RAAF Williams

RAAF Williams (ICAO: YMPC) is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base set across two locations, at Point Cook and Laverton, located approximately 20 km (12 mi) south-west of the Melbourne central business district in Victoria, Australia.

[2] RAAF Williams, Point Cook is the birthplace of the Royal Australian Air Force and is the oldest continually operating military airfield in the world.

The RAAF Museum is located at Point Cook[3] and has a large collection of ex-RAAF aircraft and military memorabilia from the prewar years until recent decades.

Other units at Laverton are the ADF School of Languages, Defence International Training Centre (DITC), Director General Technical Airworthiness, No.

In 1946 Laverton played host to the first flight of the newly formed Trans Australia Airlines, its Douglas DC-3 VH-AES Hawdon forced to use the base as operations at Essendon had become adversely affected by recent[when?]

More than 100 ha (247 acres) of nationally significant native grassland outside the reserves was permitted to be cleared by the state- and federal governments.

In 2016 it was speculated that the Department of Defence would completely shut down Laverton and its land sold under plans by the RAAF to consolidate its facilities towards northern Australia.

[7] The following units are located at RAAF Williams:[8] The 1948 Australian Grand Prix was held on a racetrack mapped out on the runways and support roads of the Point Cook airfield.

[4] Land was set aside by the Australian Government west of the Williams bases from 1940 to 1952 for a spare grass airfield and aircraft storage.