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The Pusser’s Bus

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December 1974 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
HMAS Australia's Walrus A4 - 1937
HMAS Australia’s Walrus A4 – 1937

The Seagull V amphibian or Walrus or Pusser’s Bus was the best known aircraft of the Royal Australian Navy in World War Two.

Carried by all cruisers this ubiquitous aircraft saw service in all war theatres. Australia’s aircraft was shot down by Vichy French fighters off North Africa and Perth’s and was shot down by German fighters in Grecian waters.

The photograph above is of A2-4, HMAS Australia’s aircraft, which was later issued to HMAS Hobart and was the longest lived of the Seagull Vs.

The last of the breed. HMAS Hobart's Walrus A2-4 in civilian garb as a charter aircraft taking off from Port Phillip.
The last of the breed. HMAS Hobart’s Walrus A2-4 in civilian garb as a charter aircraft taking off from Port Phillip.
The badge of No.9 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force. The Fleet Co-operation Squadron provided personnel for all ship-borne aircraft in the pre-Fleet Air Arm days.
The badge of No.9 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force. The Fleet Co-operation Squadron provided personnel for all ship-borne aircraft in the pre-Fleet Air Arm days.
Seagull Vs (A2-1 and A2-12), Fairy IIIFs, and (left) Hawker Ospreys of the Mediterranean Fleet , flying above Aboukir Bay during the Abyssinian crisis - August 1936
Seagull Vs (A2-1 and A2-12), Fairy IIIFs, and (left) Hawker Ospreys of the Mediterranean Fleet , flying above Aboukir Bay during the Abyssinian crisis – August 1936
A walrus being catapulted from HMNZ Leander in the amphibian's hay-day.
A walrus being catapulted from HMNZ Leander in the amphibian’s hay-day.

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