Some Pics from my Fleet Air Arm days

[101RRS]

Coming up to the cat


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_018.jpg

Taking off - off the cat


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_019.jpg



http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_012.jpg

Hook and radar down - rear boom still in


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_016.jpg

On patrol


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_024.jpg



http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_022.jpg

Getting ready to land back on
Dumping fuel


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

[101RRS]

Approaching before the circuit


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Over the top


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_013.jpg

In the circuit on base


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_021.jpg

Turning onto finals


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_009.jpg

On finals


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_017.jpg

The most dangerous workplace in the world


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_015.jpg

Late finals


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_011.jpg


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_008.jpg

Landed - wing fold


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_023.jpg


Rescue Destroyer (Resdes) - Derwent I think


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_020.jpg

End of the day
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/3-31-2010_010.jpg

[Hoges]

I remember as a kid in " short pants" (you had to be a 'big' kid to wear long trousers in those days :angel:) going with my dad and uncle (who worked in Navy) and visiting both HMAS Sydney and HMAS Melbourne ...both were docked at Station pier in Melbourne on delivery.... left a big impression;)

ps what are the 'stores' just outboard of the engine in the first photo ("on approach" )?

cheers

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Great images.

It is so sad that we no longer have that capability! :(

So where are the pics of the Skyhawks?

Diana

[101RRS]

Great images.

It is so sad that we no longer have that capability! :(

So where are the pics of the Skyhawks?

Diana

Only have a few of them as I was in the Tracker squadrons - when I scan the slides I have of Skyhawks I will post up. Shame I didn't take more of them as a few crashed off the ship when I was on it.

Garry

[101RRS]

So where are the pics of the Skyhawks?

Diana

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/4-1-2010_004.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/4-1-2010_005.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/4-1-2010_003.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/4-1-2010_012.jpg

Pedro the rescue helo - airborne for all launches and recovery
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/4-1-2010_009.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/4-1-2010_006.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/4-1-2010_007.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/4-1-2010_008.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/4-1-2010_001.jpg

[Lotz-A-Landies]

<snip>

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/4-1-2010_011.jpg

<snip> Is that a missed approach (missed catch)?
a touch and go?
or did they have a catapult on the angled deck and its a take off?
More great images again! :) :)

Addit: Oops - no tail-hook so it's a take off!

[101RRS]

Is that a missed approach (missed catch)?
a touch and go?
or did they have a catapult on the angled deck and its a take off?

More great images again! :) :)

Addit: Oops - no tail-hook so it's a take off!

Most likely a touch and go as the tail hook is up - though I cannot remember if the hook is raised if the wire is missed.

Due to its small size, Melbourne only had a bow catapault where US carriers also have catapults on the angled deck as well. On US carriers the Trackers could "free deck" (take off without the catapult) but on Melbourne all launches were with the cat.

On occasion the cat would fire by itself causing some worry - indeed when I was there it dragged a Skyhawk down the deck at about 20 knots even with the A4s brakes locked and launched it off the front at 20knots. The pilot ejected just as the A4 went over the front and was recovered by the rescue helo - I now wished I had kept some bits of the canopy that littered then flight deck. On another occasion a A4 lost power just the cat fired and it went into the drink just in front of the ship.

When the first one crashed I was having morning tea in the mess when one of the guys said he saw a parachute coming down near the ship - then the crash alarm went off. We just assumed it was the divers jumping over the side with a parachute to test the crash/rescue systems - wrong - noticed that when we saw the A4 in the water. The pilot ejected but made a fatal mistake of inflating his life jacket as he was floating down as a consequence he could not put his hands under the jacket to release his parachute when he hit the water. No worries except he landed near the A4 and the parachute wrapped itself around the tail. As the A4 sank it pulled the pilot down with it and he went down at least a couple of hundred feet (he said it was starting to get dark) when the buoyancy of his life raft and life jacket pulled him free of the A4 and he floated to the surface.

In the end the catapault was getting too dangerous to use and was kept for "soft shots" for the Trackers (where there is a lot of wind across the deck for minimal assistance required for launch) and the A4s were grounded. The arrester wires were also playing up and started providing too much retardation on landing - there was a worry that they would not run out and rip an aircraft apart. Also some wires were breaking an landing (and you think a winch wire breaking was dangerous) sometimes after slowing the aircraft down so 'go around' flying speed may not be achieved. When one wire broke it took out all the aerials on the port side and whacked the ships side and whipped into a safety cage on the side of the ship where a few guys had sheltered for the recovery - they all needed an undie change afterwards.

Life was interesting back then.

Garry

[Mick_Marsh]

Great photo's and stories

regards
Mick

[Chucaro]

Thanks Garry great shots and info:)

[TELF RRC]

These are great shots, great to see. I wish I could remember better my visit to HMS Ark Royal on it's decommissioning tour of the UK.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sleepy]

Thanks for the insight garrycol. I only ever saw one Skyhawk in the early 80's - They were phased out not much later, I always recall how skinny they looked straight on.
That deck looks so small, add to that pitch and roll .....:o Talented aviators.:ohyes:

[gazk]

Ips what are the 'stores' just outboard of the engine in the first photo ("on approach" )?
cheers

"Practice bomb" carrier racks - used to carry small inert "bomb shaped" devices fitted with a smoke marker in the nose. They were dropped (usually in a stick of four) to practice depth charge attacks.

I was there also - it was lots of fun by day and a bit less at night.
regards

[Lotz-A-Landies]

I remember as a kid, we spend our weekends and holidays at a little village right nextdoor to Beecroft range. The skyhawks would do bombing and straafing runs on the range, and the destroyers practice with their deck guns.

Spent days and weeks wandering all over the range in fact that's where I learnt to drive a Land Rover. Given that it was Commonwealth land and the closest Commonwealth Police were at HMAS Cresswell (Jarvis Bay village) about 50 miles away, there was next to no chance of a 12 year old being caught. My big problem was if Dad caught me.

:( :( it was also where bodies from the HMAS Voyager incident started washing up :( :(