Posted on 03/13/2011 4:24:51 PM PDT by naturalman1975
PUBLIC aviation museums have been virtually banned from acquiring any of the RAAF's retired F-111 strike jets.
The iconic planes, that never fired a shot in anger but spent years entertaining crowds with their spectacular dump-and-burn routines, will only be displayed at secure RAAF bases and inside RAAF museums due to cost, red tape and asbestos concerns.
Five of the 34 jets will be preserved as museum pieces at bases at Amberley, west of Brisbane, Point Cook in Victoria and at Edinburgh, South Australia.
Three more could be preserved for ``defence heritage'' and two may be given to a US Air Force museum. The remaining planes will be scrapped and sold as lumps of metal.
It is understood one was offered to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra but it declined due to the $1 million or more cost to ``demilitarise'' the aircraft.
The Defence Department said providing aircraft to public or private museums would require US Government approval and the removal of all asbestos.
The recipient would have to pay remediation, demilitarisation and placement costs, which could amount to several million dollars, putting them out of the reach of museums such as the Sunshine Coast's Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra airport.
Museum vice-president Ron Cuskelly said the Defence Department had created a ``smoke screen'' to prevent the aircraft from being displayed at non-military museums.
Queensland Air Museum already has a Canberra bomber, two Meteor bombers, a Vampire, a Sabre and a Sea Venom, two Hunters and one Sea Vixen in its military collection.
``We have never been given anything by the military or the government who would rather see them scrapped than displayed for the public to see and touch,'' Mr Cuskelly said.
(Excerpt) Read more at couriermail.com.au ...
Replaced by cruise missiles.
WTF?
F-111s flew in VIET-FRIGGING-NAM !!!
Am I nuts on this?
Replaced temporarily by F/A-18Fs, eventually to be replaced permanently by F-35As.
Neither aircraft can duplicate the F-111C's payload and range, however. The closest one can come to replacing the F-111C is with the F-15E Strike Eagle, which is what the USAF did.
I thought the RAAF bought them used?
I am surprised that the RAAF didn't buy the F- 15E, the plane that replaced the F-111 in USAF service.
No, they were ordered by Australia as the F-111C variant, which went into service in 1973 (they actually received them in 1968, but there were technical problems which delayed their acceptance into service).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-111C
They also bombed Libya and Iraq, and were some of the first combat aircraft into Saudi Arabia after Iraq invaded Kuwait.
The RAAF bought F-111Cs brand new off the General Dynamics showroom floor in 1963. Development problems and minor issues such as the wings falling off of USAF F-111As delayed delivery until 1973, flying F-4s as interim aircraft.
After the USAF retired the FB-111A/F-111G (SAC strategic bombers later given to TAC and redesignated F-111G,) the RAAF bought some of those as used.
But the F-111C was and is exclusive to the RAAF.
Thanks.
Still love the Aardvark.
Hell of an aircraft, whose era was fleetingly brief.
Yes, that must be it. In 1986, we launched a raid against Libya that included several F-111s. IIRC, it brought the Mister Gadaffi in line for a long time.
.
ping
Not Australian F-111s. The RAAF flew Canberras in Vietnam.
“The iconic planes, that never fired a shot in anger “
Ours have:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Libya
To the memories of Air Force Captains Fernando L. Ribas-Dominicci and Paul F. Lorence, downed in action against Libya, 1986.
RIP
The F-111 had a similar role to the A-20 in WWII. I doubt you'll find any pilots who had anything but praise for either.
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