Postcard of a Royal Australian Navy Fairey Firefly aircraft crashed on the deck of HMAS SYDNEY III
Date1954
Object numberANMS1337[054]
NamePhotograph
MediumBlack and white photographic print on paper.
DimensionsOverall: 88 x 142 x 1 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from William Hamment
DescriptionPhotographic album consisting of forty-five pages compiled by Petty Officer Harry Owen Hamment during his service in the RAN, it contains photographs and postcards pasted on each page. Accompanying loose photographs are stored at the back of the album. The photographs depict a Crossing of the Line Ceremony, HMAS SYDNEY III and members of the ship's crew in Papua New Guinea. The postcards were collected in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea between November 1953 and June 1954. Brief handwritten inscriptions accompany many of the postcards.HistoryThe Fairey Firefly was the first type allocated to serve aboard Australia's first aircraft carrier, HMAS SYDNEY (III). The majority of early Fighter Reconnaissance FR.IV versions came from former Royal Navy stocks and were either flown or loaded aboard SYDNEY in late 1948 and early 1949, for carriage to Australia. Accidents were relatively common, especially during landing. This image shows a crash severe enough to write off the aircraft. VG998 was delivered to 816 Squadron Fleet Air Arm on 17 July 1948. This accident has been reported on the ADF Serials website as follows: "After a slow approach during arrester gear trials on HMAS SYDNEY, undercarriage and hook removed on the round down. Aircraft skidded into the barrier on its belly although the fuselage caught on No 8 wire" (http://adf-serials.com.au/n1.htm). Although difficult to identify in the photographs, the aircraft has a replacement rudder fitted after it was damaged on 26 November 1948, and also appears to have replacement engine cowlings. Another, clearer image of the accident on the Fleet Air Arm Association website clearly identifies its fuselage number as 238. The caption runs: "One of the early accidents. Firefly VG998 (238/K) after a slow approach during arrester gear trials on HMAS Sydney on 08 February 1949. The undercarriage and hook were removed on the round down, and the aircraft skidded into the barrier on its belly although the fuselage caught on No 8 wire. (Lt D. Buchanan, RAN). It was classified as a write off. (Image: I. Ladler)" (https://www.faaaa.asn.au/heritage/heritage-fairey-firefly/fairey-firefly-image-library/). The pilot during the accident was Acting Lieutenant Daniel Buchanan, born in Glasgow, Scotland on 20 August 1919. He joined the RAN on 5 January 1948, and after initially serving with the Royal Navy for flying training, was posted to SYDNEY before being based at HMAS ALBATROSS in Nowra. Promoted to Lieutenant Commander in April 1951, Buchanan saw active service aboard the destroyer HMAS ANZAC (II) over August to October 1951. By 1956, Commander Buchanan was the Commander (AIR) at ALBATROSS, when on 8 October his de Havilland Vampire A79-841 flew into the sea during a night training exercise. Commodore Buchanan was killed, leaving a widow, Anne (National Archives of Australia, A6770, BUCHANAN D V).Harry Owen Hamment was born on 21 June 1927 in the town of Hamilton, New South Wales. He joined the Royal Australian Navy on 26 May 1952 and served for a six year period. He initially trained at HMAS CERBERUS and was transferred to HMAS PENGUIN in April 1953. He joined the RAN's flagship HMAS AUSTRALIA in May 1953. Hamment joined the crew of the aircraft carrier HMAS SYDNEY III in 1953 and worked as an Engine Room Artificer. He passed the relevant exams and was granted his Engine Room Watch Certificate in June 1954. The vessel was serving in Korean waters as part of the United Nations operation from late 1953 until June 1954. During this period HMAS SYDNEY III visited Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong and Japan while enroute to and from Korea. Petty Officer Hamment was assigned to HMA BARCOO, HMA TARANGAU, FREMANTLE and ALBATROSS during the second half of his naval career. He was discharged from the RAN in May 1958, having served for a six year period.SignificanceThe postcards document the tourist attractions visited by the crew of HMAS SYDNEY III during port visits in Asia in the 1950s. Local temples, streetscapes and scenes of traditional customs and life in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan are represented on the postcards. The photographs provide information about the experiences of Australian sailors when participating in naval training and when serving on HMAS SYDNEY III. Other photographs document their expereinces observing and meeting the local people in unidentified areas of New Guinea.
Archive Series (item)/Archive Item (series)
