Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over recent weeks I was invited by Air Commodore Adrian Maso AM, a senior Air Force officer in South Australia, to attend two important commemorative services at the RAAF memorial at the Torrens Parade Ground in Adelaide.

The first service, on 17 May, commemorated the 80th anniversary of Operation Chastise, which is more commonly known as the Dambusters Raid, on 16 and 17 May 1943. The very dangerous operation, which required the extraordinary low-flying skills in Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron using newly-designed bouncing bombs, destroyed the Mohne and Edersee dams in Germany's Ruhr valley. Of the 19 Lancasters that took part, 18 were lost and another two were seriously damaged. 53 airmen lost their lives. Of the 13 Australians that took part in the daring mission, which included three from South Australia, two died and one was taken as a prisoner of war. Two of the South Australians, Flying Officer Frederick Spafford and Flight Lieutenant Robert Hay, died later in the war. Squadron Leader David Shannon survived the war, passing in 1993. His daughter, Nikki King, participated in the commemoration service.

The second service was the 2023 Air Force Bomber Command Commemorative Service held on 3 June, which was also attended by the member for Adelaide, Steve Georganas. Almost 10,000 Australian Air Force personnel served in very dangerous World War II Bomber Command operations, of which over one-third lost their lives. Of the total of 125,000 allied aircrew who served in Bomber Command sorties, 55,573 were killed, 8,403 were wounded, and 9,838 became prisoners of war. Over 8,300 aircraft were also lost in action.

The extraordinary feats of Bomber Command, including the Dambusters, became the inspiration for films and books. Australia has a proud history of heroic aviation feats dating back to Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and the Smith Brothers' military and civil aviation groundbreaking exploits a century ago. The heroism of Australian aviators should be a source of pride to all Australians. Those commemorative services were both a solemn but proud reminder of those who served and risked or lost their lives. The proud Air Force tradition, built on over a century of service to Australia, endures today, with around 14,000 full-time and 5,000 part-time personnel continuing the professionalism and precision of our Air Forces that serve this country.