No. 7 Operational Training Unit RAAF (7OTU) was a

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 ...

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually Aerial bomb, bombs) and longest range (aeronautics), range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy ...

training unit of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 7OTU was formed on 12 February 1944 at

RAAF Station Tocumwal RAAF Station Tocumwal () was a major Royal Australian Air Force base during World War II. History Located near the town of Tocumwal, New South Wales the base was established in early 1942 to provide a secure base for United States Army Air Force ...

in southern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

to train RAAF

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

crews. 7OTU was initially equipped with ex-

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

B-24Ds but later received new B-24J/L/Ms. At full strength the unit was equipped with 54 B-24s and was responsible for training 28 crews per month. 7OTU was disbanded following the end of the war. In 1944 one of the few verified instances of sabotage occurred at Tocumwal, when major sections of the wiring looms in 12 B-24s were cut and removed. This put the aircraft out of service for several months until the damage could be assessed, replacement looms fabricated in the USA, then installed by Consolidated technicians flown to Australia to do the work. The sabotage was believed to have been carried out by a Japanese cell that had been under cover in Australia since prior to the war, however no one was ever captured nor convicted of the act.

References

* Nelmes, Michael V. (1994). ''Tocumwal to Tarakan. Australians and the Consolidated B-24 Liberator''. Banner Books, Canberra. {{ISBN, 1-875593-04-7 7

See also

References