Birdsville Airfield

**Birdsville Airfield** is a medium-sized airfield located near Birdsville railway station on the Moorland Steam Railway. It houses a collection of WWI and WWII aircraft from fighters to medium bombers and plays a role in the railway's wartime weekends. The airfield is also home to a few post-war aircraft.

## History

Birdsville Airfield was first thought of by two locals who wanted to own an aircraft of WWII vintage, but without storing them in one of the major airfields in the area. The MSR thought that it would be a way to boost passenger numbers on the line and recreate busy mainlines in the steam era. Construction of the new airfield was started in the empty field next to the railway in 1974 with the ground mostly levelled for a flat runway. By 1979, the airfield was opened to the public but was completed in 1977 following three years of construction (with help from the MSR bringing in materials to construct the main tower and the hangers) and the first resident aircraft were types that served in the Battle of Britain, a Glostor Gladiator Mk I biplane and a Hawker Hurricane Mk IIA, which the two locals owned and restored.

In 1983, the airfield accepted its first Korean War and WWI aircraft in the form of the North American F-86 Sabre jet fighter and the Vickers Vimy bomber, followed that same year by two restored captured axis aircraft, a Heinkel He-111 medium bomber and the notorious Stuka dive bomber. Both became the first aircraft from the enemy side to fly during the first MSR Wartime Weekend three years later. Unusual examples of the airfield collection of historic wartime aircraft include a Yak-3 brought over from Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union and a Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) Wirraway ("challenge" in Aboriginal) training aircraft from Australia, which both attract large crowds when the two are used for flyovers of Gladsville during Wartime Weekends.

## Historic "warbirds" based at Birdsville Airfield

### Allied

#### WWI

* Sopwith Triplane (fighter)
* Bristol F2 (fighter)
* Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a (fighter)
* Royal Aircraft Factory BE2a (night fighter)
* Vickers Vimy (heavy bomber of WWI)

#### WWII

* Hawker Hurricane Mk I, IIA and IIC (fighter)
* Supermarine Spitfire Mk IIa, VB and PR.XIX (fighter)
* Gloster Gladiator Mk I (fighter)
* Fairey Swordfish (carrier-bourne torpedo bomber)
* North American P-51D Mustang (fighter)
* Vought F4U Cousair (carrier-bourne fighter)
* North American B-25 Michael (medium bomber)
* Bristol Blenheim (light bomber)
* de Haviland 106 Mosquito Mk XIX (all-weather night fighter)
* CAC CA-16 Wirraway (trainer/general purpose, was used as a fighter)
* Yakovlev Yak-3 (fighter)

#### Korean War

* North American F-86 Sabre (jet fighter)

### Axis

#### WWI

* Fokker Eindecker (fighter)
* Fokker Dr1 (fighter)
* Albatros D.V (fighter)

#### WWII

* Messerschmitt Bf 109 (fighter)
* Focke-Wulf FW-190 (fighter)
* Mitsubishi A6M Zero (carrier-bourne fighter-bomber)
* Heinkel He111 (medium bomber)
* Junkers Ju-87 Stuka (dive bomber)
* Fiat G.55 (fighter)

### Civilian

* Douglas DC-3 "Dakota"/C-47A "Skytrain" (twin-engine airliner/ troop transport)

## Basis

Birdsville Airfield doesn't appear to have any real basis but does appear to be inspired by Dryaw airfield in 'Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'. The airfield is located on the Ffarqhaur branchline (aka "Thomas' branch") and has its own railway station.

## Trivia

Birdsville Airfield resembles a WWII RAF airfield but only smaller.

The reason Birdsville Airfield was constructed was because the main set for Birdsville station needed to be rebuilt with both new buildings and a new track layout.