'They considered themselves bulletproof': Airport's double life as RAAF school

The gesture commemorates those who served in all branches of Australia's armed forces, some of whom have a strong connection to the transport hub owing to its past life as a flight training school for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

During the Second World War Western Junction Aerodrome, as it was known then, was repurposed into No. 7 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS).

This was the only institution of its type in Tasmania, and played host to trainee pilots from the southern states.

1801 young men passed through the school between September 1940 and December 1944 when training ceased, and the school was officially disbanded in 1945.

George Ashwood, who has a background in commercial aviation and sits on the committee at the RAAF Association Museum in Hobart, spent four years researching the stories of nearly 300 trainee pilots attached to No. 7 EFTS.

Mr Ashwood compiled these stories into a book in order to "make known what some of these young men went through".

He said the trainee pilots were prone to displays of exuberance after they were put behind the controls of their Tiger Moth training aircraft.

"They considered themselves bulletproof," Mr Ashwood said.

"Once you've gone solo and you've done 10 or 12 hours that's when you start to learn to fly, although you're not a very experienced pilot at that stage.

"They just threw these airplanes around."

These included Flight Lieutenant Harold Roberts, who flew his plane alongside a train - far below regulation altitude - and was waved at by passengers.

Flight Lieutenant Roberts was eventually posted to the Middle East and later shot down, becoming a prisoner of war in Germany.

In another instance two trainee pilots, Allan Jones and Tasman Sexton, buzzed a car driving along the Midland Highway which, unbeknownst to them contained several senior officers.

These included the school's commanding officer and Air Commodore Raymond Brownell - who was responsible for overseeing RAAF operations in southern Australia at the time.

The pair of trainees then landed, with their plane taken into the air by fellow recruit Ted Watson.

In a case of mistaken identity, he was then given a dressing-down by the commanding officers although the guilty parties were later identified.

While these antics were officially discouraged, Mr Ashwood said the aerial displays of derring-do were not necessarily frowned upon by the instructors as they showed the recruits had the character and temperament a fighter pilot needed to survive.

This included Jones, who was later promoted to the rank of flying officer and earned a Distinguished Flying Medal for bravery.

"Even though quite often they'd have the book thrown at them for low flying or doing something similar, a lot of the senior officers liked to see that sort of spunk in those guys," Mr Ashwood said

"They were willing to push the envelope and that's what they wanted from fighter pilots."

Those that did not make the cut and were "scrubbed" from flight school - a rare occurrence according to Mr Ashwood - would go on to serve as navigators, wireless operators, door gunners and more.

The training camp was far from the front lines, and Mr Ashwood said many trainee pilots later described it as the best time of their lives.

However, the flying school was not spared the realities of war.

Of the young men researched by Mr Ashwood, nearly one third of them died after leaving the school - some in training accidents and others during combat - and 12 of them were taken as prisoners of war.

Those that saw combat were highly decorated.

Three pilots who passed through the school were awarded Distinguished Service Orders and 32 were awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses.

Two received Air Force Crosses, four received Distinguished Flying Medals, two Air Force Medals, one was awarded the Military Medal, eight were Mentioned in Despatches and three were given King's Commendations.

Memorials to those that were based at No. 7 EFTS stand at Evandale and Launceston Airport - the latter being a propellor in the car park.

Launceston Airport chief executive officer Shane O'Hare said the airport had a duty to honour those who served their country, and there were plans to "bring the memorial to life".

"It provides us with this great sense of responsibility to not just preserve the history of the airport, but to tell the story," Mr O'Hare said.

"One of the things that we're keen to do at the airport is to respect the memory of those brave pilots - those who survived, those that didn't - and to respect what they did."