The Hornet on its way to the War Memorial. Photo: Australian War Memorial.
Under cover of darkness, the Australian War Memorial has been painstakingly trucking three “large technology” objects from its warehouse in Mitchell and craning them into its brand-new gallery space this week.
First was an F/A-18 Classic Hornet fighter jet on Monday night (31 March), which a lucky member of the public happened to spot and share in a video to social media.
The video showed the enormous fighter jet on the back of an enormous Kenworth truck being escorted through the intersection of Hindmarsh Drive and Yamba Drive under police escort.
The massive C130 Hercules cargo aircraft followed on Tuesday night, and a Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle in the early hours of Wednesday.
The move is described as the largest relocation of military technology in the War Memorial’s history, with a lot of the huge logistics organised by staff member Kassandra Hobbs.
“The Hercules move is going to require two cranes to load onto the truck, specialised mounts, and a detour of 38.1 kilometres – nearly three times the normal distance – due to height restrictions under Canberra’s light rail,” she said earlier this month.
The new sparkling copper roof went on the War Memorial’s expanded Anzac Hall earlier this year, paving the way for exhibits to begin moving in.
The upper level will contain many of the items from the old Anzac Hall, while the lower level will be devoted to peacekeeping missions, as well as the Middle East and Afghanistan.
About 20 of the War Memorial’s “large technology items” from its warehouse in Mitchell – normally only seen during its annual ‘Big Things in Store’ event – will eventually go in.
These will be accompanied by more than 1500 objects to tell their story, followed by another 1000-odd images.
The copper roof on the new Anzac Hall at the Australian War Memorial. Photo: Australian War Memorial.
“My job involves a lot of communications and paperwork,” Ms Hobbs said.
“We have ACT Policing, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, specialised transport teams, aircraft specialists and engineers all working together to make it happen.”
The Hornet fighter jet, for instance, which is actually wider than the C-130, required the ACT Government to trim several trees along the route, adjust electrical lines and remove several road signs.
And that’s before it even arrives at the War Memorial, where it has to be painstakingly craned into place.
“There’s a lot of maths,” Ms Hobbs said.
“Each crane has a different reach and weight limit. The engineering studies tell us the pressure on the outriggers, and then we bring in geotechnical experts to make sure the ground can handle it. I always have a tape measure on me – every placement has to be exact.”
Senior curator Dr Kerry Neale told Region the Hornet will be the “centrepiece” of the new hall, alongside the original pilot’s suit and other pieces of equipment it needed for its long flights of more than nine hours.
It’s going in … Photo: Australian War Memorial.
“We’ve been kind of designing the gallery with it in mind from very early days when we were thinking of how to plan out the space.”
The Hornet (A21-022) retired in 2020 after more than 6000 flying hours with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It was the first RAAF fighter to drop bombs in combat since the Korean War, taking part in patrol and combat missions over Iraq and Syria in 2003 and 2016/17.
It entered the War Memorial’s collection relatively recently, in 2020 – complete with a panel scarred by a lightning strike.
It’s getting closer. Photo: Australian War Memorial.
Dr Neale agreed the last few days have been a bit of a teaser as to what the public can expect to see when the new hall opens in the first quarter of 2026.
“It really is the … beginning of us putting together something the public can come and view, and learn a bit more about these conflicts, that in the past, we’ve only had limited space … to cover.
“We’ve been able to share a lot more objects, and a lot more stories in the new space.”
