 | Fleet Air Arm |
| Fleet Air Arm |
Following World War 2, there followed a lengthey debate about the merits of an air arm within the Navy, but eventually the Australian Government recognised the importance of sea-borne air power and in 1947 authorised the formation of the RAN Fleet Air Arm.
The FAA came into being with the commissioning in 1948 of the air station, HMAS Albatross at Nowra, and 805 Squadron (flying Hawker Sea Furies - pictured) and 816 Squadron (flying Fairey Fireflies).
In 1949, the light fleet carrier HMAS Sydney was commissioned and the following year two further squadrons, 808 and 817, came into being.
In 1951, Sydney, with her Air Group embarked, sailed north to take part in the Korean War. Over the course of the war, her aircraft flew 2,366 sorties and were credited with destruction of vehicles, field guns, rail lines, bridges, ammunition dumps and shipping.
At this time it had been the intention of the Australian Government to equip the RAN with two aircraft carriers but technical advances meant that the second carrier, HMAS Melbourne, would require an angled deck and a steam catapult to accommodate a new generation of aircraft.
While Melbourne was undergoing modernisation, the Royal Navy loaned Australia the aircraft carrier Vengeance. HMAS Melbourne commissioned in 1956 and at the same time the RAN acquired De Havilland Sea Venom all-weather fighters and Fairey Gannet anti-submarine aircraft.
The RAN introduced helicopters into operational service early in the development of this technology - firstly Bristol Sycamores and then the anti-submarine Westland Wessex [pictured].
As Sydney could not operate Sea Venoms and Gannets, the ship changed to a training role and later became a troop carrier, taking men and materials to the war in Vietnam. She paid off in 1975 after a distinguished service life.
For more history, see 1970s - 2011 or return to Fleet Air Arm History page.