By Staff reporter
First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on March 18, 1921
“Royal Australian Air Force pilot Mr Terry standing next to his plane, New South Wales, 4 June 1927.”Credit: Staff photographer
AIR FORCE.
EIGHT SQUADRONS.
MACHINES TO BE BUILT IN AUSTRALIA.
The Defence Department, according to information received in Sydney yesterday, has decided that the new Australian Air Force is to consist of eight squadrons, with headquarters in Sydney and Melbourne. Each squadron will consist of 18 machines, giving a war formation of three flights of six machines each.
Three of the squadrons are to be stationed in New South Wales, and four in Victoria, the eighth or training squadron to be located at Point Cook. The site of the New South Wales headquarters has not yet been decided, but it is understood that both Richmond and Mascot have been rejected, the former as being too far away from Sydney, and the latter as being within the range of shell fire from sea.
There are rumours that the Randwick Rifle Range is being considered, but aviators point out that this site would be open to the same objection as Mascot, and would, in fact, be more easily shelled by an enemy vessel at sea.
Experienced members of the Australian Air Force, who hold responsible positions in France, and so have personal knowledge of war requirement, say that the most suitable centre for the New South Wales headquarters would be at Liverpool, where sufficient land is available for an admirable aerodrome, which would be far enough away from the sea to be safe from shell fire from warships, and yet quite convenient to Sydney on the main line to Melbourne.
The feeling amongst members of the New South Wales Aero Club is that Liverpool will eventually be chosen, and they are also of opinion that the Defence Department will find it advantageous to later place a training squadron at this centre.
Commander Wackett’s flying boat the Widgeon in a field, New South Wales, ca. 1925 Credit: Staff photographer
Tho Avro has been decided upon as the standard land machine. There are 48 Avros in stock at Point Cook. These are the gift machines from England, and will probably be used for the first two squadrons and the “culls” for the training Squadron.
The suitability of Australian timbers for airplane construction, is, at the request of the Federal Government, being tested at the Mascot works under the supervision of Mr. Broadsmith, who was constructional engineer at the Avro works at Manchester during the last years of the war.
As it has been found hard to get an Australian wood sufficiently light to take satisfactorily the place of spruce, what is technically known as the “box strut” is being introduced, and it is believed that this will enable a strut as light, but very much stronger than spruce, to be made from Australian timber, preferably white ash and blue fig.
By this means it is anticipated that the finished machine will be within a few pounds of the weight of the standard English Avro, and will meet in every particular the requirements of the British Air Ministry and the Aeronautical Inspection Department of the Federal Government.