Airfield was for aircraft dispersal

Congratulations on your excellent and most interesting article on the World War II airfield at Woy Woy (page 8 of your September 19 issue).

As a young boy in the 1950s, I can remember whizzing down it in a Morris Minor driven by my elder cousin and her boyfriend.

In later years as the RAAF Historian in Defence, we saw records on these "dispersal" aerodromes around Sydney.

They were built as they were named, to disperse aircraft should Sydney be attacked and also as emergency landings grounds (ELGs).

The was also one at Tuggerah near Long Jetty where coincidentally, well-known Sid Marshall used to run joy flights in his DH84 Dragon on weekends and on holidays.

An uncle shouted me to a ride one day and it was a flight never to be forgotten.

Files on these aerodromes, often with maps, plans and the occasional photo are located at the National Archives of Australia in Canberra.

Copies may be purchased on line for about $25 a set.

For Woy Woy some of the files are: Property Woy Woy NSW Acquisition of Site, Series A705, File 171/94/225 with barcode 3299500; Woy Woy Disposal of Assets, Series A705, File 171/106/261, barcode 3301897; and Woy Woy Dispersal. Utilisation and Guarding 1945-49, Series A705, File 171/105/74, barcode 3301081.

There are probably other in the same series which National Archives staff could assist in identifying.

As regards the Lockheed Ventura depicted in the photo, this comes from 13 Squadron, the same unit that Gough Whitlam flew with as a navigator in World War II.

If the A59 number on the tail could be fully read the aircraft would be identified and a copy of its History Card at Archives might also be obtained.

That card might detail the reason the bomber appears to be being repaired at the Woy Woy Strip.

I hope this is of interest to your readers and your Woy Woy history enthusiasts who are undertaking such a worthwhile task.

Email, 13 Oct 2016

Robert Kendall Piper, Canberra