Military aviation does not immediately spring to mind when thinking of suburban Petrie and Strathpine, yet warplanes remain an intrinsic part of the area’s history. Streets like Wirraway, Lancaster and Spitfire Avenue recall the many aircraft that flew at three military airfields constructed in the vicinity during World War II. The airfields formed a vital part of the strategic defence of Brisbane and were known as A1, A2 and A3.
The main landing strip, or Strathpine A2 airfield, comprised a paved runway along what is now Spitfire Avenue, behind Pine Rivers High School. During the war, A2 was used by British, American and Australian fighter squadrons. It also serviced 283 Australian army units and 15,000 US troops who were stationed nearby, training for deployment in the Pacific.
Besides the A2 runway, two other grass landing strips were constructed – the Petrie Airfield or A1, situated along Bells Pocket and Lawnton Pocket Road, and A3 or the Strathpine South Airfield, which is now a croquet field and industrial warehouses.
Petrie’s A1 airfield was built at a 60-degree angle to the main A2 runway. Together with A3, it offered alternative landing strips in the event of aviation emergencies or when adverse wind conditions prevented a landing at A2. However, the large trees that surrounded A1 presented problems for pilots.
Peter Dunn’s Australia@War website records that pilots were required to fly in an ‘s-shaped’ approach to A1 to keep the airfield in view when landing. The trees proved dangerous when flying at low speed and low altitude. Aviation records indicate that 2nd Lieutenant Maxwell J Jones was tragically killed in 1942 when his P-400 aircraft struck a tree while landing at A1. And in 1944, two Spitfire aircraft collided mid-air over North Pine Country Markets, killing two men.
Following the war, both A1 and A3 were dismantled. Although these airfields once bristled with military activity, little evidence remains today. The A2 runway was briefly used as a racetrack in 1950 before becoming Spitfire Avenue when the land was developed for housing. Only two small Council-erected memorials that celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII stand testament to the location of A1 and A3.
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