Tuesday, 8 September
2015
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| Outback sunset |
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| Campfire |
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| Disappearing observatory |
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| Norden bombsight vault |
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| Norden bombsight - top secret |
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| Radio shack and mast from WW2 |
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| RFDS Base, Charleville |
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| Last remaining hangar from WW2, now used by RFDS |
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| Parking lot for two war planes |
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| Remains of a bitumen bath |
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| Water tower for bitumen baths |
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| Remains of a mess hall |
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| Aide station - or base hospital |
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| Interested spectators in the mulga scrub |
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| Remains of an ablution block, with urinal at far end |
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| Vortex guns |
We spent the morning being tourists, joining a convoy for a
tour of the secret WW2 American base at Charleville. The Americans took over the Charleville Airport
and turned it into a secret base to train bombardiers in the use of the top
secret Norden bombsight. Eleven
prototypes were kept secured in a bombproof vault and brought out under cover
for training purposes. We spent a very
interesting 90 minutes driving around the mulga scrub, with our guide
explaining the uses of the few remaining buildings and concrete slabs; as well
as the remains of the bitumen baths. The
men were required to walk through these chemical baths (similar to a cattle dip)
once a week in order to rid themselves of bities, such as ticks, fleas and
lice. The history was so interesting
that we found the time passed very quickly.
On our return to Charleville, we stopped for a quick look at
the vortex guns. These were the
brainchild of a man who thought that if gunpowder was fired into the sky, rain
would result. Don’t think it did. The afternoon has been spent enjoying the
sun, fresh air, quiet and sounds of the birds – the temperature has been much
lower today (about 22 degrees) because of a southerly wind.
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