RAAF airman constructing a Joint Direct Attack Munition in February 2017

Gunnie is a term used in the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

(RAAF) when referring to an

armourer Historically, an armourer is a person who makes personal armour, especially plate armour. Historically armourers were often men, but women could also undertake the occupation: for example Alice la Haubergere worked as an armourer in Cheapside i ...

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

technician who loads or maintains aircraft ordnance, weapons,

ejection seat In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the aircraft pilot, pilot or other aircrew, crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an exp ...

s, or any other device that contains

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...

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 An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

(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"Pg 48
Air Armament Mission
"Flight" Magazine, 7 November 1946, Retrieved 30 July 2011. since Lord Trenchard uttered the words prior to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, although armourers didn't actually exist then. In the early nineties the armament mustering (along with other RAAF aircraft technical trades) was disbanded and all were rolled into two musterings: Avionics and Aircraft. Engine fitters and Airframe fitters became Aircraft Technicians while Instrument Fitters, Electrical Fitters and Radio Technicians became Avionics Technicians. The only mustering which could not fit neatly into either (due to the multi disciplinary nature of their work) the gunnies were given the choice of going to either mustering. Of the 400 or so in the whole of the RAAF only a handful elected to become Aircraft Technicians. The bulk of them were rolled into the Avionics Technician category. This was, at the time, considered a controversial decision given the highly specialised skills required to be an armourer. In the late 2000s the RAAF re-established the Armament mustering with the first class graduating from the RAAF College, School of Technical Training RAAF Base Wagga in 2008/09.

Notes

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External links

"Australian Armourers' Association"
Royal Australian Air Force