No. 1 Central Recovery Depot RAAF

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Brief History

No. 7 Central Recovery Depot was raised at Tocumwal, New South Wales, on 15 June 1944. The unit occupied the 7 Aircraft Depot Technical Salvage Section hangar and took over the function of that section. Early activities of the unit were restricted due to having to undertake a physical stocktake of items transferred from No. 7 Aircraft Depot, and difficulty in obtaining hangar space and equipment.

With the posting of a suitably qualified officer to the unit as its Engineering Officer, better results were obtained from the resources available, and the equipment position slowly improved. ln September 1944, lathe drilling machines and wood working machines were received, and the unit was considered to be operational in November. During December, the Depot strength reached a peak of 119 personnel.

Although the wood and machine shops were not wired until January 1945, six engines and four aircraft were converted to scrap and spare parts during February. This activity was restricted by the lack of technical personnel. Despite this, between April and September 1945 approximately 54 aircraft and 20 engines were converted to scrap and spare parts. Aircraft types included CAC Wackett Trainer, Avro Anson, Consolidated B-24 Liberator, CAC Boomerang and Airspeed Oxford.

Unit personnel

• Edward John Ross 7 Aug - 10 Sep 1944