No. 6 Service Flying Training School RAAF

Aerial views of Mallala airfield and No. 6 SFTS

Brief History

This unit was established in Mallala, South Australia on 25 Aug 1941. Early operations were suspended until the airfield could be made serviceable following very heavy rain. Rain, fog, and strong winds would regularly delay or curtail flying operations. The first three Avro Anson aircraft arrived on 10 Sep 1941, and another six, two days later. Flying training commenced on 23 Sep 1941 and 2,178 trainees were to graduate before training ceased in September 1945.

In addition to training, the nit provided aircrew for No. 70 (Reserve) Squadron and undertook co-operation exercises with Army units over Adelaide. Five aircraft from the unit crashed with the loss of 7 lives before training ceased to function on 1 Jan 1946.

Staff

• Helen (Nell) Hart

Ground Crew

• Cyril Charles Cross 31 Dec 1942 - 19 Jul 1944
• Kevin David Anderson 25 Oct - 21 Dec 1943
• Frederick Mervyn Cross
• Vernon Wallace Marsh

Notes

Content for the history and honours sections has come "Units of the Royal Australian Air Force - A Concise History - Volume 8 Training Units" Australian Government Publishing Service 1995.