Fighter World

Fighter World

Fighter World entrance
Fighter World Location within New South Wales
Established	1989
Location	Medowie Road, Williamtown New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates	32°48′11.55″S 151°51′1.4″E / 32.8032083°S 151.850389°E / -32.8032083; 151.850389Coordinates: 32°48′11.55″S 151°51′1.4″E / 32.8032083°S 151.850389°E / -32.8032083; 151.850389
Type	Military aviation museum
Accreditation	RAAF Aviation and Heritage[1]
Collections	Military aircraft
Collection size	15 aircraft (incl. replicas)
President	John Quaife
Curator	Sebastian Spencer
Public transit access	Newcastle Airport
Nearest car park	On site (no charge)
Website	www.fighterworld.com.au

Fighter World is an Australian not-for-profit aviation heritage centre at RAAF Base Williamtown, north of Newcastle, New South Wales. It is part of RAAF Aviation and Heritage and is operated with the purpose of preserving the history of fighter operations of the RAAF. Most of the collection are fighter aircraft once operated by the RAAF.

Staff include paid employees, RAAF reservists and a team of approximately 50 volunteers, most of whom have previous RAAF experience.

Location and facilities[]

Fighter World is located on Commonwealth land inside the outer fence of RAAF Base Williamtown, less than 300 m (980 ft) from the runway. It initially consisted of a main administration building and large display hangar with observation deck. On 7 September 2000 a second hangar was opened which, as of May 2021, is used as both a display hangar and workshop. A separate workshop will free up display space in the second hangar when completed in 2021. The museum includes aircraft on display outside the hangars, as well as the RAAF base's old airfield surveillance radar (SURAD) head. The museum also includes a cafe on-site.

Volunteers[]

Maintenance of exhibits and museum grounds is carried out by a team of volunteers, many of whom have retired from various sections of the RAAF and include maintenance personnel as well as former pilots. Volunteers also build new displays as necessary, such as the detailed Sopwith Camel replica that is on display in the main hangar and act as museum docents.

Aviation collection[]

Australian[]

Aircraft inside Fighter World in 2013

A GAF Jindivik on display

• RAAF Gloster Meteor A77-875^[2]
• RAAF de Havilland Vampire A79-1^[3]
• RAAF Avon Sabre A94-951^[4]
• RAAF Avon Sabre A94-959^[5][6] This aircraft was previously on display in a park in nearby Raymond Terrace for 31 years but was relocated to Fighter World where it was restored and is now on permanent display at the entrance to the museum.
• RAAF CAC Winjeel A85-428^[7]
• RAAF Bristol Bloodhound surface-to-air missile^[8]
• RAAF Aermacchi MB-326H A7-062^[9]
• RAAF Dassault Mirage IIIO A3-3^[10]
• RAAF Dassault Mirage IIID A3-102^[11]
• RAAF General Dynamics F-111C Aardvark A8-148^[12]
• Royal Australian Navy GAF Jindivik target drone N11-750^[13]

International[]

• Royal Air Force/Republic of Singapore Air Force Hawker Hunter^[14]

Replica[]

• Boeing-Stearman Model 75 (One-third scale replica painted as a Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft of the Empire Air Training Scheme)^[15]
• Bristol Beaufighter cockpit (Replica painted as the nose of A19-50 'Wendy Joy II' of No. 30 Squadron RAAF)^[16]
• Fokker Dr.I Triplane (Two-thirds replica painted as Josef Jacobs's aircraft of the Luftstreitkräfte)^[17]
• Sopwith Camel replica built by museum volunteers
• Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIII (Replica painted as a No. 79 Squadron RAAF aircraft)^[18] (being restored as of March 2021)
• Supermarine Spitfire Mk XVI (Replica painted as a No. 127 Squadron RAF aircraft)^[18]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fighter World Williamtown.

• Official website