ADF Airshow & RAAF Open Day Townsville T150 15-16/10/2016
This past weekend as part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the north Queensland city of Townsville the Australian Defence Force and the USAF put on an airshow over the Strand (a beachside park) and held an open day at RAAF Townsville. I was fortunate to get up there for the event with a great camera and took about seven hundred photos!
Each image is about 5mb, so I have uploaded some reduced copies for your viewing pleasure.
The reason for the ADF involvement in the Townsville area dates back before to WW2. Between 1942 and 1945 Townsville played an important part in the War in the Pacific, becoming a major military base, accommodating up to 90,000 Australian, American and other allied service personnel. The city was hit by three Japanese bombing raids, and aircraft from Townsville played a key role during the Battle of the Coral Sea. The top photo below shows the Strand in 1942, and the one under that I took from Kissing Point in pretty much the same spot on the weekend.
In this idyllic setting watched by an estimated crowd of 100,000 people the Airshow started at 1000hrs with an impressive aerial display by a USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon. High speed and low speed passes and fantastic aerobatics.
This was followed by one of my favourite WW2 Warbirds, the Lockheed Hudson. This Mk.III Hudson belongs to the Temora Aviation Museum in country NSW (check out my blog for a previous Temora visit - http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/ent...viation-Museum). It is powered by two newly reconditioned Wright Cyclone engines which were fitted just before the event.
Next came the Catalina PBY-6 in the colours of a wartime RAAF 'Blackcat'. This one was built in 1945 and is operated by the Historical Aviation Restoration Society (HARS) out of Woolloongong NSW (just north of Barry-Gullyraker's place).
After that we had a fly past by a QANTAS Boeing 737 commercial airliner in a retro scheme. QANTAS made a massive contribution to the Pacific War by using it's flying boat fleet to support operations in New Guinea and south east Asia.
The first of many RAAF aircraft involved in the display was the Airbus KC-30A refuelling tanker. This type is currently serving in the skies over Syria and Iraq.
It was followed by the RAAF's airborne early warning and control E-7 Wedgetail, another aircraft currently deployed in the Middle East.
An RAAF C-17 Globemaster III was up next, the crew wowing the crowd with a magnificent handling display.
A formation of RAAF King Air 200 communications aircraft made a fly past before giving way to some rotary wing machines.
The twin rotor CH47 Chinook brought back memories of my army days.
The MHR90 Taipan, replacement for the Army Blackhawks and Navy Seahawks.
A highlight of the display was the RAAF CAC Mustang. This Packard engine model is painted in the colours of 82 Squadron RAAF during occupation duties in Japan 1950. This actual aircraft also saw war service in Korea with 77 Squadron RAAF. I have quite a few good shots of the 'Stang, I will post more later.
Back to jets next with the RAAF Hawk 127 advanced trainer. The Hawk pilot made an inverted pass in this lovely little jet over the Strand at about 1,000 feet.
The RAAF F/A-18 Super Hornet arrived over the Strand and put on a great show.....
...wheels down low and slow....
...lighting the fires for high speed manoeuvres....
...deploying counter-measures...
...dropping flares and split-S.
The cargo-lifters started their runs next. The first was the DHC-4 Caribou, another aircraft I flew in many times in the 80's and 90's. The Caribou was in service for with the RAAF for 45 years, only being retired in 2009.
The next aircraft was the new RAAF C-27J Spartan. The replacement for the venerable Caribou, the Spartan's engines and cockpit are the same as those of the C-130J Hercules easing the cost of maintenance and crew conversion.
The C-130J Hercules is another classic cargo aircraft in service for decades and still going strong.
The CHC S76 SAR is the RAAFs search and rescue helicopter.
Next up were the maritime patrol aircraft. The first was the Lockheed P-2 Neptune retired in the late 1960's.
The Neptune was replaced by the Lockheed P-3C Orion which remains in service to this day.
The Neptune and Orion in formation.
The penultimate display of the day was put on by the RAAF aerobatic team, the Roulettes, flying Pilatus PC-9 turboprops. The Roulettes never disappoint.
The airshow ended how it started with another excellent USAF F-16 display.
Allies in 1942 and Allies now.
Sundown from Kissing Point Townsville, beautiful part of the world.
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Great pics & background story Carl.
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