Eagle Farm Airport
Encyclopedia
Eagle Farm Airport was a small airport located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south-west of Brisbane
, Queensland, Australia.
was initially used as a landing field in 1922 and Eagle Farm Aerodrome was officially opened in 1925. It was used for scheduled flights between Brisbane and Queensland
regional centres by the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (Qantas)
, which operated from Eagle Farm in 1926 and formed the Brisbane Flying Training School there in 1927.
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith
, Charles Ulm
, Harry Lyon
(navigator) and James Warner
(radio operator) landed the Southern Cross
at Eagle Farm on 9 June 1928 after its trans-Pacific flight from Oakland, California
. About 16,000 people greeted the Southern Cross upon its landing.
The Australian National Airways
(ANA) began an aerial service from Eaglle Farm to Sydney
, New South Wales
in 1930. Eagle Farm was closed in 1931 after civil operations were relocated to Archerfield Airport
.
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Gordon Taylor
took off from Eagle Farm airport on 20 October 1934 in the Lady Southern Cross
attempting the first eastward trans-Pacific flight from Australia to the United States of America
.
on 8 March 1940.
Eagle Farm was extended and reopened in January 1942, during World War II
by the United States Army Air Forces
(USAAF), due to the proximity to the Brisbane River. The aerodrome was used as a reassembly and test airfield for aircraft shipped from the United States.
An Allison engine
testing area at Eagle Farm was built to test Allison engines that had been assembled or overhauled at the GMH Allison Overhaul Assembly Plant at Albion, Queensland
.
The Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit
(ATAIU) of the Allied Air Forces utilised Hangar No. 7 at Eagle Farm to test and to train in captured damaged Imperial Japanese
aircraft.
and Trans Australia Airlines
moved their operations to Eagle Farm.
By the 1970s it was clear that the facilities at Eagle Farm were inadequate for a city of Brisbane's size and anticipated growth. The Federal Government
announced the construction of a new airport to be built north of Eagle Farm. The new airport was built by Leighton Holdings
and Brisbane Airport
opened in 1988.
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland, Australia.
History
An area located near Eagle Farm RacecourseEagle Farm Racecourse
Eagle Farm Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located in the suburb of Ascot, 7 km from the Brisbane central business district....
was initially used as a landing field in 1922 and Eagle Farm Aerodrome was officially opened in 1925. It was used for scheduled flights between Brisbane and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
regional centres by the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (Qantas)
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
, which operated from Eagle Farm in 1926 and formed the Brisbane Flying Training School there in 1927.
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith
Charles Kingsford Smith
Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith MC, AFC , often called by his nickname Smithy, was an early Australian aviator. In 1928, he earned global fame when he made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia...
, Charles Ulm
Charles Ulm
Charles Thomas Philippe Ulm AFC was a pioneer Australian aviator.-World War I:Ulm joined the AIF in September 1914, lying about his name and age to get in. He fought and was wounded at Gallipoli in 1915, and on the Western Front in 1918.Charles Ulm was married twice. In 1919 he married Isabel...
, Harry Lyon
Harry Lyon (aviator)
Harry Lyon , was the navigator for the first flight across the Pacific in 1928 with Charles Kingsford Smith , Charles Ulm and fellow-American James Warner as the in the Southern Cross....
(navigator) and James Warner
James Warner (aviator)
James Warner is noted as the radio operator on the aircraft Southern Cross piloted by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith for the first trans-Pacific flight in 1928, during which radio was first used successfully on a long distance flight.-Early life:...
(radio operator) landed the Southern Cross
Southern Cross (aircraft)
Southern Cross is the name of the Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor monoplane which in 1928 was flown by Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew in the first ever trans-Pacific flight, from the mainland United States to Australia, about ....
at Eagle Farm on 9 June 1928 after its trans-Pacific flight from Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. About 16,000 people greeted the Southern Cross upon its landing.
The Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways was Australia's predominant carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s.-The Holyman Airways Period:On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.II VH-UEE Miss Launceston between Launceston, Tasmania and Flinders...
(ANA) began an aerial service from Eaglle Farm to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in 1930. Eagle Farm was closed in 1931 after civil operations were relocated to Archerfield Airport
Archerfield Airport
Archerfield Airport is a small airport located 7 1/2 miles at Archerfield in the south west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. For some time it was the primary airport in Brisbane. During World War II it was used as a Royal Australian Air Force station. Airport traffic peaked in the 1980s...
.
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Gordon Taylor
Gordon Taylor
Gordon Edward Taylor was a Canadian politician, businessman and teacher.-Provincial political career:He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1940 provincial election representing Drumheller for Social Credit and continued to sit in the legislature for 39 years...
took off from Eagle Farm airport on 20 October 1934 in the Lady Southern Cross
Lady Southern Cross
The Lady Southern Cross was a Lockheed Altair monoplane owned by Australian pioneer aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.In this aircraft, Kingsford Smith made the first eastward trans-Pacific flight from Australia to the United States, in October and November of 1934.-Delivery:In April 1934,...
attempting the first eastward trans-Pacific flight from Australia to the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
World War II
The aerodrome was compulsory acquired and taken over by the Royal Australian Air ForceRoyal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
on 8 March 1940.
Eagle Farm was extended and reopened in January 1942, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
(USAAF), due to the proximity to the Brisbane River. The aerodrome was used as a reassembly and test airfield for aircraft shipped from the United States.
An Allison engine
Allison Engine Company
The Allison Engine Company was a U.S. aircraft engine manufacturer. In 1929, shortly after the death of James Allison, the company was purchased by the Fisher brothers. Fisher sold the company to General Motors, who owned it for most of its history...
testing area at Eagle Farm was built to test Allison engines that had been assembled or overhauled at the GMH Allison Overhaul Assembly Plant at Albion, Queensland
Albion, Queensland
Albion is an inner north-eastern suburb of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia.-Geography:Albion is bounded by Wooloowin in the north, Ascot in the east, Newstead in the south, and Windsor to the west, with Breakfast Creek defining the suburb border in its south and south-west...
.
The Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit
Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit
The Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit was a joint group of the United States Navy, United States Army Air Forces, Royal Australian Air Force, and Royal Navy formed in November 1942 to recover Japanese aircraft to obtain intelligence on their technical and tactical capabilities...
(ATAIU) of the Allied Air Forces utilised Hangar No. 7 at Eagle Farm to test and to train in captured damaged Imperial Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
aircraft.
Units based at Eagle Farm Aerodrome
- 8th Fighter Group8th Fighter WingThe United States Air Force 8th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea and is assigned to Seventh Air Force...
, 6 March – 29 July 1942 P-39 Airacobra - 35th Fighter Group35th Fighter WingThe 35th Fighter Wing is an air combat unit of the United States Air Force and the host unit at Misawa Air Base, Japan. The 35 FW is part of Pacific Air Forces Fifth Air Force.-Mission:...
, 1 February 1942 – March 1942 P-39 Airacobra, Curtiss P-40Curtiss P-40The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...
- Headquarters and the 70th Fighter Squadron sailed for Australia on 12 January 1942. Three days later all the combat squadrons were relieved and three others, still in the US, were assigned. Headquarters reached Australia in February 1942 and moved on to IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.- 3d Airdrome Squadron, 1942
- 81st Depot Repair Squadron, August 1942
- 93d Depot Repair Squadron
- 15th Weather Squadron, 1944
- 126th Signal Radio Intelligence Company (US Army), 23 March 1943 – July 1944
- 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 1 February 1943 – 31 March 1944
Post war
After World War II, Ansett ANAAnsett Australia
Ansett Australia, Ansett, Ansett Airlines of Australia, or ANSETT-ANA as it was commonly known in earlier years, was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne. The airlines flew domestically within Australia and to destinations in Asia during its operation in 1996...
and Trans Australia Airlines
Trans Australia Airlines
Trans Australia Airlines or TAA, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its sale to Qantas in May 1996. During that period TAA played a major part in the development of the Australian air transport industry...
moved their operations to Eagle Farm.
By the 1970s it was clear that the facilities at Eagle Farm were inadequate for a city of Brisbane's size and anticipated growth. The Federal Government
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
announced the construction of a new airport to be built north of Eagle Farm. The new airport was built by Leighton Holdings
Leighton Holdings
Leighton Holdings is Australia's largest project development and contracting group. It is active in the telecommunications, engineering and infrastructure, building and property, mining and resources, and environmental services industries...
and Brisbane Airport
Brisbane Airport
Brisbane Airport is the sole passenger airport serving Brisbane and the third busiest in Australia, after Melbourne and Sydney Airports. Brisbane Airport has won many awards. Located in the suburb with the same name, the airport serves the city of Brisbane and the surrounding metropolitan area...
opened in 1988.
Aircraft crashes
A number of aircraft crashed at Eagles Farm during World War II.- 25 November 1942 – Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air ForceRoyal Netherlands East Indies Army Air ForceThe Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force was the air arm of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies from 1939 until 1950...
, Curtiss-Wright CW-22 FalconCurtiss-Wright CW-22|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrade, John. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Hinckley, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. ISBN 0-904597-22-9.... - 14 January 1943 – USAAF, B-25C Mitchell, Serial Number #41-12438
- 28 March 1943 – USAAF, B-25C Mitchell, Serial Number #42-32314
- 23 April 1943 – USAAF, B-25C Mitchell, Serial Number #41-12496
- 12 July 1943 – USAAF, Curtiss-Wright CW-22BCurtiss-Wright CW-22|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrade, John. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Hinckley, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. ISBN 0-904597-22-9....
, Serial Number #65-3765 - 21 July 1943 – ATIU, captured A6M3 "Hamp"A6M ZeroThe Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...
- 18 September 1945 – USAAF, C-47A DakotaC-47 SkytrainThe Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
, Serial Number #42-23485
See also
- United States Army Air Forces in AustraliaUnited States Army Air Forces in AustraliaDuring World War II, the United States Army Air Forces established a series of airfields in Australia for the collective defense of the country, as well as for conducting offensive operations against the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy...
(World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
)