Port Pirie Airport is an airport that is located south of

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The airport is owned by the

Port Pirie Regional Council The Port Pirie Regional Council (PPRC) is a local government area in South Australia, focused on the city of Port Pirie. It has a population of about 18,000 people. The council's main administrative facilities and works depot can be found in Port ...

History

The airfield was a

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF)

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

and home to ''No. 2 Bombing and Gunnery School'' (No. 2 BAGS) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. No. 2 BAGS provided bombing and gunnery training for pilots, air observers and air gunners. ''No. 2 Operational Training Unit'' was formed at Port Pirie on 6 April 1942, and operated initially with Wirraways and

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Hi ...

s at the aerodrome until it moved to

Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in May 1942. No. 2 BAGS was renamed ''No. 3 Air Observers School'' in December 1943. After World War II, the station housed ''No. 5 Central Recovery Depot'' where aircraft and parts were stored until disposal. The station closed in early 1947, with the aerodrome reverting to civilian use thereafter. A Bellman hangar is still standing at the airport and is in good condition, it remains in use by light aircraft based at the airport.Newsletter of the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology Inc.
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References

Airports in South Australia Former Royal Australian Air Force bases Buildings and structures in Port Pirie {{SouthAustralia-struct-stub

History

See also

References