Royal Australian Airforce Museum, Perth

I visited the Royal Australian Airforce Museum in Bullcreek in 2012; my first visit since I was a kid in the late 1970s. I think the museum has doubled in size to two halls since those days.

I arrived fairly late - just before 3pm. My vehicle of choice on this visit was my 1964 IWL Troll scooter from East Germany. The museum shuts at 4pm. http://www.raafawa.org.au/museum/index.html

Consolidated PBY Catalina. In 1943 the US Navy's Catalina Patrol Wing No 10 established a naval base at Matilda Bay. There was a proposal recently to establish a museum on the site which would display this Catalina. http://www.archives.uwa.edu.au/information_about/university_archives2/fact_sheet_index/the_catalina_base

Waist gunner/observer blister

Rear gunner position

1939 Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-6 Wackett. The Wackett was designed as a replacement to the aging Tiger Moth trainer.



1931 De Havilland Tiger Moth



1936 De Havilland Moth Minor, De Havilland's proposed monoplane replacement for the Tiger Moth trainer. Surprisingly, despite being constantly 'replaced' by more modern aircraft, the Tiger Moth remained the RAF and Commonwealth airforces' favourite training aircraft. They were such a delightful and forgiving aircraft to learn on that they continued in operation well after they should have been obsolete.

A replica of the 1909 Santos-Dumont Demoiselle built in 1960 for the film 'Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines.' Alberto Santos-Dumont was a Brazilian-born pioneer of aviation who built a number of airships and aircraft in France. http://smithsonianeducation.org/scitech/impacto/graphic/aviation/alberto.html

A replica of a 1921 Bristol Tourer

1933 Flying Flea homebuilt aircraft.

A replica of a 1917 Sopwith Camel.

Overview of the second hall

English Electric Canberra bomber. The Canberra first went into service with the RAF in 1949. This example was built under license in Australia by the Government Aircraft Factory in 1955. The Canberra was to be the backbone of Australia's bomber force from the mid 50s to the early 1980s. This one was donated to the museum in 1983.

Aermacchi MB-326H trainer. The Italian Macchi enjoyed a long career with the RAAF as their primary jet trainer from the 1960s to 2002. This one was based at Pearce Airbase north of Perth. They were a very popular aircraft and often performed aerobatic flights over the city. Given our government these days is so beholden to the US it is inconceivable that they would ever again consider purchasing military hardware from a non-US supplier.

De Havilland Vampire. Originally built in 1945, the Vampire was the first British fighter jet built, but was narrowly beaten into active service by the Gloster Meteor. The RAAF kept them in operation until the 1970s, first as a fighter and then as a trainer. This example was built in Australia under license, served at Pearce Airbase and was donated to the museum in 1970.

The Vampire's twin boom tail is overshadowed by the Lancaster's twin tail.

The Douglas Dakota (DC3) military transport. The DC3 was first released as a civilian airliner in 1931. It was pressed into military service in 1941 when the US entered the Second World War. The DC3 was such a robust and reliable aircraft that it continued in service way after it should have been considered obsolete. The last RAAF Dakota wasn't retired until 1999.

A late model 1945 Supermarine Spitfire Mark 22. The Spitfire entered production in 1938 and fought with distinction during the Battle of Britain. It became one of the most famous fighters of the Second World War. Late model Spitfires like this one remained in service in Australia until 1953, when they were replaced with jet fighters like the Vampire and Gloster Meteor.

1944 CAC Wirraway all purpose aircraft and trainer. The Wirraway was an Australian built version of the US T-6 Texan. They were used by the RAAF during the Second World War as light bombers and ground attack aircraft. They were used after war until 1959 as a training aircraft when they were replaced by the Macchi.

This aeroplane was retired in the 1959 and was donated to the Midland Technical School where it was worked on by apprentices. As it sat in the open its condition deteriorated before it was donated to the museum in 1973. I was five year's old but can still remember clearly standing on the front lawn of my parents house watching the Wirraway being airlifted from Midland to Bullcreek underneath a helicopter. Footage of the airlift was also shown on TV that night. It took several years to restore the plane to this condition.

Here is a photo of the Wirraway as it was at Midland Technical School.

A photograph of the airlift. Both these photos come from Geoff Goodall's excellent site: https://www.goodall.com.au/photographs/wrecks-relics/wrecksnrelics.html

Remote ball turret from an Avro Lincoln. The Lincoln was an improved Lancaster that was used by the Australian Navy in the 1950s.

Avro Anson "The Islander." This Avro Anson was used for decades as an airliner between Perth and Rottnest Island, just off the coast near Fremantle. See link https://www.raafawa.org.au/museum/wa-aviation-history/woods-airways

Cockpit of "The Islander."


The Avro Anson is one of my favourite inter-war era planes. It was introduced in 1935 as a civilian airliner but with the advent of the Second World War was converted to military use. They were used as military transports, trainers, coastal patrol aircraft and general reconnaissance. After the war they were sold of for civilian use again. This aeroplane was used by the Royal Flying Doctor service as an air ambulance until it was retired in 1962. https://www.goodall.com.au/photographs/ansons/ansons.html

Like most aeroplanes of its era the Anson was a mixed construction. The wings were built of glued wooden framework covered by riveted aluminum panels. The fuselage was a tube metal framework with aluminum panels at the front and doped canvas rear. After several decades in the air the wood and fabric components of the plane deteriorated and all the surviving planes were eventually declared no longer airworthy and scrapped. Quite a lot were saved and exist in museums around the world, mostly converted back to their wartime spec.

A 1940 Percival Proctor. The elegant Proctor was introduced as general purpose / trainer to replace the aging Tiger Moth biplane. This aircraft used by the RAF and retired in 1955. It was sold in Australia as a civilian aircraft, but, as with the Anson, by 1962 its wooden wings had deteriorated to the point the aircraft was no longer airworthy. The plane was retired and donated to Bunbury Technical School. The museum acquired the plane in 1972 and completed its restoration in 2000.

The pride of the collection is this 1945 Avro Lancaster Mk VII. This aeroplane was built right at the end of the Second World War and did not see active service. It was sold off to the French Navy who converted it for maritime reconnaissance in 1951. It was retired in 1962 and obtained by the museum. For many years it was displayed at Perth Airport before being moved to the museum. I can vividly remember seeing the plane as a child in the days when you could actually go inside the fuselage. The plane has been thoroughly restored since those days though. You can take a tour that allows you to go aboard.

A photo of the Lancaster as it was displayed at the Perth Airport. It was moved to the museum in 1979. https://www.goodall.com.au/photographs/perth-airport/70sperthairport.html




The Lancaster is on display in the second hall.




Here is a link to an excellent site of photos of derelict military aircraft. Some of the aircraft in the collection are shown here in the condition they were in before saved by the museum and restored.
https://www.goodall.com.au/photographs/wrecks-relics/wrecksnrelics.html

Planes of Fame Museum

Planes of Fame Air Museum was founded by Mr Ed Maloney in Claremont, California in 1957. From an original collection of only 10 aircraft, the collection now comprises over 150 across two locations in Chino, California and Grand Canyon, Arizona. The museum aims to keep these vintage aircraft in the air and have many restoration projects underway. We visited the Arizona museum on our way to the Grand Canyon. There weren't many visitors so I had the chance to talk a little with the volunteers manning the counter - but not for too long as while Shelly likes auto museums she doesn't find aircraft museums quite as interesting.

The museum has a great and informative website too - http://www.planesoffame.org/

This magnificent Lockhead Constellation airliner graces the front gate of the museum. This aircraft was the personal transport for General Douglas MacArthur during this time in Japan and the Korean war. http://www.planesoffame.org/index.php?mact=staircraft,cntnt01,default,0&cntnt01what=stplanes&cntnt01alias=VC-121A&cntnt01returnid=128
A Convair CV240 airliner. This plane is in flying condition.

View of the collection from the hanger doors. The Grand Canyon museum is smaller than the Chino museum, which holds the main collection, including a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and B-29 Superfortress.

A replica of the World War I Nieuport 17 fighter flown by the American fighter ace, Billy Walker. Walker was one of a number of Americans who enlisted in the French flying corps at the outset of the war. Their squadron became known as the Lafayette Squadron, after a French general who served with Washington during the War of Independence.

A World War I Bristol F2B. The British Bristol fighters were sold to the US and many Allied nations in the aftermath of the war.


A World War I Siemens-Schuckert D.IV fighter from Germany. This non-flying example is a really rare survivor. The Treaty of Versailles banned Germany from possessing an airforce and all German aircraft were commandeered for war reparations or destroyed.



A Grumman G-32-A Flying Barrel.


A Stinson Reliant executive plane. Very sweet




A Stinson Sentinel air ambulance. These planes were used as transports, spotters and air ambulances during the Second World War and Korean Wars. My great uncle John Markham owned one of these for many years. He had found it as a wreck at an Indian airfield during an epic round the world flight in the 1980s. He later purchased the plane and a wrecked Tiger Moth, had them shipped back to Australia and restored. I'll write something about that later.

A Messerschmitt Me-109G



It looks like a Japanese World War Two Aichi Val dive bomber but is in fact an American Vultee BT-15 converted to look a Val for the movies. The museum has an actual Val under restoration.

Douglas Skyraider. These aircraft were developed too late for WWII but saw extensive action in Korea and Vietnam.

North American Trojan T-28B

Douglas Invader bomber. Built towards the end of the Second World War, they saw service in Korea with the US Airforce and also in a number of foreign airforces.

A Ford.. and a bomb!

The museum strongly believes in keeping these machines flying. Many of these vintage planes have been picked up by retiring US airforce personnel in order to keep their flying dreams alive in retirement. Many however find that the expense of keeping the planes running difficult to sustain and, as with vintage cars and bikes, they can be a lot less fun to fly that they would appear. The Stinson Sentinel for instance was a rushed design during wartime and it has some poor handling characteristics that prevented it from enjoying a post war career. Generally, unless there is a special connection, the owners' children aren't keen to take on the responsibility and cost of maintenance so planes are handed over to the museum who display them and keep them flying.

There was also an extensive of aircraft models. This is a Northrop YB-35 Flying Wing. Northrop experimented extensively with flying wing designs. A prototype and pre-production versions of these four engined bombers were built after the end of the war but were too unorthodox for the Airforce. A jet version - the YB-49 - was also built but all were eventually scrapped. The two engined 1941 prototype is the only surviving example of this amazing machine. It has been restored to flying condition at the Chino air museum.

Outside the hanger are a collection of 1950s jet fighters. Being exposed to the elements, these planes look a little worse for wear.

From left to right, a Russian Mig-17, a British De Havilland Vampire and a French Aero Delfin L29.

Republic Thunderjet F-84B

The ubiquitous Russian jet fighter of the early Cold War era - the Mig-17. They were a popular jet fighter and sold all across the Soviet Bloc and Middle East.

The twin boom De Havilland Vampire was Britain's first operational jet fighter being developed and flying before the Gloster Meteor. However, due to engine problems it did not reach front line units until after the Meteor was deployed in the last months of the Second World War.

Surprising as it sounds the Vampire is largely constructed of wood. The wings and booms are steel skinned but the rest of the body is composed of marine plywood. The weather has certainly taken its toll on this plane and the wood paneling is badly flaking.

An aircraft fuselage awaits its turn for restoration.

This interesting flying wing was a home built aircraft based on the designs of the German Horten brothers. The Horten's worked originally with tailless gliders in the prewar years before moving into powered aircraft in 1943. Their aircraft were always constructed of classic lightweight materials, such as doped canvas and plywood. The builder of this aircraft constructed his of fibreglass, a much weightier material. When completed the aircraft proved too heavy to get itself airborne. It was eventually donated to museum and is awaiting its turn for restoration.

A line of engines lying in the dust. I don't know what aircraft these come from.