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Guest: Nat Eichler
Host: Dave Homewood and James Kightly
Recorded: 15th of November 2015, at Werribee, Australia
Duration: 59 minutes 27 seconds
In this episode, another in the Wings Over Australia sub-series, co-hosts Dave Homewood and James Kightly are given a guided tour of the magnificent ex-RAAF Consolidated B-24 Liberator restoration at Werribee, near Melbourne, Australia. Our guide is 95-year-old WWII veteran Nat Eichler, who served as a Radar Operator and Wireless Operator on Royal Australian Air Force Liberators himself. While talking about the restoration and the aircraft’s components that have been restored, Nat also talks about the museum and its plans, the history of the hangar and Werribee Air Force station, and his own service in B-24’s, patrolling over the sea north of the Australian continent in the hunt for Japanese shipping.
Quick Links:
B-24 Liberator Restoration Australia Website
B-24 Liberator Restoration Australia Facebook Page
The Photos:
The following photos were taken during our visit to the Werribee B-24 Liberator. The first shot was taken by James Kightly and shows Dave Homewood interviewing guide and WWII veteran Nat Eichler with the Liberator in the background, and a gun turret in the foreground.
The rest of the photos were taken by Dave Homewood. First shots show the hangar and a board telling about the hangar’s history
Nat with a radar unit
Exterior Shots of the Aircraft and Components
Interior shots inside the fuselage, note the yellow oxygen tanks
Photos of the large map they have on the hangar doors showing the RAAF Liberator bases and areas of operation in WWII
Absolutely awesome!! I was a volunteer pilot for the Collings Foundation B-17G and B-24J for five years (1996 – 2000). I aim to rejoin the tour in 2016! I remember when this project started, and how excited I was to learn of your magnificent endeavor. Now, upon seeing these recent photographs, I am most excited by the fantastic progress made over the intervening years. Keep up the great work! Keep ’em Flying!
Great stuff Jim, yes the team at Werribee have done an amazing job, especially when you see what they started with. Now it looks like a new aeroplane! I should add, none of that hard work can be attributed to me, haha, I just recorded the interview and took the photos. I really enjoyed my visit there though, and what a privilege it was to be shown around the amazing project by an actual B-24 veteran, and someone who’s been with the project since it began, Nat Eichler!! Cheers, Dave