The Iroquois helicopter being refurbished at the Fleet Air Arm Museum after being removed from a pole beside the Princes Highway in Nowra, had an interesting history.
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Navy records reveal the chopper was delivered to Australia in 1965, and served with the Navy's 723 Squadron, based at HMAS Albatross.
However on November 25, 1970, it was ditched in Jervis Bay after suffering engine trouble in flight.
All five crew members were rescued, and the aircraft was later recovered.
The helicopter was withdrawn from service on October 21, 1988, and in December 1995 in was placed on a pole in the car park at the Heathcote Inn Hotel, in Heathcote, just south of Sydney.
It was returned to the Fleet Air Arm Museum when the hotel changed hands, and in September 1998 it was put on a pole at the south side of the Nowra Bridge, outside the tourist information centre.
The Navy took the helicopter away in 2002 for refurbishment, returning it to a new and higher pole in 2003.
It was taken down for another refurbishment in July 2013, returning to the pole two months later where it was remounted and realigned to face north.
