No . 1 Aircraft Depot RAAF No . 1 Aircraft Depot ( No . 1 AD ) was a maintenance unit of the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) . Formed in July 1921 at RAAF Point Cook , Victoria , it moved to the nearby RAAF Laverton in March 1926 . As well as servicing aircraft and other equipment , in its early years the depot supported survey flights in Australia and the Pacific region . Its strength increased from 350 staff in the 1930s to over 2 , 000 during World War II , when it assembled , tested and repaired aircraft ranging from Tiger Moths to Spitfires to B - 17 Flying Fortresses . The depot also engaged in aircraft research and development . Shortly after the war it introduced the first jets into RAAF service . In 1961 , No . 1 AD ceased airframe maintenance , but continued to service aero engines . By the 1970s its main focus was ground - based equipment , though it still handled some aircraft components . The depot was disbanded in December 1994 , its functions having been taken over by other units and private contractors . At the time of its disbandment , it was the oldest RAAF unit in continuous operation . History . Pre - war years . No . 1 Aircraft Depot ( No . 1 AD ) was one of the first units formed by the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) after the new service ' s establishment ( as the Australian Air Force ) on 31 March 1921 . The original components of No . 1 AD became known as such in April 1921 , though the unit did not formally come into existence until July that year . Prior to this it comprised two elements in Melbourne , one at Spotswood handling the aircraft and equipment of the Imperial Gift , and another at North Fitzroy that was responsible for motor vehicle repair . When No . 1 AD was officially established at RAAF Point Cook , Victoria , on 1 July , the Spotswood component was dissolved , while North Fitroy continued to operate as a detachment . The unit ' s inaugural commanding officer was Squadron Leader Bill Anderson , who was also in overall charge of Point Cook . In January 1922 the depot was organised into a headquarters and stores , aircraft repair , and engine repair sections . The vehicle repair section at North Fitroy was transferred to Point Cook that April . Point Cook ' s corrosive seaside atmosphere was however deemed an unsuitable long - term location for aircraft maintenance . In September 1921 , the government purchased land at Laverton , near a railway station eight kilometres inland from Point Cook , for the express purpose of constructing a dedicated home for No . 1 AD as the " warehouse of the Air Force " . The depot , staffed by eight officers and seventy - seven other ranks , relocated to the new base on 1 March 1926 . It occupied a large hangar that included an administration block , which along with living quarters and ancillary buildings had cost £ 300 , 000 to build . As well as receiving , assembling , testing and maintaining RAAF equipment , No . 1 AD was responsible for supporting research flights . In July 1927 , it was the departure point for the Northern Survey Flight , comprising a De Havilland DH . 50 and two DH . 9s , which reconnoitered northern and central Australia under the command of the Chief of the Air Staff , Wing Commander ( later Air Marshal Sir ) Richard Williams . The following month , No . 1 AD formed a Papuan Survey Flight , consisting of two Supermarine Seagull III amphibious biplanes under the command of Flight Lieutenant ( later Air Vice Marshal ) Ellis Wackett , to photograph the Papuan and New Guinean coasts as far north as Aitape . Wing Commander Bill Anderson returned to command the depot from April to August 1929 , handing over to Wing Commander Adrian Cole , who served in the post until December 1932 . By the mid - 1930s , No . 1 AD comprised some 350 staff , servicing a range of aircraft that included Westland Wapiti s , Bristol Bulldog s , Hawker Demon s , De Havilland Dragon Rapide s , Avro Cadets , Avro Anson s , and North American NA - 16 s . Its commanding officers during this decade included Wing Commanders Frank McNamara ( February 1933 to April 1936 ) , Frank Lukis ( April 1936 to January 1938 ) , and Arthur Murphy ( January 1938 to May 1940 ) . To cope with a new policy of rapid expansion of the RAAF , a Recruit Training Section was formed under the auspices of No . 1 AD in March 1935 ; it was reorganised as Recruit Training Squadron on 1 September 1936 . On 3 May 1937 , Recruit Training Squadron acquired its own sub - unit , the Communications and Survey Flight , utilising Tugan Gannet s and Dragon Rapides for ongoing photographic survey work . World War II . Although many squadrons were raised at RAAF Station Laverton during World War II , the base ' s prime focus continued to be its aircraft depot . Following the outbreak of hostilities in September 1939 , No . 1 AD began expanding to handle the RAAF ' s growing number of training and combat aircraft , among them De Havilland Tiger Moth s , CAC Wirraway s , Lockheed Hudson s , Hawker Hurricane s , and Curtiss P - 40 Kittyhawks . The depot assembled and tested new aircraft , and ferried them to operational areas such as northern Australia and New Guinea . It was also responsible for the maintenance of in - service aircraft , including their engines , instruments , and armament . As well as RAAF equipment , No . 1 AD repaired damaged US aircraft such as B - 17 Flying Fortresses . The depot undertook research and development on various types , including Supermarine Spitfire s , CAC Boomerang s , and Wackett Woomeras s . It also ran comparative performance studies on Spitfires , Boomerangs , Kittyhawks , Brewster Buffalos , and Mitsubishi Zeros . In the case of the Boomerang , for example , 105 CA - 12s were delivered to No . 1 AD for testing between July 1942 and June 1943 . As soon as the aircraft started arriving , the depot commenced handling and armament trials that continued for six months , identifying and overcoming such issues as the aircraft ' s guns freezing at high altitudes , and unusual levels of carbon monoxide in the cockpit . Fighter aces Alan Rawlinson and Wilfred Arthur , along with a United States Army Air Forces pilot , conducted comparative trials between a Boomerang , a Kittyhawk , a Buffalo , and a Bell Airacobra . The depot began despatching the Boomerangs to their operational units in March 1943 , and the following month performance tested a turbocharged version of the CA - 14 , though this model never entered production . No . 1 AD ' s Special Duties and Performance Flight was responsible for conducting performance trials during the early war years ; in December 1943 it became a separate organisation , No . 1 Aircraft Performance Unit , which would evolve into the Aircraft Research and Development Unit ( ARDU ) in 1947 . Among the depot ' s wartime commanding officers was Wing Commander John Lerew , who held the post from December 1942 until November 1943 . During his tenure , after investigating the crash of a Vultee Vengeance , he designed a clip to prevent the accidental release of the pilot ' s safety harness , which was later adopted for all such harnesses . By January 1945 , No . 1 AD ' s strength had increased to its highest level of 2 , 339 staff . Post - war years . A Gloster Meteor jet made its first flight in Australia from Laverton in 1946 . By May 1947 , No . 1 AD had assembled the first De Havilland Vampire jet in Australia for its maiden flight . In October the same year , the first helicopter in RAAF service , a Sikorsky S - 51 , arrived at the depot . In 1950 , No . 1 AD received the sole high - performance piston - engined CAC CA - 15 to be built , which had been sent to be " converted to components " ( scrapped ) . The depot took delivery of the first Australian - built English Electric Canberra jet bomber in July 1953 . Shortly afterwards , it modified the three Canberras of No . 1 Long Range Flight prior to the unit taking part in the 1953 London - to - Christchurch air race . In September that year , the first Australian - built Sabre jet fighter was delivered . By 1961 , when all airframe maintenance at Laverton was transferred to Nos . 2 and 3 Aircraft Depots , No . 1 AD had serviced forty - two different aircraft types throughout its existence . It continued to maintain aero engines , however , and began supporting telecommunications equipment as well . The engine repair facilities at No . 1 AD were closed down in 1968 . Staff were transferred to No . 3 Aircraft Depot at RAAF Base Amberley , Queensland , to prepare for the introduction of the General Dynamics F - 111C swing - wing bomber to Australian service and concentrate on maintaining the new aircraft ' s engines . No . 1 AD ' s focus thereafter shifted to ground equipment that supported navigational aids , air traffic control , telecommunications and motor transport for the Air Force and other sections of defence and government . No . 1 AD was presented with a Queen ' s Colour on 6 November 1981 . By September the following year its strength was down to 235 staff , but it pioneered the support of various new technologies for the Air Force , in fields such as electroplating , fibre optics , and electronics . It was also responsible for developing and testing components for the F - 111 , Macchi MB - 326 and McDonnell Douglas F / A - 18 Hornet jets . From 1986 , restructuring and outsourcing began to impact heavily upon the RAAF ' s technical services . By the 1990s , No . 1 AD ' s functions had largely been taken over by other units and private contractors , and it was disbanded on 2 December 1994 . It was , at the time , the oldest RAAF unit in continuous operation and , according to the RAAF Historical Section , the oldest continuously operating maintenance depot of any air force .