Fighter World facts for kids
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Fighter World entrance
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| Established | 1989 |
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| Location | Medowie Road, Williamtown, New South Wales, Australia |
| Type | Military aviation museum |
| Accreditation | RAAF Aviation and Heritage |
| Collections | Military aircraft |
| Collection size | 15 |
| Public transit access | Hunter Valley Buses route 145 |
| Nearest car park | On site (no charge) |
Fighter World is a special museum in Australia. It is located near RAAF Base Williamtown, which is north of Newcastle, New South Wales. This museum is a not-for-profit place. This means it uses all its money to keep the museum running.
Fighter World is part of the RAAF's history program. Its main goal is to save and share the story of fighter planes used by the RAAF. Most of the aircraft you will see here are fighter jets that the RAAF once flew. The collection includes very important planes. For example, the de Havilland Vampire A79-1 and the Dassault Mirage IIIO A3-3 are here. These two planes were the very first of their kind built in Australia.
The museum has a team of staff. This includes paid workers and RAAF reservists. There are also about 50 volunteers. Many of these volunteers used to work for the RAAF.
Contents
Exploring Fighter World: What to See
Fighter World is built on land owned by the Australian government. It is right next to RAAF Base Williamtown. The museum is less than 300 meters (about 984 feet) from the runway. This means you might see real planes taking off or landing!
Museum Buildings and Displays
When it first opened, Fighter World had a main office building. It also had a large display hangar with a viewing deck. On September 7, 2000, a second display hangar was opened. A third hangar was built in mid-2021. This new hangar is used as a workshop.
You can see aircraft displayed outside the hangars too. The museum also has the RAAF base's old radar system. This system was used to watch the airfield. There is a cafe on-site where you can get food and drinks.
Meet the Volunteers: Keeping History Alive
A team of dedicated volunteers helps keep Fighter World running. They maintain the aircraft and the museum grounds. Many volunteers are retired RAAF members. Some were maintenance staff, while others were even pilots!
These volunteers also build new displays. For example, they built a detailed replica of a Sopwith Camel plane. This amazing replica is now on display in the main hangar. Volunteers also act as guides. They can tell you all about the planes and the museum's history.
Amazing Aircraft Collection
Fighter World has a fantastic collection of aircraft. Most of these planes were used by the RAAF.
Australian Aircraft on Display
- RAAF Gloster Meteor A77-875
- RAAF de Havilland Vampire A79-1
- RAAF Avon Sabre A94-951
- RAAF Avon Sabre A94-959: This plane was on display in a park for 31 years. It was in a nearby town called Raymond Terrace. Then, it was moved to Fighter World. It was fully restored and is now a permanent display at the museum's entrance.
- RAAF CAC Winjeel A85-428
- RAAF Bristol Bloodhound surface-to-air missile: This is a type of missile used to shoot down planes.
- RAAF Aermacchi MB-326H A7-062
- RAAF Dassault Mirage IIIO A3-3
- RAAF Dassault Mirage IIID A3-102
- RAAF General Dynamics F-111C Aardvark A8-148
- RAAF McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet
- Royal Australian Navy GAF Jindivik target drone N11-750: A drone is an unpiloted aircraft. This one was used for target practice.
Cool Replica Aircraft
The museum also has some amazing replica planes. These are copies of real aircraft.
- Boeing-Stearman Model 75: This is a one-third scale copy. It is painted like a plane from the Royal Canadian Air Force.
- Bristol Beaufighter cockpit: This is a copy of the front part of a Beaufighter plane. It is painted like a plane called 'Wendy Joy II'.
- Fokker Dr.I Triplane: This is a two-thirds replica. It is painted like a famous German plane from World War I.
- Sopwith Camel replica: This copy was built by the museum's own volunteers!
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIII A58-429 "QY-V": This replica is painted like a plane from No. 452 Squadron RAAF. It even has some real Spitfire parts. These include a canopy, propeller blades, and landing gear.
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX "FU-Z": This replica is painted like a plane from No. 453 Squadron RAAF. It also has an original Spitfire canopy.
Detailed Model Collection
Besides the large aircraft, Fighter World has many smaller models. There are big models of a Hawker Hurricane and a CAC Boomerang. You can also see models of older planes. One large display has over 100 models. These were all made and painted by hand. Another display shows models built by one of the museum's volunteers.
