The 8th Beaufort built. Shipped to Australia as a pattern aircraft for Australian production. The unreliability of the Taurus engine and fears of a supply disruption saw it replaced with the reliable Pratt and Whitney R-1830. The RAAF used this engine on Dakotas, Catalinas and Hudsons and it was being licensed-built in Australia. Bristol in the UK separately produced an R-1830 powered aircraft until the Taurus problems were overcome. L4448 received the RAAF serial A9-1001. It crashed on February 27, 1943 at Darwin. Photo from: National Archives of Australia

The only Beaufighter powered by Wright GR-2600 engines, The nacelles extended past the trailing edge of the wings to accommodate the larger engines. Conversion was a safeguard against disruption to the supply of Bristol Hercules engines for Australian-made Beaufighters. Performance was poorer than Hercules-powered aircraft and engine supply was not disrupted, so the project was dropped. A19-2, a British-built aircraft and a combat veteran, was scrapped. Photo from: National Archives of Australia

Target drone. Shot down during a missile test at Woomera on November 12, 1968. Photo from: National Archives of Australia

The RAAF received two RAF B-29s for use during nuclear weapons testing in Australia. WW353, which was allocated the serial A76-1 (never applied), did most of the flying while WW354 (A76-2) was held in reserve. Both were scrapped, WW353 at Tocumwal, NSW, in 1962. It had been sold in 1956 for scrap by the RAF, which had taken back the aircraft. A private attempt in 1957 to sell it as a flyable aircraft came to nought. A third B-29 for the RAAF, WW349, was damaged in the UK and never arrived. Photo from: National Archives of Australia

The fate of this aircraft is not recorded. Unlike most Meteors, RAF and RAAF, used for testing and targeting in Australia, RA438 received a kangaroo roundel. Photo from: National Archives of Australia

Leased from BOAC ex G-AFPZ. Transferred to Qantas VH-ACD in June 1943. Scrapped after a landing accident at Rose Bay. Sydney, on January 18, 1944. Photo from: Townsville City Library

One of the 10 former Eastern Air Lines DC-2s bought by the Australian government at the start of World War II to bolster the RAAF's transport capability. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, A30-12 was camouflaged and the red centre of the roundel was painted out to avoid confusion with the Japanese roundel. Postwar A30-12 was sold to Marshall Airways and is believed to have been stripped of useful parts at Essendon airport. The rest was scrapped. Photo from: Townsville City Library

Showing the 79 Sqn patch, the other side of the fin has the 76 Sqn patch.

Taking off on Rwy 30 heading for Cyprus after an overnight stop. In company with A97-441.

Taking off on Rwy 30 heading for Cyprus after an overnight stop. In company with A97-465.

One of two on an overnight stop before departing south.

Constructed in 1942 by Westland Aircraft at Yeovil, EE853 was ferried to Australia in June 1943, being damaged on landing at Gurney Strip, New Guinea. Allocated A58-146 it joined the RAAF's 79 Sqdn at Goodenough Island and later Kiriwina Island, NG providing bomber escort. In August 1943 it suffered a landing accident on Kiriwina and was moved back to Goodenough. Abandoned after the war, it was rediscovered in 1971 and shipped back to Australia in 1974, then undergoing four years of restoration at Parafield Airport, Adelaide. In 2002 it was placed on long-term loan with the SAAM

With the starboard wing of the museum's Caribou as a backdrop, this Australian-built Vampire joined the RAAF at Williamtown in 1951 and although damaged in a wheels-up landing in 1953, went on to operate with 23 Sqdn, 21 Sqdn and ARDU Laverton. Wfu in 1960, it became an Air Training Corps gate guard in North Adelaide then was at Mildura Warbirds Museum from 1974 to 1980. Acquired by the SAAM in 1989

Built as C-47B-35-DK 44-77128 and delivered to the RAAF in June 1945, A65-114 was immediately involved in the return of POWs from Singapore, later in Korea and as a VIP transport. In 1954 it was transferred to 38 Sqdn at Richmond and after 10 years joined the Aircraft Research and Development Unit at Laverton, moving on to Edinburgh when the ARDU relocated there. In October 1986 it was substantially damaged after a double engine failure on take-off and left gear collapse. Withdrawn for use with 13,897 hours recoded, it was transported to Port Adelaide for preservation in 1992

A8-132 was the eighth F-111 allocated to the RAAF and made its first flight in 1968, not delivered to RAAF at Amberley till July 1973 following storage in the US due to concerns about the type's serviceability. After operating with 1 Sqdn, from 1979 to 1988 it was allocated to ARDU at Edinburgh. The white lower surfaces were added to provide contrast in images of weapons release during trials. It later returned to testing as the prototype for the Avionics Update Program (AUP) and also engine replacement using surplus US stocks. In 2019 SAAM exchanged their preserved F-111 A8-134 for this one.

Of the 75 Hornets delivered to the RAAF, all but the first four were built in Australia at the Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) plant in Avalon, VIC. This one served 3 Sqdn from 1988 then ARDU before the fleet was retired in 2021

Squeezed into SAAM's newer hangar along with their P-3, this Caribou is one of 29 taken on strength by the RAAF from 1964. It was allocated to 38 Sqdn at RAAF Richmond but soon deployed to New Guinea till 1971, training crews for Vietnam service. During one of its flights there, an RAAF C-47 missing since 1945 was discovered. A4-225 continued in service with 38 Sqdn at Richmond and Amberley until retirement in 2009 and was placed in open storage at Oakey, QLD till acquired by the SAAM in 2016