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The RAAF in the post war
years and before Vietnam Page 3
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Snowbound in the Antarctic: this RAAF Beaver appears to be in trouble but a few hours after thee picture was taken the aircraft was again airborne. The RAAF Antarctic Flight, formed at Point Cook in 1955, carried out considerable exploration and mapping of the
icy continent in support of civilian scientific teams. |
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| An aerial view of the airfield at Cocos Island, in the Indian Ocean, which was constructed by No. 2 Airfield Construction Squadron in 1951. |
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RAAF air-sea rescue launches carry out a spectacular high speed run on Sydney Harbour.
Nowadays the Service has launches based at Newcastle,
Townsville and Point Cook.
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| The first WRAAF officers to enter the Service, in December
1950, are welcomed by the Minister for Air Sir Thomas White, and the Chief of the Air Staff, Sir George Jones. The officers, from left, are: Miss G. H Forster, Miss Lois Pitman and Miss Mary Peck. Women were first engaged by the Service in 1941 when the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force was created, but at the end of the war the WAAAF was disbanded. The first recruits for the WRAAF were enlisted early in 1951, and there are now almost
900 women in the Service employed at twenty-four RAAF locations throughout the country. |
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| Crew members of the two RAAF Canberra bombers which competed in the England-Christchurch air race
in 1953. From left, they are: Flying Officer F. N. Davis, D.F.C., Wing Commander D. R. Cuming (leader), Flying Officer R. J. Atkinson, Squadron Leader P. F. Raw, Flight Lieutenant W. D. Kerr and Squadron Leader C. G. Harvey. The team comprising Raw, Kerr and Davis, came second in the speed section. |
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| Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who is Air Chief
Commandant of the Women's Royal Australian Air Force inspects a parade of WRAAFs at Richmond
during her visit to Australia in 1958. |
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| Two Bloodhound ground-to-air missiles of No.30 Squadron, RAAF, on their launching pads at the
Williamstown air base. |
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| A RAAF
Caribou flies low over the jungles of Malaysia on a training flight
before going to Vietnam. The RAAF became committed in the Vietnam war in
1964 when 3 Caribou transports were stationed in Vung Tau. Later a
further 3 aircraft arrived and No.35 Squadron came into being. |
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