Naval Aviation

817 Squadron: You will miss us when we are gone

December 16, 2011

This short history has been assembled from Squadron records.

817 Squadron has its origins in the Royal Navy (RN) where it was commissioned as a torpedo/reconnaissance squadron at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Crail, Scotland on 15 March 1941. The Squadron served in Norway, Biscay, North Africa and Sicily primarily as a patrol unit for anti-submarine operations but was also used for torpedo and bombing missions against enemy ports and shipping. The Squadron disbanded on 23 August 1945.

817 Squadron re-commissioned as a Royal Australian Naval Air Squadron at RNAS St Merryn, Cornwall on 25 April 1950. Equipped with Fairey Firefly AS.6 aircraft and commanded by LCDR Ronald Lunberg, RN, 817 Squadron formed part of the 21st Carrier Air Group (CAG) along with 808 Squadron.

21st CAG began carrier qualifications aboard HMAS Sydney in April 1951. On 14 May, 817 Squadron were advised that they would form part of a new Sydney Carrier Air Group under the command of Commander (later Vice Admiral Sir) Mike Fell, RN, and deploy to Korea later that year. New pilots, many straight out of training, hurriedly converted to local operating procedures and the squadron’s aircraft, Firefly AS.6s, had to be replaced temporarily with AS.5 aircraft borrowed from 816 Squadron and the Royal Navy. The reason for this was that the AS.6 model Firefly did not have any guns whereas the AS.5 did. 817 Squadron departed for Korea aboard Sydney on 31 August 1951. Sydney arrived in Japan on 19 September and prepared for a handover from HMS Glory. The aircraft of the Sydney CAG now bore black and white markings signifying that they were on operations with the United Nations.

Participating in Operation ‘Strangle,’ which was intended to cut enemy supply and communications to the front lines, Sydney shared patrol duties on Korea’s west coast with RN and US Navy (USN) carriers as part of Task Force 95, United Nations Blockade and Escort Force. Operations normally entailed ground attack including close air support for ground forces, armed reconnaissance, spotting for ships’ guns and anti-shipping strike missions. In addition, the CAG maintained a Combat Area Patrol (CAP) during daylight hours to protect Sydney in the event of enemy air attack.

Sydney’s CAG launched its first air strikes on 5 October 1951. It did not take long before the squadron earned a reputation as being a proficient strike unit having carried out a number of very successful missions against rail and road bridge targets. Rail and road interdiction became the main role of the squadron throughout the Korean War and this often required the pilots to use low level attacks against heavily defended targets behind enemy lines. Anti-aircraft fire was particularly effective under these circumstances and several Fireflies were lost or damaged as a result. Anti-submarine patrols were also flown by 817 Squadron around the Sydney task group and spotting tasks were also conducted for ships involved in Naval Gunfire Support off the Korean coastline.

On 11 October, just six days after flying its first sorties, Sydney’s CAG achieved a light fleet carrier reco Commander-in-Chief Far East Station:

‘Your air effort in the last two days, unprecedented in quantity and high in quality, has been a magnificent achievement on which I warmly congratulate you. Though it is invidious to particularise – the spotters especially did a first class job and New Jersey with the Commander of the 7th Fleet embarked said they were the best she has had yet. Eighty-nine sorties in one day is grand batting by any standards, particularly in the opening match…’

Aircraft engineers and maintenance crews also won much well deserved praise achieving remarkable serviceability and turn-around rates to keep the aircraft flying. Ordnance crews were also required to load armaments of up to 227 kg in all weather, day and night.

On 14 October, 817 Squadron’s personnel were subjected to the full force of Typhoon Ruth. Battling an estimated force 12 sea at its height, and with waves up to 45 feet high crashing over her deck, Sydney rode out the storm at sea with 13 of her aircraft exposed on deck. It was hardly surprising that five of them were written off with at least one being washed overboard. The carrier itself sustained damage and several of her personnel suffered minor injuries.

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The Fairey Gannet A/S1

December 16, 2011

By CMDR (P) R.V. Morritt, RAN Rtd

The Fairey Gannet A/S 1 aircraft was introduced into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Fleet Air Arm (FAA) in 1955. When embarked in the newly acquired HMAS Melbourne, Australia’s Naval Air Anti-Submarine power during the fifties and sixties was the most modern and technically advanced in the whole of South East Asia.

Not a ‘glamour’ aircraft by any stretch of the imagination, the Fairey Gannet was perhaps one of the most interesting at that time. Its unique engine arrangement, mission profile and capability, and large size and beautiful inverted gull wing still attract admiration and attention from aviation aficionados and enthusiasts alike. A twin turbo-propeller aircraft; it was fitted with an Armstrong-Siddeley Double Mamba turbine engine, driving the contra-rotating propellers via a central shaft and gear box, which in turn was lubricated by engine oil from a single oil supply tank. Herein lay one of the two stings in the tail of the Gannet upon which I shall enlarge a little later.

I seemed destined to set off a string of ‘firsts’ when, in 1953, having been selected for National Service Training, our course would be the first to undergo Flying Training, and I was selected in this first training group to be trained on Tiger Moths to Private Pilot License standard. Upon completion of NST I decided to join the RAN Fleet Air Arm and continue training to Wings standard. Upon graduation, I was awarded the Weapons trophy and the Goble Trophy for the Most Proficient Pilot on course. Having been trained in the Tiger Moth, followed by Wirraway, Firefly Mk V1 and Sea Fury FB11 aircraft, the shock and awe upon being confronted by the increasing size and complexity of each succeeding model was difficult to overcome. However, the sheer bulk of the Gannet was something to behold when standing next to it trying to work out how to gain entry to the cockpit!

It had a crew of three, pilot in front of course, Observer (Navigator/Tactical operator) in the center cockpit, and Radio Operator in the rear cockpit – facing rearwards. The fuselage was a huge, slab-sided affair with the cockpit some ten feet above the ground. Entry was by means of a three-step ladder, which was lowered and raised by hand, followed by a series of indented foot/handholds ascending in a large diamond pattern. When commencing training on this aircraft the very first lesson was to establish which foot to place in the lowest step in order to ascend successfully into the required cockpit! Start with the wrong foot and one could easily find oneself led into the wrong cockpit. One could only undo this error by descending and re-commencing with the correct foot!

I was very fortunate in that my Flight Instructor, Lieut. Herbie Becker, was an excellent instructor who knew the aircraft inside out and was able to pass this knowledge on to me. I am sure that had it not been for him I would almost certainly not have had the in-depth understanding of the Flight Fine Pitch Stop system in the Gannet which stood me in such good stead later; knowledge which went a long way towards saving my life and those of my crew.

When embarked, the Gannet aircraft routinely averaged sortie times of around 3-4 hours. Anti-Submarine equipment was not much more than the MK1 Eyeball! A basic radar (ASV19B), a mix of mainly non-directional and a small number of directional sonobuoys, and a small number of hand launched smoke markers completed the A/S detection kit. It was also possible to carry two homing torpedoes, a few depth charges or a small number of 250 lb. bombs either in the bomb bay or on wing racks, and occasionally 60lb rockets. That completed the ASW capability.

Engine failures

Standard operating procedure called for normal cruise configuration to be on single engine in order to conserve fuel. Anti-submarine search operations were routinely below 1500 feet in all weather, day and night. The single-engine cruise protocols called for the operating engine to be swapped hourly in order to even out the running hours. Operations were normal for the first year or two utilizing the above-mentioned protocols. However, it was not long before aircraft began suffering engine failures at a disturbing frequency, almost always preceded by a rapid loss in oil pressure. This resulted in an increase in single engine deck landings, something to which pilots did not look forward, particularly in heavy seas and/or bad weather. Eventually Fairey Aviation discovered that the prolonged single engine cruising was causing ‘Brinelling’, or pitting, of the propeller bearings in the feathered propeller. This in turn was causing metal particles to be distributed through the oil into both engines and propellers due to the single oil supply tank … the first of the two stings in the Gannet tail!

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Introduction of the A4 Skyhawk into the RAN Fleet Air Arm 1967/1968

December 16, 2011

By John Da Costa

Following the reversal, in the early 1960s, of an earlier Australian Government decision to disband the RAN Fleet Air Arm and to pay-off the carrier HMAS Melbourne, a Navy Office search commenced to identify replacements for the RAN’s aging fixed-wing aircraft. In the case of the Sea Venom All Weather and Nightfighter, the choice narrowed down to the A4 Skyhawk aircraft, used by the US Navy (USN) predominantly in the Air-to-Ground ‘Attack’ role, but also in limited numbers as a ‘fighter’ when operating from the USN’s Anti-Submarine Warfare carriers of the Modified Essex class. Out of all naval aircraft then available and capable of operating from a Light Fleet Carrier, the Skyhawk undoubtedly had the best all-round capability in both the attack and fighter roles. The doubts expressed by some aviation ‘experts’ in Defence as to the ability of Melbourne to operate these aircraft were dismissed when, in May 1965, a USN Skyhawk successfully carried out an arrested landing on Melbourne, followed by a catapult launch.

The A4G model Skyhawk to be purchased for the RAN was, apart from certain electronic warfare equipment that the RAN was not purchasing, to be built to the same specifications as the latest USN A4F model. It had the current USN avionics, radar and weapons delivery systems and the J52-P8A engine. Additionally, unlike its USN counterpart, it was wired to carry up to four AIM9B Sidewinder AAMs on wing stations, interchangeable with the normal attack weapons fit.

In 1967, LCDR John Da Costa and LEUT Grahame (Dusty) King, the CO and Senior Pilot (designates) of the RANs yet-to-be-recommissioned 805 Squadron, were posted to the US Navy’s Attack Squadron 125 (VA125) at NAS Lemoore, California, for five months of A4 Skyhawk training in preparation for returning to Australia to conduct the first RAN Skyhawk Operational Flying School (OFS). At the time, the Vietnam War was placing great demands on USN Carrier Air Groups. To keep up the demand for A4 Skyhawk pilots, the very large VA125 was running a continuous Replacement Air Group (RAG) training programme with a syllabus which, fortuitously, met most of the RAN’s requirements. The two RAN pilots were experienced in carrier operations in the RAN’s 1950s era Hawker de-Havilland Sea Venom subsonic all-weather day/night fighter in the primary role of air defence (4 x 20 mm cannon) and limited secondary role of air to surface attack (cannon and unguided 3-inch Air-to-Ground rockets). LCDR Da Costa was a graduate of the Royal Navy’s Air Warfare Instructors Course and LEUT King was a Qualified Flying Instructor and Instrument Rating Examiner. Neither had much experience as ‘attack’ pilots; rather, their training had been more in the fighter/air defence role.

Perhaps the greatest difference that they experienced was that they were coming from a relatively small naval aviation community, quite at home with one aircraft carrier and a Naval Air Station and having Naval Air Squadrons of 6 to 10 aircraft, commanded by officers of LCDRs rank. By contrast, at NAS Lemoore, California, the VA125 flight line had a lineup of 100 Skyhawks each morning, ranging from the ‘ancient’ A4B (by then relegated to the In-flight Refuelling Tanker role) right through to the latest version (TA4F). Pilots almost needed a map to find their allocated aircraft on the flight line. The airfield had parallel 14,500 ft. concrete runways. The CO VA125 was a four-ring Captain and both the XO and Operations Officer were Commanders. There was an enormous A4 RAG student population ranging from Ensigns straight out of the USNs Pensacola Flight School, to ex-ASW (and other) pilots of Commander’s rank, just busting to get to Vietnam! The A4 RAG syllabus was entirely attack orientated and fully met that aspect of the RAN’s requirements. Highlights were the ‘Sandblower’ low level navigation and attack exercises over much of the Nevada and Arizona deserts. There was no ‘fighter’ phase of the USN’s A4 training so special arrangements were made for RAN pilots to carry out a one week deployment to MCAS Yuma, Arizona, for air-to-air gun attacks on towed banner targets, Ground Controlled Interception training and Sidewinder firings against parachute flare targets.

Having had considerable air-to-air experience in the RAN using a gyroscopic lead-predicting gun-sight, the RAN pilots were somewhat deflated to find that they were now in a similar position to much earlier World War I fighter pilots as they tried to get shells to hit the towed banner using the Skyhawk’s ‘fixed’ bombing gun-sight! They also had a problem getting adequate ranging information when firing Sidewinders against a stationary flare target. (Sidewinder ranging proved less of a problem later because, after training using ‘captive’ Sidewinder missiles, the A4’s in-built terrain avoidance APG53A radar and visual air-to-air ranging, squadron pilots became proficient at getting themselves into the Sidewinder firing position. ‘Live firings’ were also conducted against the TONIC heat-source target towed by a JINDIVIK drone at the Jervis Bay Missile Range).

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Number 1 RAN Pilots Course in Korea

December 16, 2011

By Fred Lane

The story of the RAN’s first pilots course in Korea starts with a workup that began in earnest in late April 1951. The 21st Carrier Air Group had arrived at Nowra in December 1950. Even though the ‘CAG concept’ was being phased out, the 20th and 21st CAGs amalgamated to form a three-squadron (805, 808 and 817) Sydney Carrier Air Group. The Number One Course pilots had been with 805 and 816 Squadrons also since December 1950 and had a summer cruise under their belts. The new sub-lieutenants from Number Two and subsequent courses dribbled in as soon as the training pipeline permitted and they quickly settled down. The Number One Course people welcomed the new pilots with the same enthusiasm the junior squadron lieutenants showed them, back in December 1950. Onerous nit-picking duties such as coffee-boat captain and transport officer were gleefully handed over to the newcomers.

With Captain D.H. Harries (later RADM, CB, CBE) in command, nearly all the senior non-aviation billets in HMAS Sydney were manned by RAN officers. RAN aircrew filled 80 per cent or more of the squadron slots but, except for 805’s commanding officer, all the senior air appointments (Commander Air, Operations Officer, Flight Deck Officer, etc.) were filled by RN officers on loan or exchange duty. The Air Group Commander was LCDR M.F. Fell, DSO, DSC, RN (later VADM, KCB, DSC*), with LCDR J.L. Appleby RN (808) and LCDR W.G. (Jimmy) Bowles RAN (805) in command of the Sea Fury squadrons and LCDR R.B. Lunberg RN (817) commanding the Firefly squadron. The Carrier Borne Army Liaison Officers (CBALO or CBalls for short, e.g. Major Hardcastle) were seconded from Australian Army units.

Korea was the first, and only time to date, that fixed wing aircraft from any RAN aircraft carrier participated in a shooting war. The Hawker Sea Fury and Fairey Firefly were never ideal platforms for the kind of war fought in Korea. As a fighter, the piston-engined Sea Fury could put up only token resistance against the jet-powered MiG 15 in a one-on-one situation, so we tended to avoid aerial contact. The chief theoretical tactic was to try and suck an aggressive MiG down to low level and low speed. In Korea, MiGs could be seen from time to time, contrailing and ducking it out with USAF Sabres 20,000 to 30,000 feet above. Short of having to dodge drop tank and cartridge case showers now and then, they presented little threat in our lower-flying environment.

Compared with contemporary American aircraft, the Sea Fury had poor internal fuel capacity. To maintain a busy but comfortable one hour 30 minutes deck cycle, our Sea Furies carried two 45 gallon (170 litres) overload drop tanks. Underwing geometry with drop tanks limited the number and type of rockets and bombs that could be carried. A typical Korean load might be eight x three-inch (76 mm) 60 lbs (27 kg) warhead rockets in two tiers plus 125 rounds per gun for four 20 mm cannon. No napalm was ever carried by any RAN aircraft. Without drop tanks the Sea Fury carried a maximum 2,000 lbs (907 kg) of bombs, but this required a problematic deck cycle time of one hour or less.

In the RAN we liked to load our serious armament in a deliberate distraction-free manner. Refueled aircraft were spotted for start up and we stopped all other flight deck activity. One hour deck cycle times sometimes rushed the armament handlers, a potentially dangerous practice, hence the preference for a one and a half hour cycle.

The single seat USN Douglas A-1 (AD, Spad) Skyraiders, with 15 external hardpoints, carried much heavier and more versatile loads, up to 8,000 lbs (3,600 kg) and included bombs, torpedoes, mines, big five-inch (130 mm) HVAR rockets and depth charges. Like the Sea Fury, they also mounted a handy brace of four 20 mm cannon. The F4-U Corsair also carried a more varied armament load than the Sea Fury, but it was no match for the Skyraider. American carriers operated both aircraft types in Korea. From a pilot’s point of view, a single Skyraider could theoretically do more damage than a division of four Sea Furies.

Despite extra protection in the form of a heavy aluminum plate under the big oil cooler in the port wing root, Sea Furies were still susceptible to ground fire. Any hit in the big engine or oil cooler area typically reduced oil pressure to zero in seconds and in another 45 seconds or so the sleeve valve engine was guaranteed to seize or burst into flames. The main petrol tank sat between the engine and the pilot.

The original Australian Fireflies were the Mk VI versions, specialised for Anti-Submarine Warfare with no cannon fitted. They were swapped on 27 September 1951, with 812 Squadron’s cannon-bearing Firefly IVs from HMS Glory when that carrier and Sydney sat alongside a common pontoon dock in Kure, Japan. The Mk IVs carried four 20 mm cannon, like the Sea Fury, but they could also load a pair of 500 lbs (226 kg) bombs or 250 lbs depth charges without it affecting their fuel load or deck cycle time. The Fireflies typically bombed bridges and railway tunnels, while the Sea Furies specialised in rocketing and strafing lighter targets.

The Number One Course pilots in this Korean trip included Ian Macdonald, Dick Sinclair, Ian Webster and Fred Lane, all flying Sea Furies in 805 Squadron, with Col Champ and John Roland flying Fireflies for 816 Squadron. John Roland won the thoroughly deserved ‘Sub-Lieutenant’s M.I.D.’ (Mention in Despatches) for his consistent ability to drop bridges and block railway tunnels. He also had one of the best deck landing records. Late in the piece, he had the most unpleasant experience of having his elevators frozen rock solid over enemy territory. His section successfully dropped a bridge span but a piece of shrapnel lodged in a vital hinge, jamming his elevators. By judicious throttle, elevator trim and other controls, he regained partial command of the aircraft and, instead of bailing out, staggered south towards friendlier territory. After finding that he could maintain a semblance of control after lowering his wheels and partial flap at a safe height, he made a very long and very gentle straight in approach to Kimpo airfield, near Seoul, landing successfully without further damage.

The workup included the usual Aerodrome Dummy Deck Landings (ADDLS) as well as live armament training. CBalls Major Hardcastle, an armoured warfare specialist, was very popular. With never a PBI (Poor Bloody Infantry) in sight, his briefings would frequently be prefaced with, ‘Gentlemen, the Queen of air warfare is the Fleet Air Arm. What is the Queen of the battlefield?’ With one accord we would shout ‘The tank corps.’ ‘Right. Your target for this sortie …’. He taught us Naval Gunfire Support and Army Artillery Spotting using a big roll-up canvas model. It took some time for we junior sub-lieutenants to take charge and get used to phrases such as ‘At my Command’ (i.e. You do what I tell you) when shooting with a ship commanded by a full four-ring Captain.

The usual deck landing accidents occurred during the workup, including one 808 Squadron Sea Fury flown by a young Number Two Course pilot that went half over the port side. Incredibly, an ordnance artificer was in a sponson checking a Bofors gun with a feeler gauge when this Sea Fury’s port wheel came down, missing his head by inches and bending his feeler gauge. Of course, the artificer should never have been there during a land-on. The pilot, quite unaware of all this, scrambled out of his cockpit and, with his parachute pack still attached, ran up the 70 degrees sloping wing. He hit the flight deck, still running.

Racing forward he jumped from the flight deck into the starboard forward sponson, parachute and dinghy still buckled to his backside, a highly athletic and dangerous leap. From there he made his way to the nearby sick bay and announced, ‘I’ve just had an accident’. On 3 May 1951, LEUT Bob Barnett of 808 Squadron was killed during the workup when he experienced an asymmetric RATOG (rocket assisted) launch. Only one side of his rockets fired and he ended up untidily in the sea just ahead of the ship. This was the last RATOG launch scheduled from an Australian carrier.

HMAS Sydney departed Australia 31 August 1951 and arrived in Japan 19 September. On our way north, there was considerable discussion about the ability of a pilot to survive a Sea Fury ditching. The big radial engine, it was argued, would drag the aircraft’s nose down on first contact with the water, making escape problematic. Only one successful Sea Fury ditching had been recorded, and that from a clean Theseus Sea Fury, nine months before, off Korea. It was resolved to parachute out of the aircraft or force-land on dry land whenever possible. Then SBLT Ian Webster, from Number One Course, had a total sudden engine failure at 300 feet on the downwind leg. He had no option. He ditched not only with the big radial engine up front, but also downwind with his flaps down and wheels half up. He certainly pitched upside down on water contact, but the aircraft steadied and he escaped using the standard emergency method. He climbed into his dinghy, but was not yet safe. The rescue destroyer came charging at him, full chat, over-running his dinghy and tossing him out. Some days we realise we should have stayed in bed.

There were no personal two-way radios in those days, so CBalls introduced us to a two-scarf system, one fluorescent yellow square panel, the other red, to communicate with the Rescue Combat Air Patrol (RESCAP) in the event of being shot down. This very simple system indicated many things, from ‘all well’ to ‘I am under fire from this direction at that range’. It was adopted by the USAF while we were there. We could also drop lead shot-filled message bags with long streamers to people on the ground. One of these message bags probably saved the life of LEUT Peter Goldrick, 808 Squadron, on 5 January 1952. A ground fire

bullet passed through the message bag that was stowed on the starboard side of his cockpit. The bullet then entered Peter’s right arm about in line with his heart. Invalided home, we were dismayed to hear that his flying pay was stopped from the day he was wounded. One or two terse signals later rectified this.

We learned our rules of engagement, what might be a genuine target and what must not be attacked. Ox carts, we were told, were legitimate targets. This was difficult for some of us until one ox cart blew up during a strafing attack, proving it was loaded with ammunition. Lighthouses were sacrosanct, including the one on the south shore of the Chinnampo Estuary from where an amazingly accurate machine-gunner plied his lethal trade. We avoided civilian targets, such as villages, unless briefed to attack a specific structure. In one railway bridge attack, a Number Two Course pilot, SBLT Neil MacMillan, saw his Firefly’s bomb ricochet from a frozen embankment 500 meters or more away directly into a nearby peaceful-looking village. The pilot watched in horror as the delay fuse set off the bomb, only to see it followed by a huge explosion and many secondaries. The ‘village’ burned for days. It was a huge ammunition dump.

Special attention was given to escape and evasion procedures. All pilots carried revolvers and the Firefly observers had an Owen gun, so the training ranged from small arms handling to tips on how to navigate cross country to a couple of designated evasion points without stirring the possum. Special attention was given to POW behaviour. A very few American aircrew prisoners made all kinds of quite impossible ‘confessions’. We were told we should be on our guard about this new ‘brainwashing’ thing. The security people leapt on this, setting up virtual torture chambers to ‘train’ us how to resist. What a waste of time and effort it was. We had much more important lessons to learn, like how to improve our deck landing technique and how to deliver more and better armament on target on time.

Sydney started with a 13-day cycle, chiefly on the West Coast of Korea, that included a day self-replenishing at sea plus four days transiting back and forth for a five to ten days R and R in Japan. Our buddy carriers, the tiny escort carriers USS Rendova CVE 114 and Badoeng Strait CVE 116, kept enemy heads down when we were away. The major strategy was an Operation Strangle that aimed to halt all transport and other movement that might resupply the then static front line. It was never successful in that our front line troops never reported the enemy short of any material and in any event night logistics transport was rarely intercepted. The enemy was also highly skilled in camouflage and rapid bridge repair. Good targets were very few, except during a couple of East Coast sorties. Once, the best part of a battalion of enemy troops was spotted reacting to deliberate misinformation about a projected amphibious landing. The rest of the time, Sydney’s aircraft rarely saw an enemy soldier. Even when attacking a so-called ‘Divisional Headquarters’ no enemy was seen, yet spies ashore might credit us later with many dead and wounded plus considerable collateral damage. After our departure, USN commanders convinced the Joint Operations Center to adopt a more aggressive posture, including destroying the North’s hydroelectric infrastructure.

During the first of these R and R cycles, Typhoon Ruth descended on our supposedly typhoon-safe Sasebo harbour on 14-15 October 1950. Captain Harries wisely decided to go to sea, a good seaman’s decision fully justified when, on our return, we saw an 18,000 ton supply ship up on the beach. It had dragged its moorings right through our anchorage. At one stage at sea we had revolutions for 14 knots, but made good only one knot. The wind broke our wind gauge but was estimated to be about 120 knots with seas 45 feet or more. Five hundred souls perished ashore. Sydney lost one Firefly, the captain’s jollyboat, a cutter and a forklift overboard. Four other aircraft stowed on the flight deck were seriously damaged. This aircraft damage was possibly due to the chocks not being battened, as they were in the hangar, where they remained damage-free. ‘Expendable’ non-seasick sub-lieutenants roped each other together in teams of five to eight to patrol the flight deck overnight, tighten loose engine and cockpit covers and adjust sloppy lashings. One Sea Fury came loose and its full drop tank landed smack on a deck edge bullhorn. The Tannoy promptly started sparking strongly while 130 octane petrol poured out all over it. Circuit power could not be switched off nor could this speaker be isolated. We had 10 fire reports at one time or another, but this is one fire that should have, but never did, happen.

Three pilots were lost, all from 805 Squadron. LEUT Keith Clarkson, the Senior Pilot, was killed 5 November 1950 when he was caught in a flak trap strafing the only enemy truck we ever saw on the West Coast. Another aircraft circling his crash site at 3,000 feet was hit with a couple of 20 mm rounds some five minutes later. SBLT Dick Sinclair, one of the Number One Course people, was killed baling out of his 805 Squadron Sea Fury 7 December. He was hit by flak northwest of Chinnampo and developed an engine fire. He was low, so he chose a not-recommended Me 109 ‘bunt’ technique to exit the cockpit. He hit the taller Sea Fury fin. The ship ran a constant two-aircraft Carrier Air Patrol (CAP) and one Anti-Submarine Patrol aircraft during flying stations. At other daylight hours these aircraft might be ranged, ready to go, on standby. No submarine was ever reported and only friendly aircraft were intercepted. One CAP aircraft was lost when SBLT Ron Coleman disappeared 2 January 1952.

A dozen or more junior squadron officers slept in the ‘Casbah’ forward in two big multi-bunk cabins. The rationale, we were told, was that if all the rest of the officers were wiped out in the middle of the night by a torpedo aft, there would still be a few left up forward to sail the ship. Not that we knew much about sailing a ship. Furthermore, it may be argued that with the aft end blown off, there would not be much ship left to sail. But the Casbah developed a number of initiatives, including a Casbah Band that generated considerable noise but little musical harmony. The Casbah was also home for an amazing number and variety of Japanese toys, including half a dozen cymbal-playing somersaulting monkeys (for young relatives at home, of course). On the more serious side, we carried a long commando-like knife over enemy territory and were delighted to find a rare wooden door in the Casbah. It was an ideal target for late night knife-throwing practice. Then one sleepy fellow responded to what he thought was a knock on his door…

It was winter and the water was cold, with an unprotected body life expectancy of under 15 minutes. We were personally fitted with immersion suits. These were of the two-piece ‘dry’ variety, while the Americans chose the wet ‘poopy suits’ that would become popular with skin divers in later years. The dry suits depended on rubber seals to keep the water out and string undergarments to keep the body warm. One 808 Squadron pilot inadvertently left his immersion suit’s urinating tube a bit loose one day. Of course that was the day he was forced to ditch and after climbing into his waterlogged dinghy he burst his fluorescent dye pack. The water leaked into his suit and he found, after rescue, that he had bright fluorescent yellow skin from the waist down. He was a sight to behold in the showers for days. There is no truth whatsoever in the rumour that he was raffled in a Japanese brothel later on.

Sydney, we were told, was the first aircraft carrier in Korean service not to accidentally taxi or push an aircraft overboard, typically over the starboard forward deck edge. Credit for this must go to Flight Deck Officer LCDR Charlie Lavender RN, who dreamed up the ‘Lavender Line’. This simple dotted line, in the starboard forward deck park, was positioned parallel to the deck edge at exactly the width of the widest track of any aircraft on board plus one foot. Under no circumstances was any inboard wheel allowed to stray over this line.

We borrowed an RN Westland Dragonfly helicopter initially, before it was replaced by an identical-looking craft, a USN Sikorsky HO3S-1. This chopper assumed the duties of rescue destroyer, but the latter was kept in hand just in case the helicopter was called away for a rescue elsewhere or it became unfit to fly. A similar helicopter was deployed to one of the islands nearer to the coast and it featured in a number of rescues of downed RAN aircrew. On 26 October 1951, SBLT Neil MacMillan and his Observer, OBS1 Hancox, were shot down during a railway tunnel attack near the Chaeryong-gang waterways. Sydney’s borrowed USN helicopter, flown by CPO A.K. (Dick) Babbit and aided by a fortuitous gale-force tailwind, made what must have been the longest helicopter transit over enemy territory to rescue downed aircrew in the Korean War. Calculated at 120 nautical miles, this was in addition to a transit south to Kimpo airfield that Babbit made in gathering, then total, darkness. The RESCAP for this opposed rescue was provided by RAN Fireflies and Sea Furies and, for a brief period, Meteors from RAAF 77 Squadron. The HOS3-1 was not cleared for night flying. It had no instrument lighting. In his report, Babbit said that he used the dome light intermittently to check his instruments but ‘flew by ear to maintain speed and engine R.P.M.’ His total flight time was two and a half hours and he landed with zero fuel at Kimpo with the aid of hastily-ranged truck headlights.

The Number One Course pilots had suffered their first fatal casualty. They had experienced war. They returned to Australia to find they were no longer just wingmen, but suddenly section and divisional leaders. They had to make their minds up whether to apply for a permanent commission or remain on the Short Service list. Scotty MacDonald chose to serve out his Short Service commission and joined Qantas. In a very short time the others were dispersed to additional professional courses, such as Flying Instructor and Landing Signals Officer. John Roland became an LSO and served on loan as the ace RN Seahawk Squadron’s batsman. For those who chose the permanent commission route, watchkeeping qualifications in a small ship also beckoned.

A History of the Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm, the Present and the Future

December 16, 2011

We are honoured to publish this keynote Address given to the Fleet Air Arm of South Australia Division following an RAN Fleet Air Arm Commemorative Service at the Adelaide Repatriation Hospital Chapel on Sunday 28 August 2011. This address was given by Captain Daniel Reilly, RANR, Chief Staff Officer Aviation Engineering, Headquarters Fleet Air Arm at HMAS Albatross.

Your Excellencies, Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce, The Governor of South Australia and Mrs Elizabeth Scarce; Commander Michael Doherty, the Commanding Officer Naval Headquarters South Australia; Mr Leon Coppins, President Fleet Air Arm Association – South Australian Division and Mrs Cherie Coppins and all Fleet Air Arm Association Executive members; Chaplains Peter Miller and Frances Bartholomeusz, distinguished guests, retired members of the Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Air Arm and their families; Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for the rare privilege of being able to address you today on this commemorative occasion. The Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Air Arm and its rich history is a topic I know will resonate with all of you, and I recall Your Excellency serving at HMAS Albatross in the late 1980s as the Supply Officer, in between my own postings as the Aircraft Engineer on 723 and then on 817 Squadron. I am presuming by your presence here Sir, that you look back on your posting to Albatross with a degree of fond nostalgia as they were interesting days, when the FAA had to come to terms with not having a substantial fixed winged presence after the loss of the carrier, although we did of course retain the HS748 in the 1990s.

Tackling the task that Leon has set me to review the FAA Past Present and the Future in 15 minutes will be no mean feat given the rich tapestry of involvement in Australia’s history – but I will give it a try – and up front I will admit I am no historian, but I am cognisant that many of you here will have lived through the foundation era of the FAA, and will know much more about those early years than I can ever hope to know; I hope I can do you justice and please be kind to me where I omit salient facts. Undertaking the preparation for this speech has given me a new found respect for historians.

Importantly, apart from the facts and figures which no journey through history can hope to evade, the constant thread has been the personal contribution of individuals like yourselves that not only laid the foundations of the Fleet Air Arm but trained and handed it over to equally consummate professionals who in turn are now handing it to today’s young men and women as they look forward to the brave world of tri-service, helicopter centric, amphibious operations.

As with much of history the watershed moments are well reported, and one could classically start with the establishment of the Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Air Arm on 3 July 1947¹ following the purchase of two aircraft carriers from the Royal Navy (HM Ships Majestic and Terrible) which had been under construction at the end of WW II – these Majestic Class Carriers were soon to become HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Sydney respectively. However as with all great ideas, the gestation takes a lot longer and reveals something about the character of those who dared to dream.

For instance, Australia’s original naval aviation force sprang out of WW I with the Navy lobbying for an RAN Fleet Air Arm as early as 1920, although formed up to fly Sopwith Pups/Camels launched off Cruiser gun turrets, maritime aviation found itself operating with Royal Australian Air Force Pilots. The original Albatross, a seaplane tender, was operated with Royal Australian Air Force pilots from its commissioning in January 1929 through until sale to the Royal Navy in 1933. Times were different then of course; being launched from its gun turrets provided a one way passage for the pilot who had to be winched up, along with the aircraft, back onto the deck at the end of each flight – presuming of course he survived the landing. I would imagine not only did the pilots have to know how to fly the plane but had to be pretty good swimmers as well. I also suspect this type of operation required a steely nerve and would not meet today’s more stringent Occupational Health and Safety regulations – well at least not in South Australia.

However it was the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm operations in World War II that planted the seed in the mind of the Australian Naval Board as WW II drew to a close when they selected a young ‘Observer’ who had served with the Royal Navy with distinction, Lieutenant Commander Victor Alfred Trumpeter (VAT) Smith (later to become Admiral Sir Victor Smith), and directed him to return to the UK and examine the prospect of setting up an Australian Fleet Air Arm – his reports formed the basis of the detailed expansion plans for Australia’s Fleet Air Arm and for his efforts and continued passionate involvement, ‘VAT Smith’ became known as the ‘Father of the Fleet Air Arm’ and in his later years became the Patron of the Fleet Air Arm Association on its formation in the 1970s.

To accompany the two aircraft carriers and associated aircraft on order, the Navy reclaimed both HMS Nabstock (later to be commissioned as HMAS Nirimba) in Sydney and HMS Nabbington (commissioned as Albatross on 31 August 1948) at Nowra. Both locations were existing airfields, initially used by the Royal Australian Air Force then further developed and used by the Royal Navy during their Pacific Campaigns. As history shows, the Royal Australian Naval Air Station – RANAS Nowra at Albatross became the home for today’s Fleet Air Arm.

In parallel, Sydney was commissioned in the UK on 16 December 1948 and dispatched to Australia with the 20th Carrier Air Group comprising 805 Squadron with Hawker Sea Furies and 816 Squadron with Fairey Fireflies. Sydney returned to the UK in 1950 to pick up the 21st Carrier Air Group comprising 808 and 817 Squadron with Sea Furies and Fireflies. War on the Korean Peninsular was looming and Australia’s fledgling Fleet Air Arm would soon be blooded in combat.

Looking back it is somewhat surprising that while Sydney was busy transporting aircraft and eventually taking part operationally in Korea in 1951 with 805, 808 and 817 Squadrons, HMS Majestic (soon to be Melbourne) was still being worked on with modifications encompassing an angled steel flight deck, a steam catapult and the then revolutionary ‘mirror landing aid’ to allow the most modern jet aircraft of that era to be operated.

During the Korean Campaign my father was aboard Sydney initially as an aviation mechanic (he came home as a cook, but that is another story!); so my personal ties go back to the Fleet Air Arm’s initial conflict where we lost three pilots, and one seriously injured, with 13 aircraft destroyed during that campaign, nine lost to anti aircraft fire and four to severe weather deck operations. We also shouldn’t forget over 90 aircraft were struck with shrapnel during this campaign – this was not a small confrontation. Overall though, these were remarkably light losses given the horrendous conditions experienced and the number of sorties flown.

The Royal Navy lent HMS Vengeance to the RAN in 1952, equipped with three Bristol Sycamore Helicopters which formed the first Military Helicopter Squadron and prompted the first military helicopter pilot school. Vengeance returned to the UK in 1955 with her crew transferring to and commissioning Melbourne on 28 October 1955. To put this into my own personal context, I was born a year later in October 1956.

Melbourne brought home the de Havilland Sea Venom jet fighter bomber for 805 and 808 Squadrons and the turboprop Fairey Gannet anti-submarine aircraft for 817 and 816. However by the end of the 1950s these aircraft faced obsolescence and fixed wing operations were slated to be replaced by the purchase of 27 Westland Wessex anti-submarine helicopters fitted with dipping sonar in the early 1960s, to be operated from Melbourne, while Sydney was to be converted for troop transport. The short golden age of two operational aircraft carriers had gone and the fixed wings operations other than that of the venerable Dakotas drew to a close with the literal scrapping of most of the Fireflies and Sea Furies at Albatross in the 1960s.

However in 1963 the Grumman S-2E Tracker anti submarine aircraft and the McDonnell Douglas Skyhawk A4 fighter jets were ordered and it wasn’t long before Melbourne had a modern and effective Carrier Air Group. Ironic as it may have seemed, Sydney once again was called into operational service providing troop and equipment transport services to Vietnam while Melbourne’s revitalised Carrier Air Group played no part in the Vietnam conflict.

However, for the aircrew and maintainers there were several deployments to Vietnam with personnel embedded within American Squadron’s or as part of the Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight Vietnam (a joint US and Australian Contingent) and an RAN detachment within the RAAF No 9 Squadron. These were torrid times with a number of Fleet Air Arm aircrew killed and wounded and a reputation for ‘getting the bloody job done’ which became their motto. Many US and Australian troops can tell you that a bearded pilot in an Iroquois was a most welcomed sight; they had the reputation of coming in to a hot LZ to evacuate personnel under heavy fire – and a few of these brave aviators paid the ultimate price.

Essentially, the ending of the Vietnam conflict in 1973 ends my look at foundations of the Fleet Air Arm, an era that many of you here today contributed to and as such you laid the foundations to what might be called the ‘modern era’. As I look back, perhaps this became ‘my era’ – which from my perspective is now drawing to its inevitable close. Even though I joined the Navy in 1973 (as an apprentice ‘stoker’ I must say) – it was the same year that the Sea Kings were ordered, and it wasn’t until 1980 that I joined the Fleet Air Arm. In the interim the Sea Kings, ordered to replace the Wessex in the Anti-Submarine role, started to arrive in 1976 on 817 Squadron and have served continuously through until their planned retirement at the end of this year.

The 1970s had their challenges and 1974 in particular was traumatic for Australia – the year of Cyclone Tracy and the incredible response from Navy with Melbourne, her Wessex helicopters and her crew sustaining the remnants of the city of Darwin until order could be restored; a herculean effort which is burned into the minds of all who recall that tragic Christmas day. Of course something else remarkable happened in the 1970s – the formation of the Fleet Air Arm Association (FAAA) in Western Australia with its first meeting on 17 February 1977 – with Admiral Sir Victor Smith as its patron. This seed of an organisation spread rapidly with the South Australian Division standing up next, then Victoria and across the next decade several more Divisions including NSW were stood up. Finally in 1998 as part of the Fleet Air Arm’s 50th year anniversary, a National body was established at HMAS Albatross. A lot of good ideas came out of the 1970’s – the FAAA was clearly one of them.

Moving towards the next decade you may well recall in 1980, just before the last Melbourne ‘Indian Ocean Cruise’, the Australian Government planned to purchase HMS Illustrious to replace the aging Melbourne. I was a Sub-Lieutenant Marine Engineer Officer on Melbourne at that time and put my hand up immediately for the Fleet Air Arm to go to the UK to do my Aero Engineer’s application Course and bring back the new carrier – I found myself in the UK soon enough but in the midst of the Falklands War; and unfortunately the decision was made not to press the UK for the carrier – political expediency on both sides perhaps – but a replacement carrier never eventuated.

I returned in 1982 to a Fleet Air Arm winding down its carrier based operations and looking towards the new FFGs with their requirement for a single Helicopter Flight. I was lucky enough to do my initial training on 723, with its Wessex, Kiowa, Iroquois and HS748s. I recall our ‘very scary’ asset protection activities on the Bass Strait oil wells, flying in close formation in the pitch black of night – and recall the tragedy of losing two personnel when a Wessex had a gear box failure in the Strait. 723 with its multi aircraft type and roles was a great squadron to learn on and a great foundation for my future career but it was also a very traumatic time for the Fleet Air Arm. As some of you might recall – when the Minister for Defence Mr Gordon Scholes announced at Albatross – in the Supply Officer’s Compound, to about 1,000 personnel – that the fixed wing elements of the Fleet Air Arm would cease operations – these were dark days and we saw a lot of our expertise leave the Navy mostly for the other Services. The currently serving Deputy Chief of the Defence Force, Air Marshal Binskin was one of them – I must say, he appears to have done remarkably well out of the situation but speaking to him last year at the annual FAA Mess Dinner, I know he still holds a soft spot for the Fleet Air Arm as it taught him his trade as a Jet Fighter Pilot on Navy’s Skyhawks – and perhaps a little known fact is that he still wears his original Navy wings on the inside of his mess jacket lapel.

Mentioning the Skyhawks – 10 of these ended up being sold to New Zealand in 1984, and as we are also aware, the Fleet found that it couldn’t do without these versatile fighters, ironic perhaps noting that the Falklands War about three years before had shown their effectiveness, so it wasn’t too long before we hired them back – and in 1991 the RNZAF No 2 Squadron relocated to Albatross through until 2001 to fly attack profiles on the Fleet – a function now contracted out to Lear Jets also operated out of Albatross. The Kiwis did a superb job through until just two weeks before their scheduled withdrawal, when their CO was lost tragically in a Skyhawk accident at the base. This loss was another warning about the hazardous nature of military operations whether in peacetime or at war.

Grumman Tracker lands on HMAS Melbourne. RAN

However, back in the 1980s Navy was changing, and when I joined 723 in 1985 as the Aircraft Engineer Officer we were transitioning the Wessex out, and introducing the AS350B – known as the Squirrel (also known as the ‘plastic fantastic’ or the ‘battle budgie’) as the introductory aircraft to train pilots and just as importantly, Ships’ Captains, in the era of single flight ship operations. Building on the 1970s single flight operations with a Bell 206 (Kiowa) on the back of HMAS Moresby, this humble commercial aircraft paved the way into the 1990s when we introduced a new aircraft type; the Sikorsky Seahawk S-70B-2 – and I was lucky enough to be involved with the introduction of that aircraft as well, as a member of the Engineering Manager in the Project Team in the early 1990s.

Perhaps as a side note but fundamental to the modern Fleet Air Arm was the introduction of females into all occupations in the late 1980s early 1990s – I had the first few female maintainers join both my squadrons during this period and today they make up just under 10% of the maintenance and around 5% of the aircrew workforce. These introductory years were interesting times, especially for the old salts, but now the organisation could not function without their expertise and having females involved in all aspects of operations is in all respects an everyday event.

It has been the Seahawks that have been the mainstay of our single flight ship combinations over the past 20 years and remarkably we have operated 16 aircraft without loss across this period, tallying nearly 90,000 airframe hours with around half operationally embarked. 816 Squadron has had a presence in the Middle East and Gulf region for over 20 years and will continue to do so for as long as the Government requires it, or until aircraft retirement – whichever comes first. The future actually holds out the promise of a replacement Seahawk in the form of the Romeo model – but before we jump to the future we must look at the remarkable history of our venerable Sea Kings.

The Sea King helicopters joined us in the mid 1970s as Navy’s premium ASW helicopters throughout the 1980s taking over from the Wessex, but perhaps they are better known for their more dramatic involvement in many and varied responses to national disasters and maritime rescue. Like most aircraft types, the Sea Kings also have their share of tragedy with the loss of several aircraft operationally, and the loss of life at Bamaga and more recently the loss in 2005 at NIAS of ‘Shark 02’ with all nine crew and passengers killed during the humanitarian mission following the Indonesian tsunami. The lessons that came out of that disaster have changed fundamentally the way we maintain and operate our aircraft. For instance, the establishment of my position as the Chief Staff Officer Aviation Engineering in a revitalised Headquarters to provide advice on the range of engineering maintenance and support issues affecting the FAA reporting directly to the Commander of the Fleet Air Arm, currently Commodore Peter Laver, has been one of many fundamental changes across Naval Aviation.

These tragedies should not take away from the Sea King’s glories, like the many rescues and emergency services provided during bushfires, floods and long distant maritime rescues like the Sydney to Hobart and the recent rescue at Lord Howe Island. This unique helicopter has the ability to traverse the Australian-Lord Howe Island ocean gap, and conduct a rescue from the highest peaks or boiling seas in the most adverse of weather conditions. This is a squadron which I feel a strong personal attachment – being the Aircraft Engineer Officer from 1990 to 1991 during the first Gulf War.

As those who attended the recent Goolwa farewell detachment can attest, the Sea King is an extraordinary aircraft, 817 Squadron, currently under the Command of Commander Paul Moggach, is an extraordinary squadron and I can assure you that 817 will leave an equally extraordinary legacy that has not only made its mark on our history but will influence the way the FAA does its business for generations to come. It is notable, that any correspondence from the 817 now features on the signature block – ‘you will miss us when we are gone’ – I suspect that when they cease calling ‘chocks away’ on the 16th of December this year – the ‘Kings’ will be sorely missed indeed!

However the departure of the Sea Kings makes way for a future that promises to maintain the FAA’s traditions yet press us into closer alignment with the US Navy and the Australian Army as we enter the brave new world of amphibious operations – once again launching aircraft from carriers with Navy’s purchase of the Landing Helicopter Dock vessels, the LHDs (a ‘carrier’ in anyone’s language), and from a new generation of destroyers – the Australian Warfare Destroyers (the AWDs). In some respects this will bring back the old with the new; not only does Navy have to learn how to deal with large capital ships again (time and a half the size of the Majestic Class) but also how to operate so many aircraft on a flat top vessel. Initiatives, like bringing back the ‘Bears’ to handle the aircraft in a new branch called the ‘Avation Support Branch’, which has just been stood up with the arrival of five experienced ‘aircraft handlers’ from the UK , will require re-invention of the old skills your era took for granted.

There are now two new aircraft types that provide us much promise in the future. Firstly, the MRH90 from Europe – a medium lift, modern, fly by wire, troop carrying utility aircraft which the Army will use to replace their Blackhawks and the Navy will use to replace the Sea Kings. These are to be managed logistically by Army and will allow the Navy and Army to operate in the amphibious Air Mobile and Maritime Support space with a common aircraft type, utilising the LHDs as the centerpiece. Those amongst you who remember the early 808 Squadron, will be proud to see the Trident and the Rings of Unity from the Squadron Crest being worn once again by the fit young men and women aircrew and maintainers of NUSQN 808. This squadron has already stood up at Nowra and will commission and commence embarking helicopters at sea in the coming years as the Navy and wider ADF develop this critical and exciting capability. Rest assured, the proud tradition of 808 Squadron will continue. The other aircraft that will determine the Fleet Air Arm’s future is the MH-60R – the Romeo – a modernised weapon system focused Seahawk that not only has a proven Anti-Submarine Warfare capability but can take on surface fleet assets in its own right with forward facing missiles and 50 cal door mounted machine gun. This is a serious fighting helicopter, proven with around 100,000 flying hours of service already in the US Navy. When the new 816 stands up with a sister training squadron (yet to be assigned a squadron number, a traditional right reserved for CN’s discretion) we will once again return to an era of front and second line squadrons operating not only on the back of small frigates and destroyers but from two sizable ‘carriers’.

By 2018 the Australian Navy will once again have a formidable presence in this region and much of that will be due to the synergies inherent in being able to operate with Army on a large scale while offering world class ASW and Anti-surface Warfare capability with the new Romeos. This is a much more substantial force than we have had for over three decades – and the future looks bright. Before I close however, I would like to hark back to how we got here. You will recall I mentioned on opening, that no journey through history can hope to evade the facts and figures – and I’m glad most of you have stayed awake – but the constant thread has been the personal contribution of individuals like yourselves that not only laid the foundations of the Fleet Air Arm but handed it over to equally consummate professionals that you trained for the task. That generation, my generation, is in turn now preparing to hand over to the next and I can assure you that they are equally well trained and motivated young men and women – they are looking forward with great anticipation to a brave new world of tri-service, helicopter centric, maritime tactical and amphibious operations, once again on the back of a two ‘Carrier’ Fleet.

For those here today, and for those no longer with us, we can all be proud that we have been part of this rich tapestry of history and part of the making of a proud tradition that is still being carried forward. Rest assured, your contributions have laid firm foundations for the on-going safety of our Nation. Australia remains proud of you. Know that, it is because of your efforts that we can pass the baton with confidence to the next generation – in the firm knowledge that the Fleet Air Arm and indeed, Australia, are in safe hands.

I was reliably informed after the presentation of this address by one of those from that era, Mr John Saywell (and he kindly provided historical references after the service), that when HMAS Australia had returned to the UK for repairs in 1944 the Australian Government had intended to bring back a Colossus Class Carrier. Australia had about 300 extra crew members on board specifically to do so. The extra crew ended up twiddling their thumbs for some time in the UK as the Australian government, possibly because of concern about the vulnerability of Carriers as a result of the Battle of the Coral Sea, hesitated to commit to the purchase. It wasn’t until 1947 that a final commitment was gained.

Naval Aviation

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