HMAS Albatross
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Historical
HMAS Albatross was a seaplane tender laid down by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company at Sydney in New South Wales in April 1926, launched on 23 February 1928 by Lady Stonehaven, wife of the Governor General of Australia, completed on 21 December 1928 and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on 23 January 1929.
HMAS Albatross paid off to reserve on 26 April 1933, was accepted by the Admiralty as part payment for the cruiser HMAS Hobart and sailed for England on 11 July 1938.
Current
HMAS Albatross is the Royal Australian Navy's aviation base near Nowra and Jervis Bay on the coast of New South Wales, about 2 hours drive south of Sydney.
Squadrons fly:
aircraft - manufacturer
Former squadrons at Albatross flew:
aircraft - manufacturer
The Skyhawk and Tracker squadrons flew from the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne until the time it was decomissioned on 30 June 1982. This signalled the beginning of the end of the fleet air arm's front line fixed wing capabilities, and also a scaling back of activities at the Albatross base. The Australian Army introduced a parachute training school to the base in the 1980s.
The naval base had the unusual distinction of being shared by a small civilian passenger terminal, which at various times was operated by the Masling and later Hazleton airlines companies using small propellor driven aircraft. Until 2004, the Royal Australian Navy Gliding Association (RANGA) also operated from the runways at Albatross with a small fleet of gliders used by both Navy and civilian members.
A brief history of the HMAS Albatross naval air station can be found on the Royal Australia Navy's web site (http://www.navy.gov.au/establishments/albatross/history.htm)