Fleet Air Arm Museum Display - Go Around Again (1948)
The decision to establish a military air base at Nowra was made soon after World War II was declared in 1939. The Royal Australian Air Force occupied the new base in May 1942, followed shortly by the US Army Air Corps and the Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force.
The base was considered ideal for naval aviation due to its proximity to Jervis Bay. In 1945 the Royal Navy deployed its aircraft from the British Pacific Fleet carriers to the Nowra Base to what was then called HMS NABBINGTON.
In July 1947, the Commonwealth Defence Council approved the formation of the RAN Fleet Air Arm. HMAS Albatross (RAN Air Station - Nowra) was commissioned on 31 August 1948 and became the home of the Fleet Air Arm.
Growing from a group of World War II temporary huts, Albatross has been Navy's primary land base for the training and maintenance of its Squadrons since 1948. HMAS Nirimba at Quaker's Hill, NSW was commissioned from 1953 to 1954 as a second Naval Air Station and air technical training school.
Navy aircrew training was always been and remains demanding, the operating environment is unforgiving. To land an A-4 on HMAS Melbourne (II) or a Seahawk on the pitching deck of a frigate requires great skill and lots and lots of practice. Much of the training to build these skills was and is still conducted at Albatross and over time many a trainee pilot has often heard the words 'Go around again' from their instructor.
The concrete floor of this Museum was originally the 'Dummy Deck' simulating a carrier flight-deck for aircraft handling, spotting and ranging practice.
