The Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor will formally accept the General Dynamics F-111C jet from the Royal Australian Air Force with a Gift Presentation and Dedication ceremony on Saturday, November 23, 2013. The 4:00 p.m. ceremony will take place in Hangar 79 at the Museum on Historic Ford Island. This invitation-only event is open to the media. A reception will follow from 5:30 to 7:00pm.
The F-111C (Australian serial number A8-130) was Australia’s principal strike aircraft from 1973 through 2010 and was affectionately known there as the Pig due to its ability to “hunt” at night with the nose of the aircraft close to the ground. With the United States Air Force it saw combat in Vietnam and participated in the bombing raids of Operation Desert Storm. The outright gift of the F-111 to the Museum is a reminder of the F-111’s shared service between Australia and the United States.
The pilot name on the fuselage of the aircraft will be Royal Australian Air Force Air Marshal Geoffrey Brown. The exterior is an exact livery of the paint scheme and markings as delivered from General Dynamics to the Royal Australian Air Force in 1973. The F-111C joins the Museum’s growing collection of 45+ historic aircraft.
Warbirds News has followed each step of the delivery of this iconic aircraft, from the transport on a C-27 to the final delivery to its new home. Click HERE to read our previous articles.
Participants and honored guests at the Gift Presentation and Dedication ceremony will include Australian Consul-General Scott Dewar, Air Marshal Geoffrey Brown, General Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, Chairman of the Museum Board Admiral Ronald J. Hays, USN (Ret.), Museum Board President Clinton R. Churchill, and Museum Executive Director Kenneth DeHoff, who will also preside at the ceremony.
“We’re proud and honored to receive such a gift from the Royal Australian Air Force,” said Executive Director Kenneth DeHoff. “We will display it for the world to see and enjoy.”
The F-111C Gift Presentation and Dedication Ceremony is sponsored by Boeing and Pacific Air Forces Civilian Advisory Council (AFCAC).Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor is located at 319 Lexington Boulevard on Historic Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to develop and maintain an internationally recognized aviation museum on historic Ford Island that educates young and old alike, honors aviators and their support personnel who defended freedom in The Pacific Region, and to preserve Pacific aviation history.
Guys re your story of the outright gift of F111C A8-130 you have a graphic of the unit badge BUT you incorrectly refer to it as the badge of the 6th Wing it is 6 Squadron. The RAAF operated its F111’s in two squadrons those being Nos 1 and 6 squadrons
with 6 also the conversion unit