Mobility in War

Planes, tanks, ships and strategic agility in the theatre of war.

By Australian War Memorial

Australian War Memorial

Deperdussin taxi-type single seat training monoplane : Central Flying School (1912) by Deperdussin Aeroplane CompanyAustralian War Memorial

The Memorial’s Deperdussin single-seat training monoplane is Australia’s oldest surviving military aircraft.

The aircraft is a fragile construction of wood, metal, and Irish linen, and contains only basic features, such as “advance” and “retard” controls.

Breaking the Hindenburg Line (1918) by Will LongstaffAustralian War Memorial

Breaking the Hindenburg line

Tanks were hailed by some as the answer to the stalemate of trench warfare.

Weighing 28 tons and carrying a crew of eight, the Mark IV Male heavy was a frightening sight of thick steel cloaked in exhaust smoke when on the move.

Mk IV Female Tank Mk IV Female TankAustralian War Memorial

The Memorial’s Mark IV Female tank (serial number 4643) was shipped directly to Australia from the Coventry workshops in Glasgow and arrived in June 1918. From September it was the central feature of War Loan rallies in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. As a fundraising tool it travelled around Australia and thrilled audiences with practical demonstrations that included climbing steep mounds, navigating out of deep holes, and crashing through thick brick walls, fences, and purpose-built structures.

Albatros D.Va scout aircraft Albatros D.Va scout aircraftAustralian War Memorial

Albatros D.Va scout aircraft

Captured by Australian troops during an air engagement of the First World War, this Albatros is one of only two of its kind in the world today.

G For George Avro Lancaster G For George Avro LancasterAustralian War Memorial

The Avro Lancaster B1, known with affection as "G for George" has always been one of the most popular exhibits at the Australian War Memorial. After undergoing extensive restoration, the plane is back on display in Anzac Hall in a permanent exhibition.

Tap to explore

Experience the interior of the cockpit of "G for George". as it was during ninety operational missions over Germany and occupied Europe during the height of the bomber offensive.

Into the Jet Age: Gloster Meteor Aircraft (2/01/1968)Australian War Memorial

Tap to explore

See inside the Centurion Tank, not normally accessible to visitors to the Australian War Memorial.

"Huey": The Bell UH-1B Iroquois helicopter (2014)Australian War Memorial

ScanEagle UAV Aircraft No 274 (2005) by Insitu PacificAustralian War Memorial

In modern warfare the front line is often undefined, and the difference between insurgent and civilian is often difficult to determine. Technology, therefore, plays a vital role. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) such as this unarmed Boeing ScanEagle aircraft deliver real-time video surveillance back to operators on the ground.

The aircraft weighs 20 kilograms fully laden, has a 3.1-metre wingspan, and a length of 1.4 metres.

Conducting a CASEVAC (2011)Australian War Memorial

A US Black Hawk helicopter comes into land at Forward Operating Base Budwan, Afghanistan, during a CASEVAC (emergency casualty evacuation) at one of the artillery positions for Australian gunners attached to Operation Herrick XIII.

Bushmaster, Ben Quilty, 2012, From the collection of: Australian War Memorial
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"I met a young man who’d been in the back of a Bushmaster [armoured vehicle] that had blown up. The Bushmaster is the big armoured four-wheel drive vehicle that’s saving a lot of Australian lives, but even so the explosion caused every single young man inside that vehicle to suffer from concussion and one of them was blown out of the gun turret and landed in front of the vehicle among possibly more hidden explosive devices."
Ben Quilty

Battle damaged storage bin : Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle (2012) by Thales AustraliaAustralian War Memorial

Bushmaster storage bin

This storage bin is from a Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle (PMV) damaged by an improvised explosive device (IED) on 7 November 2012 while operating with Australian forces in Afghanistan.

Credits: Story

Curator: Assistant Curators of Military Heraldry and Technology at the Australian War Memorial.

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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