No. 14 Aircraft Repair Depot RAAF

14 Aircraft repair Depot Airframe Section Nov 1943 - RAAF photo

Brief History

The unit formed as 7 Airframe Repair Depot at Ascot Vale in Victoria on 25 Sep 1942, before being renamed 14 Aircraft Repair Depot on 30 October. It relocated to Gorrie in the Northern Territory with the first of seven groups that undertook the 8 day trip arriving on 18 Feb 1943, the last of nearly 1,000 men arrived on 23 Sep 1943. No.14 Aircraft Repair Depot was responsible for the overhaul and maintenance of a wide variety of RAAF combat aircraft including Hudsons, Beauforts, Mitchells, Spitfires, Dakotas, Lightnings, Mosquitos, Beaufighters, Vengeances and Liberators. The unit also provided engineering and servicing facilities for all types of RAAF vehicles and ground equipment.

Two men were killed in an accident while detached from the main body in April 1944. During July 1945 it was decided to amalgamate No 14 and No 12 Aircraft Repair Depots in Darwin, and the unit ceased operation on 22 Sep 1945, before officially closing on 20 Oct 1945. However, the unit still existed, with all remaining machinery and equipment sent to Pearce in Western Australia by March 1946. The unit disbanded on 31 Jul 1946 soon after three of its members were killed in a road accident.

Unit Members

• Alfred Ensor Hand 20 Feb - 17 Sep 1942
• Eric William Mills 21 Jul 1944 - 8 Oct 1945
• Cyril Charles Cross 11 Aug 1944 - 25 Aug 1945
• Leslie Douglas Waller 21 Jul - 25 Aug 1945

Notes

Content comes from Units of the Royal Australian Air Force - A Concise History - Vol 7 Maintenance Units Australian Government Publishing Service, 1995