Gloster Meteor F 8 A77-870
Received from the United Kingdom in January 1953, A77-870 was held, still cased, by both No 19 Wing and No 2 Aircraft Depot until 1955, when it was assembled and tested before issue to No 78 Wing in October of that year. 1956 proved to be an eventful year for A77-870, being grounded in March on account of foreign objects being found, and then in June and July, incidents at both the Evans Head and Saltash Air Weapons Ranges necessitated repairs. During its time at No 78 Wing, A77-870 was used by the 'Meteorites' aerobatic team for display flying. In April 1957, A77-870 was allocated to No 1 Aircraft Depot and held in reserve, and in December that year was selected for instructional use.
In March 1953, A77-870 was made serviceable for its flight to Wagga, where it was held by the RAAF School of Technical Training as an instructional aid. In June 1966, it was transferred to Base Squadron Wagga for fire training us.
In 1970 it was allotted to Base Squadron Point Cook for the RAAF Museum. Sent by service transport to Point Cook in October 1972, A77-870 was displayed until 1989, when it was repainted, and was stored until returning to display in 1994. With the opening of the Technology Hangar in 2002, the aircraft has been placed into storage, and it is hoped that we will be able to fit some of the missing equipment to the aircraft while it is off display.
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