The Australian War Memorial is to open up its warehouse so the public can see some of the big items it plans to move to the expanded museum space at the memorial itself.
This Saturday, it's offering what it calls "a behind-the-scenes look at one of the world's largest collections of military equipment, with everything from aircraft and rockets, to tanks and artillery on display".
Star of the show at the Mitchell centre (not the main AWM site) may be the newly restored North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco which was part of the US Air Force effort in Vietnam, but flown by Australian pilots.
One of the pilots who flew the Bronco in Vietnam recently returned to view it. For Ken Semmler, it was like driving a sportscar. It was a "delight". It was "brilliant".
It was found in the Philippines and brought to the warehouse for restoration. "When it arrived, Bronco 639 was in poor condition," the AWM's Kim ''Woody'' Wood said.
"The aircraft was suffering from corrosion, was covered in paint that was not of aviation origin and more akin to what would be used on an outdoor building structure or a bridge," the aircraft maintenance engineer at the Memorial's Mitchell storage facility said.
Other aircraft will also be on display on Saturday.
"This will be a chance to see new acquisitions such as the Saracen Sikorsky S-70, the Memorial's first Black Hawk Army helicopter which performed 30 years of service including peacekeeping and humanitarian operations," Memorial director Matt Anderson said.
"Favourites include the much-loved 'G for George' Avro Lancaster Mk I Bomber, alongside some of the Memorial's more recent acquisitions, such as the F/A-18 Classic Hornet."
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter, retired with 16 years' of service in 2016, will also be on display.
The Memorial says: "There are limited free tickets still available for the Memorial's Big Things in Store event, held at the Memorial's storage facility in the Canberra suburb of Mitchell.
"All visitors are encouraged to book their free ticket to attend this year's event. Tickets provide admittance to a two-hour session, with the event beginning at 9am."
