A Control Joy Stick presented to Pilot Officer Eric V. Read in 1937 after it was recovered from an aircraft he was flying had crashed in the Brisbane Ranges in December 1936. Eric Read was a 21 year old RAAF pilot who was on a flight over the Bacchus Marsh region to make meteorological observations. Read's plane came down in bad weather and crashed into a heavily wooded area of the Brisbane Ranges between Staughton Vale and Mount Wallace. An extensive air and ground search was conducted and after 32 hours Read was located, alive, but badly injured and unable to get out of the cockpit of the plane. He was first located from the air and then a rescue party was able to reach him through rough country and bring him to safety. Read recovered from his injuries and many years later gifted the control stick of the aircraft he had been flying as an item for the collection of the Bacchus Marsh and District Historical Society.This item is of local historical significance as an object related to a notable aircraft accident and subsequent rescue of the pilot. It is also significant for its rarity as a surviving piece of aviation equipment from this era.Control or Joy stick mounted on a wooden base.aircraft, aircraft accidents, eric v. read

A 62 page book outlining the loss of the Beaufort Bomber and the search to locate it. The book includes maps, illustrations and a bibliography. The cover features a map of the search area for the bomber.This book tracks the crash of the RAAF Beaufort, A9-228 which crashed in the mountains near Eskdale, Victoria and the search to locate the wreckage. On the night of 4 June 1945, just weeks before the end of World War 1, a Beaufort Bomber went missing whilst conducting a navigational exercise between Mount Gambier in South Australia and Sale in Victoria.The aircraft was meant to head east, but instead it headed north east due to a series of navigational errors. It flew over Albury, circled and then headed towards the Victorian Alps. It flew over the town of Eskdale in Northeast Victoria and crashed into the side of Mount Tawonga. All crew on board perished. Those lost were Flight Officer Don Flavel (pilot), Flight Officer Robert Clayton (navigator), Flight Officer Fred Wallis and Flight Sergeant L. J. Sims (radio operator). At the time of the crash, many members of the Eskdale community were in the public hall just beginning to watch a screening of the Bing Crosby movie, "Going My Way". This accounts for the title of the publication.beaufort bomber crash 1945, beaufort bomber eskdale, aircraft accidents victoria

The seven photographs shown above are part of an anonymous donation, by a relative, of the photographic collection of a former member of No. 3 Squadron RAAF 1939-1945. They cover the African, Sicily and Italian campaigns. The entire collection comprises 175 photographs. The collection has been divided into sets depicting various aspects of 3 Squadron operations. The above images are representative of this particular set of 34 photographs, featuring allied aircraft from British and American squadrons that that shared airfields with 3 Squadron in Africa and Italy. Of note are the photographs from Foggia in Italy, home to dozens of bomber and fighter squadrons. The museum has digitized the complete set.Set of 34 black and white photographs featuring Allied aircraft from other squadrons, Australian, British and American. The full set numbering and description is as follows: 9664.01P Avro Anson Africa.jpg 9664.02P B 17 Italy 2.jpg 9664.03P B17 Italy.jpg 9664.04P B17 Lil Joan 346 Bombr Squadron 99th bomb group Italy.jpg 9664.05P B17.jpg 9664.06P B24 Foggia Italy.jpg 9664.07P B24 Liberator Italy.jpg 9664.08P B24 Transport.jpg 9664.09P B25 Mitchell 1943.jpg 9664.10P B25 Mitchell Italy.jpg 9664.11P Beaufighter with nose radar.jpg 9664.12P Beaufighter.jpg 9664.13P Beaufort.jpg 9664.14P Bristol Blenheim.jpg 9664.15P Bristol Bombay 1st Ambulance Air Unit Africa.jpg 9664.16P Crashed Havoc.jpg 9664.17P Crashed Liberator Italy.jpg 9664.18P Crashed Spitfire.jpg 9664.19P DeHavilland DH86 .jpg 9664.20P Formation of Baltimores at Mtapin Malapis.jpg 9664.21P Havoc.jpg 9664.22P Hawker Fury Africa.jpg 9664.23P Lightening.jpg 9664.24P Lockheed Hudson.jpg 9664.25P Mosquito.jpg 9664.26P P38 Lightning Italy.jpg 9664.27P P47D Thunderbolt.jpg 9664.28P P47G Thunderbolt .jpg 9664.29P Shanghai Lil insignia on Mitchell Loggia Italy 1943.jpg 9664.30P Vultee Vengeance .jpg 9664.31P Walrus.jpg 9664.32P Wellington.jpg 9664.33P Wimpy.jpg 9664.34P Harrow.jpgno. 3 squadron raaf 1939-1945, african campaign ww2, italian campaign ww2, raf squadrons, usaaf squadrons

This booklet relates the life of Basil Watson. It tells in detail his early life, background, his home built aeroplane, his display flights and his tragic death and the story since. This year marks 100 years since one of Australia’s pioneering aviators, Basil Watson arrived in Warrnambool and delivered the first airmail to the town. Basil Watson was born in Bendigo in 1894. His interest in aviation which began at a young age, took him to England at the commencement of WW1 where he worked at Brookland in aviation workshops and as a test pilot. Despite crashing and suffering injuries he was not deterred. He returned to Australia and by 1916 Basil had built his own plane. He soon took to the air performing tricks and barnstorming to the delight of onlookers. His connection to Warrnambool lies with his delivery of the first airmail to the town, an event which was filled with much excitement. Basil Watson, pioneer aviator landed his 50hp home built aeroplane on the racecourse on Saturday January 27th 1917, after a flight from Point Cook. The trip of 166 miles took just under two hours, and set a record non-stop cross country flight for Australia. Watson was heartily welcomed by the Mayor, to whom he delivered three letters, the first aerial post to Warrnambool. One of the letters, from the Mayor of Melbourne Sir David Hennessy to the Mayor of Warrnambool is now in the W&DHS collection: I have much pleasure in sending you greetings by aeroplane piloted by my friend, Mr Basil Watson. I hope when the cruel war is over and victory crowns our efforts, we, over the Commonwealth, will be able to fly from one State to the other. With best wishes for the New Year. Yours truly, DV Hennessy. Basil Watson was unfortunately killed two months after his historic visit to Warrnambool. While participating in an air show at Point Cook, the plane he way flying that day crashed into the sea. This booklet tells the story of an interesting part of Warrnambool and Australia's aviation history. It has special significance as it enlightens two significant items in our local collection, namely the letter which he delivered and the seat from his aircraft.A small 29 page booklet with blue and white photograph of Basil Watson in his aeroplane. It contains a number of black and white and some colour photographs. Introduction from the author, "This small booklet recognises the short career of Basil Watson. He came to my attention when researching the French aviator Maurice Guillaux who carried the first official air mail in Australia, Melbourne to Sydney in two and a half days 16/18 July 1914..... Tom Lockley 1 June 2017. Handwritten inside front cover,"These items may be of interest to add to your material about Basil Watson. Its a pity that the 100 year anniversary of his flight was not more widely recognised but thank you for mounting some of his records. Tom Hockley."warrnambool, basil watson, first airmail flight, aviation career of basil watson