Heritage – Wessex

When the Wessex joined the RAN Fleet Air Arm it changed the face of anti-submarine warfare, earning a significant place in the list of rotary-wing aircraft that served with the RAN. The Wessex operated as a front-line ASW helicopter from 1962 until replaced by the Westland Sea King from 1975 – serving thereafter as a utility and SAR helicopter for the fleet in Counter-Terrorism Operations for the Army, in disaster relief and as an aid to civil powers, until retired in 1989.

In 1959 the Australian Government announced it would disband the RAN Fleet Air Arm in 1963 due to the difficulty of replacing the aging Sea Venom and Gannet fixed-wing aircraft – this was solved later by the purchase of the Douglas A4 Skyhawk and Grumman S-2 Trackers. But, with tensions rising in SE Asia, on-going SEATO commitments, and a growing Soviet submarine fleet – the solution (until the Skyhawks and Trackers arrived) was to use ‘Melbourne’ as an ASW carrier, equipped with cutting-edge organic anti-submarine aircraft.

Following assembly and a test flight the Wessex were then assigned to a Squadron: initially 725 Squadron for training purposes and then, as others arrived, to the newly-formed 817 Squadron whose primary role was front-line anti-submarine support.

The first Search and Rescue (SAR) mission occurred on 11th March 1963 when GPCAPT Mather ejected from his RAAF Sabre jet near Lake Bathurst in NSW, and was reported as having landed near ‘a red farmhouse’. Fittingly, N7-200 (the first Wessex) was dispatched with two doctors aboard.  The first red farmhouse they visited yielded only two dogs and a very scared cat. The second, however, produced a ute with a parachute in the back and the missing Air Force officer on the verandah sipping whiskey.  The first SAR by the Wessex was a complete success!

By August 1963 725 Squadron had nine Wessex and 817 had ten. At about this time the first Wessex embarked on HMAS Melbourne. Later, the aircraft would be embarked on other RAN ships in various roles. (In 1968 the Wessex helicopters were upgraded to become the HAS 31B (see later in this article)).

A Wessex HAS 31B with AQS-13 sonar being lowered

During the 1960s and early 70s, with Australia’s commitment to the South East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) and the Far East Strategic Reserve, HMAS Melbourne and other RAN ships held regular exercises with the Royal Navy, US Navy, Royal New Zealand and regional navies. During these ‘war games’ the Wessex helicopters demonstrated they were a very capable anti-submarine weapon. Using a combination of shipboard systems, the Wessex sonar, and fixed-wing aircraft – this provided a high level of protection from submarine attack.

The advances in technology in submarine detection played an increasingly important role in those SEATO exercises. The following is an example of how a submarine can penetrate defences and remain unseen. On this occasion after exercising with a Royal Navy submarine the captain of HMAS Melbourne asked everyone on the flight deck to look out from the port side of the ship – and should anyone see a submarine periscope to raise their hand. Dozens of keen eyes scanned the surface of the ocean and with other warships sailing nearby; the focus of attention was on an area of several hundred square metres. After a lengthy pause the captain reminded everyone about the periscope, but still no sightings despite the many eyes scanning the wave tops.

Finally, after about ten minutes, the submarine revealed its position by firing a flare, which to everyone’s astonishment was no more that 150 metres away. Because periscopes are small and their wake can be obscured by a choppy sea they are hard to see. This demonstration showed the limitations of the human eye – and the importance of sonar, radar and high-tech submarine surveillance.

During Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, four Wessex helicopters were assigned to the former aircraft-carrier HMAS Sydney, which had been converted to a fast transport, ferrying troops and equipment to Vung Tau on some 24 occasions, escorted by other ships, including HMAS Melbourne in 1965 and ‘66.

In 1967 the Fleet Air Arm was given a new lease on life when the RAN purchased the Douglas Skyhawks and Grumman Trackers and HMAS Melbourne was refitted. This gave Melbourne added flexibility with a strong anti-submarine performance and renewed strike capabilities. In 1968 with the view to extending the life of the RAN’s Wessexes – 21 of the helicopters were updated with the more powerful Mk 165c 1600shp Napier Gazelle engines for increased load and performance; a new ASQ-13 sonar; improved navigational aids and radar. These helicopters were known as the Westland Wessex HAS 31B, and were easily identified by the large dorsal hump behind the main rotor and ‘HUDAT’ AN/APA 161 radar for station keeping in ASW operations.

When the world heard on Christmas Day 1974 that Darwin had been struck by Cyclone Tracy, the Fleet Air Arm’s response was immediate. A general recall of personnel was issued by 1600 that day and ground crews worked tirelessly to bring as many aircraft as possible out of suspended servicing. Such was the effort that seven Wessex were able to join HMAS Melbourne by the afternoon of the 26th. During the trip to Darwin the aircraft were used to pick up personnel who had been unable to join their ships before the fleet sailed from Sydney.  MELBOURNE anchored off Darwin on 1st January 1975 and the Wessex went to work immediately: a magnificent effort by both ground and aircrew enabled them  to move 7,825 people and 239,702 lbs of stores in only 16 days.*

Following the Darwin recovery operation MELBOURNE sailed for Exercise RIMPAC ’75. This was to be the last major exercise in which the Wessex would be used as ASW aircraft. On 6th June 1975 the Director of Naval Aviation Policy announced that HT725 would be disbanded from 11th June that year, HT723 would become a composite Squadron with the addition of four Wessex and HS817 would re-equip with the new Sea King Mk 50s as they became available. The remaining Wessex would be placed in storage awaiting conversion to a twin-engined utility helicopter.

The twin-engine option was never realised, most probably as a result of the aircraft’s less than flattering ARL Ergonomic Report.  The Wessex continued to serve in HC723 as a single-engined training aircraft, however, as well as providing SAR support for HMAS MELBOURNE and NAS NOWRA.  In 1980 their number was increased to 14 to provide support to the Army in its offshore counter-terrorism role.  It was in this role that the aircraft suffered its only fatal accident, when Wessex N7-215 suffered a catastrophic gearbox failure and crashed into Bass Strait with the loss of two lives.

Wessex 31Bs aboard HMAS Tobruk in Jervis Bay. The aircraft had been grounded following a fatal accident and were being returned to Nowra.

From their arrival until the surviving aircraft were withdrawn from service in 1989, the Wessex therefore served with distinction, operating variously with 723, 725, 816 and 817 Squadrons, on HMAS Melbourne, Sydney, Stalwart, Tobruk and Success; also with Australian Army in support roles.

Today ex-RAN Westland Wessex HAS helicopters are found in several aviation museums across Australia, including the Australian National Maritime Museum, at Darling Harbour, Sydney; the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Nowra, and at Moorabbin, Darwin and Port Adelaide.

*Variations in these figures can be found depending on the source: for example, the official RAN Sea Power article ‘Disaster Relief – Cyclone Tracy and Tasman Bridge’ suggests 7832 passengers and 244,518 lb of freight. 

The FAAAA wishes to acknowledge the input of LCDR Bob ‘Windy’ Geale whose brief history of the Wessex furnished some of the material above.

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