United Kingdom , Cheshire, in 1951
778 Naval Air Squadron was the first unit of the Fleet Air Arm to receive the Sea Fury, with deliveries commencing in February 1947 to the squadron's Intensive Flying Development Unit, while
787 Squadron, the Naval Air Fighting Development Squadron, received the Sea Fury in May that year. The first operational unit to be equipped with the Sea Fury was
803 Naval Air Squadron of the
Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced Seafires with Sea Furies in August 1947, with
807 Naval Air Squadron was the first operational Royal Navy Sea Fury squadron when it received the aircraft in September that year. For some years the Sea Fury and Seafire operated alongside each other, with the shorter-range Seafire operating as a fleet defence fighter while the Sea Fury was employed as a longer-range fighter-bomber. Sea Furies were issued to Nos. 736, 738, 759 and 778 Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. The F Mk X was followed by the Sea Fury FB.11 fighter-bomber variant, which eventually reached a production total of 650 aircraft. The Sea Fury remained the Fleet Air Arm's primary fighter-bomber until 1953, at which point jet-powered aircraft, such as the
Hawker Sea Hawk and
Supermarine Attacker, were introduced to operational service. The Sea Fury FB.11 entered service with the fighter squadrons of the
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in August 1951. The RNVR units also operated the Sea Fury T.20 two-seat trainer version from late 1950 to give reserve pilots experience on the type before relinquishing their Supermarine Seafire aircraft. RNVR units that were equipped with the Sea Fury were Nos. 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835 and 1836 Squadrons. No. 1832, based at RAF Benson, was the last RNVR squadron to relinquish the type in August 1955 for the jet-powered Supermarine Attacker.
Korean War Following the outbreak of the
Korean War on 25 June 1950, Sea Furies were dispatched to the region as a part of the
British Commonwealth Forces Korea, Britain's contribution to the
United Nations multinational task force to assist South Korea following an invasion by North Korea. Sea Furies were flown throughout the conflict, primarily as ground-attack aircraft, from the Royal Navy light fleet carriers , , , and the Australian carrier . After a Fleet Air Arm Seafire was
shot down by a
United States Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress on 28 July 1950, all
Commonwealth aircraft were painted with black and white
invasion stripes. The first Sea Furies arrived with 807 Naval Air Squadron embarked on
Theseus, which relieved in October 1950. In addition to their ground attack role, Sea Furies also performed air patrols. In this role, a total of 3,900 interceptions were carried out, although none of the intercepted aircraft turned out to be hostile. During the winter period, the Sea Furies were often called upon as spotter aircraft for UN artillery around
Inchon,
Wonsan, and
Songiin. In April 1951,
804 Naval Air Squadron operating off
Glory, replaced 807 Squadron, which in turn was replaced by
Sydney in September 1951 with
805 and
808 Squadron RAN. The Australian carrier air group flew 2,366 combat sorties. The engagement occurred when Sea Furies and
Fireflies were bounced by eight MiG-15s, during which one Firefly was badly damaged while the Sea Furies escaped unharmed. Some sources claim that this is the only successful engagement by a British pilot in a British aircraft during the Korean War, although a few sources claim a second MiG was downed or damaged in the same action. The Royal Navy credited the kill to Lieutenant Peter "Hoagy" Carmichael although Carmichael always credited it to the whole flight. One of the other pilots in the flight Sub Lieutenant Brian 'Smoo' Ellis has since claimed the kill for himself. He claims that he observed hitting the MiG-15 when it overshot his aircraft with its air brakes deployed. On the return journey to HMS Ocean, he states that Carmichael fired his guns at a sandbank on the coast which the squadron often used for practice or testing their cannons. On landing back at the carrier, he was surprised to find that the kill was awarded to Carmichael. After checking with the armaments officer, it was found that Ellis had used the entirety of his ammunition during the engagement, while Carmichael on the other hand still had 90% of his ammunition left. Because Carmichael fired at the sandbank on their return journey, this brings serious doubts over the claim that he shot down the MiG-15.
Australia Fury I, repainted in
Australian Fleet Air Arm livery Australia was one of three Commonwealth nations to operate the Sea Fury, with the others being Canada and Pakistan. The type was operated by two frontline squadrons of the
Royal Australian Navy, 805 Squadron and 808 Squadron; a third squadron that flew the Sea Fury, 850 Squadron, was also briefly active. Two Australian aircraft carriers, HMAS
Sydney and
HMAS Vengeance, employed Sea Furies in their air wings. The Sea Fury was used by Australia during the Korean War, flying from carriers based along the Korean coast in support of friendly ground forces. The Sea Fury was operated by Australian forces between 1948 and 1962.
Burma Between 1957 and 1958, Burma received 21 Sea Furies, the majority of them being ex-FAA aircraft. The Sea Fury was frequently employed as a counter-insurgency platform in Burmese service and on 15 February 1961, a
Republic of China Air Force Consolidated PB4Y Privateer was intercepted and shot down by a Sea Fury near the Thai-Burmese border. Of the aircraft's crew, five were killed and two were captured. The aircraft had been on a supply run to Chinese
Kuomintang forces fighting in northern Burma. It is believed that the Burmese Sea Furies were retired in 1968, and replaced by armed
Lockheed T-33 Shooting Stars.
Canada The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) became a significant customer of the Sea Fury, and many of its aircraft were diverted from existing Royal Navy contracts. On 23 June 1948, the first aircraft was accepted at
RCAF Rockcliffe. The type was quickly put to use replacing Canada's existing inventory of Seafires, taking on the primary role of fleet air defence operating from the aircraft carrier . Two Canadian squadrons operated the Sea Fury, Nos. 803 and 883 Squadrons, which were later renumbered as 870 and 871. Pilot training on the Sea Fury was normally conducted at the RCN's
HMCS Shearwater land base. Landing difficulties with the Sea Fury were experienced following the RCN's decision to convert to the U.S. Navy's deck landing procedures, which were prone to overstressing and damaging the airframes, as the Sea Fury had been designed for a tail-down landing attitude. The Sea Fury would be operated between 1948 and 1956 by the RCN, whereupon they were replaced by the jet-powered
McDonnell F2H Banshee. The retired aircraft were put into storage, and some were subsequently purchased by civilians.
Cuba ,
Cuba in 2006 In 1958 during the
Cuban Revolution, the
Fuerza Aérea del Ejercito de Cuba (FAEC) purchased a total of 17 refurbished (ex-Fleet Air Arm) Sea Furies from Hawker, comprising fifteen FB.11s and two T.20 trainers. The aircraft were briefly flown by FAEC prior to the ousting of President
Fulgencio Batista and the assumption of power by
Fidel Castro. Following the change in government, the Sea Furies were retained by the
Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria ("Revolutionary Air Force"; FAR); these aircraft proved difficult to keep operational, partially because the new military lacked personnel experienced with the type. The only FAR fighter aircraft to see combat were three Sea Furies and five Lockheed T-33 armed jet trainers belonging to the
Escuadrón Persecución y Combate ("Pursuit & Combat Squadron"), based at the
San Antonio de los Baños and
Antonio Maceo air bases. in
Havana In pre-emptive attacks on 15 April, two Sea Furies were destroyed on the ground, one at
Ciudad Libertad and one in a hangar near
Moa. In the early hours of 17 April, Brigade 2506 began to land at
Playa Girón. Around 06:30, a FAR formation composed of three Sea Furies, one B-26 and two T-33s started attacking the exiles' ships. At about 06:50, south of Playa Larga, the transport ship
Houston was damaged by rockets and cannons from FAR aircraft, including Sea Furies piloted by Major Enrique Carreras Rojas and Captain Gustavo Bourzac;
Houston caught fire and was abandoned.
Iraq Iraq bought its first 30 Fury F.1 fighters and two Fury T.52 trainers in 1946. These aircraft were operated by Nos. 1 and 7 Squadrons. Iraqi Furies did not take part in the first weeks of the
1948 Arab-Israeli War. However, after newly-received Israeli
Boeing B-17s started bombing Arab cities, the governments of
Syria and
Transjordan demanded that the Iraqis deploy their Furies. Hence, six aircraft from No.7 Squadron were transferred to
Damascus in late July 1948; one of them crashed on landing on its arrival. Another one followed in September, with its pilot being injured. The Iraqi Furies didn't see much action during that war, because of the limited amount of ammunition supplied by the British. Only armed reconnaissance missions were flown, and no air combats with Israeli aircraft were reported. An additional 20 Fury F.1s were acquired in 1951, which enabled No. 4 Squadron to start operating the type. Iraqi Furies saw action during the numerous
Kurdish uprisings in the north of the country, throughout the 1960s. They notably performed
close air support missions, as well as attacks on villages, rebel-controlled roadblocks, and troop concentrations. They were ultimately replaced by
Sukhoi Su-7s, between 1967 and 1969.
Netherlands The Netherlands was the first export customer for the Sea Fury, and the Netherlands Royal Navy operated the aircraft from two of its aircraft carriers, both of which were named
HNLMS Karel Doorman as they were operated at separate periods from one another. It was common for Royal Netherlands Navy vessels to operate alongside Royal Navy ships, thus Dutch Sea Furies also regularly operated from FAA land bases and RN carriers. During 1947, Dutch Sea Furies operating from HNLMS
Karel Doorman were employed in a ground support capacity against insurgent fighters in the
Dutch East Indies. The Dutch procured and licence-built additional Sea Furies for carrier operations, although the type was ultimately replaced by the jet-powered Hawker Sea Hawk from the late 1950s onwards.
Pakistan One of the largest export customers for the type was Pakistan. In 1949, an initial order for 50 Sea Fury FB.60 aircraft for the
Pakistan Air Force was placed. A total of 87 new-build Sea Furies were purchased and delivered between 1950 and 1952; some ex-FAA and Iraqi Sea Furies were also subsequently purchased. The aircraft was operated by three frontline squadrons, No.5,
No.9 and
No.14 Squadron. The Sea Fury began to be replaced by the jet-powered
North American F-86 Sabre in 1955, and the last Sea Furies in Pakistani service were ultimately retired in 1960. ==Variants==