Sea Fury, Firefly & Sea Venom in Australian Service - Softcover

Wilson, Stewart

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1875671056 ISBN 13: 9781875671052

Publisher: Motorbooks Intl, 1994

Synopsis

This is one of 13 titles in Stewart Wilson's In Australian Service series.

It individually narrates the development histories of the Sea Fury, Firefly and Sea Venom, including their entry into general service worldwide, and documents in detail each aircraft's adaptation to Australian service and describes their war record, where applicable, in full.

Unique tables document each aircraft individually, listing its Australian service registration, individual version or batch number, where applicable, date of delivery and, most importantly, its eventual fate.

Sea Fury, Firefly and Sea Venom in Australian Service features over 60,000 words of text backed up by hundreds of photos, most of which had never before been published.

About this title

About the Author:

Stewart Wilson, author of Aerospace Publication's Legends of the Air and In Australian Service series and other books is one of Australia's most prolific writers with more than 40 books published so far and the tally growing by two or three each year. He is also Australian Aviation magazine's Senior News Editor and regular contributor of feature stories to the magazine.

Perhaps surprisingly, Stewart's background is that of a classically trained musician who spent the first years of his career working in both the classical and rock areas of the music industry in performance, recording, composition, music, publishing, theatre and management. While working in music he was able to indulge his passion for flying (he holds a PPL) and motor racing while occasionally writing about both those subjects.

The publication of a best selling motor racing book eventually led to a change in career to publishing, initially in motor racing and then aviation, in which fields he acted as editor of several publications as well as writing numerous books. Stewart's motor racing activities came to an abrupt end following a high speed crash in a rally but his 'need for speed' is still satisfied from time to time by acting as an instructor at an advanced and racing drivers' school, something he has been doing for nearly 20 years.

These days, Stewart's living is based around his books while music is a hobby. He still writes music and records it for his own pleasure in his home studio when time permits.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Originally designed as a two seat naval fighter, the Fairey Firefly evolved into an extremely useful multirole aircraft, setting a standard of versatility which had not previously been approached.

Although the Firefly's wartime career was relatively short (it entered service in late 1943 and didn't see its first action until July 1944), it nevertheless made an impact, its best known actions including photographic reconnaissance of the German capital ship Tirpitz in Altenfjord, Norway, immediately before its sinking, and rocket attacks on Japanese held oil refineries in Sumatra in January 1945.

In addition, a Royal Navy Firefly was the first British aircraft to fly over Tokyo during World War II. The majority of the Firefly's service was therefore postwar, the type remaining with the Royal Navy until 1956, in the meantime serving with distinction in Korea and being developed to operate not only as a naval fighter but also as a reconnaissance, night fighter, trainer, anti submarine, target towing, training, pilotless drone and ground attack aircraft.

Its usefulness is indicated by the length of time it remained in production after World War II. The first Firefly was flown in December 1941, and by the time the final example was delivered in May 1955, a total of 1,701 had been manufactured in seven major variants.

Only two nations operated the Firefly apart from Britain - the Netherlands (40 FR Mk.4s) and the Royal Australian Navy, which received 108 aircraft between 1949 and 1953. Alongside the Hawker Sea Fury (with which the Firefly shared the privilege of being the first equipment of the newly established RAN Fleet Air Arm in 1948), the Firefly operated successfully in Korea, flying from the carrier HMAS Sydney.

About this edition

• Publisher: Motorbooks Intl
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 1875671056
• ISBN 13: 9781875671052
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 152