3 June 1947
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) aviation force. It includes flying crewed and remotely piloted aircraft. The RAN first tried to establish a Fleet Air Arm in the 1920s. However, fiscal constraints and inter-service rivalry ensured that its existence was brief. Still, the value of naval aviation was clear after the outstanding success of embarked, ship-based air power during the Pacific War.
In April 1946, the Australian prime minister gave permission for the RAN to investigate the establishment of a naval air arm along British lines. The Royal Navy had kept 10 partially completed aircraft carriers from suspended wartime programs. A small team of RAN officers developed a detailed plan to acquire 2 of these vessels, along with 2 carrier air groups (CAGs). They also planned to establish a naval air station.
The Australian Government approved the acquisition of 2 aircraft carriers for the RAN on 3 June 1947. Two Majestic class light fleet carriers, Terrible and Majestic, were subsequently taken over by the RAN. They were re-named Sydney (III) and Melbourne (II) respectively. Two months later, the government approved the creation of the Naval (later Fleet) Air Arm.
A disused World War II-era naval air station near Nowra was identified as a suitable location for the FAA’s shore establishment. The site was transferred to the RAN on 15 December 1947. Although far from complete, many of the required facilities, such as hangars and workshops, were already in place at Nowra. This made it a logical choice for the RAN FAA’s new shore establishment. King George VI approved the name of the new station in April 1948, and Naval Air Station (NAS) Nowra, HMAS Albatross was commissioned on 31 August 1948.
HMAS Sydney (III), meanwhile, was commissioned at Devonport in the UK on 16 December 1948. It departed for Australia the following April, with the FAA’s first naval air squadrons, 805 and 816 squadrons, on board. They arrived at Jervis Bay a month later, on 25 May.
The FAA has evolved, going through many changes in the ensuing years, but a naval aviation capability has remained a cornerstone of the RAN.