Defending the Fleet section of the Fleet Air Arm Museum February 2015

Bell UH-1C Iroquois at the Fleet Air Arm Museum February 2015

The Australian Fleet Air Arm Museum, formerly known as Australia's Museum of Flight, is a military aerospace museum located at the naval air station , near

Nowra, New South Wales Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in th ...

. The museum was opened in 1990, although efforts to preserve artifacts related to Australia's

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...

history began in 1974. The museum houses aircraft used throughout the history of the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wi ...

, the naval aviation branch of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...

(RAN), along with other aircraft of relevance to Australia's aviation history, and memorabilia relating to Australian aircraft carriers. The museum includes 34 aircraft and helicopters in its collection. It is open to the public daily, except for major public holidays. The museum building is also home to Albatross Aero Club.

History

The Fleet Air Arm Museum can trace its origins to 1974 when a group of volunteers associated with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) obtained five obsolete RAN aircraft and began work to establish a museum for display of artifacts to present the story of Australian Naval aviation. $80m were raised from various sources for a large hangar and function centre. In 1990, the Australian Naval Aviation Museum Foundation was established to operate the museum. In 2000, the museum was renamed ''Australia's Museum of Flight'' and its role expanded to displaying artifacts related to Australian aviation. In 2006, ownership and management of the museum were handed to the Royal Australian Navy and it was renamed the ''Fleet Air Arm Museum.'' The museum now displays more than 34 aircraft and many aviation artifacts.

Displays

The following exhibits are on static display in the museum:

Aircraft

* Aermacchi MB-326H * Auster J5G (stored) * CAC CA-22 ''Winjeel'' prototype * de Havilland Sea Vampire T22 * de Havilland Sea Venom F.A.W. Mk 53 *

Douglas C-47 Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military-owned transport aircraft used to su ...

Fairey Firefly The Fairey Firefly is a Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft that was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It was developed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Avia ...

AS.5/AS.6 * Fairey Gannet AS1/4 *

Fairey Gannet The Fairey Gannet is a carrier-borne aircraft that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed for the Royal Navy, being the first fixed-wing aircraft to combine both the search an ...

T.2/T.5 * Grumman S-2E/G ''Tracker'' - 2 x S-2E (static), 1 x S-2G (flyable) * GAF Jindivik - pilotless target aircraft * Hawker Sea Fury Mk 11 * McDonnell Douglas A-4G Skyhawk * McDonnell Douglas TA-4G Skyhawk * Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI * N28 Kalkara target aircraft *

Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characte ...

Supermarine Sea Otter The Supermarine Sea Otter was an amphibious aircraft designed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. It was the final biplane flying boat to be designed by Supermarine; it was also the last biplane to enter service with bo ...

Helicopters

* Aérospatiale AS350 Squirrel * Bell 47G-3B1 Sioux * Bell UH-1C Iroquois *

Bell UH-1H Iroquois The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helic ...

* Bristol Sycamore HR 50/51 *

Sikorsky S-55 The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (company model number S-55) was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom ...

* Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawk *

Westland Dragonfly The Westland WS-51 Dragonfly helicopter was built by Westland Aircraft and was an Anglicised licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-51. Design and development On 19 January 1947 an agreement was signed between Westland Aircraft and ...

* Westland Scout AH-1 * Westland Sea King Mk50 * Westland ''Wessex'' Mk31B * Westland Whirlwind

Notes

External links