B-24 Liberator at Wirribee, Victoria

[ErrolC]

Wirribee, just to the west of Melbourne proper, is home to the restoration of B-24 Liberator A72-176. I visited 27 Feb 2014 - very worthwhile. After a guided tour of the hangar/workshop you are free to watch the volunteers at work on the Liberator and other projects.

Webpage

You are invited to call in and see the great restoration work being carried out on the B-24 Liberator by the many volunteers on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays between the hours of 9:30am and 3:30pm.

Admission is only a $5 donation per person. And there is no charge for visitors under 16 years of age.

Not many realise how many Libs the RAAF used. Per Wikipedia:

While Australian pilots flew Liberators in other theatres of war, the aircraft was introduced into service in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1944, after the American commander of the Far East Air Forces (FEAF) General George C. Kenney suggested that seven heavy bomber squadrons be raised to supplement the efforts of the 380th Bombardment Group of the USAAF. The USAAF helped in the procurement of the aircraft for the RAAF and training of the Australian aircrew members. Seven flying squadrons, an operational training unit and two independent flights were equipped with the aircraft by the end of World War II in August 1945. Liberators remained in service until 1948.

The RAAF Liberators saw service in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. Flying mainly from bases in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia the aircraft conducted bombing raids against Japanese positions, ships and strategic targets in New Guinea, Borneo and the Netherlands East Indies. In addition, the small number of Liberators operated by No. 200 Flight played an important role in supporting covert operations conducted by the Allied Intelligence Bureau; and other Liberators were converted to VIP transports. A total of 287 B-24D, B-24J, B-24L and B-24M aircraft were supplied to the RAAF, of which 33 were lost in action with more than 200 Australians killed. Following the Japanese surrender the RAAF's Liberators participated in flying former prisoners of war and other personnel back to Australia.

At first I thought that standing in the bomb-bay was a thrill, but later realised that seeing volunteers hard at work all around the historic hangar was even better! Very much a workshop in action. Plenty of signage, posters, models, memorabilia etc around, and a good little shop too.

Flickr 27-photo Album


Liberator and hangar by errolgc, on Flickr


This cockpit setup is used for education
Liberator cockpit by errolgc, on Flickr

Volunteers at work
Working on Liberator wing by errolgc, on Flickr

Volunteers by errolgc, on Flickr

Tour in progress!
Bomb-bay viewing by errolgc, on Flickr

Used for demo engine runs
P&W R-1830 Twin Wasp on demo stand by errolgc, on Flickr

Cutting-edge 30s tech
Liberator cable runs by errolgc, on Flickr

Norden bombsight by errolgc, on Flickr

Liberator ball turret by errolgc, on Flickr

Liberator engine mount by errolgc, on Flickr

[Ian Warren]

Errol, Thanks for these brilliant photos, the ball turret is intriguing, trying to check and in my brain case figure the retraction unit and mechanism , that Norden bomb sight is just as impressive, Pleased you posted these photos, the entire collection

[corsairarm]

Great photos.
Going over to Melbourne/Bendigo next weekend but have no time to visit any aviation stuff. Bugger