became the first men to circumnavigate Australia by air, in a single-engined Fairey IIID floatplane. The English-born McIntyre, who was lead pilot while Goble acted as commander and navigator, was also a World War I veteran of the Royal Naval Air Service. The purpose of the flight was to survey the northern coastline of Australia for defence planning, and to test the capabilities of the Fairey IIID. Goble and McIntyre took off from Point Cook, Victoria, on 6 April 1924 and flew in 44 days, in often arduous conditions. Though well-prepared with fuel stocks and spare parts pre-positioned along the intended route, they had to contend with illness and tropical storms, as well as mid-air engine trouble and fuel leaks. Their journey took them anticlockwise around the continent, along the Eastern Australian coast through Sydney, Southport, Townsville and Thursday Island, crossing the Gulf of Carpentaria to Darwin, and then continuing along the coast through Broome, Carnarvon, Perth, Albany and Port Lincoln, before arriving back in Victoria. As they flew above Point Cook, twelve RAAF aircraft took to the air to escort them to their landing place at St Kilda Beach, where they were welcomed by a crowd of 10,000 people. Prime Minister Stanley Bruce called the expedition "one of the most wonderful accomplishments in the history of aviation", his government presenting Goble with a gift of £500, and £250 to McIntyre. The British Royal Aero Club awarded them the annual Britannia Trophy, and they were appointed Commanders of the Order of the British Empire in the King's Birthday Honours. Though the flight is still acknowledged as one of the most important in Australian aviation, the necessity for the Air Force chief to personally command such a journey has been questioned, suggesting that it was motivated by the one-upmanship that characterised the Williams-Goble relationship. Two years later Williams would make a three-month, round trip from Point Cook to the Pacific Islands, the first international flight undertaken by an RAAF plane and crew, amid similar suspicions. World War II As Chief of the Air Staff at the outbreak of World War II, Goble planned the expansion and decentralisation of the RAAF to meet the needs of home defence and Australia's obligations in Europe, which included the transfer of No. 10 Squadron to Britain. The Federal Government abandoned his concept of an autonomous Air Expeditionary Force in favour of full commitment to the