Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Single-seat fighter-bomber

Power Plant:

One 1,902 kw (2,550 hp) Bristol Centaurus eighteen-cylinder two-row sleeve-valve air-cooled radial engine

Specifications:

Armament:

Four 20 mm British Hispano Mk 5 cannon; provision for up to 907 kg (2,000 lb) of bombs or 12 rocket projectiles beneath the wings

History:

The Hawker Sea Fury was the last piston-engine fighter-bomber to be manufactured in quantity in the United Kingdom. The Sea Fury resulted from the Hawker Fury, which was designed to meet Specifications F-2/43. This had been written in 1943 to meet a Hawker proposal for a smaller, lighter variant of the Tempest. At the same time a specification for a new naval fighter was being drawn up, and Sydney Camm proposed that his design, fitted with the Bristol Centaurus XII radial engine, would meet both requirements. Hawker then proceeded with development of the land-based fighter and allowed Boulton Paul Aircraft to deal with the development of the naval variant.

In April 1944 contracts were allotted for the construction of 200 of each type known as the Fury Mk I (land-based) and Sea Fury X (shipboard). However, with the end of hostilities, production of the Fury was cancelled. By this time two Sea Fury prototypes had almost been completed, the first being installed with naval equipment but without folding wings (serial SR661), being flown for the first time on 21 February 1945. The second (SR666) was flown on 17 May that year. The first prototype fitted totally with naval equipment joined the test program a year later.

Production of the Sea Fury X began, 50 examples being built. By late 1947 the Sea Fury FB-11 had replaced the earlier model on the production line. The new model incorporated all the modifications and changes that had been found to be necessary during the test program, and it also had an improved load-carrying capacity and provision for rocket-assisted take-off.

In the 1950s, following the Korean War, many Sea Furys were in storage in the United Kingdom and these were offered for disposal by tender. They were purchased back by Hawker, some 200 being obtained. After refurbishment, the Company negotiated with a number of overseas countries, examples going to Burma, which received 18 fighters and three trainers, and Cuba, which received 15 fighters and two trainers, where they were involved in the counter-insurgency role. West Germany took delivery of a number of two-seaters, at least 16, for target towing under civil contract to the Luftwaffe. Four were supplied by Iraq to Morocco.

Following the cessation of hostilities in World War II the Australian Government looked towards obtaining two light aircraft carriers to assist in the defence of Australia, two Majestic Class carriers being chosen. To equip the new carriers the Sea Fury and Fairey Firefly were selected. The first unit equipped with the former was No 805 Squadron, formed at Eglinton in Northern Ireland in August 1948, Royal Navy Furys being used initially pending the availability of the Australian aircraft. First order was for 25 aircraft (serials between VW622 and VW648) being received in February 1949. One (VW641) was lost in January 1949 before acceptance and was replaced by another (VW660).

Australia’s first aircraft carrier capable of operating the Sea Fury was ‘HMAS Sydney’, commissioned on 16 December 1948, which embarked No 805 Squadron with 25 Sea Furys, and No 816 Squadron with 27 Fireflys, these forming No 20 Carrier Air Group (CAG), with two sea Otters for air-sea-rescue. On 25 May 1948 the carrier arrived off Jervis Bay, NSW and the aircraft were unloaded. Soon after two more Sea Furys were obtained for use as instructional airframes at Nowra, NSW (TF925 and VW232), and in 1950 a further two (VX627 and VX661) were shipped from the United Kingdom.

In April 1950 No 808 Squadron was formed with 32 Sea Furys at St Merryn in Cornwall and it, with No 817 Squadron with Fireflys, formed No 21 Carrier Air Group, the Group being conveyed to Australia on board ‘HMAS Sydney’, arriving in December 1950.

In September 1951 ‘HMAS Sydney’ was sent to Korea for a tour of duty during the conflict there. Nos 805 and 808 Squadrons embarked with Sea Furys, with No 817 Squadron with Fireflys, and the aircraft were operated on interdiction sorties, making strikes on railways and bridges, delivering rockets and bombs. During these operations eight aircraft were lost. These included: VX761 on 11 September 1951; VX764 on 2 January 1952; WE674 on 5 November 1951; WE679 on 7 September 1951; WE686 on 2 January 1952; WE795 in January 1952; WE796 in November 1951; and WE797 in January 1952. A further seven aircraft (serials between WE791 and WF593) were obtained from Royal Navy stocks in Japan as replacements in late 1951. The units on their return to Australia on ‘HMAS Sydney’ loaded a further ten aircraft (serials between WG627 and WH590) for operations in Australia.

In due course the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) received on loan from Britain a second aircrft carrier, this becoming ‘HMAS Vengeance’, which arrived in Sydney, NSW on 11 March 1953 with a further ten Sea Furys on board (serials between WJ279 and WM490). At this time Australia’s new carrier ‘HMAS Melbourne’ was being fitted out.

‘HMAS Sydney’ again operated in Korea in 1953, this time with a new Sea Fury unit on board, No 850 Squadron, which was formed at Nowra in January 1953. After the Korean War ended, the units returned to Nowra where No 850 Squadron was disbanded in August 1954.

Further deliveries of Sea Furys took place, 11 (serials WZ642 to WZ652) arriving at Jervis Bay in June 1954. In June 1955 ‘HMAS Vengeance’ returned to the United Kingdom and in the following years the Sea Furys began to be withdrawn as de Havilland Sea Venoms arrived as replacements. Last flight of a RAN Sea Fury was WH588 and WH589 at ‘HMAS Albatross’, Nowra on 30 October 1962.

A total of 615 Sea Fury FB-11s was manufactured, with 101 being operated by the RAN with Nos 723, 724, 725, 805, 808 and 850 Squadrons, all being FB-11s with the exception of one (TF925), which was a Fury which was operated in Northern Ireland. Damaged in an accident, it was imported in 1949 for use as an Instructional Airframe. After their withdrawal from service, only a few survived the wrecker’s torch, a number being cut up at ‘HMAS Nirimba’ at Quakers Hill near Sydney.

One was placed on the civil aircraft register VH-BOU (ex WH588), initially painted red with white trim at one stage, and later green with yellow trim. It was flown occasionally from Bankstown, NSW on Army co-operation work until it was exported to the United States of America as N588. Two other ex RAN aircraft, which were used for spares at Bankstown, were also exported to the United States, WH587 as N260X in August 1965 and WH589 in January 1969, the latter initially becoming CF-OHB in Canada, later G-AGHB in the United Kingdom, and N4434P in the United States. However, this aircraft crashed on a test flight at Osnabrook, West Germany on 24 June 1979. Nearly all were subsequently restored to airworthiness and have been used for air-racing.

In the 1980s a cache of 24 retired ex-Iraq Air Force FB-10s was located in a wrecker’s yard in Iraq, dismantled and shipped to the United States. On 26 January 1982 four ex-Iraq Air Force Hawker Fury fighters arrived in containers at Fremantle, WA, after shipment from the USA. They were still painted in Iraqi camouflage. One remained in Western Australia and the other three were conveyed to Darwin, NT for restoration. First completed was VH-HFG (c/n 41H-65802 – ex WJ231, IAF 253, N40SF) which made its first flight in Australia on 14 November 1983. The second became VH-HFA/ WJ231 (c/n 37702 – ex IAF 253, N57JB), flying on 25 January 1984, and the third VH-HFX (ex IAF 249, N54SF) in 1985, later becoming VH-ISS.

This latter aircraft VH-HFX received some restoration work but was in 2010 exported to Belgium and never flew in Australia, being obtained by Vintage Fighters Aircraft of Antwerp as OO-ISS, being expected to later take-up residence in Germany. Subsequently VH-HFA and VH-HFX were exported, VH-HFA to the United States and VH-HFX to the United Kingdom as G-BTTA, leaving only VH-HFG in the Zuccoli collection at Toowoomba, QLD until late in 2006 when it was exported to the United States.

In late 2009 the aircraft which had operated in Australia as VH-HFX (c/n 37534) which, after operating in the United Kingdom, later went to South Africa as ZU-SEA, returned and was restored by Precision Aerospace Productions at Wangaratta, VIC for Mr G Larard, becoming VH-ORN on 6 April 2010. However, it was not known to do much flying and in mid 2016 it was exported.

A further example (c/n 37539) which operated in the United Kingdom and the United States (as G-CBEL and N36SF) was imported to Australia to be based with a new owner at Moree, NSW, becoming VH-SFW to Manekinelco Pty Ltd in November 2009, but it also has been exported after being based for a period at Moree.

The RAN Historic Flight had an example VH-NVS /WG630 (c/n 41H-613993) f0r many years which was being restored to fly with the RAN Historic Flight but the work was not completed.  In 2019 this aircraft was conveyed to the Historic Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) at Albion Park, NSW where it will be restored long-term for static display, although some thought has been given to restoration to airworthiness. The Australian Naval Aviation Museum has one (VW623) on display at Nowra. The Australian War Memorial has one (VX730 painted as VW232) on display at Canberra, ACT; and the Camden Museum of Aviation at Narellan, NSW has one (VW647) on display.

An ex-Iraq Sea Fury was also imported to New Zealand and became ZK-SFR (c/n 41H643827), being painted in Royal Navy markings. In 1990 the Royal Navy Historic Flight Sea Fury T-20 (WG655) crashed and the wreck was conveyed to New Zealand where the wing folding mechanism was fitted to ZK-SFR. In early 2000 ZK-SFR was sold to an operator in Queensland where it became VH-SHF with Harts Flying Fighters in Brisbane, QLD. It was flown on a number of occasions but was seized by Australian Federal Police and placed in storage at Archerfield, QLD. It has since been sold and exported.

In late 2006 a former Royal Navy and German Air Force Sea Fury two-seater (c/n 37534 ex G-BWOL, D-CACY, WG599, 61631), which spent much of its life as a target towing aircraft, was imported for restoration by Precision Aerospace at Wangaratta, becoming VH-SFY (c/n ES3617 – ex G-BWOL, D-CACY, G-9-66, WG599) to its owner at Glenrowan, VIC in July 2008. It was removed from the register on 22 June 2015 after being exported in 2012, becoming G-SEAF.