Charleville Airport - Tourist Attraction

[Ejector]

Tourists flock to former top-secret US Air Force base near Charleville

IT was the top-secret air base so covert even the locals were sworn to silence.
The US Air Force base, outside Charleville in outback Queensland, was deserted after World War II and has sat forgotten in the desert for more than 60 years.


Read more: Tourists flock to former top-secret US Air Force base near Charleville | News.com.au (http://www.news.com.au/travel/australia/tourists-flock-to-former-us-air-force-base-near-charleville/story-e6frfq89-1226544794455#ixzz2HONMHZQd)


Is this just the airport present they are referring to?

[aileron_69]

Yeah mate, its the current Charleville airport. They are over-dramatising it somewhat in that story. Driving around in the trees there you can find all sorts of interesting things.

[tail wheel]

The dispersal bays and taxi ways are still there.

The main Charleville Airport tourist attraction today is the Cosmos Center.

Longreach Airport was also a bomber base for I think both the USAF and RAAF.

[185skywagon]

And the Norden bomb sight hut, and the current RFDS hangar.

[OZBUSDRIVER]

Just like the top secret maintenance base at Lake Boga where my grandfather turned spanners on the Catalinas.

Good on the Charleville tourism people for generating interest. But forgotten in the desert???

[aroa]

Early in WW2 when the Yanks were turning up in Oz, and with the threat that a Japanese carrier force might do a few "Pearl Harbours" on places like Townsville and Rockhamptom..Air Forces prudently shifted inland..Cloncurry, Longreach, Charters Towers etc.
They soon found that the long hauls to Rabaul etc where rapidly wearing out engines and crews. Once the threat had passed, they moved closed to the job, MBA, TVL, CNS etc. And once the threat to POM, by sea at least, had passed, quickly moved into the 'war zone'
Need to read up on Charleville in 'Qlds WW2 Airfields' by R Marks and see what the story is. And check it out on GE.

Good to see that the "forgotten" ? history may be preserved. :ok:

[Lucerne]

The Corones Hotel is well worth a visit when spending any time in Charleville. Many famous aviators including; Kingsford-Smith, Earheart, et al, famous aircraft such as "Grosvenor House" and many more, have graced the skys of Charleville in the past. Charleville is one of Australia's richest aviation culture centers and should be included in the must-see list of any enthusiast. Much of this history is recorded at the Corones Hotel.

[aroa]

Did she do an earlier swing thru OZ,.. visiting Charleville ?

On her final flight, leg before last was Darwin - Lae. Thence Lae into history and mystery.
Or Nukimaroro SE of Howland Is, as TIGHAR seem to posit, and doing serious archeology there. Think they might have found something off the reef flat in deeper water. Will be fantastic if they can prove it up.

Secret airfield in the desert ?...I thought that was Corruna Downs WA

[Nautilus Blue]

I can remember 'exploring' those old concrete floors as a kid in the late 70's/early 80's. From memory at least one was/is very close to "The House". Even then everybody knew the US had been there, accepted folklore had them building the cinema.

[onetrack]

There's an interesting photo in the link below (No. 2 in the photo gallery) that shows a substantial gathering of aircraft and a considerable number of people lined up at the edge of the Charleville aircraft dispersal/parking area, circa 1947.

Does anyone know what this event might have been? It appears as if it was an event of some significance for that number of aircraft and people to be assembled there.

:: WWII Historic Places :: Queensland Government (http://www.publicworks.qld.gov.au/sites/qldwwiiplaces/pages/Places.aspx?PlaceCode=QWWIIHP-480)

The story of the Norden bombsight is quite interesting, and I never knew the Americans built a special building to store the bombsights in.

aroa - That should be spelt Corunna Downs. My brothers FIL, a farmer who was conscripted in 1942, was stationed at Corunna Downs for the entire duration of the War. He regularly spoke about the place, it must have made a big impression on him. However, the major thing he spoke about, was the furnace-like, continuous, oppressive heat!

Corunna Downs airfield, WA (http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/ozatwar/corunnadowns.htm)

[185skywagon]

Another shot from another angle. Caption says there was an airshow in 1947.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/StateLibQld_1_213536_Airshow_at_the_Charleville_airstrip%2C_ 1947.jpg

[Jabawocky]

And here I was thinking YOU were the main attraction? Or is that the BEACHKING :}

Who has been notable in his low profile of late.

[185skywagon]

Haven't we all, Jaba, especially the trucking magnate.

[tail wheel]

Looks like I can see the apothecary in the crowd but no Beechcraft? :}

[Checkboard]

Yes - one of the more important bit of history is that I spent 8 months flying a Baron into Charleville on a bank run in 1994/5 :ok:

I was very grateful to said apothecary giving me a regular lift from the town back out to the airport. :)

[185skywagon]

Check, SWT and what was the other one?

[Checkboard]

VH-WIM (from memory). There was a standby B55 as well, but I would have to look up the rego for that one!

[megle2]

VH WIM was a great plane to fly, it lives on as VH VEG based at CB

[27/09]

Charleville is one of Australia's richest aviation culture centers and should be included in the must-see list of any enthusiast. Much of this history is recorded at the Corones Hotel.

They keep it all pretty well disguised, you'd never know by flying into the airport, looks like any old airfield with some scrub and a fence around it.

[Avgas172]

Ahh thats nuthin' ..... wait till you get all the way out to Mount Isa :E

[27/09]

Ahh thats nuthin' ..... wait till you get all the way out to Mount Isa

I can believe that. I've had the opportunity to see some other outback airfields.

[Lucerne]

27/09,

It just takes a moment to wander beyond the bowser and have a look around. charleville is still very raw and untouched. There are treasures there amongst the scrub and at the Corones Hotel that will please anyone with a sense of nostalgia. The RFDS museum is also very well worth a visit.

[Jabawocky]

YBCV is the closest thing to the perfect airfield, not many places in Australia where you can get Jet/Avgas/hire car/lunch/lift into town/check wx and notams/not be mollested by security/friendly/etc.etc.

Seriously it is a GA haven for an RPT port. Think about it a bit.:ok:

[aileron_69]

And they even loaned me a hose, bucket and some detergent to wash my plane!! Great place to work out of!!

[Mister Warning]

I used to fly Seneca II WJI into Charleville on the bank run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the early 90's.
Did you take my job, Checkboard? :)

[Checkboard]

I was doing the run for jetCraft. I moved to Brisbane to do that after flying the Westwind out of Darwin for them.

[27/09]

It just takes a moment to wander beyond the bowser and have a look around. charleville is still very raw and untouched. There are treasures there amongst the scrub and at the Corones Hotel that will please anyone with a sense of nostalgia. The RFDS museum is also very well worth a visit.

I have no doubt it's exactly as you say. We were just passing through picking up gas and a snack. The people there were very friendly and helpful.

My point was that there was nothing what so ever to indicate there was anything of interest worth looking at during our stop there. Bit of a pity as we could have taken a look.

[Avgas172]

Now you've done it dammit, I'm gonna have to dirvert on my next YGLI-YBMA trip and have a look, oh well ya gotta do what ya gotta do. :}

[Jamair]

Ahh thats nuthin' ..... wait till you get all the way out to Mount Isa "all the way out to Mount Isa"......... sheesh kids, it ain't the bloody frontier!:rolleyes:

AVGAS, are you in that plash PC12?

[gerry111]

A great town, Charleville. Taxi service from AD was available with good local information. We stayed at the Matilda Motor Inn across the road from a pub. It was a Friday night and the pub had very generous counter meals. Most of the local hard working abbatoir staff were there. (Be very careful with the young gals as they well know how to use knives!) A wonderful brekky at a bakery in the main st, next morning. The only downside was the water there. The worst shower ever and I've been to William Creek a couple of times...

[Jamair]

I can sense a mini pprune-bash coming on! Late Feb sounds good, steaks at the RSL....... mmmmmm!:cool:

[185skywagon]

Gerry,
I am sorry you didn't like the water. IMHO, it is some the best artesian water around. There are many places that are much worse.

What, exactly, didn't you like about it?

185.

[gerry111]

185skywagon,

The shower tap water had a very sulphurous smell about it and was very hard. I grew up in Adelaide so am used to hard water. I agree with you, though. There are some places where the water is much worse as it can also be rusty coloured. But that didn't diminish from a really fun trip to Charleville and I'd love to return. Same goes for William Creek and many other places. One of the better places for artesian basin water IMHO is Marree. The best is Forrest but that's cheating as they have a membrane desal plant.

[Avgas172]

sheesh kids, it ain't the bloody frontier!

Jamair, it sure is if you gotta walk home ..... and PC12, I wish!

[LeadSled]

Ejector,
Methinks the local tourist mob need to to a bit of research, the USAF wasn't formed until late 1947, long after the Yanks left Australia.
During WWII, it was the US Army Air Force. The US Marines and the US Navy also had large numbers of aircraft in Australia.
The original Bankstown was largely built by the US Navy, the largest hangars at Bankstown also look like the most modern, but are actually the first Navy hangars, the sawtooth roof hangars to the west of the terminal (which is where the tower originally sat).
Tootle pip!!