EXMOUTH FLIGHT SCHEDULE
Discover Ningaloo – Discover Exmouth
Visit Ningaloo
Qantas Airport Guide for Learmonth (Exmouth)
RAAF BASE LEARMONTH – EXMOUTH AIRPORT
During World War II a little-known landing field was constructed on the western shore of Exmouth Gulf. It was code-named “Potshot” and maintained by No. 76 Operational Base Unit. In the 1950s the landing field was further developed as a military base and named RAAF Learmonth in honour of Wing Commander Charles Learmonth DFC and Bar, who, while leading No. 14 Squadron, was killed in a flying accident off Rottnest Island, Western Australia on 6 January 1944.[3]
In the mid-1960s, the Federal Government gave its support to plans by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Val Hancock, to redevelop Learmonth as a ‘bare base’, due to its proximity to Indonesia. Though F-111Cs could have made a round-trip to Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, from RAAF Base Darwin, the route they took would have been very much limited by range. Learmonth’s proximity added flexibility to the routes in and out, enhancing the likelihood of a successful strike.[4] The major work was undertaken by No. 5 Airfield Construction Squadron between 1971 and 1973.[5]
PAGE SPONSOR
