RAAF Station Tocumwal () was a major

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

base 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 ...

History

Located near the town of

Tocumwal, New South Wales Tocumwal ( ) is a town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Berrigan Shire local government area, near the Victorian border. The town is situated on the banks of the Murray River, north of the city of Melbourne. ...

the base was established in early 1942 to provide a secure base for

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...

units. While the USAAF does not appear to have used the base, it was heavily used by the RAAF and, from 1944, was home to the RAAF's heavy bomber support and operational conversion units including No. 7 Operational Training Unit. While RAAF Station Tocumwal was closed following World War II the airfield remains in use and is a renowned

gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word ''soaring'' is al ...

site. 200 houses from the base were relocated to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in the 1940s to address a housing shortage. The vast majority were relocated to a small precinct in the suburb of O'Connor, and in 2004 were added to the ACT Heritage Register.

Notes

References

* Michael V. Nelmes (1994). ''Tocumwal to Tarakan. Australians and the Consolidated B-24 Liberator''. Banner Books, Canberra.

External links

RAAF Tocumwal: a pictorial review

/small> – compiled by Geoff Goodall

Tocumwal Tocumwal ( ) is a town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Berrigan Shire local government area, near the Victorian border. The town is situated on the banks of the Murray River, north of the city of Melbourne ...

Riverina {{mil-aviation-stub