ADF Serials - Warrigal

RAAF Serial	c/n	Type	Aircraft History
?	?	Warrigal I	04/12/1928 First Flight Pilot Wing Commander Lawrence Wackett, 29/01/1929 Delivered to 1 FTS at RAAF base Point Cook after a seven-hour cross-country flight with stops at Goulburn and Cootamundra. 31/01/1929 Christened by Mrs. Ettie Williams, the wife of the Chief of Air Staff Richard Williams and handed over to the Commonwealth Air Board for a series of performance, handling and operational tests. Numerous RAAF pilots were invited to test the handling of the aircraft, including Charles Eaton, who described an alarming incident when he was unable to recover from an intentional spin until the last moment possible, almost resulting in the loss of the aircraft. ??/09/1929 it suffered from a heavy landing which damaged the undercarriage. Due to the lack of spare parts and the cost of repairs, the Air Board recommended that the aircraft should be written off, the Minister for Defence giving approval for this course of action in November. ??/11/1930 Stripped of its engine and fittings and the airframe was disposed in a fire. It had completed a total flying time of 40 hours and 5 minutes.
?	?	Warrigal II	07/07/1930 First flight (Flying Officer R.H.Simms.), ??/09/1930 Delivered to No. 1 FTS and within a month it had to be partly dismantled to repair chafing of the wires supporting the wings, ??/09/1931 Commenced Flight testing, ??/02/1932 An inspection revealed that the joint between the front and rear sections of the fuselage had weakened and opened up. ??/09/1932 Repairs took 6 months but then further problems appeared with the undercarriage so it was decided to mount the aircraft on floats for trials as a seaplane. The results of these trials were positive and it was found that the Warrigal II was capable of handling rougher seas than the smaller Moth seaplanes. ??/03/1933 After a total flying time of 37 hours and 15 minutes the Warrigal II was unserviceable again and Wing Commander H.F. De La Rue (C.O. of No.1 FTS) recommended its disposal. This was approved by the Minster for Defence in July, and following the removal of the engine and instruments the Warrigal II was donated to Melbourne Technical College for use in the teaching of aircraft design.