular Melbourne–Canberra–Sydney service on 7 October, 1935.

About this time my brother and I went to stay for a few days with our uncle who lived in the then-new suburb of West Coburg. On Saturday afternoon he took us on his Indian motorbike and sidecar to Essendon Aerodrome to see these aeroplanes. I was about four-and-a-half years old, and remember seeing a four-engined DH86 coming in to land – probably ‘Loila’. Bulla Road was the western boundary of the all-grass airfield at that time. Near that fence there were four biplanes, probably Dragons, lined up behind a DH86, all facing north. There was a strong SW wind blowing, and they were all rocking a bit – especially the DH86. A man went out to hold the lower wing on the lee side and a sudden stronger gust tipped the wing to the ground, crushing the man. Other men ran out, righted the aircraft and carried him away. After another non-fatal accident in Bass Strait with DH86 VH-USW ‘Lepena’, on 13 December, 1935, Captain Ivan Holyman persuaded the Federal Government to lift its ban on the importation of American-built commercial aircraft and ordered a Douglas DC2. Qantas had lost a DH86A at Longreach in 1934.

It is not surprising that Holymans wanted a DC2 and that the Government lifted its ban, because, in the famous Centenary London to Melbourne air race in October 1934, a KLM Douglas DC2 finished second behind the beautiful red purpose-built DH99 Comet ‘Grosvenor House’ flown by Scott and Black. I remember the race. KLM was a Dutch

Barry Maclean Collection

de Havilland DH84 Dragon, VH-URD ‘Miss Launceston’ operated by Tasmanian Aerial Services Pty Ltd

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ANA acquired a second DC2, VH-UXJ ‘Loongana’, which began a Melbourne–Perth service on 21 December, 1936

Airline and the DC2 was an all metal twin-engined 14passenger monoplane, and carried a few passengers in the race. However there was some drama for the DC2 on the final leg from Darwin to Melbourne. It was caught in a thunderstorm and, running out of fuel, it had to land in the dark on the Albury racecourse. The ABC radio station 2CO Corowa broadcast an urgent request for people with motorcars to go to the racecourse and line up on both sides of the selected landing strip with their headlights on.

One of the motorists was the father of a friend of mine.

The drama was not yet over. The DC2 was bogged and it took many men and a strong rope to set it free and on its way the following day for the final 150 miles to Melbourne.

On 13 May, 1936 Holymans Airways and Adelaide Airways combined to form the second Australian National Airways and in July 1936 began using their first DC2, VH-USY ‘Bungana’ on the Melbourne–Launceston–Hobart route. I remember seeing it over our home when it first started. I was five years old. ANA acquired a second DC2, VH-UXJ ‘Loongana’, which began a Melbourne–Perth service on 21 December, 1936.

In October 1937 our uncle took my brother and me to Essendon Aerodrome again and we saw Bungana and

Loongana on the ground and taking off from the muddy field. There was no security, we could walk around the planes and touch them. Ansett Airways had just begun operating two Lockheed L10 Electras from their hanger next door to the ANA hangar. Each Electra sounded like a pair of Harvards taking off. The Electra was a 10passenger, twin-tailed all metal monoplane. VH-UZN ‘Ansirius’ began operating on 6 September, 1937 and VHUZO ‘Ansertes’ began on 4 October, 1937. On 28 February, 1939 Ansirius was destroyed by fire in the Ansett hangar along with three other aircraft. ANA began using the much improved Douglas DC3 aircraft on 31 October, 1938. It was easy to identify the DC3 aircraft when they flew over our home.

In early 1939 I saw military aircraft for the first time. It was a formation of five flying boats which flew over our home at an altitude of about 700 feet on their way from Melbourne to the Flinders Naval Depot, HMAS Cerberus, which is 16 miles south of our home in Langwarrin. They were flown by the RAF from England as a training exercise and to celebrate 150 years since the “founding of the Colony at Sydney, NSW.” They were Saunders Roe (or Saro) ‘London’ twin-engined biplane aircraft with a crew of six and a

Ansett Airways’ VH-UZN ‘Ansirius’ began operating on 6 September, 1937

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Ansett Airways’ VH-UZO ‘Ansertes’ began on 4 October, 1937

ANA began using the much improved Douglas DC3 aircraft on 31 October, 1938. It was easy to identify the DC3 aircraft when they flew over our home

cruising speed of 128 mph. They were fitted with extra fuel tanks which increased their range to 2600 miles.

In August 1939 a “Dutch” couple rented the home on the 102-acre property opposite ours. They had a son about a year younger than me. On Sunday the 3rd of September, the boy asked me to come over to play at his place, which I did. He invited me inside and I saw, pinned over the mantelpiece, a red pennant with a white disc containing a black swastika – the emblem of the German Nazi Party.

Although I was only eight years old, I knew what it was and was careful not to stare at it. That very night Australia, following England, declared war on Germany. The next morning my father told the Frankston police about what I had seen and they came out but the people had vanished.

Also that morning I saw an RAAF aircraft for the first time – it was a Supermarine Seagull heading south-east at about 600 feet altitude.

A year or so later we read in the paper that a man with the same name as our ‘neighbour’ had been arrested in New Zealand as a German spy.

During World War 2, the RAAF impressed eight civil De Havilland DH 86A aircraft, six from Qantas and two from WR Carpenter Airlines. They were allotted numbers A31-1 to 8. Only one survived the war. Eleven de Havilland DH84 Dragon type aircraft were also impressed, and 87 were built in Sydney. They were allotted numbers A34-1 to 98.

The RAAF Museum has one in its collection, A34-92. The RAAF also operated ten Douglas DC2 aircraft. These were acquired second-hand from Eastern Airlines in the USA and were allotted serial numbers A30-5 to 14.

Many DH86 aircraft were impressed into service during World War Two and overleaf are some photos of these with the RAAF.

Ian Adderly is Vice-President of the Friends of the RAAF Museum and a long-standing volunteer Host Officer.

He has had a life-long involvement in land, engineering and construction surveying, and tennis umpiring and administration. Ian’s recollections will continue in the June edition of Aerogram.

Aerogram March 2014

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The de Havilland DH86 in RAAF Service Howard Franks Aircraft listed in Ian Adderly’s article: VH-URD – no RAAF service recorded VH-URG – no RAAF service recorded VH-URN – no RAAF service recorded VH-URT – no RAAF service recorded VH-USW became A31-4 VH-UUB became A31-3

RAAF DH-86 aircraft: A31-1 from VH-UVY DH-86B A31-2 from VH-ADN DH-86A A31-3 from VH-UUB DH-86A A31-4 from VH-USW DH-86A

A31-5 from VH-USC DH-86A A31-6 from VH-USF DH-86A A31-7 from VH-UZX DH-86A A31-8 from VH-? DH-86B

De Havilland Aircraft DH-86B A31-1 on the tarmac at RAAF Point Cook, Vic. c.1940 De Havilland Aircraft DH86A A31-7. A patient being loaded into an aircraft of No.1 Air Ambulance Unit in Sicily, September 1943

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De Havilland DH-86A A31-7, of No.1 Air Ambulance Unit RAAF, in flight during medical air evacuation duties in the Western Desert, North Africa. c.1941

A stretcher and equipment are rapidly taken on board the No.1 Air Ambulance Unit De Havilland DH-86A aircraft, serial no. A31-7, by personnel wearing red cross arm bands after receiving a request to evacuate a casualty from a forward area. Western Desert, North Africa. c.1942

Howard Franks is a former RAAF Engineer and is Secretary of the Friends of the RAAF Museum Aerogram March 2014

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Collecting RAAF Die-Cast Model Aircraft With Wayne Urmston Following on from the article in the September edition of the Aerogram, we will now look at the models in some detail. I thought that we would start with the F-18 Hornet models from manufacturers Armour and Franklin Mint Armour (FMA). The Franklin Mint Armour 1/48 Collection was generally discontinued in 2008. However, some of these RAAF models were produced later and are becoming increasingly hard to find. When they do appear on sites such as eBay you can be assured of a bidding competition.

The FMA RAAF Hornet models have been generally fetching prices from the $300.00 to just over $500.00.

Although in January 2014, some sellers on eBay were asking over $1,000.00. At this point, that price is unrealistic. Some of these models had a very limited production run. One such run was of just 315 models,

Armour 1/100 scale CDC 5025 F-18 RAAF 2 OCU I have not seen this model around at all. Even searching the internet for images draws a blank. I have seen it mentioned on lists, but I have yet to see an image, let alone the model itself.

Armour 1/48 scale CDC 98058 F/A-18A Hornet A21-34. 75 Squadron A21-34 is depicted as it flew with 75 Sqn at Tindal, Northern Territory during the 1990s.

Armour 1/48 scale CDC 98196 F/A18C Hornet A21-40. 77 Squadron A21-40 is depicted in the classic hi-vis scheme of the 1980s. Note also that this model has an FMA No.B11B500.

FMA 1/48 scale A21-55 CDC 98281 F/A-18C A21-55. 3 Sqn Centenary of Federation 2001 A21-55 is depicted in the special paint scheme for the Centenary of Federation in 2001. Model was released in 2003-2004 and also has a FMA No.B11B558. In June 2013 on eBay this model sold for just on $403.00AUD.

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this was the case of the FMA No.B11G414 RAAF F/A-18A A21-13 from 3 Sqn. It is finished in the paint scheme of the 90th anniversary of the RAAF. So let’s now take a look at the Armour / Franklin Mint Armour RAAF Hornet models, all except one are in 1/48 scale. Armour did bring out one RAAF Hornet in 1/100 scale.

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Armour 1/48 Scale CDC 98282 F/A-18B Hornet A21-112. 2 OCU A21-112 is depicted as seen in 1993 when serving with 2 OCU. The model was released in 2004 and also has an FMA No.B11B559. This model has become quite hard to find. In July 2013 on eBay this model sold for A$525.00.

Armour 1/48 scale B11E299 F/A-18A Hornet A21-26. Avalon Air Show scheme 2005 A21-26 is depicted in the paint scheme that was displayed at the 2005 Avalon Air Show. It was done to commemorate 20 years of Hornet service. The model was produced in 2006 and just 480 units made. This model has become highly sort after. In December 2013 on eBay this model was sold for $451.00.

Armour 1/48 scale B11E110 F/A-18A Hornet A21-57. 3 Squadron 75th Anniversary RAAF A21-57 from 3 Squadron is depicted in the livery scheme for the 75th Anniversary of the RAAF. The model was also produced during 2006 in limited number. In June 2013 there were eight bidders in a bidding war on eBay and this model sold for $699.00.

Armour 1/48 scale B11E328 F/A-18A Hornet A21-8. 3 Squadron A21-8 above is depicted in the paint scheme of around the “2000s”. It has on it the Wing Commander’s pennant and also a stylised snake just forward of the canopy on both sides of the fuselage. The model was only produced in 2007 and with a reported limited production run of 400 models. In November 2013 it sold on eBay for $377.00.

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Collecting RAAF Die-Cast Model Aircraft With Wayne Urmston

Franklin Mint/Armour 1/48 scale B11G414 F/A-18A A21-13. 3 Squadron.

90th Anniversary RAAF A21-13 is depicted in the paint scheme for the 90th Anniversary of the RAAF. The model was a special production during 2010 and a very limited production run of just 315 models. Produced specifically for the Australian collector, but this model is also highly sort after by overseas collectors.

If you are looking for 1/72 scale RAAF Hornets then HobbyMaster has two models out. These are also currently available in the RAAF Museum shop.

HobbyMaster 1/72 scale HA3503 F/A-18A Hornet A21-48. 77 Squadron A21-48 is depicted in the paint scheme of 77 Squadron, Williamtown 2007. The Model was produced in limited number during 2011. The model is currently available and generally sells around the $85.00 -$100.00. It is easily found, so if you look around you should find one at a reasonable price.

HobbyMaster 1/72 scale HA3531 F/A-18B Dual Hornet A21-103 3 Squadron A21-103 is depicted as it was with 3 Squadron in 2006.

Released in 2013 by HobbyMaster, this model continues to be readily available for around $90.00.

A final word I hope you find this article informative and that you continue to build up your RAAF die-cast collection.

I will bring you more articles on collecting RAAF die-cast

Wayne Urmston is a long-serving Friend of the RAAF Museum and a Committee Member of the Friends. As an Ambulance Victoria paramedic Wayne also provides training for Active Volunteers of the Museum in the areas of first responder and resuscitation Ed. 34

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models and if you would like any particular models looked into, or if you have an information on that Armour 1/100 scale CDC 5025 F-18 RAAF 2 OCU, just contact the Editor and he will pass your messages on to me.

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Aerograms Your Letters and Matters in Brief From Robin Page I am writing this over my MG Car Club signature as I understand how challenging it is to put out a consistently good magazine month after month. I am really enjoying the latest issue (December 2013) especially Truscott, Times to Remember, and the VC10.

I have flown many, many hours over the sea at low level in the tropics in Lincolns, Neptunes and Shackletons and know how deceptive a dead calm can be. I recall as a teenager going to see the Thunderjets, B29 and Globemaster, which I thought had been at Essendon. I still have the tiny photos I took of those aircraft on my box Agfa and developed at home. That was in the pre Xbox days when youngsters had hobbies!

Lastly, whilst on exchange with the RAF I flew out on detachment to Singapore as a passenger on a VC10 which was way quicker and more comfortable than a previous trip out there on a Britannia. The major downside of those trips was the fact that there was always a large number of families with babies who cried (screamed) for hour after hour. And of course the engineers who crammed the seats in overlooked the fact that the majority of humans have legs. So comfort comparisons are only that, as those trooping flights were invariably a bit of an ordeal.

From Kenneth Barker Sincere thanks for the Aerogram magazine (September 2013) – a great read and I have to say of particular importance to me because I knew Tony Gaze quite well. He used to launch gliders out of Nympsfield with his private Rallye aircraft.

Always immensely polite and courteous, he was a towering personality. I was just 17 years old at the time and flying the Slingsby Skylark. Truly a great man who flew so remarkably for the Allies.

A wonderful new book covering the history, construction and test flights of the RAAF Museum’s replica Bristol Military Biplane will be launched at CMA14.

Written by Life Member Friends Ron Gretton and Geoff Matthews (the aircraft’s constructors) with Friend James Kightly, who also edited the book, this is a lavish 80-page production that is a must for any aviation bookshelf. Retailing at $34.95, a 15% discount is available at the Museum Shop for Friends and Volunteers. The printing production of this book was generously funded by BAE Systems and the Friends thank them for their contribution.

Replica Spitfire for RAAF Museum The committee has presented a proposal to the Director of the RAAF Museum, for a new project to raise funds to commission the construction of a full size, fibre glass composite replica Mk V or Mk VIII Spitfire.

The proposal is not for the Friends to fully fund the project, but to provide support by way of donations from members and seeking donations from other organisations with an interest in supporting the RAAF Museum. The committee has received a number of expressions of support from individuals who are interested in donating substantial funds to this project. The full project is budgeted at $100,000.

The Director has confirmed that the Museum would welcome the replica with the intention of having it mounted on a steel pole in front of the Heritage Gallery. The Museum is interested in the replica being painted to represent one of the RAAF squadrons that were involved in the defence of northern Australia and were deployed to operations within the South West Pacific Area.

The Museum intends to have the replica mounted on a steel pole in front of the Heritage Gallery. The replica will be displayed in flying mode (wheels up) with a nose down and a wing up attitude. When displayed, the minimum clearance of any part of the replica will be three meters from the ground.

The Museum is considering a suitable aircraft which was flown by 79 Squadron.

How you can support the project.

You can donate to support Friends Supported Project –Spitfire in a number of ways: • When you renew your membership, the Friends website now provides convenient ways for you to make online donations or you may choose to send your donation by cheque through the mail.

• Donations may also be made via the Friends website or by contacting the Secretary of the Friends.

Replica Spitfire Mk IIa at the USAF Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro N.C., USA. Aerogram March 2014

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Congratulations on the Centenary of Australian Military Aviation 1914–2014 from the

Friends of the RAAF Museum Inc.

James Kightly

21 Years Supporting the RAAF Museum