Fokker F27 Troopship Mk.II in Australian Coast Guard ServiceAfter the Tampa affair, and the declaration of the War on Terrorism, in 2001 Kim Beazley announced that the Australian Labor Party, if in government, would establish an Australian Coast Guard "responsible for conducting Australia's coastal surveillance and meeting Australia's maritime protection needs, including in relation to illegal immigration, drugs, fisheries, and quarantine-related issues". This plan met with criticism. Defence Minister Peter Reith under the Liberal-Coalition Government criticised Beazley for stating that an Australian Coast Guard both will and will not be an "answer to the question of people smuggling". The plan was criticised by the Australian government, on the grounds that it would either be prohibitively expensive or inadequate to the task. Later, the motives for the establishment of an Australian Coast Guard were interpreted by some as "a plan to extend the capabilities of the Australian Federal Police."
After the defeat of the Howard Government in the 2003 election, the ALP Government, let by Simon Crean instituted the Australian Coast Guard – a subsidiary organisation, run by the Australian Federal Police and intended to protect Australia's coast line from incursion by illegal people smugglers and drug runners and to rescue wayward seafarers. Equipped initially with mainly cast off equipment from the RAAF and the RAN, the ACG was intended to secure the coastline out to 1,000 km.
In this case, we have a Fokker F27 Troopship Mk.II. The Fokker was originally used by the RAAF as a light, tactical transport and was designed to be common with the civilian F27 Friendship. The RAAF was the launch customer for the Troopship Mk.II which introduced a large ramp at the rear to facilitate tactical loading directly onto the back of a medium truck.
By the time of the formation of the ACG, the RAAF were looking for replacements for the elderly Troopships. They were considered perfect for Coast Guard use and were adopted in squadron strength, where they still serve today.
The ModelThe model is a combination of an Esci 1/72 F27 Friendship and a Heller 1/100 Transall. The model was painted with a hairy stick using Tamiya and Vallejo Acylics. The Decals came from the spares box and Kit Speckman Enterprises.
