Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) 27 Radar Station

Dunk Island, Family Islands National Park

RAAF 27 Radar Station was formed in Townsville in October 1942 and the unit moved to the Barrier Reef resort on Dunk Island in November. Today the spindle, cog wheels and turntable for the antenna turning mechanism of an Australian AW Mk I assembly is all that remains of RAAF No. 27 Radar Station, erected in 1942 on Mount Kootaloo at Dunk Island.

Place information

Location

Mount Kootaloo

Dunk Island, QLD 4852

Open in Google maps

Place type

Radar/signal station

History

Radar was a most secret technology during World War II. It had been developed in Britain prior to the war and the details were shared with Australia and other commonwealth countries. Delays in acquiring British radar equipment, due to the demands of the Battle of Britain, spurred an innovative period of radar development by Australian scientists at the Radiophysics Laboratory (RPL) of the University of Sydney during 1941.

As the war with Japan approached, there were in Sydney two very important manufacturers with the expertise to produce specialised radar equipment, namely HMV (His Master’s Voice) and the New South Wales Government...

Suggest an edit

Copy Link