From left, Dandenong Cranbourne RSL president John Wells, volunteers Nigel Ross and Robin Hiern, welfare officer John Richardson and Casey councillor Amanda Stapledon with the Macchie aircraft being built at Cranbourne RSL. 84197 Picture: Donna Oates
By Bridget Cook
AN aircraft will soon fly high at the Dandenong Cranbourne RSL in honour of the men and women who were accidentally killed during service.
The Dandenong Cranbourne RSL sub branch has begun restoring a Macchi MB326H aircraft to stand on a tall pylon at the Cranbourne venue.
President John Wells said following the great success of the Vietnam War Memorial of Victoria and the Huey helicopter at the Dandenong RSL, they realised that another relevant memorial was missing from the national collection.
“That was a memorial to all those men and women who were killed accidentally in the service and the uniform of the nation,” he said.
Mr Wells said the RSL started buying several Macchi aircraft shells to restore one to original external appearance for that purpose.
“Several pilots were killed training on these aircraft, but the memorial is to people of all the services,” he said.
“Many of the accidents are well-known but many more are not, and the victims have no one place for commemoration.
“There are smaller individual memorials in some places but most of these young people are simply forgotten by the nation, and that is wrong.”
The club started the memorial in 2006, and after being held up for a number of reasons, they now nearly have all the parts needed and have made a few themselves.
“This new memorial of national significance will be built at the new Cranbourne RSL, featuring Macchi #87, ex Royal Australian navy,” he said.
“With help from a few volunteers, notably John Richardson, Nigel Ross and Robin Hiern, we are nearing completion and by the middle of next year, perhaps as early as February, #87 will be on a tall pylon at the Cranbourne venue of the Dandenong-Cranbourne RSL, along with some other notable artefacts.
“The area around it will be landscaped with a small garden, a paved area for services and black granite walls explaining the very serious and solemn nature of the display. “Lest we forget.”
The Macchi was an Australian-built variant on an Italian design, used to train pilots before they went to the Hornets and other more sophisticated aircraft.
It had two seats and one engine.
The aircraft was delivered to the Navy by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in September 1971.
It was passed to the Royal Australian Air Force in June 1983, when the Navy’s Fleet Air Arm was disbanded.
As a Naval plane it was N14-087 but became A7-087 in the Royal Australian Air Force RAAF.
The aircraft to stand at the Cranbourne RSL will be repainted in the navy blue and white of the Navy.
There were 97 Macchis in RAAF and RAN service and 24 of them crashed.
