Location
Lat 34° 52' 60S Long 150° 35' 60E  Located on the south coast of New South Wales

Naval Air Station Nowra (Nabbington)
The decision to build an airfield on the land now occupied by the Naval Air Station was taken soon after WWII was declared in 1939. The RAAF occupied the new base on 7 May 1942 and was soon followed by the US Army Air Corps and the Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force. The Royal Navy's (RN’s) Fleet Air Arm began operations at Nowra in late October 1944, and the base was renamed Nabbington.

In March 1946, the Base reverted to RAAF control 'to be retained but not maintained.' On 3 July 1947 the Commonwealth Defence Council approved the formation of a Fleet Air Arm which would be controlled and operated by the RAN. Shore facilities were to be provided at Nowra. The base has a museum there which mainly holds Navy aircraft, but some ex-RAAF planes are there.

Australia's Museum of Flight
Phone: 02-44241920 and fax: 02-44241999

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Last Updated
May 14, 2011