Supermarine Sea Otter in Australian Service

The Supermarine Sea Otter was an amphibious aircraft that was used for air-sea rescue and maritime patrol duties by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. It was the last biplane flying boat to be designed by Supermarine and the last biplane to enter service with the British military.

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) acquired three Sea Otters from the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm in 1948 for use as carrier-borne air-sea rescue aircraft. They were operated by 723 Squadron and were embarked on the aircraft carriers HMAS Sydney and HMAS Vengeance.

The Sea Otters were replaced by the Bristol Sycamore helicopter in 1953 and were sold to civilian operators. One of them, JN200, was registered as VH-BQI and was used for aerial survey work by Adastra Airways until December 1954 when it was holed and beached at RAAF Rathmines. Left to deteriorate, its nose section was salvaged before the airframe was scrapped in 1972. This section of the JN200 was later donated to the Fleet Air Arm Museum Nowra NSW.