View of crowd meeting (or seeing off) troop train at Port Melbourne Railway Station, photographed from Centenary Bridge c1940transport - railways, war - world war ii, centenary bridge

The Bocian is a versatile training sailplane that first flew in 1952. The type has been modified in several respects over the course of production by SZD (tailplane and rudder in particular). About 600 have been built; many for export to 27 countries (including Australia). The aerobatic capability and fine performance (best glide ratio of 26) has enabled the Bocian to be used to train competition pilots as well as those of lesser experience. Many world gliding records were set in the 1950s and 1960s in Bocian gliders. The Museum’s example is a type D test flown in Poland on 3 and 4 April 1963. It was imported into Australia in September 1963 by Austerserve Pty Ltd. The first owner was the Alice Springs Gliding Club and the glider had name “Cumulus” painted on the side of the fuselage (since removed). The glider had recorded 726 hours 46 minutes flying time from 2138 launches as at July 1967 when it was transferred to the Darwin Gliding Club. It appears that the glider was damaged in June 1968. The substantial repairs to the fuselage, both wings and tailplane and other minor repairs were completed on 13 October 1968. The glider continued flying with the Darwin Gliding Club until August 1969 at which time the service to that club amounted to 59 hours 7 minutes flying time from 348 flights. Between August 1969 and August 1976 no flights are recorded in the logbook. It is understood that on its last flight at Bachelor, south of Darwin in the Northern Territory (August 1969) it was severely damaged when it crashed after spinning while being auto-tow launched (although this is not expressly mentioned in the logbook). Reg Hancock purchased the damaged glider and rebuilt the port wing and restored it to airworthy condition (September 1976). It was then transferred to Colac, Victoria, and used by the Colac Gliding Group at the Yeo airfield until February 1981, adding another 153 hours from 403 flights to the glider’s record. After airworthy inspection in September 1982 the glider was used by the Geelong Gliding Club until 1983 (logbook details not held). The 20 year survey was then due and the glider fell out of service. In the course of the most recent restoration attempt it was discovered that the glue used in construction had deteriorated and that it was no longer feasible to bring it back to an airworthy condition. Subject to restoration, this exhibit may be representative of the 1950s - 1960s Bocian two seat sailplane typeThis exhibit is a large two seat glider /sailplane of wood and fabric construction. All components are present with the exception of instruments. However, at the time that the aircraft was transferred to the Museum it had been taken apart for major restoration work. As received it is stripped of the top coats of paint and a number of components (including, amongst others, tip fairings, nose cone and cockpit elements) that were removed for facilitating the repair process. The glider, serial number 803, was registered as VH-GNLaustralian gliding, glider, sailplane, bocian, cumulus, alice springs gliding club, darwin gliding club, colac gliding group, geelong gliding club, hancock

Index, ill, maps, p.274.non-fictionSixty years ago, specially trained men were parachuted onto a Norwegian glacier, carrying only the most basic equipment. Their mission was to prevent the Nazi regime from building an atomic bomb. Now wilderness expert Ray Mears tells the true story of this gruelling campaign, showing how these men's ability to survive in extreme conditions influenced the outcome of the Second World War. Using crucial military information which has only recently been declassified, shows how a highly secretive operation came into being. Titleworldwar 1939-1945 - special operations, norwegian heavy water sabotage

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.691.non-fictionIn 1942 and early 1943 Papua New Guinea was 'a bastard of a place' to fight a war. This book gives us the final, all-encompassing story of the five battles that changed Australia forever. The compelling narrative resonates with the voices of both the well-trained AIF volunteer, and the young Militia conscript who triumphed together. The author interviewed hundreds of these soldiers and himself travelled the treacherous terrain and bloody battlegrounds where so many of their mates perished, and reveals the inside story of how Generals MacArthur and Blamey sacrificed many of the senior Australian field commanders as scapegoats to protect their own positions. A Bastard of a Place restores Milne Bay, Gona, Buna and Sanananda to their rightful place beside Kokoda to what they should collectively be for all Australians - sacred ground.world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – new guinea, world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – kokoda

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.479.non-fictionKokoda, 1942. In the muddy, treacherous mountains of Papua New Guinea, a small force of young Australian soldiers - some of them still teenagers - are up against highly trained, experienced Japanese troops. Many believed that the all-conquering Imperial Japanese Army was unstoppable. But this is the story of how these brave young Aussies faced up to some of the world's best soldiers on a narrow, precarious jungle track - and defeated them.world war 1939 – 1945 – campaigns – kokoda, kokoda track 1942

Maps, p.520.non-fictionFour and a half days after being transported out of Singapore in a steel goods train in October 1942, prisoner of war Denys Peek found himself in Siam, and a part of the labor force destined for the project that was later to be known as the Thai-Burma Death Railway.world war 1939 – 1945 - prisons and prisoners – japanese, burma - thailand railway

Index, bibliography, notes, ill (b/w), p.348.From the 1930s through WWII to Afghanistan today, from total war to counterinsurgency, this history unravels and defines the intangible qualities that differentiate the "Sky Men" from other soldiers Seventy years ago the Parachute Regiment was formed - the army's elite air assault force was tough, well-trained, and designed to fight hazardous operations behind enemy lines with little or no backup. Dropping into the middle of enemy territory, these "Sky Men"- British, American, German, and Russian soldiers - engage in gruelling combat in the most dangerous conflict zones around the world. Ex-Parachute Regiment officer Robert Kershaw reveals the history of these airborne forces and their role during the most dramatic battles of the 20th century. He finds out what drives a "Sky Man" to take these extraordinary risks, and what marks these sky warriors out from ordinary soldiers. How do military paratroopers conquer the fear of jumping from aircraft at low level, by night, and frequently under fire? Has the helicopter replaced the need for parachutists in the 21st Century? Has the increasing lethality of anti-aircraft weapons made the airborne option redundant? These issues are examined alongside the personal experiences of the Soviet "Locust Warriors," German Fallschirmjäger, British Red Devils, American "devils in baggy-pants," and Les Paras. Based on letters, diaries, and exclusive interviews with soldiers from around the world, this book is full of vivid personalities and nail-biting action.great britain - history - military, great britain - parachute regiment

maps, p.270.fictionThe classic World War II thriller from the acclaimed master of action and suspense. Twelve hundred British soldiers isolated on the small island of Kheros off the Turkish coast, waiting to die. Twelve hundred lives in jeopardy, lives that could be saved if only the guns could be silenced. The guns of Navarone, vigilant, savage and catastrophically accurate. Navarone itself, grim bastion of narrow straits manned by a mixed garrison of Germans and Italians, an apparently impregnable iron fortress. To Captain Keith Mallory, skllled saboteur, trained mountaineer, fell the task of leading the small party detailed to scale the vast, impossible precipice of Navarone and to blow up the guns. The Guns of Navarone is the story of that mission, the tale of a calculated risk taken in the time of war... world war 1939-1945 - fiction, special operations - fiction

Ill, maps, p.160.Details the experience of No8 PFF group - the most experienced and highly trained elite created in the RAFworld war 1939-1945 - aerial operarions - britain, royal air force - pathfinder group

Bendigo Advertiser "The way we were" from Saturday, August 21, 2004. Fun time: celebrating at Luna Park in 1946 after being released from the airforce after World War II, were Bob Greive, Arthur Hando and Reg Hansford, from Bendigo. Bob is known to many as the trainer of Schweppes open Handicap winner Fearless Sophie.newspaper, bendigo advertiser, the way we were

Collingwood Technical School trained apprentices in many trades. CTS was also invlved in Training Schemes during the late 1930s and during World War II. These photographs depict some of the machines and machine parts built in class. These are high quality professional photographs taken circa 1940-1943. At this time , CTS was part of the Defence Training scheme. These photographs are a visual record of this scheme.6 black and white photographs mounted on brown card. Photographs depict various aspects of lathe work undertaken during the Defence Training Scheme, 1940-43. Also a smaller photograph of a Moultar Thread Milling Machine 1941.Each photograph has a hand written caption on the back. Captions: 1. Finished surface plates for R.A.A.F. / standing on trestle after scraping. Stack of / others in background waiting for scraping. 2. Lathe bodies in foreground, with machined / parts of lathes in middle distance, and milling / cutters, gauges and bearings in background. 3. Frames of glass splitting machines, thread / rectifying machines, and two types of milling / machine vises made in technical schools. 4.View of engineering machine shop. Carbon dioxide / freezing box in foreground, and stack of / surface plates for RAAF in middle / distance. 5.Fan geared lathes, 6 inch centres, with / self-contained motor drives, made for / cartridge factory. To be used for making / this 6.Freezing of cast iron surface plates / in layers of solid carbon dioxide / blocks. Smaller photograph has a handwritten note on the reverse: 'this photograph shows how, with the aid of a 3ft. extension mounted in front of the tool box, on which Mr. Grubb sen. is seated, these large milling machine bases ... machinists at Collingwood Technical School. A Strang, Principal 21.4.1941'. collingwood technical school, cts, apprentices, students, defence training scheme, lathes, machinery, machine parts, nmit,

Black and white photograph showing a number of Australian soldiers beside a train at Bacchus Marsh Railway station. Verso: Talking to General Birdwood at Bacchus Marsh (illegible) he had got his hand on my arm,bacchus marsh, world war, world war one, train, railway, birdwood, general birdwood

Index, ill, ,maps, p.380.non-fictionIn the Second World War, thousands of Australian boys lied about their age and volunteered for a war the scale of which they could never have imagined. Like many of their fathers in the Great War, they went with their eyes wide shut: under-trained, under-equipped and under-age. Some were as young as thirteen - too young even to shave. Many did not grow old; others came back broken. A handful are still alive to tell their tales. This extraordinary book captures the bold and untold stories of forty Australian children who fought in the deadliest war in history. Follow these boys through Libya and Palestine, Greece and Crete, to the jungles of Malaya, Papua New Guinea and Borneo, fighting for their lives, their country, their mates. Many of the photographs have never been seen. Haunting images of youths in training camps and behind the lines stand beside moving portraits of old men who have not forgotten.world war 1939-1945 - australia - under age soldiers, world war 1939-1945 - personal narratives - australia

Index, ill, p.272.non-fictionCovers the years 1939 to 1945, the author's Bomber Command experiences and those of the 19 men with whom he trained.royal air force - bomber command, world war ii - air warfare

Ill, p.260.non-fictionSnipers, highly trained and ruthlessly efficient killers, they can act as lone agents or as part of a strategic military force.snipers, irregular soldiers

produced during World War Two for use by the Air Force. To train pilots in navigation navigation, training, world war two, pilot training, air force

This type first flew in 1937 and by the start of WWII it was the preferred aircraft in all Empire Air Training Schemes for multi-engine pilot training. By the beginning of WWII the Airspeed Oxford was the preferred aircraft in all Empire Air Training Schemes for multi-engine pilot training. As of April 2014, no Airspeed Oxfords remain in the world in airworthy condition and there are very few complete air frames. There are reportedly some restoration-to-fly projects underway, one in New Zealand.Full-sized replica of an Airspeed Oxford aircraft. This type of aircraft was described as a multi-engine three-seat advanced military trainer monoplane. It was a wooden construction using plywood and fabric covering and powered by two 375 HP Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah 10 engines. Parts originally used a base for this reconstruction were reckoned to be from an Oxford Mk 2 with registration A25 LX181 which was based at Point Cook and used extensively in training from the Werribee Aerodrome.