McIntyre Field - Engine Test Bays Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Blacklegend: Cant get down for a while from the Gold Coast, so will archive. Cheers.

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Hidden : 9/17/2011
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:


Engine Test Bays

Welcome to my 88th cache hide.





This cache forms part of a series around the Tocumwal Airfiled. This particular cache is about the closest point on a road to the engine test bays without going on private land. So, what about the test bays??

Ok, the test bays were used for the Pratt & Whitney 1830 engines from Liberator bombers. The engines were rebuilt in them and tested for hours in them. They were not removed after the base was vacated by the military, probably because they were concrete and not useable for anything else. They are now used by farmers to store hay and equipment.

Read below for the general information on the airbase or as it used to be called "McIntyre Field"


Now a little bit of history on the Tocumwal Airfield...

The History...

The Tocumwal Airfield began operation in the second world war in response to the Japanese moving south in the Pacific Ocean. There was a real threat that they were going to invade Australia, and Tocumwal was a major airfield which was going to be used in that defense.

When occupied by the USAF (US Air Force) it was called McIntyre Field. In 1942, the RAAF took over operation of the airfield and called it "Tocumwal".

During its operation the airfield was 25 square miles in size and was home to many different types of planes. including 54 B-24 Liberator bombers, 11 Vultee Vengeance, 5 Kittyhawks and an Airspeed Oxford.

After the war it was also used as a vast storage and repair depot with aircraft such as Avro Anson, Airacobra, Beaufort, Boeing, Boomerang, Dakota, Hudson, Lancaster, Lincoln, Meteor, Mosquito, Mustang, Spitfire, Beaufighter, Vampire, Winjeel and Wirraway.

After the RAAF left Tocumwal in 1960, over 700 aircraft were scrapped through until 1963. Many aircraft were smelted on site into aluminum ingots, pots and pans. The Holden Motor Company brought much of the Aluminum

Similarly, almost all of the 608 buildings on the airbase and at the hospital, were sold and removed. With post war building supplies almost impossible to get, this was popular at the time, but there was little foresight as to the historical value of this. There are a few buildings left, and many foundations which are subject of some caches in this series.

About 200 of the houses were moved to developing suburbs in Canberra. The suburbs which received the houses were Anislie and O'Connor. You can view the whole story at this link

The Tocumwal Archive

There were originally six large hangars built on site, there are three remaining today. One is used by the gliding club onsite to store aircraft.

The longest of all four runways that were made, has been covered by soil. If you drive about 400 meters west of the cache named "Gate 9 - Tocumwal Airfield" along the road the cache is on, you can see some white markers in the field, inside the airport fence line. This marks where that runway is. This location will be subject of another cache soon.

Our house is on land that used to be part of the airbase. When I have been working on our block, I have found old aircraft tools, red bricks from buildings and old bullet casings.

There are other caches around the area which have information about the airfield. These caches will be listed with the title "McIntyre Field"

The are well worth visiting, as the locations are very historical. Another image is shown below, it is an aerial shot of the airfield facing south.




Visit this link Tocumwal Airfield During WW2 or Visit this link A Brief History of Tocumwal Aerodrome

For more information if you like. It's not a bad read, and has some good information and pics.



Once again, have fun and be careful with the kiddies near the road. Also, anywhere in Australia, BE CAREFUL AND ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SNAKES, ESPECIALLY WITH THE KIDS. Good luck and importantly, have fun.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Qrnq Gerr, frr vzntr anzrq "grfg" vs fghpx. Unq n ovg bs TCF gebhoyr ba gur qnl, naq unir qbar zl orfg. Boivbhf fcbg.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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