iscover
Baltimore FW282, which had been operated by the RAAF’s 454 Squadron and crewed by officers from Australia, New Zealand and the UK, was found last year in 61 metres of water by Greek technical diving group AegeanTec. The RAAF has now publicly confirmed the plane’s identity.
The History and Heritage – Air Force Restoration Support Section (HH-AF RSS) brought back the aircraft, A79-440, for the RAAF’s No. 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron, which has not flown for 65 years. The plane had been mounted as a gate guardian at Amberley before being taken down and sold.
The crashed aircraft was discovered late last year in the waters off the coast of Gasmata, Papua New Guinea, by Dr Andrew Forrest and Ocean Ecology.
Queensland Air Museum, based in Caloundra, is one of 16 organisations receiving grants of up to $1,000 as part of the airport’s inaugural $15,000 Community Support Fund.
The historic aircraft, built at Douglas’ Santa Monica plant in May 1935, will be restored and displayed at the museum at Shellharbour Airport in NSW, though is not expected to fly again at this stage.
The plane, which has been painstakingly restored by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) over the past 12 years, took off shortly after 10:30am at Shellharbour Airport and flew for roughly 15 minutes before making a successful landing.
PROFILES
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Raising the Bar in Commercial Laundry: How Rinse & Repeat Is Redefining Service for Aviation
UPRT Australia- Transforming Aviation’s Greatest Risk into Its Greatest Asset
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