After WWI, Australia had a number of pilots in Britain. The government wanted them home, preferably with some aircraft, so we could start a civilian aviation industry. So they financed “The Great Air Race”, from Britain to Australia. Whoever came home to Australia first won a pot of money. In the end, it was the Smith brothers who won the race, in 135 hours of flying over 28 days, completing the first flight from England to Australia. Although the race finished in Melbourne, the first landing point in Australia was Darwin.
And then there was the first aerial survey of Australia.
The next major part that Darwin played in aviation history is its bombing during WWII, and its key role in the Indian Pacific air campaign. During the first bombing of Darwin, the Japanese dropped two and a half times as many bombs on Darwin as they’d dropped in the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Of course, there were a lot more bombings of Darwin afterwards.
During the war, there were over 100,000 military personnel in Darwin, and, to this day, it plays a significant part in Australia’s military defences. In the museum, I also found information about looting that happened in Darwin during the war. Personnel were issued with loot chits, that allowed them to loot places, so they could furnish their quarters and offices!
The museum has a lot of aircraft in it. The hanger was built to contain a B52 bomber that they acquired.
A lot of other aircraft fit in below the B52, including tiger moth,
F111
Mirage
It’s a fantastic museum!
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