I i I ■ i il i ■■ ill I ■■ f ■ ill The Journal of the Aviation Historical Society of Australia Inc, aoossgssp Volume 29 Number 4 I September 1998 I m ■ Lxstralian Fleet Air Arm m ■ iBi m ®ii ring Deeds in the Desert ill* i® ■ Sf^ Bll ■ .■.V Paddy Heffernan - Series ~ Part 6 *IS ■ ■ ^ ................................... «.... .r...................... ; ■ jfi il n Pi:i I 111111^48 iili BiP The Journal of the AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY of AUSTRALIA Inc. A00336533P Volume 29 - Number 4 - September 1998 EDITORIAL EDITORS, DESIGN & PRODUCTION Another year ends for our Society and the question that continually occupies my mind is why don’t we have more Bill and Judith Baker members? This is despite the fact that for the past couple of Address all correspondence to; years we have 'delivered the goods’ with an on-time The Editor, AHSA, expanded Journal, complete with supplements, which is now P.O. Box 2007, produced at far lower cost than has been done previously. I South Melbourne 3205 Victoria, Australia. believe that the content and the 'look’ of A-H is very good. 03 9583 4072 Phone & Fax Our financial outlook is very good with a substantial cash Subscription Rates; reserve, which bodes well for our future, if only we can Australia A$40. increase our membership base all would be perfect. How Rest of World A$50. Surface Mail can you help? Try to recruit new members, advertise and A$65. Surface Airlifted attend the branch meetings, take a more active role in the A$85. Air Mail Societies activities - for instance ‘have a go’ - join the Overseas payment to be in Australian Committee, write something for ’A-H’ or even offer to do the currency by International Money Order or newsletter. (There’s plenty of ‘back up’ to help you). Its not a Bank Draft. Overseas personal cheques closed shopi cannot be accepted. The only redeeming feature for us, is that 1 notice that our contemporary societies, the Canadian - having trouble in Articles for Publication; Are to be on an getting members to do various jobs and falling membership. Australian theme. As for the New Zealanders, they seem to have dropped off The Editor reserves the right to edit any the planet, (not unlike we did several years ago). article accepted for publication. Enclosed is your renewal form complete with a stamped Payment is not made for articles. envelope to make it easier for you. Please attach you Please Include sufficient postage for the cheque and return it promptly. The next ‘A-H’ will be posted return of originals if that is required. late December/early January. It is our policy not to forward A - H and the Computer; Contributions for any further copies of ‘A-H’, unless renewed. Do it now! the Journal are most welcome in any form, but if you have a computer, exported on a Editors wish list; 3V2" disc in ASSCII format (plain text), or Any facet of Australia’s aviation history. Compass Airlines, WIN 6, would be just great! (Include hard GAF Nomad, Korea, Vietnam, anything that interests you copy also). and can be printed. Cover Disclaimer; 1. Whilst every effort is made to As a prelude to our celebration of the 50*'^ Anniversary of the check the authenticity of the material and Fleet Air Arm, we feature this picture of Sea Fury FB11 K105 advertising printed, the Publishers, Editors, shot over Nowra on 10/3/58. r.a n 2595 and the Aviation Historical Society of Contents; Australia and its Office Bearers cannot 135 Australian Fleet Air Arm - Ian K. Baker accept responsibility for any non­ 140 Daring Deeds in the Desert - Ted Fletcher performance. 148 Origins and Early Days of 459 Squadron RAAF 2. The views expressed in ’Aviation David Vincent Heritage’ are not necessarily those of the 154 The Avro 652A Anson in Australian Civil AHSA or its Editors. Aviation - Ken O’Brien 166 The RAF Long Range Development Unit - Paddy Heffernan AVIATION HERITAGE END OF VOLUME 29 ISSN 0815-4392 Print Post Approved PP 320418/00017 Meetings of the AHSA; ©1998 by the Publishers: Melbourne Branch: The fourth Wednesday in every THE AVIATION HISTORICAL month, 7:30 at the Airforce Association, 4 Cromwell Street, SOCIETY OF South Yarra. Further information - Keith Meggs 9580 0140. AUSTRALIA INC., aoo33653p NSW Branch: The first Wednesday in every month 7:45 P.O. BOX 2007, Studio lat the Powerhouse Museum, enter from the SOUTH MELBOURNE Macarthur Street end. Further information - Gordon Lasslett VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA 9416 7603 AHSA Aviation Heritage THE AUSTRALIAN FLEET AIR ARM - 50 YEARS OLD! By Ian K. BAKER Illustration by Ian K. Baker. All photos from the Hopton Collection. With additional information from John Hopton and Bill Baker It is necessary at the outset to understand the relationship between Australian naval aviation and the Flowever, it should be realised at this point that the Australian Fleet Air Arm... they are not necessarily one organisation that we refer to as the R.A.N. was, until c. and the same thing, although inextricably inter-woven. 1930, entirely controlled by the R.N. as its Australia (?= Australasian) Squadron, with all senior rankings from that It may be the 50th anniversary of our Fleet Air Arm body, and all major decisions made with R.N.’s consent. which is being celebrated this year, but naval aviation The R.N. itself became interested in aviation 1907. By goes back much further. Before the creation of the Fleet 1910/11 strong interest in aviation was shown by the Air Arm, naval aviation was an arm of the RAAF. The Air R.A.N. by the fact that active consideration as to sites for Force was intended to operate all aircraft, but provision naval aviation bases. Point Cook was chosen as the site was made that it would on such “as-and-when” occasions for the Central Flying School with its capacity for sea/land as arose operate aircraft for the R.A.N. on specific tasks. capacity to be jointly shared by the Army and the Navy. In Until the advent of the Seagull V - intended for co-use - fact the Navy at that time had acquired sites at Avalon and aircraft acquired by the R.A.A.F. had been so acquired for Corio Bay. R.A.A.F. requirements only, with scant consideration of dual usage. The Fairey HID purchase being the exception The Australian Air Force was formally created on the to this. It would appear that the R.A.N ordered the Fairey 31®^ March 1921 and became the Royal Australian Air IIID’s on their own, perhaps anticipating that they would Force three months later. get their own ‘Air Arm’. But these hopes were not to be realised. On the 9 September 1920 the Australian Prime The decision to establish a separate Fleet Air Arm Minister announced that the air force would be under the (FAA) for the RAN had its origins in a growing awareness control of a board which would include representatives of at government level that the experience of naval war in the Navy, Army, and civil aviation. At the same time the Air WW2 was pointing to the emergence of aircraft design, Forces order for Fairey HID was being processed, the manning, maintenance, experience, training and Navy’s was then cancelled and eventually all the Fairey knowledge requirements which were clearly drawing HID floatplanes bore the serials ANA-1 to ANA-6. The further and further away from those of a land-based air prefix letters stood for 'Australian Naval Aviation'! force. Both the RAAF and the RAN put up plans to H.M.A.S. Sydney at sea with 16 of its aircraft ranged along the deck. 135 AHSA Aviation Heritage price of one. These were a 'light fleet carrier' design of the late war period, whose completion had been suspended in 1945 until postwar requirements became clearer. They would be equipped with Firefly and Sea Fury aircraft. In due course the offer was accepted and the direction of development of the RAM's new FAA was under way. It had initially been hoped that the two new carriers, to be named Sydney and Melbourne, would be delivered in 1948 and 1949. HMAS Sydney was accepted in 1949 after some modifications had been effected. But there were some further considerable delays with Melbourne... more of this further on. HMAS SYDNEY The Sydney brought with it a squadron of Sea Furies and a squadron of Fireflies. During the following year, 1950, it returned to the UK to collect a further two squadrons of these aircraft. Bristol Sycamore XA221 landing on Vengeance for transportation to Australia on January 16 1954. During the later part of 1951, Sydney took address this problem for the postwar years. In May of over from HMS Glory in providing a 'British' naval 1947 the Naval Board accepted the RAN plan, thereby presence in the Korean war theatre, Australia's ties to the setting in motion the creation of Australia's own FAA. UK and responsibilities to Commonwealth defence strategy and politics was still very strong at that time and The title 'Fleet Air Arm' was adopted from British certainly more than simply that of assisting an ally. It is terminology - a reflection of the very close links between reported that Sydney almost immediately set a light fleet the RAN and the Royal Navy (RN), the origins of which lie carrier record by flying off 147 sorties in two days, its in the naval history of the British Empire. But despite aircraft becoming heavily engaged in ground attack work.