Howzat Good Catch Sea Fury RAN
The aircraft carrier safely catches the RAN Sea Fury aircraft on landing.
- About John Downton
Born in Sydney in 1939, John Downton (OAM) is one of Australia's finest international landscape and navy artists. He was awarded the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to visual arts as a landscape and maritime artist and for services to the community in 2017.
He initially trained and worked in watchmaking but realised his dream later to become a professional artist. He attended classes at the Royal Art Society of NSW and private lessons with George Duncan.
He is passionate about the sea, and he travelled to East Timor in 2000 as an official Navy artist and documented naval and peacekeeping activities in paintings. He continues to paint historical and present-day naval activities, and a gallery has been named after him at the Fleet Air Arm Museum at HMAS Albatross.
John Downton has held exhibitions in Sydney, Eden, Canberra, and internationally. Companies and public institutions have used John's work on calendars and cards. If you want to know more about John’s life he has published a 338 page autobiography, The Dirty Big Red Book: Downton, An Artist on the Move, which includes colour photographs of many of John's works.
- About Ships and aircraft in company
In this section a wide variety of artworks with more than one ship, submarine or aircraft are featured. When two or more naval vessels are operating together they are said to be ‘in company’.
The diverse nature of activities, exercises and deployments undertaken by ships, submarines and aircraft of the Royal Australian Navy means that a ship may spend long periods conducting single ship operations or periodically join with large numbers of other ships for such events as a naval review or fleet entry to a port. These latter events are generally scheduled to commemorate a particular event. During such events a prominent or royal figure will review the fleet as part of the ceremony. Throughout its history ships of the RAN have participated in major fleet entries and reviews both in Australian waters and overseas.
Details of Ships in the First Fleet
Name Class Commission Dates HMAS Australia Indefatigable Class 21 Jun 1913 – 12 Dec 1921 HMAS Melbourne Town Class Light Cruiser 18 Jan 1913 – 23 Apr 1928 HMAS Sydney Town Class Light Cruiser 26 Jun 1913 – 8 May 1928 HMAS Encounter Challenger Class Light Cruiser 1 Jul 1912 – 1 Jan 1923 HMAS Warrego River Class 1 Jun 1912 – 22 Jul 1919 HMAS Parramatta River Class 10 Sep 1910 – 22 Jul 1919 HMAS Yarra River Class 10 Sep 1910 – 30 Sep 1929
More reading
- Additional resources for John Downton
- Additional resources for Ships and aircraft in company
Walrus Amphibian 1942
RAN Wessex 31B over HMAS Melbourne (ll)
Destroyer Cruising the Tropics
RAN Skyhawks share the deck of HMAS Melbourne (ll) with Grumman Trackers
RAN Skyhawks of 805 Squadron climb out over HMAS Melbourne (ll) at sunset
RAN Skyhawks joining formation above HMAS Melbourne (ll)
RAN Seahawks over HMAS Sydney (iv)
RAN Grumman Tracker taking off from HMAS Melbourne (ll)
RAN Sea King over HMAS Melbourne (ll)
RAN Gannets over HMAS Melbourne (ll)
Korean War Battler – A RAN Firefly V makes a low pass over HMAS Sydney (ll)
Hawker Sea Fury – The ultimate piston-engined fighter
805 Squadron RAN Sea Venom makes a low pass over HMAS Melbourne (ll)
Aircraft carrier, with Grumman Avenger aircraft on flight deck
Replenishment at Sea (RAS) Approach, HMAS Supply, Hobart and Sydney
MV KRAIT and Japanese Destroyer in 1943
Troop Convoy and Escort and Hudson Bomber
N Class Destroyers off Libya
Sydney Harbour looking east to Garden Island from Dawes Point
