Aircraft: A-4G Custodian: VF-805 BuNo: Modex: Location: HMAS Melbourne Date: Late 1970s Photo credit: Laurie Hillier Contact: Phil Thompson Description: VF-805 A-4G after launch as it sheds the catapult bridle. NOTE: "The paint scheme shows that this A4G was being launched in the late 1970s (photo by Laurie Hillier) when HMAS Melbourne had a strop catcher. However whenever centreline stores were carried the catcher was not used because of a high probability the tail section of any centreline store would be damaged. Particularly this was a problem for the buddy refuelling store. Otherwise the strop catcher would be used. This strop catcher was not installed until a year or two after the first Skyhawk operations on HMAS Melbourne. To my knowledge it was installed when the bow was repaired late in 1969 - early 1970 after HMAS Melbourne ran over and sank USS Frank E. Evans. Also at this time the catapult was lengthened slightly to about 110 feet from original 100 feet with parts from the scrapped Canadian Navy carrier Bonaventure." Phil Thompson