Darwin, Australia- All Things Aviation

Darwin, our last port in Australia, was a busy place. Our first night was unscheduled to make up for two missed ports due to inclement weather. So, we were relegated to porting in a freight yard a good distance from town.

A 30-40 minute shuttle bus (following a one-hour wait to get on) and a 20-minute cab ride took us to a side of the Darwin Airport and the…

Australian Aviation Heritage Center
aka Darwin Aviation Museum
(Subtitle: Bill Finds a New Favorites Museum whilst Ruth pretends not to be bored)

Warning:
This post is by an acknowledged aviation geek. If you have no interest in planes and aviation-related things, you may wish to skip it.

The museum is a giant, unairconditioned hangar, a gift shop (air-conditioned), and an outside area with aircraft awaiting restoration. The hangar is jam-packed with all sorts of aircraft and displays, including the big B-52.

The centerpiece of the museum is the B52 G Stratofortress 92596 “Darwin’s Pride” on loan from the US Air Force. It is one of three aircraft on display outside the US. The tight quarters in the hangar made it impossible to get a full picture of this very big aircraft.

Darwin was bombed by the Japanese in World War II more than Pearl Harbor. Australia struck back, and many aircraft were shot down. A big piece of the museum is dedicated to the remnants of aircraft that didn’t make it back.

Not all the remnants were Japanese

US Army Cobra AH-IG

Bits and Pieces

B25 Bomber s/n 41-30222

Outdoors
Awaiting restoration…

Cabin could use a little work as well

Mitsubishi MU-2VH-NYM. The custom murals reputedly cost over $40,000.

Big Ben

DC-3 (C47). This Hardy Aviation aircraft, parked adjacent to the museum, is not part of it, but they hope to acquire it. It has been sitting for over a year after a taxiway collision that damaged a wing. Those who know me understand why I had to include this bird (“The only way to love a plane truly is to jump out of it”)

In the gift shop