Volunteers at the Dareton Men's Shed in south-west New South Wales have embarked on a new project involving the restoration of De Havilland Vampire Mk35A jet fighter parts. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has donated three truckloads of these parts to the nearby Mildura RSL, which has tasked the Men's Shed with reassembling the aircraft.

This initiative follows the successful four-year restoration of a CA-27 Sabre jet fighter by a small team of volunteers from the shed. The restored Sabre now stands proudly in a hangar at Mildura Airport, and the Vampire will be displayed alongside it once completed.

The De Havilland Vampire holds historical significance as Australia’s first single-engine jet fighter. It served as the primary flight training aircraft for the RAAF during the 1950s and 1960s. The original design featured a fuselage made from molded plywood, metal wings, and a dual tail configuration. The first Australian model took flight in 1949, and a total of 3,987 Vampires were produced globally between 1943 and 1961. While initially designed as a single-seat fighter, various versions, including a two-seat model, were developed.

The Vampire was in service with the RAAF and the Royal Australian Navy until the 1970s, when it was replaced by the Aermacchi MB-326 as the preferred training aircraft.

Members of the Dareton Men's Shed are familiar with aircraft restoration. Greg Wood, one of the volunteers who worked on the Sabre, believes the Vampire project will be less time-consuming. "The wings, tails and such, they're all in very good condition," Wood said. "There's a lot of paint preparation and very little repair, but quite an assembly job because of the dual tail configuration. But it can happen, for sure."

Dareton Men's Shed president Peter Nunan noted that they received parts from at least three different Vampire fighters. "How often do you get your hands on a jet fighter?" Nunan asked. He emphasized that many members have never been this close to a fighter aircraft, even in disassembled form. He added, "We'll involve everybody and if anyone wants to do something on it, they can do something."

The Mildura RSL capitalized on the success of the Sabre restoration to negotiate the acquisition of the Vampire parts. Over six months, an agreement was reached to transfer the deed for the parts to the RSL, which was eager to collaborate with the Men's Shed again. Paul Mensch, the RSL's manager of veterans services, expressed pride in the project. "When you see photos and the footage of this particular (Sabre) jet when it first arrived, it was extremely rough. The amount of time and effort that these men have put into come up with this result, the decision to use the Dareton Men's Shed was well and truly justified," Mensch said.

Mildura RSL plans to extend the airport hangar to accommodate the Vampire once it is restored. Mensch highlighted the importance of preserving the history of the No. 2 Operational Training Unit, now known as 2OCU, and honoring the contributions of those who served in Mildura during the Pacific War against Japan. "It's an investment for the Mildura RSL, not just in restoring planes, but to do it in such a way that that story will continue to be told. It'll also create a great tourism area for our district as well," he said.