The History of Griffith's Fairey Firefly Memorial
Griffith War Memorial MuseumThe history of Griffith’s Fairey Firefly War Memorial dates back to the 1960’s when Griffith local and RSL member Charlie Beltrame was attending a dinner in Canberra and struck up a conversation with an un-named government minister. The minister commented that he was giving away a number of old 25 pounder artillery guns for RSL clubs to display outside their clubs as memorials.
Charlie Beltrame however felt that Griffith needed something better than an old artillery piece especially considering the Griffith area’s history as a soldier settler area.
Sometime later the minister contacted him to say that, due to the fact that HMAS Sydney was no longer being used as an aircraft carrier and the Fairey Firefly was no longer required for training naval pilots, the minister offered one provided that Charlie Beltrame and the Griffith RSL could cover the cost of getting it to Griffith.
The Fairey Firefly was considered an ideal memorial piece considering that the planes in question were ideal reconnaissance/strike aircraft due to being sufficiently fast, manoeuvrable and armed well enough to give a good account when attacked. They were also able to carry a good load of rockets or bombs and had both a reasonable endurance and range. Finally, they were also good-lookers with clean, unfussy lines and pleasant handling characteristics just like the Fulmar aircraft that preceded them.
Although the planes weren’t fully operational in the second world war until around the winter of 1943-4 when 1770 squadron, which consisted of twelve Fairey Fireflies, embarked on the H.M.S. Indefatigable and they successfully debuted in the attack on the Tirpitz and were later one of four squadrons operating in the Pacific.
It was in the Pacific theatre that the Fairey Firefly proved itself as a strike aircraft being used at Pangkalan Brandan, Palembang, Truk and the Carolines as well as being the first fleet air arm plane to attack the Japanese mainland and fly over Tokyo.
After the Second World War ended all Fairey Firefly squadrons were disbanded however the plane’s finest hour was still to come when the Fairey Firefly Mark V was delivered to the air arm in large numbers during 1948 and the Korean War broke out in 1949.
During this time hardly a day passed by when Fairey Fireflies, including the aircraft that makes up the Griffith Fairey Firefly Memorial and which served aboard the HMAS Sydney at the time, weren’t flying in support of United Nations ground forces. The aircraft that makes up the Griffith Fairey Firefly Memorial was also later used for Anti-Submarine duties around Nowra.
After a fundraising appeal was launched Charlie Beltrame arranged for the aircraft, which was stored at DeHavilland in Sydney at the time, to be made almost airworthy and to save money he also persuaded a test pilot to fly the plane to Griffith.
The Fairey Firefly memorial was dedicated on the 26th of April 1969 by Royal Australian Navy Commander A.H. Gordon.
