Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/March 2015/Review essay


 * By Nick-D

During a recent visit to the South Coast of New South Wales I stopped in on the Royal Australian Navy's Fleet Air Arm Museum. This museum has existed in various forms since the mid-1970s, and since the mid-2000s has been housed in a purpose-built building adjacent to the Navy's air base HMAS Albatross, which is located about ten minutes drive from the small city of Nowra. It's not a particularly large or sophisticated aviation museum, but I found that it accomplishes its mission very well.

The Fleet Air Arm Museum is, in essence, a large hangar filled with aircraft and other large naval artefacts. Around 30 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters are on display, representing almost all of the types to have been operated by the FAA (aside from those currently in service, of course). All of the aircraft are in immaculate condition and have been displayed with clearly written signs explaining the history and features of the type, as well as the service history of the particular aircraft in the museum. Despite never being particularly large, the FAA has operated a diverse range of aircraft, and I was interested to see unusual types such as the Fairey Gannet (with its contra-rotating propellers), McDonnell Douglas A-4G Skyhawk and Bristol Sycamore. Happily, the lighting in the museum is friendly to photographers, which isn't always the case for aviation museums (some of the photos I took are available here). The aircraft are also generally well-spaced so that visitors can get a clear view, though the section on the aircraft operated from the carrier HMAS Melbourne between the late 1960s and her decommissioning in 1982 is a bit crowded.

The museum has an interesting collection of naval artefacts with a link - though sometimes tenuous! - to the FAA. The highlights for me were a piano which was "left behind" in Sydney by the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in 1945, a gun turret from the World War I-era light cruiser HMAS Melbourne and FAA unit signboards which have been displayed at HMAS Albatross. There were also small displays showing the uniforms and equipment used by FAA aircrew and maintenance personnel, as well as some odds and ends which seem to have been placed on display mainly for their novelty value.

While the Fleet Air Arm Museum does a good job of presenting the Navy's former aircraft, it's less successful in telling the story of the FAA and the people who have served in it. As there isn't an introductory section on the history of the FAA, visitors who are unfamiliar with this topic might be a bit confused about what they're seeing and won't appreciate the comprehensiveness of the aircraft collection. While the museum includes a number of interesting displays with reminisces of former FAA personnel (though almost always aircrew), a lot more could have been done to explain the experiences of the men and women who have served in the FAA, including how these have changed over time. Material on both these topics could be accommodated in the galleries at the side of the museum which currently house a rather sparse and uninteresting collection of naval artworks.

Overall, the Fleet Air Arm Museum is a success. Visitors will be interested by its well preserved and presented collection, which includes a number of rare aircraft types. While it's obviously not in the league of major aviation museums, it's a worthwhile day trip from Sydney or side-trip to a visit to the South Coast.