817 Squadron RAN
Encyclopedia
Fleet Air Arm (RAN)
The Fleet Air Arm , known formally as the Australian Navy Aviation Group, is the division of the Royal Australian Navy responsible for the operation of aircraft. The FAA was founded in 1947 following the purchase of two aircraft carriers from the Royal Navy...
squadron.
Current Roles
817 is currently active as a helicopter squadron equipped with Westland Sea KingWestland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
Mk 50 helicopters. 817 Squadron is a land based squadron operating the Sea King helicopter in Fleet Utility Support roles, including Search and Rescue, Surveillance, and Air and ground crew training. 817 Squadron also has responsibility for maintaining and operating aircraft on the Kanimbla class
Kanimbla class landing platform amphibious
The Kanimbla class is a class of amphibious transport ships operated by the Royal Australian Navy . Two ships were purchased by Australia in 1994 and modified...
, HMAS Tobruk
HMAS Tobruk (L50)
HMAS Tobruk is a Landing Ship Heavy of the Royal Australian Navy , based on the design of the Round Table class of the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary....
and HMAS Success
HMAS Success (AOR-304)
HMAS Success is a Durance class multi-product replenishment oiler serving in the Royal Australian Navy . Built at Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney, Australia, during the 1980s, she is the only ship of the class to be constructed outside of France, and the only one to originally not serve in the...
. The Squadron is based at HMAS Albatross
HMAS Albatross (air station)
HMAS Albatross, also known as Naval Air Station Nowra , is an airfield operated by the Royal Australian Navy , in support of the RAN's aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm...
(NAS Nowra).
History
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
squadron in 1941, operating Fairey Albacore
Fairey Albacore
The Fairey Albacore was a British single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and used during the Second World War. It had a three-man crew and was designed for spotting and reconnaissance as well as delivering...
aircraft in the ASW role in Icelandic and Mediterranean waters. The Squadron reformed in 1943 with Fairey Barracuda
Fairey Barracuda
The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo- and dive bomber used during the Second World War, the first of its type used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm to be fabricated entirely from metal. It was introduced as a replacement for the Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore biplanes...
aircraft and carried out operations in Sumatra and the Nicobar area before disbanding in 1945.
On 25 April 1950, 817 Squadron was re-formed as a Royal Australian Navy FAA squadron operating Fairey Firefly
Fairey Firefly
The Fairey Firefly was a British Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm ....
AS6 aircraft. The Squadron embarked on HMAS Sydney and served with distinction during the Korean War, operating the Fairey Firefly Mk5. In October 1953 the squadron embarked on HMAS Vengeance
HMS Vengeance (R71)
HMS Vengeance was a Colossus class light aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II. The carrier served in three navies during her career: the Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy , and the Brazilian Navy .Constructed during World War II, Vengeance was...
. The Squadron disbanded and reformed with Fairey Gannet
Fairey Gannet
The Fairey Gannet was a British carrier-borne anti-submarine warfare and airborne early warning aircraft of the post-Second World War era developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm by the Fairey Aviation Company...
s in 1955, operating from HMAS Melbourne and conducting Fleet ASW support and training until 1958.
817 Squadron reformed in 1963 to conduct ASW, Fleet Utility support and training, equipped with Westland Wessex
Westland Wessex
The Westland Wessex is a British turbine-powered version of the Sikorsky S-58 "Choctaw", developed under license by Westland Aircraft , initially for the Royal Navy, and later for the Royal Air Force...
HAS.31A helicopters. These were updated to Wessex HAS.31Bs in 1968, and the Squadron was re-equipped with Westland Sea King MK50 helicopters in 1976. 817 Squadron operated from HMAS Melbourne, until the aircraft carrier decommissioned in 1982 without replacement.
Recent operational deployments have included UN operations in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
in 1993, peace keeping operations in Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
during 1994 (where one aircraft was hit by ground fire) and Operation Stabilise in East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
during 1999 and 2000. 817 Squadron has also provided operational air support to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
and support to the people of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
during 2000 and 2001 in Operation Trek, after the civil insurgence. The squadron was also called upon in 2003 to provide further air support in the Solomon Islands as part of Operation Anode.
817 Squadron has been heavily committed to the fight against terrorism with continuing deployments to the Persian Gulf aboard HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora. These deployments have formed an integral part of the Australian contingent of the International Coalition Against Terrorism (ICAT). During late 2001 and 2002, 817 Squadron aircraft deployed to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
as part of Operation Slipper
Operation Slipper
Operation Slipper is the Australian Defence Force contribution to the war in Afghanistan. The operation commenced in late 2001 and is ongoing...
to enforce UN sanctions against Iraq, and again in 2003 as part of Operation Falconer with the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. The Squadron also has maintained one aircraft and crew at Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
for various periods to provide a surveillance capability in defence of Australia's northern borders.
Most recently, 817 Squadron has provided aircraft for Operation Sumatra Assist
Operation Sumatra Assist
Operation Sumatra Assist was the Australian Defence Force's contribution to disaster relief in Indonesia following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. ADF personnel were deployed within hours of the earthquake. They served mainly in Aceh province of Indonesia...
and Operation Sumatra Assist II, which were Australia's contribution to the humanitarian effort in Indonesia as a result of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the subsequent 2005 Sumatra earthquake
2005 Sumatra earthquake
The 2005 Sumatra earthquake, referred to as the Nias Earthquake by the scientific community, was a major earthquake on 28 March 2005, located off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Approximately 1300 people were killed by the earthquake, mostly on the island of Nias...
. During the latter operation, one of the two Seakings (Shark 02) embarked on HMAS Kanimbla, crashed on the Island of Nias
Nias
Nīas is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago, containing the Hinako archipelago....
with the loss of nine personnel. The accident occurred as a result of a series of maintenance errors, specifically the incorrect re-fitting of a nut and split pin during maintenance performed on the aircraft some two months before the crash. Deficiencies in maintenance practices, training, support and logistics operations within the Navy were also identified as contributing factors. Following the accident, several major changes were made to maintenance and safety management practices at 817 Sqn.
Battle honours
The following battle honourBattle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....
s have been awarded to 817 Squadron
- Norway 1942
- North Africa 1942
- Biscay 1942
- Sicily 1943
- Korea 1951-2
- Iraq 2003
Aircraft
Previous RAN Service
- Fairey FireflyFairey FireflyThe Fairey Firefly was a British Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm ....
AS6 - Fairey FireflyFairey FireflyThe Fairey Firefly was a British Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm ....
Mk5 - Fairey GannetFairey GannetThe Fairey Gannet was a British carrier-borne anti-submarine warfare and airborne early warning aircraft of the post-Second World War era developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm by the Fairey Aviation Company...
- Westland WessexWestland WessexThe Westland Wessex is a British turbine-powered version of the Sikorsky S-58 "Choctaw", developed under license by Westland Aircraft , initially for the Royal Navy, and later for the Royal Air Force...
HAS.31A - Westland WessexWestland WessexThe Westland Wessex is a British turbine-powered version of the Sikorsky S-58 "Choctaw", developed under license by Westland Aircraft , initially for the Royal Navy, and later for the Royal Air Force...
HAS.31B