CAACU Mosquitoes and Meteors

There is a book entitled “The Long Drag” that was published a few years ago detailing the history of RAF target towing. It’s still available in Australia, so it’s most likely still around in England. It details some of the 3 CAACU aircraft and a whole lot more.

Keith Gaff
Secretary
Friends of the RAAF Museum

RAFM faded glory

I’ve read through the comments on this thread and frankly I’m appalled. I first visited the RAF Museum in 1974 and Hendon was not an airfield at that time: it was a paddock with the remains of the end of one runway on it. Hendon has always been a museum and that’s not a dirty word despite what some aviation enthusiasts think.

The Blackburn Beverley was not part of the RAF Museum; it was owned by the RAF and the cost of restoring this ravaged airframe and housing it would have been prohibitive. You simply cannot save everything.

As for moving the collection elsewhere; at what point did anyone think this was a good idea?. Where to, how and who pays. It simply isn’t going to happen. All you would achieve is to see the last piece of Hendon disappear under houses.

The lighting has always been an issue but I can think of far worse; the RNZAF Museum at Wigram is the proverbial black inside of a black cat and some parts of the Australian War Memorial require a seeing eye dog. It’s part of a museological trend that has swept the world.

As for sacking Dr. Michael Fopp what do you wish to do: run him out of town on a rail in sack cloth and ashes. Is that how you treat someone who has dedicated years of his life to the preservation of aviation?.

Collectively gentlemen you should hang your heads in shame. I suspect, unlike many of you; I’ve met Michael Fopp and Jack Bruce. I found them both personable, professional and highly experienced gentlemen.

You have in England with the RAFM one of the great aircraft collections of the world and you should cherish it and nurture it. It isn’t perfect, but then no museum is. Join the Friends of the RAF Museum if you can and lend a hand. That will achieve far more than venting your spleen here.

Keith Gaff
Secretary
Friends of the RAAF Museum; Point Cook

Why don’t museums sell aircraft

I was very interested to read the comments of those deemed experts on this subject and in fact I was more than interested to see who was nominated as an expert on this matter. I rarely comment on the events surrounding the proposed Beaufighter sale but in the light of the comments on this forum I thought you should hear from the person who really is qualified to comment on the story: the person who was going to sell the Moorabbin Beaufighter: me.

Firstly a little background. Over the years Moorabbin sold quite a few aircraft including a Wirraway (which was used to fund the initial display hangar construction), a Mk1 Beaufighter, a Meteor Mk 8, Avro Anson and a Dehavilland Dove. There was clearly precendent for selling aircraft to fund various operations within the museum. When one of the many overblown proposals for an Australian National Aviation Museum fell over in the mid 1980’s the, then, museum administration decided to rely upon our own resources to save the aircraft in our care rather than wait for another pipe dream proposal. That’s when the Wirraway was sold to fund the initial stage of the hangar.

Various attempts were made to raise funds for a second hangar to house the remainder of the aircraft on site (an extension to the original hangar was completed several years after the initial construction) but to no avail; although the local municipal council donated $25,000 and Moorabbin Airport donated $2,500 to the fund.

When Moorabbin Airport was leased to private hands the new landlords made it perfectly clear to myself that the museum had to lift it’s game and the second hangar proposal slipped right into that concept. The museum sought funding from the Victorian State Government Community Support Fund and we were told that we could receive up to $500,000; but our contribution would be an additional $500,000 due in 90 days and that is where the proposal to sell the Beaufighter came from.

Was I happy about the idea; no; but I did see the cold hard reality of the museum’s situation; a situation which has not improved with the passing years and has been exacabated by various events during that time.

While members were happy to let most aircraft sales pass without comment selling the Beaufighter generated a huge amount of controversy; not that it ever got close to being sold. I likened the process to putting the Mona Lisa on eBay: everyone went “Yeah right”. There seemed to be this belief that the Beaufighter was the museums star attraction and that the whole business would fall over without it. From years of experience I can tell you that as enthusiasts we may care; but the average visitor has no idea what a Beau is and couldn’t care less if it disappeared and was replaced by something else.

The sad fact is that, had the sale proceeded, I have no doubt the second hangar would have been constructed, despite claims to the contrary and the museum could have achieved real financial independence.

None of that happened; the aircraft are still outside and more have been added and to top it off the latest proposal for a pseudo Australian National Aviation Museum has just fallen on it’s face.

I have been asked if, had I had another chance, would I do things differently and the answer is no. What was proposed by the administration I led would have been effective and decisive in the long term; but it certainly wasn’t popular.

Keith Gaff

Early Hurricane 1 in German markings

Hey, Luftwaffe fans, what about this Hurricane in Luftwaffe markings… Any guess which Erprobungstelle it was tested?:)

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Hello Gretza,

The only Erprobungstelle that tested this Hurricane was Warner Brothers. The aircraft is a Canadian built Hurricane painted up to represent a Bf 109 for the wartime movie “Captains of the Clouds” starring James Cagney. Cagney plays a knockabout Canadian bush pilot who ends up ferrying Lockheed Hudson bombers to England. Because the movie was made during the war and in brilliant colour it is a visual feast for aircraft enthusiasts. It’s a pity that the story line is rather average. It plays on Australian pay TV every so often and if you get a chance to see it you should.

Dayglo Paint

The RAAF had a long association with Dayglo paint. It was used on CAC Winjeels for much of their service lives and Vampire T.35’s but the most spectacular use was by Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) on their Vickers Viscounts. The entire fin and rudder was painted Dayglo. The practice didn’t last long because the painted rapidly faded.

Regards from Australia
Keith Gaff