Conservation
The Memorial's Beaufort
Beaufort conservation progress report - November 2002
Conservation work on the Australian War Memorial's Beaufort – A9-557 – began in 1996 with a contract to rebuild the tailplane. Since then the project has steadily gained momentum, and over the last year significant progress has been made. All major sections of A9-557 have been examined and repaired, where necessary, to ensure structural integrity while retaining as much original material as possible. Contractors in Sydney and Brisbane carried out most of this work.
While work on these sections took place, the Memorial team concentrated on refurbishing the many smaller detail parts that will be used to fit out A9-557.
Work has now commenced on the trial-fitting of the major sections. Once it has been established that this will be possible, fitting of detail parts, as well as final painting, will follow. The major sections will be rotated through the spray booth to receive their camouflage paint. Where possible, original paint surfaces will be retained and lightly polished to remove any oxidation. New paint, which has been matched to the original colours, will be applied to the new skins on the wings, stern frame and areas of the fuselage.
Major fuselage sections being trial-fitted together
Pallets of refurbished parts waiting to be fitted to the major sections
Sheet metal worker Stuart Attenborough fitting the navigator's cupola
frame to the cockpit section
Sheet metal worker Lee Davies fitting out the leading edge of the
centre wing section
Airframe fitter Jamie Croker fitting the bomb bay side walls to
the centre wing section
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