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Longreach Airfield and QANTAS Hangar
USAAF 19th Bombardment Group
Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (QANTAS) was registered in November 1920 and the first board meeting was held at Winton early in 1921. In the same year, the company moved to Longreach, a more central position from which to operate. The first hangar had been constructed near the site of the show grounds in 1921, but the contract for the mail service necessitated larger premises and a contract for a new hangar was awarded to Stewart and Lloyd of Sydney in March 1922.
The hangar was completed in August 1922 at the site of the new aerodrome, east of the town. Qantas ended its occupation of the Longreach hangar in June 1930, when the company’s headquarters were moved to Brisbane. Qantas merged with British Imperial Airways in 1934 to become Qantas Empire Airways.
From early May until late July 1942 the hangar was used by the USAAF 19th Bombardment Group as a workshop and for mission briefing sessions. After the war it remained in commercial use until 1996, when it was adapted as part of the Qantas Founders Outback Museum.
Place information
Location
Place type
Airfield
History
RAAF records contain drawings dating to January 1942, showing a proposed hutted camp close to the racecourse on the north-west boundary of Longreach aerodrome and development of the existing two short runways. The Main Roads Commission (MRC) began extension of the runways on 9 February 1942 to provide an important landing ground on the inland ferry route from Brisbane and Charleville to Darwin and beyond.
During the early months of the Pacific war Longreach aerodrome and the former Qantas hangar were controlled by US Forces who were already in occupation of the aerodrome when the first B-17 bombers of 19th Bombardment...
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