Fleet Air Arm Museum Display - Navy Gets Jets (1955 - 1967)
The commissioning of HMAS Melbourne (II) with her angled flight deck, steam catapult and mirror assisted landing system, heralded the introduction of pure jet and turboprop aircraft into the Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
Melbourne (II) arrived in Australia in May 1956, carrying De Havilland Sea Venom F.A.W. Mk 53 fighters and Fairey Gannet AS1/4 Anti-submarine aircraft. The Sea Venom was a purely jet propelled aircraft, powered by a de Havilland Ghost turbojet engine. The Gannet, although a propeller aircraft was powered by a Double Mamba turboprop engine (basically two Mamba gas turbine engines placed side by side each driving one of two co-axial contra-rotating airscrews).
The Sea Venom replaced the Hawker Sea Fury Mark 11 and the Gannet replaced the Fairey Firefly AS-5 in their respective roles.
The Sea Venom was a very advanced aircraft for the time. Its radar, operated by the Observer, allowed for all weather operations, the first Australian military aircraft to do so. The ungainly looking Gannet achieved a reputation for being somewhat temperamental but it was one of the most advanced turboprop designs of its day and proved to be an excellent anti-submarine aircraft.
