March 8, 2023
An eyewitness report stated – ‘While we were in Melbourne the aircraft was placed on board. It was a monoplane with a large single float mounted below the fuselage. In its assembled form it stood too high to be safely transported on deck, so it was dismounted from the float and the aircraft and float were stowed in separate cradles on the (forward) deck’. The pilot, Squadron Leader Robin Henry Gray, DFC and aircraft fitter Flight-Sergeant Norman ‘Spike’ Jones were embarked to operate the aircraft.