Westland Wessex
South Australian Aviation Museum September 2025
Westland Wessex HAS31B N7-224
This is one of 27 Wessex helicopters built for the Royal Australian Navy. It first flew in August 1963 and served on HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Stalwart. On 8 April 1968, during a normal flight the aircraft suffered an engine overspeed. The pilot LEUT J.W Nichol and Co-pilot SBLT R Giffen managed to regain control of the aircraft and nurse it back to HMAS Melbourne. On the way the Observer, SBLT M. Bayliss and the aircrewman POACM Trainor were ordered to abandon the aircraft. They jumped into the sea and were picked up by HMAS Parramatta. The Wessex landed safely aboard the carrier.
In its long career it was used on a variety of missions both at sea and at Nowra, NSW, and still carries its Pennant No. 834. It became an instructional airframe in 1987 before going on display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Nowra. The South Australian Aviation Museum acquired the aircraft in October 1998.
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