805 Sqdn RAN Sea Venom makes a low pass over HMAS Melbourne

The two-seat DH 112 Sea Venom was a descendant of the single-seat DH 100 Vampire, a twin-boom jet fighter which was conceived in 1941 and first flown in 1943. It was powered by Britain's first successful jet engine the 1,134 kg thrust, de Havilland Goblin turbojet. The single-seat Vampire, with a fuselage nacelle of plywood balsa sandwich construction, entered service in 1946 with 247 Sqdn of the RAF. It proved to be very light and highly manoeuvrable; over 4,000 were produced in various marques, including a two-seat night-fighter version.

The DH 100 Vampire, 1946.

In 1949 the Venom was developed, based on a two-seat version of the Vampire. The Venom first appeared as a single-seat fighter, then as a two-seat fighter-bomber. In 1950, a night fighter emerged, and it was this configuration that inspired its use as a carrier-borne fighter. Compared to the Vampire, Venoms sported a thinner, more efficient wing with a swept-back leading edge, and it was powered by a bigger engine, the de Havilland Ghost making 2,245kg thrust which provided improved performance.

It was in this form that 39 Sea Venoms were purchased by the Royal Australian Navy as all-weather fighters to operate from the RAN's new carrier, HMAS Melbourne. Delivery took place in 1956.

The Sea Venom was equipped with power-folding wings, catapult attachments and an arrester hook, plus a rugged, long-stroke undercarriage. Airborne interception radar was carried and armament consisted of four 20mm Hispano cannon. Ejector seats were only fitted from 1957, but it was not until 1965 that all RAN Sea Venoms were equipped. Not that this workplace safety item was received without a certain amount of black humour. The cockpit was so cramped that the two crew could not sit side-by-side, so the observer's seat was placed slightly further aft to avoid two broad shoulders getting in each other's way. Also, it was said that if your hip-to-knee measurement was a few inches too long then you left your kneecaps on the cockpit ring as you ejected. Nevertheless, two lives (and four knees) were saved during a very low-level ejection from a Sea Venom in the circuit at HMAS Albatross on a dark, windy night.

Another successful twin-boom naval aircraft from the de Havilland drawing board was the mighty Sea Vixen. The painting of the Sea Vixen shown above was commissioned by its pilot, Lt Cmdr David Hamilton, RN.

The wing of the Sea Venom measured 13m, maximum speed at sea-level was 906kph, service ceiling was close to 15,000m, although the maximum range of 11,609km was achieved by flying at 9,144m (the cabin was pressurised). Sea Venoms operated with 808, 805, 816 and 724 Sqdns of the RAN and the last operation involving HMAS Melbourne took place in 1967, after which the Sea Venoms were replaced by Douglas A-4G Skyhawks. The aircraft depicted in my reproduction is from 805 Sqdn, RAN. Another successful twin-boom naval aircraft from the de Havilland drawing board was the mighty Sea Vixen. The painting of the Sea Vixen shown above was commissioned by its pilot, Lt Cmdr David Hamilton, RN.

For more information on Sea Venom operations in the RAN read Flying Stations, a story of Australian Naval Aviation, and HMAS Albatross, A Collection of Memories.