This new publication from Avonmore Books may well be the definitive biography of a very interesting member of the Royal Australian Navy.
RRP $49.95
Often described as the “father of the Fleet Air Arm”, Admiral Sir Victor Smith had a lengthy and distinguished career in the Navy, and an exciting time too: he was shot down twice and sunk twice and carried out many a hair-raising attack on his country’s enemies.
Eventually known around the Service as “VAT Smith”, he went into aviation at a time when its future was unclear, but his commitment to the new technology was unswerving and rewarded when he was chosen to play a key role in planning a new direction for the RAN after WWII.
Smith oversaw many changes within the Navy, not least of which was the acquisition of aircraft carriers and the transition from propeller to jet aircraft. One of the first RAN members to be promoted to full Admiral, he was well known for his dedication to those serving with him and for his abilities as a great “man-manager” through his 49 years in uniform.
Victor Alfred Trumper Smith was born on 9 May 1913 in Chatswood, a suburb of Sydney. He entered the RAN in 1927 and was initially trained at the Naval College in Jervis Bay. He graduated at the end of 1930, and – how times have changed – was presented with a silver cigarette case in recognition of having become a Cadet-Captain. Posted to the Mediterranean to join HMS London, the flagship of an RN cruiser squadron, Smith managed to undertake a two week air course on board the carrier HMS Glorious. The experience “awakened an interest in me towards the Fleet Air Arm” as he put it, and although soon embarked on board other ships for more training, he began to look at aircraft and ships in a new light.
Incidentally the author of this work, Graeme Lunn, is a retired British Airways captain, and thus the flying detail in these pages is expertly written.
Later learning to become a navigator, he flew in Swordfish biplanes, which were looking rather old-fashioned by then, but they still packed a powerful punch as they showed with their torpedoes in the coming conflict. When war came he was involved in the attack on the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst, for which he was Mentioned in Despatches. He was later involved in the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck, and then was on board the carrier Ark Royal when it was torpedoed and sunk. Later he was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for service in 807 Squadron; the citation reading “…for outstanding zeal, patience and cheerfulness and for setting an example of wholehearted devotion to duty”.
Sent back to Australia for further duties in the widening Pacific war, Smith was posted to the cruiser HMAS Canberra and was soon in action again in the Battle of Savo Island, where Canberra was a total loss. Soon he was sent back to the Atlantic to join the aircraft carrier HMS Tracker and he was eventually part of the planning staff for the air components of the D-Day landings.
Managing to get married around the same time, Smith saw out the rest of the war without further mishap and was soon tasked to begin plans for a two carrier force for Australia after the war. This became very much a personal reality for him in a few years when he was part of HMAS Sydney’s crew when they flew operations in the Korean War. He was an essential part of the Navy’s Fleet Air Army from then on, although with appointments to other ships, and in 1966 became the Flag Officer Commanding Her Majesty’s Australian Fleet. During the Vietnam War he was further promoted as Vice Admiral and First Naval Member. VAT Smith finally retired in 1975. The accolades on his leaving the Navy were impressive: The Minister for Defence, the Honourable Jim Killen, summed up many people’s feelings when he said that “All who had the privilege of working with you greatly admire and respect you”. The then-Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, said: “We knew Admiral Smith well. He was a very decent person, competent and shrewd…”
This very handsome work from Avonmore is a lengthy publication that captures all of this very interesting naval officer’s life. It’s copiously illustrated with almost a picture for every double page. A hardback book, it has a high attention to detail, and at 248 pages is of quite a length, but Graeme Lunn’s writing style is such that the reader’s attention never flags. An impressive release and highly recommended.
Reviewed by Tom Lewis
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