CHIEF OF AIR FORCE TO SIGN HISTORICAL AIRCRAFT AGREEMENT (RAAF)

Department of Defence Media Mail List
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CPA 298/05 Friday, 25 November 2005


CHIEF OF AIR FORCE TO SIGN HISTORICAL AIRCRAFT AGREEMENT


WHO: The Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Geoff Shepherd AM, and
President of the Temora Aviation Museum Mr David Lowy

WHE The Temora Aviation Flying Museum, Temora NSW

WHEN: From 10:00am Saturday 26 November 2005



The Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Geoff Shepherd will make a
significant commitment to preserving historical military aircraft when he
signs
an agreement with the Temora Aviation Museum in a ceremony to be held
as part of the museums public flying weekend on Saturday the 26th of
November.

Under the agreement, to be co-signed by the Founder and President of
the museum Mr David Lowy, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will loan
one of its historic aircraft to the Temora Aviation Museum (TAM).

The Sabre jet, flown throughout Australia and South East Asia by the
RAAF, will be restored to flying condition by TAM and will become a
feature of their regular schedule of flying weekends, which are open to the
public.

Following the establishment of the recently announced RAAF Heritage
Advisory Council, the agreement represents a further move to ensure that
important pieces of the RAAF's heritage are not only preserved but made
available to the Australian public.

Recognising the significance of the agreement, the Chief of Air Force
commended the museum for the initiative and continued support. "This
agreement will help safeguard an important piece of Australian aviation
history", Air Marshal Shepherd said.

"Mr Lowy's shared passion for aviation heritage and the expertise of
the museum staff will go a long way to supporting the RAAF's endeavours
to keep Australian war history accessible to future generations".

The Sabre A94-983 was delivered to No 78 Wing at Williamtown in 1957,
before moving to Butterworth, Malaysia in October 1958. In February
1959, the aircraft made a wheels-up landing with extensive damage to the
underside of the airframe and was transported back to Commonwealth
Aircraft Corporation (CAC) at Avalon for survey and costing of repair work.

After repair, A94-983 then went to No 76 Squadron in 1961, and was
operated until July 1963, when it was dismantled and put into storage in
Williamtown. In1966, the aircraft came back into service, this time with
No 2 (Fighter) Operational Conversion Unit. By 1970, the aircraft had
moved to No 5 Operational Training Unit, before returning to No 2
(Fighter) Operational Conversion Unit in August 1971. In November 1971 the
aircraft was ferried to Base Squadron Butterworth for transfer to the
Royal Malaysian Air Force.

The aircraft was next in the hands of the RAAF in 1978 at 75 Squadron
in Butterworth before its return to Australia for restoration. It was
first displayed in public in March 1981. The aircraft continued to be
displayed by the RAAF Museum at Richmond until 1992, when it was
relocated to Point Cook.


--
Darryl Gibbs
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