Gunnie

Gunnie is a term used in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) when referring to an armourer or aircraft technician who loads or maintains aircraft ordnance, weapons, ejection seats, or any other device that contains explosive material.

A second major function of their speciality is Explosive Ordnance Demolition (EOD) – the safe removal of unexploded bombs (UXB's) and the disposal/recovery of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's).

Armourers are also responsible for the maintenance of all small arms used by the RAAF and generally run the maintenance workshops in all RAAF base armouries.

Alternative names include "Gun Plumber" and "Cracker Stacker" Distinctly independent of the other aircraft trades, their motto has been "Without armament there is no need for an airforce"[1] since Lord Trenchard uttered the words prior to World War I, although armourers didn't actually exist then.

This was, at the time, considered a controversial decision given the highly specialised skills required to be an armourer.