Naval base in Australia
This article is about the Royal Australian Navy base. For other Australian warships of the same name, see
HMAS Albatross
.
HMAS
Albatross
is the main
naval air station
for the
Royal Australian Navy's
(RAN) aviation branch, the
Fleet Air Arm
. The base, located near
Nowra
,
New South Wales
, was formally established in May 1942 as
Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF) base
RAAF Nowra
, then was transferred to the
Royal Navy
as
HMS
Nabbington
in 1944, and operated as a naval air station until it was decommissioned in late 1945. In 1948, the airfield was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS
Albatross
, as the primary shore base for the Fleet Air Arm. Since 2011, five squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm operate from
Albatross
. The current commander of the base is
Captain
Robyn Phillips, RAN.
The base is home to the
military airport
Naval Air Station (NAS) Nowra
(
IATA
:
NOA
,
ICAO
:
YSNW
), completed in June 1941.
History
[
edit
]
The current site of HMAS
Albatross
was identified in 1938 and land was purchased in June 1939. Construction proceeded at what seems to be a leisurely pace considering it was war time, until the airfield was declared operational in June 1941. The airfield was used by squadrons of the
Bristol Beaufort
torpedo bombers
of RAAF when it opened in May 1942.
Martin Marauder
bombers of the
United States Army Air Forces
(USAAF) were also based there in 1942–43 for training as torpedo bombers.
[2]
[3]
In 1944, the need for the
Fleet Air Arm
of the Royal Navy for shore bases led to RAAF Nowra, due to its proximity to
Jervis Bay
, being transferred to the RN, being renamed
HMS
Nabbington
. This base was used by Mobile Overseas Naval Air Base (MONAB) No. 1 from 21 December 1944 to 15 November 1945. The base supported the
British Pacific Fleet
's aircraft carriers by providing shore based facilities for the
Carrier Air Groups
when the carriers were in
Sydney
for repairs and resupply. At the end of the
Pacific War
the British Pacific Fleet returned through its main base in Australia and FAA Squadrons transited through HMS
Nabbington
until it was decommissioned on 15 November 1945.
[2]
HMS
Nabswick
(
Mobile Naval Air Base
/ MONAB 5) moved from the nearby
Jervis Bay airfield
to Nowra where it operated until 18 March 1946 when the unit was decommissioned and the site was returned to the RAAF.
[2]
In 1947, the RAN's own Fleet Air Arm was formed, and the Nowra airfield was chosen to be its main shore base. HMAS
Albatross
was commissioned on 31 August 1948, taking the name previously carried by the RAN's
seaplane carrier
, and the first squadrons were delivered by the Australian aircraft carrier
HMAS
Sydney
in May 1949. Over the course of the next decades, the RAN purchased larger, faster and more capable aircraft, which led to the facilities at
Albatross
being expanded - workshops and test facilities for jets were installed following the entry into service of the
De Havilland Sea Venom
in 1955, while a new control tower was built in 1958. The purchase of
A-4 Skyhawks
and
S-2 Trackers
with advanced
avionics
led to more facilities being installed in the late 1960s to service them.
[2]
[4]
On 5 December 1976, a fire was deliberately lit by a Fleet Air Arm member in the aircraft hangar. The fire destroyed all of the Royal Australian Navy's First batch of A-4G Skyhawks and destroyed or seriously damaged twelve of the thirteen S-2 Trackers in the RAN's possession.
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
The Skyhawk and Tracker squadrons flew from the aircraft carrier
HMAS
Melbourne
until the carrier was decommissioned on 30 June 1982. This signalled the beginning of the end of the Fleet Air Arm's front line fixed wing capabilities, and also a scaling back of activities at
Albatross
.
[2]
In February 1991
RNZAF
A-4 Skyhawks
were stationed at the base to provide the
ADF
with Air Defence Support and participated in many exercises often flying below radar coverage and ambushing Australian warships on a number of occasions. A total of six Skyhawks and 50-60 RNZAF personnel were stationed at Nowra until
No. 2 Squadron RNZAF
and
No. 75 Squadron RNZAF
were disbanded following election of the
Labour Government
under
Helen Clark
in December 2001.
Facilities and operational units
[
edit
]
As of 2017
[update]
,
Albatross
served as the home base for the
723 Squadron
,
725 Squadron
,
808 Squadron
, and the
816 Squadron
of the Fleet Air Arm.
[10]
In addition,
Albatross
is the home base for the Navy Aviation Group, which coordinates all of the RAN's aviation activities. 'The following lodger units are located at
Albatross
:
In addition,
Albatross
is the home of the
Fleet Air Arm Museum
and the Royal Australian Navy Historic Flight.
Since 1986 there have been
Learjet
target tugs
based at
Albatross
, operated by civilian companies under contract to the RAN. The first company was Lloyd Aviation, then from 1990 to 1996 Fleet Support (a company later bought by
National Jet Systems
) and from 1996 until the present
Pel-Air
. Each company has used four to five Learjet 35/36 series aircraft to provide the services;
[12]
present incumbent Pel-Air also uses
IAI Westwinds
for non target-towing support operations.
The naval base had the unusual distinction of being shared by a small civilian passenger terminal, which at various times was utilised by the Masling and later
Hazelton Airlines
companies flying small propeller driven aircraft on scheduled services for the Nowra community. Until 2004, the Royal Australian Navy Gliding Association (RANGA) also operated from the runways at
Albatross
with a small fleet of gliders used by both Navy and civilian members.
Motor racing
[
edit
]
On 16 June 1947 and 7 December 1952 motor racing was held at HMAS
Albatross
.
[13]
The first meeting, featuring the
1947 Championship of New South Wales
,
[14]
used all of the main runways, for a lap distance of 7.00 kilometres (4.35 mi), while the 1952 event used taxiways, hard-stands and aprons for a shorter lap of 2.6 kilometres (1.6 mi).
[15]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
YSNW ? Nowra
(
PDF
)
.
AIP
En Route Supplement from
Airservices Australia
, effective 21 March 2024,
Aeronautical Chart
Archived
11 April 2012 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"HMAS Albatross History"
.
Royal Australian Navy
. Australian Government
. Retrieved
5 August
2017
.
- ^
Aurecon Australasia Pty Ltd (29 September 2016).
"Investigation of per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances at HMAS Albatross: Preliminary Site Investigation (Executive Summary)"
(PDF)
.
Department of Defence
. Australian Government
. Retrieved
5 August
2017
.
- ^
"A Short History of HMAS Albatross"
.
Naval Historical Review
(Reprint ed.). Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. June 2004
. Retrieved
5 August
2017
.
- ^
"12 RAN Aircraft Burnt"
The Canberra Times
? 6 December 1976, p. 1 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 21 October 2015
- ^
"Nowra Air Station Fire"
The Canberra Times
? 6 December 1976, p. 1 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 21 October 2015
- ^
"Court Martial After Nowra Base Fire"
The Canberra Times
? 14 April 1977, p. 9 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 21 October 2015
- ^
Lind, Lew (1986) [1982].
The Royal Australian Navy - Historic Naval Events Year by Year
(2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Reed Books. p. 291.
ISBN
0-7301-0071-5
.
OCLC
16922225
.
- ^
Hall, Timothy (1982).
HMAS Melbourne
. North Sydney, NSW: George Allen & Unwin. p. 19.
ISBN
0-86861-284-7
.
OCLC
9753221
.
- ^
"HMAS Albatross"
.
Royal Australian Navy
. Australian Government
. Retrieved
5 August
2017
.
- ^
"3 Wing AAFC ? NSW & ACT"
.
Australian Air Force Cadets
. 2015
. Retrieved
9 April
2015
.
- ^
Australian Aviation
magazine, ISSN 0813-0876; various issues between 1986 and 1996, including No. 34, September 1986; No. 59, August 1990; No. 83, December 1992 and No. 123, November 1996.
- ^
Walker, Terry (1995).
Fast Tracks - Australia's Motor Racing Circuits 1904-1995
. Sydney: Turton & Armstrong. p. 114.
ISBN
0908031556
.
- ^
Nowra Car Races, Australian Motor Sports, 15 July 1947, pages 26-31
- ^
Galpin, Darren.
"Nowra"
.
GEL Motorsport Information Page
. Retrieved
10 June
2017
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Lehan, Mike (2000).
HMAS Albatross: A Collection of Memories
.
Nowra
: Australian Naval Aviation Museum.
External links
[
edit
]
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