This year 2021 is the centenary of the establishment of the Royal Australian Air Force.
To celebrate this momentous achievement the Redland Museum will hold an exhibition, RAAF 100.
The exhibition opened this week and will run until August 30.
It will chronologically depict the RAAF from its early years in peace and war and the service that the men and women of the Royal Australian Air Force have given to the nation.
The Australian Flying Corp, which was later to become the RAAF, first saw action in Mesopotamia in 1916 and later in all theaters of WWI.
It remained the Australian Flying Corp until in 1921 when it became the Royal Australian Air Force.
The exhibits highlight the many roles the RAAF has undertaken over the years, including taking part in WWII and the role played by Bomber Command and other arms of the RAAF during that conflict.
Featured is the involvement of the Royal Australian Air Force in Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East, Afghanistan as well as numerous peace keeping duties like disaster relief and humanitarian duties all over the world.
The exhibition will highlight No 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron, which used the Redland Shire as its tactical flying training airspace during the war years.
This training resulted in the loss of a number of aircraft during those years along with the loss of 10 young aircrew.
Another exhibit will be two P-38 Lightning propeller blades that were recovered from an American P-38 Lightning that crashed into the southern part of Redland Bay.
These were recovered by two Redland Bay residents. Their family donated them to the Redland Museum 75 years later.
Several larger model aircraft will be on display including a Lancaster bomber, with a cutaway fuselage, a 23 SQN B-24 Liberator, a Wirraway training aircraft and a first world war SEA 5.
Numerous other small model aircraft will also be exhibited. Make sure you attend this exhibition as it brings to life the history of the RAAF and its personnel.
