HMAS Ships Sydney and Tobruk off Korea in 1952
The following information is from the Australian War Memorial website:
Korea is surrounded by water on three sides. Sea power was crucial to the UN forces in the Korean War, as UN ground forces were outnumbered by the Chinese and North Koreans. Control of Korean waters enabled the UN forces to launch the Inchon landing, which altered the course of the war.
The UN forces soon took advantage of their superior naval forces and seized control of Korea’s long coastlines, using many ships to transport large numbers of troops and supplies throughout the war. The use of aircraft carriers, including HMAS Sydney, increased the numbers of aircraft available to the UN forces, enabling complete air coverage of the Korean peninsula.
- About Phil Belbin
Phil Belbin was interested in art from a young age and a prolific drawer. He is said to have produced his first comic book at the age of eleven and had his first published work, a calendar for a metallurgist, at the age of thirteen. He studied art for two years at East Sydney Technical College. In 1942 Belbin had further training for one year at Sydney's The Sun newspaper as an intern in the art department.
In 1943 Belbin enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force and served as an armourer in the Pacific Islands. Following his demobilisation in March 1946, Belbin found work at Frank Johnson Publications as an illustrator. In 1947 Belbin went to work for K.G. Murray Publishing Company. He created cartoons, comic strips and artwork for the company over the next 30 years.
Throughout his time at the publishing house Belbin also worked as a freelance illustrator for other publications and illustrated campaigns for advertising agencies and numerous private commissions. Belbin's list of commercial art clients grew to include local and international engineering, aerospace, and transportation companies.
In 1974 Belbin was awarded a 'Citation of Merit' by the New York Society of Illustrator and in 1984 he was elected as a fellow by the Royal Society of Arts, London.
Throughout his life Belbin had maintained a keen interest in steam transport - ships and trains. In addition to his print illustrations, Belbin also painted scenes of shipping and steam trains whose accurate details were highly regarded.
Belbin was asked to illustrate the book “The Royal Australian Navy: the first seventy-five years”. This book contains twenty-six outstanding ship paintings and several drawings by Phil Belbin. The text was by Ross Gillett. It was published by Child & Henry in 1989.
Phil Belbin passed away in 1993, succumbing to motor neurone disease.
- About HMAS Sydney (lll)
Sydney was a Majestic Class, Aircraft Carrier/Fast Troop Transport. She was to be the first 'flat top' aircraft carrier operated by the RAN. Sydney sailed from Garden Island on 25 July to begin several months of exercising in the Tasman Sea. Her crew had to master conducting flying operations. Daylight operations, nighttime operations as well as launching and recovering aircraft in varying sea states and weather conditions were a necessary part of ensuring that the RAN's new carrier was prepared future operations. This pattern of exercises continued throughout the remainder of 1949 and into 1950.
More reading
- Additional resources for Phil Belbin
- Additional resources for HMAS Sydney (lll)
