from Peter & Meredith's Australia Trip
Canberra, ACT
Australian War Memorial Museum:
The aviation display in this old-established museum is
rather cramped, but substantial building renovations are underway to
alleviate this situation. In the meantime, the Avro Lancaster W4783
coded
'AR-G' dominates the area. Tucked under and around it are three Great
War aircraft...
The Pfalz D.XII 2600/18 was forced down near Dieppe in France October 1918 by Sopwith Camels of an Australian Fighter Squadron. The aircraft was restored to display standard during the 1970s
Albatros D.Va German fighter D5390 shot down by an Australian crew in
December 1917
A
British-built SE5a fighter of 1918, C9539 was one of a batch of 35 presented
to Australia in 1920 These were probably surplus new aircraft at that
time. They were used to equip the fledgling RAAF until withdrawn in
1928, and this example was flown as A2-4.
Also in the same area were CAC Boomerang fighter and a section from an Avro Anson.
Further along in the Museum, in a section covering the Vietnam war, there is a complete Bell Sioux helicopter.
Treolar Technology Centre
Through lack of space, most of the AWM aircraft are stored
here. The Museum's restoration work is also carried out at this site.
As well as aircraft, there is a vast array of other equipment (vehicles,
tanks, guns etc.).
As this is a storage area rather than a display area, a number of the
larger or more fragile aircraft are semi-dismantled, and all items are
so closely packed together that they are difficult to photograph. 
In
this scene, The fuselage of a WWII Me.262 jet is stored in front of
a Great War Avro 504K training aircraft A3-4. Behind that is a real
rarity - a de Havilland DH9 two-seater G-EAQM that was flown from England
to Australia in 1920. Crewed by Ray Parer and John McIntosh, it took
almost seven months to make the trip, and was the second to do so, beaten
only by the Smith brothers Vickers Vimy (see South Australia page).
The
oldest aircraft in the collection is this Deperdussin trainer. Imported
from France in 1912 for Australia's first ever military flying course
held in that year. Serialed C.F.S.5, it is in better condition than
it looks!
Of course this Mitsubishi A6M3-21 Zero was of the greatest interest
to me (see
here)
Restored by tradesmen of the RAAF from the remains of three derelict aircraft, the result is a tribute to their skill.