A ceremony was held at the RAAF Amberley Heritage Center on 21 April 2013 to mark the completion of external work on the Government Aircraft Factory Canberra B Mk 20, which has been under restoration at Amberleys restoration facility for some time.
The Canberra aircraft has now been moved into the display hanger at the Centre and looks immaculate in its fresh color scheme and shares the display space with two F111 aircraft and several Warbird displays. Many current and former 2 Squadron staff were in attendance on the day of the event and all were very appreciative of the efforts made in the restoration of the aircraft serialed A84-242. While every effort has been made to authentically restore and preserve the aircrafts exterior, work is ongoing to refurbish the interior of the aircraft to its Vietnam service standard.
GAF Canberra B Mk 20
Sadly during its time as a training aid and then a fire dump machine much of its original equipment was lost and has had to be sourced from various locations all over the country. Luckily some of the crew members who flew the Canberra 242 have come forward and provided valuable assistance in the refinishing of the aircraft to a highly accurate standard, Wing Cdr John Bushell (retired) who served as a navigator in Vietnam on this actual aircraft has provided valuable input to the restoration team. Even more valuable as he has to travel all the way from Indonesia where he now resides to provide hands on advice.
Work on the interior should be completed within 12 months and the GAF Canberra 242 will be one of the most accurate and complete preserved Canberras in the world and a real Warbird too!
© John Parker 2013