Hawker Sea Fury FB.11 Fighter Bomber : RAN

Hawker Sea Fury FB.11 Fighter Bomber, serial number VW 232. The fuselage and stern frame of TF925 are fitted to this aircraft and the stern frame and outer wings both also bear this number. Many removable panels also bear the number TF925. The serial number VX730 was painted onto the aircraft at an unknown stage in the late 1950s. The aircraft was restored in 1999-2000 using addidtional parts from WG630. It has been repainted as VX730.

This aircraft was used by the Royal Navy from 1948 until 1949 when it was purchased by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as a 'damaged aircraft for instructional use'. The aircraft was transported to Australia via HMAS Sydney and transferred to 805 Squadron (Sqn) RAN. On arrival at Nowra, New South Wales (NSW), in May 1949, VW232 was written off for ground instruction and in 1951 broken down into training aids. In 1958 the aircraft was displayed at Nowra and the following year it was acquired from the RAN by the School of Mechanical Engineering, University of New South Wales, formally Sydney Technical College, to be used for training purposes. In 1966 it was acquired from the university by the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences who subsequently lent the aircraft to the Camden Museum of Aviation. It later returned to storage at Ultimo before being acquired by the Australian War Memorial in 1984. Parts of this aircraft bear the number of the first RAN Sea Fury, TF925. The TF925 was an earlier production Mk 10 that was also allocated to 805 Sqn. It is likely that TF925 was rebuilt and alloted the serial number VW232. Another serial number, VX730, has been applied to the aircraft but it is believed that this application has no direct link with either machines' operational service, or the original RAN Sea Fury VX730, which saw service in Korea.