As part of the Townsville 150 celebrations the public was invited to attend RAAF Townsville to view the aircraft which participated in the Airshow the previous day as well as other exhibits. I took plenty of photos, copies uploaded below.
The first two aircraft on display were the DHC-4 Caribou and the Consolidated Catalina PBY-6A.
Caribou A4-210 entered RAAF service in late 1964.* This aircraft is a Vietnam veteran being part of RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam. It was retired from the RAAF in late 2009 with 19,000 flight hours.* The Caribou is maintained by HARS (Historical Aircraft Restoration Society) as a flying memorial to all Australian Service personnel who served in the Vietnam War.
The Catalina is another HARS aircraft. It was built in New Orleans for the US Navy in 1945. After WW2 it was sold off and converted to a water bomber. In 1986 it sunk in an Argentinian fresh water lake. It was recovered, rebuilt and used as fire bomber in Portugal. HARS acquired it in 2002, adding new blisters and nose turret. It is a flying memorial to all RAAF airmen who flew these aircraft in WW2. For a $5 donation you could board the Cat, so I took advantage of the opportunity.
A gunner's eye view....
....and there's that damned tail shadow!
She was a pretty impressive warbird.
The next WW2 warbird was the beautiful Lockheed Hudson Mk.III operated by the Temora Aviation Museum.
A Zero's eye view.........
..........and one of the replacement Wright Cyclone engines fitted just prior to the airshow.
One more WW2 aircraft, the CAC Mustang! This Packard engine model has been modified as a two seater and was booked for a number of joy flights throughout the day. The Mustang was first flown by the RAAF in Italy in 1944 but did not see service in the Pacific Theatre. After WW2 Australia was the only country outside the USA to produce the Mustang, with 200 built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC). This particular aircraft served with 82 Squadron RAAF as part of the Occupation Forces in Japan and saw active duty with 77 Squadron RAAF during the Korean War.
That will have to do for tonight, I'll upload more tomorrow.
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