Fairey Firefly VX381
Dive site: Fairey Firefly VX381
Location: HareBay, JervisBay, just off CallalaBay
Name of mark in club GPS:FIREFL
Shore or boat dive: Boat dive or 1.2km surface swim
Boat launch: HoneymoonBay, Murray’s Beach,CallalaBay
Depth: 10-12 metres
Location Map
A: HoneymoonBay
B: Firefly wreck
Comment
The Fairey Firefly was a carrier borne anti-submarine torpedo bombers. Firefly's first flew in 1941, with one hundred and seven purchased by the Royal Australian Navy. Fireflies were flown from the carrier HMAS Sydney during the 1950's, including during the Korean war.
On 27 November 1956 four Fireflies from 851 Squadron, part of the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Australian Navy, based at HMAS Albatross at Nowra, were part of a training mission to familiarise crews with a navigation technique that allowed them determine the wind speed and direction and thereby return to the aircraft carrier after a mission. After the training off JervisBay, the four aircraft were to rendezvous near Huskisson before flying back to Albatross. Fireflys VX381 and WD887 were flying circles in opposite directions when they had a mid-air collision, during which the starboard wingtip of VX381 collided with WD887 that then tumbled and crashed into JervisBay near Huskisson. Reportedly, around one third of VX381’s wing tip was broken off, though it was still able to fly north-east for a short time during which the pilot made a Mayday radio call before ditching it in HareBay where it sank within minutes. VX 381 was located by accident in 1983. The wreck of WD 887 has never been found, nor its crew recovered, though a local dive shop claims to know its location.
Source: Wikipedia
The Dive
The Club initially sought to find the wreck in April 2000 using a pair of Manta boards searching in a broadly rectangular grid pattern (refer club newsletter May 2000, link below), but without luck. However, new GPS marks plucked from Michael McFadyen’s website presented a new opportunity to find the wreck during a trip to HoneymoonBay in December 2003. The sounder of course showed nothing when we reached the GPS mark, but a circular search around a dropped buoy soon bought up a rather odd shape on an otherwise barren sandy landscape. This shape was around 80m from the original GPS mark. The scramble to kit-up and get over the side first was won by Mathias Regner who was able to confirm we had at last found VX381.
The Firefly wreck is a unique dive, not only because it’s an aircraft, but the very good condition it remains in. The plane faces east and lies upright. Because of the shallow depth and small dive site footprint, this is a great dive for getting full value of money from a half empty tank. The plane is covered in a lot of growth with lots of feather worms and stars. The cockpit is open though half filled with sand, and it appears the navigators sliding window is now firmly closed. Alas, all the cockpit instruments etal have been ripped out and are no doubt sit gathering dust in the back of someone’s shed….. The starboard wing sits under the sand so it’s not possible to see the extent of the reported damage to it… This could perhaps be a small project for a few people with full tanks, a small brush and a gentle touch.
We normally dive the Firefly from Honeymoon Bay, a roughly 13km round trip, though we have also dived it from Murrays Beach boat ramp on occasion, although this is a roughly 27 km round trip. While the boat trip from CallalaBay (3km return) is much shorter, it is not a practical launching point for the club.
Dive Site Map
Source: OceanTrek Website
While a pretty picture, the starboard wing is actually under the sand, while it is likely that at least part of it was torn off in the accident. You also cannot access the rear cockpit.
Anchoring
Because of its low profile, the Firefly can be difficult to find. The best technique if it doesn’t show up immediately on the sounder is to toss over (your pre-prepared) 15 metres of weighted line and a buoy on the GPS mark. You can then slowly circumnavigate the buoy in ever increasing circles until it shows on the sounder. The surrounding bottom is flat and sandy. Have the anchor ready to toss.
Because the wreck lies in the middle of HareBay there are no useful landmarks to use as a reference point.
Special Factors
Please note the wreck is very fragile and great care should be taken in anchoring. In strong winds, the anchor should be (hand) positioned downwind of the wreck. You should abort the dive if it is too windy to anchor safely without hooking up to the plane to avoid damaging it. Alternatively, you could simply drop the buoy and weight next to the wreck rather than the anchor and then dive in shifts.
Dive Difficulty
Because of its inshore location there is usually no current and minimal swell. The open location of the wreck in HareBay means it is subject to strong wind chop (particularly in the afternoon), meaning the return journey home can be very cold and unpleasant. Visibility is consistently very bad, from around 3-5 metres, and divers should reconsider the dive if they are not comfortable diving in dark, silty conditions.
Photos
Photos by C. Vangeleyn
Airfills
We have a good relationship with following:
Ocean Trek: 0413759649. They are usually parked at the Nursery or the Docks. Bring the correct money!
Deep 6: 64 Owen St Huskisson NSW 2540, Ph: (02) 44 415 255
Safety
Coastal Patrol(JervisBay):02 4441 5433
Call-up should be on Channel 88 and then switch to Channel 91.
Australian emergency (ambulance):000
Closest ambulance meeting point:CallalaBayWharf
Closest hospital:ShoalhavenDistrictHospital
Shoalhaven Street, Nowra
(02) 4421 3111
Dive Emergency Service:1800 088 200
Marine Stinger Advice:(08) 8222 5116
Poisoning Information:13 11 26
Rescue Coordination Centre:1-800 641 792
Useful Links
Prepared by: Charles Adamson, May 2008