|
Lake Boga Flying Boat Museum
Welcome to the
Lake
Boga Flying Boat Museum,
home
of the historic Catalina
Flying Boat and site of the secret RAAF Repair Depot.
Lake
Boga was an integral part of allied defence during World War II, with
a facility that
helped to keep Australia safe – the No.1 Flying Boat Repair and Service
Depot.
On the original site of the the no.1
Flying Boat Repair Depot, stands an underground
Communications Bunker which has been transformed into the Flying Boat
Museum. It is fully
air conditioned and is an educational trip into our recent history.
Also at the museum is an
interactive map of the Pacific region and an informative 20 minute
film in the theatrette.
The Australian
Government had known the existence of Lake Boga as a potential site
for
flying boat activity as early as 1938.
It was not until the Japanese attacks on
Broome in 1942,
resulting in the loss of 16 flying boats, that the establishment of a safe
haven for flying boats
and amphibians was deemed “Essential To The Defence Of Australia.”
“South and inland” were
prerequisites. The Lake Boga potential was revisited. Inspections of
Lake Boga and Kangaroo
Lake were made, Lake Boga being the preferred site.
Lake Boga was an ideal stretch of water
for the flying boats and amphibious aircraft as it was
almost circular (offering unlimited choice of landing/take off direction)
and free of obstructions.
The required infrastructure was already in place. Vacant land around
its foreshore, an adjacent
railhead and highway, electricity from the Swan Hill power station and
lines of communication.
The repair depot itself with workshops
and hangars (on the foreshore), a stores area (on railway
land near the Depot), living quarters (west of the township), sick
quarters (at Castle Donnington),
first-aid and dental post (on the foreshore), a radio transmitting station
(on the Depot site) and
a VHF transmitting station (west of the township).
June 28th,
1942 saw
the arrival of the
first RAAF personnel under the command of F/Lt.
G.S. Moffatt. On
July 12th,
1942, the first Catalina flying boat
arrived
when a quantity of
stores
and equipment was flown in from Rathmines, N.S.W. Compared to the
Walrus that had alighted
four months earlier on an inspection visit, the Catalina seemed enormous,
with its graceful hull and
huge wing span topped by two powerful Pratt & Whitney 1200hp 14
cylinder radial engines.
Hangar
construction had just begun. The design, an open-fronted, grandstand
type hangar with
a cantilevered canopy. Eight large steel-framed structures were erected,
120 feet wide by 58 feet
deep. These were to be followed by structures to house activities such
as administration, signals
& cypher, airframe repair, electroplating, engine/hydraulics repair,
draughting, metal work,
photography, stores, armament repair, propeller testing, machining,
crew rooms, control tower...
The first Catalina to be serviced at Lake
Boga was A24-17, which carried a crew of 4, plus 12
personnel on posting from Rathmines in New South Wales, arriving
August 5th, 1942. Squadrons 11
and 20 had flown this aircraft relentlessly against the Japanese since
January of that year.
During the Depot’s wartime life personnel
undertook large volumes of work. 416 aircraft were
serviced, repaired, restored, rebuilt or overhauled. These aircraft
included Catalina, Dornier,
Sikorsky
KingFisher,
Sunderland, Walrus and Martin Mariner. In the over five years of Depot
life,
with more than
1050 aircraft
arrivals/departures and an estimated 800 test flights (plus associated
“unofficial aerobatics”), no aircraft met with major mishap. Quite
remarkable.
In addition to RAAF
aircraft, many allied flying boats used the Lake Boga Depot for
repairs,
including those of the United States of America and the Netherlands. At
peak operation 39
Officers,
802 Airmen and 102
WAAAFs staffed the depot.
The base at Lake Boga closed in November
of 1947.
|
