The first involvement Australia had with naval aviation was in 1911, when an Australian-born Royal Navy officer became one of the first four naval officers to receive pilot qualifications. During World War I, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) experienced several forms of airborne operation, with operating a seaplane, while HMA Ships and were used for experiments with aircraft launch platforms. An aircraft embarked aboard Sydney was also involved in one of the first naval air battles. Several Australians also flew as part of the Royal Naval Air Service.
After the war's end, attempts to establish a naval aviation capability were met with opposition, and naval aviation fell under the control of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). During the late 1920s and early 1930s, amphibious aircraft were operated from the seaplane carrier , with a new aircraft, the Supermarine Walrus, designed for operation from this platform. Albatross was removed from service in the mid-1930s, with the focus of naval aviation transferred to the RAN's five-ship cruiser force. Although useful for reconnaissance, improvements in carrier-based aviation and anti-aircraft defence saw the Walrus fall out of use during World War II. The impact of carrier aviation during the war prompted the foundation of a RAN-controlled Fleet Air Arm and the acquisition of two light fleet carriers, with the first, , entering service in 1948.
Sydney was the only non-US, non-UK aircraft carrier to be involved in the Korean War. The operation of a United States helicopter aboard Sydney during the war prompted the development of helicopter aviation in the Australian military. The RAN's second aircraft carrier, , had encountered delays while upgrading to the latest technology, and the British aircraft carrier was loaned to the RAN from 1952 until 1955, when Melbourne was commissioned. Sydney was decommissioned and converted into a troop transport during the late 1950s, and the obsolescence of Melbournes British-designed aircraft saw her reduced to helicopter operations until the mid-1960s, when new aircraft were purchased from the United States. Melbourne did not participate in the Vietnam War, although RAN pilots were used to support RAAF and United States Army helicopter units.
Following the decommissioning of Melbourne without replacement in the early 1980s, the Fleet Air Arm was reorganised to focus on helicopter operations from frigate-size ships, although fixed-wing aviation within the RAN continued with land-based aircraft used for patrols, electronic warfare training, transport, and hydrographic survey.
Early 20th century and World War I
One of the pioneers of naval aviation was Australian-born Royal Navy officer Arthur Longmore, who, on 25 April 1911, was among the first four naval officers to receive pilot qualifications.Hobbs, in Oldham, 100 Years of the Royal Australian Navy, p. 140ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 3 In the following years, Longmore conducted the first water landing in Britain, and the first deployment of a torpedo from an aircraft.
During the hunt for the merchant raider in 1917, a Sopwith Baby seaplane was transferred from to the light cruiser .ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 5 Brisbanes commanding officer, Claude Cumberlege,Jose, The Royal Australian Navy, pp. 372–373 was impressed with the aircraft's operational capability and requested that several be acquired by the RAN, but when the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board expressed interest to the British Admiralty, they were rebuffed with claims that the use of seaplanes for naval aviation was "dying out".ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 6
In August 1917, was the first warship to be fitted with a rotatable aircraft launch platform.Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 143 The cruiser was initially fitted with a Sopwith Pup, which was replaced in 1918 with a Sopwith Camel. On 1 June 1918, the Camel was launched to intercept two German aircraft, one of which is believed to have been shot down: naval historian David Hobbs calls it "one of the first naval air battles".
In December 1917, became the first Australian warship to launch an aircraft from aboard ship (as opposed to Brisbane, which placed the seaplane in the water before launch), when a Sopwith Pup took off from the battlecruiser's quarterdeck. From March 1918 onwards, the battlecruiser was used to test a new method of aircraft launch; this time from platforms secured on top of a gun turret and its barrels.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 8Hobbs, in Oldham, 100 Years of the Royal Australian Navy, pp. 140–1 Following the successful launch of a fully laden Sopwith 1½ Strutter scout plane on 14 May, the first aircraft launch from a turret platform, Australia was fitted with platforms over her two midships turrets and started carrying two aircraft—a Strutter for reconnaissance, and a Sopwith Camel fighter—and operated them until the end of the war.Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 35Hobbs, in Oldham, 100 Years of the Royal Australian Navy, p. 141
Over the course of World War I, over 80 Australians served as part of the Royal Navy Air Service (RNAS), including Australia's top flying aces of the war, Roderic Dallas and Robert A. Little.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 12 In April 1919, just before the end of the war, the RNAS and the Army-operated Royal Flying Corps were merged to form the Royal Air Force: Australian personnel were absorbed into the new organisation, with many transferring to the RAAF on its foundation in March 1921.ANAM, Flying Stations, pp. 14–5
Between the wars and World War II
In July 1920, Dumaresq, now Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Fleet, organised the loan of two Avro 504L seaplanes from the Australian Flying Corps to the RAN.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 14 Preliminary tests aboard the battlecruiser Australia showed promise, but were foiled when the ship was reduced to non-seagoing status by budget cuts, while trials aboard the cruiser failed because the aircraft had trouble operating in the tropics, and was damaged when being loaded back aboard. The RAN ordered six Fairey IIID amphibious aircraft in 1920, but these were placed under RAAF control. Pilots were supplied by the RAAF, while observers and telegraphist air gunners were RAN personnel. In 1924, Stanley Goble and Ivor McIntyre, both RNAS veterans now serving with the RAAF, circumnavigated Australia in one of the amphibians, while another was assigned to to assist in hydrographic surveying. Another two Fairey IIIDs were assigned to hydrographic surveying operations, but these were shore-based.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 15 The amphibious aircraft were assigned to No. 101 Flight RAAF in 1926.
During the mid-1920s, the RAN attempted to acquire government support for an Australian Fleet Air Arm, modelled loosely on the RNAS and its Royal Air Force-controlled successor, the Fleet Air Arm.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 16 This was approved as part of improvements to Australia's military, but opposition by the RAAF prompted the Cabinet to rescind its approval in favour of continuing RAAF control of naval aviation. In 1925, the Governor-General Lord Stonehaven announced the construction of a seaplane carrier, to the surprise of both the RAN and RAAF. Laid down in 1926, was commissioned into the RAN shortly after the Fairey IIID, the aircraft she had been designed to operate with was removed from service.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 17 The Faireys were replaced by the Supermarine Seagull Mark III in 1926, which had been employed on surveys of the Great Barrier Reef while Albatross was completed. The Mark IIIs were unsuited for operations with Albatross, particularly as the aircraft were not durable enough to withstand catapult launches. Specifications for a new aircraft design were drawn up to the RAN and RAAF, and Supermarine designed the Seagull V (later to be called the Walrus).ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 18 Designed for catapult launches and to survive rougher weather and sea conditions, the Walrus entered service two months after Albatross was reduced to non-seagoing status.ANAM, Flying Stations, pp. 18–19 Albatross was transferred to the Royal Navy in 1938 as part payment for the cruiser .
From 1935, naval aviation was focused on the RAN's cruiser force: two County-class heavy cruisers and three Town-class light cruisers, each operating a single Supermarine Walrus amphibious aircraft from a deck-mounted catapult.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 20 In 1936, No. 101 Flight was expanded and redesignated No. 5 Squadron, then redesignated No. 9 Squadron at the start of 1939. During World War II, Walruses were used to increase the surveillance range of each ship, particularly during hunts for German commerce raiders. Four aircraft were lost during the war; two shot down by Axis aircraft, one damaged beyond repair by British fighters, and one destroyed on deck during the battle between and the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 27 During the Pacific campaign, the prevalence of United States Navy aircraft carriers negated the need for cruiser-based aircraft, and the growing improvements in both ship-based anti-aircraft weaponry and other aircraft compared to the Walrus meant the amphibian saw less and less use. By 1944, all Walruses had been removed from Australian ships, and No. 9 Squadron was disbanded at the end of the year.Hobbs, in Oldham, 100 Years of the Royal Australian Navy, p. 142Wilson, The Eagle and the Albatross, p. 227 The lack of opportunity for naval aviation service in the RAN meant that many interested personnel went overseas to serve with the British Fleet Air Arm, including Victor Smith, or transferred to the RAAF.ANAM, Flying Stations, pp. 26–28
Foundation of the RAN Fleet Air Arm
The successes of naval aviation during World War II reignited the idea of a RAN-controlled aviation force, with suggestions that Australia provide the personnel to operate a British aircraft carrier and the attached squadrons voiced by the government in 1944 as part of a broader offer to help address the Royal Navy's personnel shortage.ANAM, Flying Stations, pp. 29–35Wright, Australian Carrier Decisions, pgs. 71, 83–6 The Admiralty deemed a Colossus-class light fleet carrier to be the most appropriate vessel, and was initially proposed for transfer to the RAN as a gift or on loan.Wright, Australian Carrier Decisions, p. 84 The plan was deferred on the Australian end until a review of manpower requirements across the entire war effort was completed.Wright, Australian Carrier Decisions, pp. 92–3 The ship manning proposal was revisited in mid-1945, but the surrender of Germany in May meant that British shortages were not as problematic; as a counteroffer, the purchase of the Colossus-class carrier Ocean by Australia was suggested.Wright, Australian Carrier Decisions, pp. 104–5 The Australian government decided against the purchase of Ocean in June.Wright, Australian Carrier Decisions, p. 107