The second Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) Carrier Air Group (CAG) was formed at RNAS St. Merryn, in Cornwall, on 25th April 1950 as the 21st CAG formed by 808 and 817 Naval Air Squadrons (NAS).
Those two squadrons embarked in October 1950 on board HMAS Sydney after having been trained in the UK by aircraft loaned to the RAN. A second batch of aircraft was also boarded consisting on two Fireflies AS.5 and 30 Fireflies AS.6. They were shipped to Nowra, where the 817 Naval Air Squadron was settled down on 6th December. They operated a mixed composition of AS.5 and AS.6 anti-submarine fighters. 817 NAS was attached to HMAS Sydney in May and, on their second embankment, they saw action in the Korean War.
At the end of their war career, they were again assigned to HMAS Sydney on several cruises except for three periods spent on board HMAS Vengeance between the autumn 1953 and the spring 1954. Finally, they were disbanded in 1955 in order to be refitted with Fairey Gannets.
The RAN received further Fireflies in 1952 and 1953, reaching Australia on board merchant vessels, HMAS Vengeance and HMAS Sydney. Overall, two FR.4, 37 AS.5s and 69 AS.6 served with the RAN. All those amounts allowed for the creation of a third Firefly squadron on 3rd August 1954; 851 Naval Air Squadron, dedicated to operational training, also at Nowra. This squadron received an initial complement of 16 Fireflies FR.6 and T.5s (AKA T.Mk.5) but they remained ashore, except for a brief period of DLT programe aboard HMAS Sydney in March 1956. This squadron kept on flying their Fireflies long after the other two squadrons were reconverted to Gannets and it was disbanded on 13th January 1958.
However, as the RAN was in need of trainers and target-towing aircraft, many airframes were converted to fulfil this role. Four AS.5s were converted into T.5s through adaptation and some redesign work thanks to the kits provided by Fairey to produce the T.1 and T.2. Similar kits were also provided by Fairey to convert two AS.5 and 6 AS.6 into TT.5 and TT.6 target tugs. These trainers and target-tugs supplemented another Fireflies and aircraft in the three RAN's second-line squadrons; 723, 724 and 725 NAS. The first squadron (723) acted as the Fleet Requirement Unit (FRU) from 1957 until 1963. 725 was also a FRU unit until it went through ASW training in 1959. Finally, 724 NAS was the last Australian Firefly operator as they kept the Fireflies trainers until March 1966. The 851 NAS also operated the Firefly trainer from August 1954 until January 1958 when they were disbanded, operating also from Nowra.
Sources:
1. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 28 - Fairey Firefly
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Firefly
3. https://www.navy.gov.au/aircraft/fairey-firefly-as5as6
4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
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