Dubbo RAAF Stores Depot
The Dubbo RAAF Stores Depot is an heritage-listed former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) stores depot located at Cobra Street, Dubbo in the Dubbo Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The depot was designed by Sidney Williams & Co and built from 1940 to 1943. It is also known as Dubbo RAAF Stores Depot (former), No. 5 (1942) and No. 6 Stores Depot (1942–52); No. 2 Stores Depot Detachment D (1952–92); Defence National Storage and Distribution Centre Detachment (1992-1995). The property is owned by private companies, Andorra Developments and Belmorgan Property Development. The depot was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 29 June 2004.
No. 3 Aircraft Depot RAAF
No. 82 (Heavy Bomber) Wing and its three squadrons of Consolidated B-24 Liberators arrived at Amberley as lodger units between February and April 1946. In the aftermath of World War II, No. 3 AD continued to command and administer the base until the re-establishment of Station Headquarters Amberley in 1947. No. 82 Wing converted to Avro Lincolns during 1948. In October 1952, when Lincolns flew observation flights as part of Operation Hurricane, the first British atomic test in Australia, No. 3 AD was responsible for handling underwing canisters used to collect radioactive particles. The RAAF's first jet bomber, the English Electric Canberra, began replacing the Lincoln in December 1953. No. 3 AD was responsible for "deep" maintenance of the Canberra, which involved stripping aircraft back to their components. This process was generally required every five years, and could take up to a year to complete. The depot also performed deep maintenance on the CAC Sabre fighter during its service with the RAAF. No. 3 AD's crest was approved by Queen Elizabeth II in June 1959; the design featured a Maltese cross in azure, symbolising the unit's home state of Queensland, surmounted by a cock's head in gold with a red comb. From December 1966 until January 1969, No. 3 AD was commanded by Group Captain James Rowland, later Chief of the Air Staff and Governor of New South Wales. By the 1970s, the depot was responsible for maintenance of the RAAF's Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters as well as the Canberra bombers. It also maintained the McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantoms leased to the RAAF from 1970 to 1973 as an interim strike force pending delivery of the long-delayed General Dynamics F-111C.
The F-111C represented the most significant maintenance challenge undertaken by the RAAF, and No. 3 AD's hangars and workshops were extensively revamped before and after the new bomber's entry into service in mid-1973. The depot was responsible for major upgrades and complex maintenance involving stripping down the airframe and engines, while intermediate-level servicing was carried out by No. 482 (Maintenance) Squadron, a unit of No. 82 Wing. After General Dynamics in Fort Worth, Texas, had modified the first of four F-111Cs earmarked to be brought up to RF-111C standard for photographic reconnaissance, No. 3 AD modified the remaining three aircraft at Amberley during 1980. In 1982–83, the depot upgraded to C-model standard four F-111As delivered to replace the four F-111Cs from the RAAF's original order that had been lost through accidents. It conducted the F-111 Pave Tack infra-red and laser-guided precision weapons targeting system upgrade in 1985. No. 3 AD also took on responsibility for maintenance of Boeing CH-47 Chinooks after the helicopters entered service with No. 12 Squadron, based at Amberley, in September 1973. The depot had no familiarity dealing with significant damage to the Chinook, and when one of the helicopters crashed following an engine failure in 1975 the repairs were not completed until 1981.