Bankstown Tower 2

When DCA took over Sydney/Bankstown aerodrome from the (British) Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm after the Second World War, it inherited a wartime Control Tower. In the late 1940s or very early 1950s this new facility was constructed to replace the original Tower. The Tower cab itself was just one element of a larger building. It's currently not known exactly what was housed in the main part of the building, but it likely included the Briefing Office as well as equipment rooms and administration offices. As was the practice at the time, the Tower was painted with black and white checks to highlight it as a potential obstruction to low flying aircraft.

The first and sixth photos on this page were taken on 22 March 1953. In the early 1950s Bankstown was a busy place: among other things de Havilland Australia, which had established a factory at Bankstown during the war, was winding up production of the locally designed DHA-3 Drover but Vampire jet fighter production was still in full swing for the RAAF. As Kingsford Smith (Mascot) airport became busier with airline traffic, more and more general aviation activity developed at Bankstown.

Bankstown Tower No.2

When DCA took over Sydney/Bankstown aerodrome from the (British) Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm after the Second World War, it inherited a wartime Control Tower. In the late 1940s or very early 1950s this new facility was constructed to replace the original Tower. The Tower cab itself was just one element of a larger building. It's currently not known exactly what was housed in the main part of the building, but it likely included the Briefing Office as well as equipment rooms and administration offices. As was the practice at the time, the Tower was painted with black and white checks to highlight it as a potential obstruction to low flying aircraft. The first and sixth photos on this page were taken on 22 March 1953. In the early 1950s Bankstown was a busy place: among other things de Havilland Australia, which had established a factory at Bankstown during the war, was winding up production of the locally designed DHA-3 Drover but Vampire jet fighter production was still in full swing for the RAAF. As Kingsford Smith (Mascot) airport became busier with airline traffic, more and more general aviation activity developed at Bankstown.

The photo below, from 1974 and looking north-east, shows the location of Tower number 2 on the corner of the main hangar area on the northern side of the aerodrome.



The interior photos above and below show that there was no proper console for the air traffic controllers to work at. A basic office desk had to suffice. The 'tools of the trade', in the form of Aldis signal lamps and a flare pistol with its box of cartridges can be seen on the desk.



Radio first made an appearance in military Control Towers during the war, and after the war in civil Towers. In this case, the radios and associated communications equipment were located inside the Tower cab on a low wooden tray, seen in the images above and below. In the image above the upper unit nearest the camera is an AR7 receiver. The seat in the background in the photo above is intriquing.



The colour image above shows the Tower in September 1960, probably during an airshow. Of interest is the yellow cane signal ball hanging over the balcony of the level below the Tower cab. Three years later, this image below shows the Illawarra Flying School's near-new and very modern Cessna 172D VH-IAR parked by the Tower on 15 September 1963. This aircraft was one of six Cessna 172s added to the Illawarra fleet in November 1962. As of 2019 it is still airworthy, though re-registered as VH-SUT.

In 1961 construction commenced on a new Control Tower at Bankstown. As the new Tower was on the other side of the aerodrome, the former Tower building remained in use as the Briefing Office, as seen in the 1970s photo below. Compared with the earlier photos above, the lack of any VHF radio antennas confirms the building was no longer in use as a Tower. The building has since been demolished.

(Photos: All CAHS collection except 9 - Bob Neate via Geoff Goodall) Back to the main Air Traffic Services index
If this page appears without a menu bar at top and left, click here